The Vertex in the Natal Chart

The Vertex is almost always found on the right or occidental side of the horoscope. The exception occurs in extreme northern latitudes. The occidental side of the horoscope is co-dependent and other-directed so that the Vertex represents characteristics, attributes, qualities and skills to be cultivated in this lifetime through the demand and urging of other people. For those interested in esoteric astrology, my theory is that the Vertex indicates the Ray energy to be cultivated in this lifetime – a shift in the personality, astral or mental body.

When there are transits or progressed aspects to the Vertex, the qualities of the Vertex sign will be emphasized. Under favorable aspects, we are drawn by people (indicated by the House position) to express the aptitudes of the Vertex sign. Under afflictions, we seem to have problems with the Vertex sign energy.

Aries: In cultivating Aries energy, you will be drawn into taking charge in emergencies, taking the initiative and developing fast solutions to crises situations. There will be no time to coordinate efforts. Circumstances in the life will force you to pick up the reins of leadership and react to emergencies as a trouble shooter. You will be commanded to be your own person rather than stay on the sidelines, waiting for someone else to do it or ducking out completely.

Taurus: You will be forced to develop a sense of self-worth and material self-sufficiency, not relying upon others for support and not being obligated to others. You may be drawn into helping others achieve financial security or make value judgments for another. Freedom is found through financial independence. Esoterically, it is associated with the ability to let go, to simplify that which is complicated and to extricate by eliminating indebtedness. This can be for self, as well as others. Speak your truth when necessary and honor your own values and principles. Be willing to stand up for what you believe to be true.

Gemini: You will be drawn to teach, to present your own ideas and to back up the information with facts. Gemini will draw you into a relationship or work activity that will demand that you learn to be flexible and to do more than one thing at a time. Flexibility is often connected with allowing others to change their minds, something that Gemini does quite easily.

You may be forced to debate and prove your views or to relay the messages of others correctly. You may be forced to prove your believability, choosing your words correctly and not relying upon generalities. Such an individual may not like the pressure of facts but this will ultimately build confidence in communication skills. You will learn that in theorizing you give your power away, being at the mercy of others who fight with the facts.

Cancer: In this life, you will be pulled into dealing directly with the public, with the media, with the emotions of others— often this starts with the emotional issues in the family, depending upon the Vertex House position. In dealing with the emotional issues in your relationships with others, you will be drawn into soothing troubled water and nurturing others’ needs. You may also be drawn into dealing with issues connected with women in general. Cancer is the sign of the masses, mass trends and Universal Consciousness. This position can provide and opportunity to assess and spot trends on behalf of the public interest.

The natural tendency with the anti-vertex in Capricorn is to appear authoritative and unemotional. Now you are to learn compassion for the feelings of others. In this lifetime, you cannot let others down. You must get emotionally involved and care!

Leo: In this lifetime, you must learn to get personally involved so that you gain recognition for yourself and not share the glory with the group. You are to learn to be creative and to cultivate Self-Expression and Willpower. The tendency is to fade into a group rather than individualize. Individualization is the task at hand. A personal approach to dealing with people is needed rather than a detached and objective orientation.

I have a good friend with the Vertex in Leo. Her natural tendency is to give to the group without individual recognition. I cannot help but feel that there is much frustration when the group and her partner gets the recognition and she does not. Even her writing style tends to be philosophically Aquarian, lacking in a personal revelations. When this point was hit by a transit, she found it impossible to gain the personal recognition. The timing was wrong.

Virgo: In this lifetime, the individual will be drawn to provide a service which brings something to a practical, useful order. Since the anti-vertex is in Pisces, the individual already understands and has experienced confusion but now you must learn to bring order out of chaos. Remember, Virgo rules useful service, not servitude. One client has this Vertex in the 7th and she is an accountant, working on the financial chaos of others.

Libra: In this lifetime, the individual will be drawn into learning how to bridge opposing factions, to mediate compromises, to restore fairness and to bring harmony out of conflicting issues in order to re-establish peace and order. Because the anti-vertex is in Aries, the individual must not allow personal desires to influence the situation. The individual must not take sides or impose the personal ego. The need is to detach the self, make no judgments and establish harmony that would benefit the whole rather than any specific individuals.

Scorpio: In this lifetime, the individual will be drawn into dealing with that which is complicated, matted and ensnared. Plutonian issues connected with the abuses of power can be involved, fighting for the rights involved with exploitation issues. The individual maybe drawn to working with the finances of others, assisting them in achieving security and empowerment. I have one client who was compelled to investigate death/dying issues, learning to transform and heal, learning metaphysics in order to help others.

Since Taurus is the anti-vertex, it is too easy to stay in one’s comfort zone, taking the line of least resistence, not jeopardizing personal security and comfort. You must give strength and courage to the concerns of others, overcoming the fears that make you too comfortable with the status quo.

Sagittarius: In this lifetime, you must go beyond the facts in order to see the Big Picture. You may be drawn to give testimony wherein you must draw conclusions from many facts. The Gemini details may look good for now but they do not serve in the long run. The individual must teach at an expanded or philosophical level based upon the accumulated facts— extracting wisdom from what you know. Go beyond the facts to the truth of the matter. Do not get bogged down with superficial, gossipy information. You will be drawn to deal with philosophical, spiritual or moral issues in connection with the Vertex House position.

Capricorn: The individual will be called to develop skills in responsible leadership. It is essential that you learn to accept duties and obligations for a future control. Leadership and organizational ability go hand-in-hand and you must learn patience to cultivate these skills. Do not allow your emotions and fears to interfere with a realistic attitude in administration. It is essential that the individual not allow the needs of home, family or feelings of insecurity to impede in fulfilling your destiny and thereby rise to a position of respect.

