The Ascendant In The Child of Aokigahara

In astrology, the ascendant is the face we show to the world. Determined by one's precise birth time, it's similar to Jung's persona, and is the way we think we should be. It also colors our perspective on things, and can suggest the outlook we have on life. If the sun sign is our core and the moon our automatic behavior, then the ascendant would be our self-image. To delve more deeply into this, I will explore the ascendant of three characters from The