Aquarius: First, you must learn tolerance for the differences in others. This would be particularly true if Saturn and Earth-Water signs are strong in the chart. If Uranus and Fire-Air signs are strong, the individual must learn how to coordinate one’s efforts with other independent, task oriented types. Regulating Uranian people is a hard-learned lesson! Since the anti-Vertex is in Leo, the individual must guard against allowing one’s strong subjective and “MY WAY” opinions to interfere with cooperation. The lesson is to be detached and impersonal.

Any prejudices will come back to haunt you in this lifetime. Learn to be a good friend, to be a part of group effort rather than trying to shine on one’s own. When tolerance is not an issue for the individual, I find that there is some difficulty working with group energy. One client felt that she needed to learn to function and protect herself while working within groups.

Pisces: In this lifetime, the individual is to cultivate sensitivity for the intangibles rather emphasizing the pragmatic, the materialistic and the fine points fo detail. The individual will go through experiences that bring out compassion, the ability to listen with empathy to the concerns of others, and experiences that will make for greater sensitivity to the suffering of others. Another lesson is to let go of criticism. With the anti-Vertex in Virgo, it is easy to zero in on the details, the flaws and imperfections, losing sight of the whole. Learn to go with the flow. Do not judge by rules but rather by instinct and compassion.

4 Responses

  1. Thank you for this interpretation of The Vertex. I have it at 29 degrees of Cancer… which, is TRINE my Sun at 20 Scorpio… this tells me a LOT… since I have a load of Sagittarius… and have always been torn between “other” and Independence… I did become a wife and mother LATE in life… married at 37 and first child at 39 and next at 42… I feel when the children were young.. … I did a pretty good job at being a mom, nurturing and close… but as they grew into teens and the relationship with the father, ( which was ALWAYS filled with tension, intimidation, stress)… I found it harder to deal with WORK and meeting the needs of teens, who, wanted transportation … ( I drove constantly for my work )… and keeping a house clean… I did okay, but could have done much better… just too much stress… I saw women, while growing up, who were just “housewives” and work horses.. .. popping out kids… with no “self” … so, I did not want to end up in that situation. I did get a Bachelor’s degree and tried to obtain a certain sense of my own “empower ment” before I decided to have kids… The Sagittarius vs. Scorpio energy has been a real conflict for me… But this interpretation of THE VERTEX IN CANCER… HELPS…

    1. Thank you for your insights. Sagittarius is not intended to be a house frau!! Actually, Sagittarius is best suited for TRANSPERSONAL relating. Having goals for one’s self is essential. Sagittarius is about faith (in the future) and Scorpio is about trust (learning to trust). All this vertex wants you to learn is the lesson of nurturing, allowing yourself to be nurtured and being in touch with your feelings.

  2. I have Cancer in Vertex in the 8th house…My relationship with women in the past has not been great. Growing up, my mother was overprotective and restrictive. She did not allow me to have friends. I was seen an an oddball…an outcast…growing up. Years later, my only best friend up and stopped all communication with me, for reasons I still don’t know… I have never felt I “fit in” anywhere and most relationships/friendships from the get-go I get this feeling of “This person isn’t going to be part of my life long.” So rather than be hurt…I prefer being by myself. Like Wanda mentioned above…From a young age, I decided marriage and kids were not something I wanted. I desired a successful career, money in the bank to support myself, and a love interest on the side for the cold, lonely nights. (This could be the Capricorn anti-vertex here, or my Capricorn moon, which I normally hate for the rigid, cold, unemotional way it is described. In fact, Capricorn moons are QUITE emotional; perhaps more so than water signs…but we tell ourselves are emotions don’t matter so they are suppressed and eat away at us.)

    As the years went on, I developed a type of social anxiety when it comes to people. I despise crowds and get extremely nervous and awkward around people. Fight or Flight (normally flight) responses kicks into overdrive. I have always felt like this fearful person was not the “real me,” that in many past lifetimes, I was extroverted and confident. So I feel I’m not being true to myself by suppressing any extroverted abilities and by considering myself as lower than everyone else. Like “I will never be good enough to be seen by that person…so why try?”

    I am an Empath and very often have a sharp sixth sense. My problem is a lack of belief in myself. I do agree partially with the above, but it’s not just family relationships or relationships with others I need to work on…It is “myself” I need to work on most…to somehow find the confidence to step out of the shadows and allow myself to be seen. Only when I can get past the wounds I inflicted on myself from a young age can I ever be in a position to help anyone else. It has been years in the making and I’m still not farther ahead. Only now…I want to get better for my husband and child (yep- Miss Anti-Marriage and Anti-Kid did eventually settle down and give up said powerful CEO dream.) I still have dreams of course…to write…to relate…to learn…to help. I assume it is all tied together, in one big ball of past life karma and lessons I still need to learn/correct.

    1. Alyssa, I had that type of mother myself but, in teaching astrology with mostly women, I overcame my problem with women — they are not all like my mother. Also, during my years, I did meet women who were just like my mother — possibly why I was drawn into their sphere; it was comfortable but jealousy (like with my mother) was always a problem. This is due to a Moon-Mars aspect (allow wide orbs as these give the psychological pattern).
      I am approving your post because you have good interpretations here, especially of the Moon in Capricorn.
      The Moon in Capricorn often describes a favorite child upon adult-like demands were made. The individual never feels the favorite but do relate to the adult-like demands.

      PS – Your relationship with your mother will be shown more by the aspects in your chart than the Vertex but the Vertex wants you to learn trust and through trust you can have a better relationship with others.

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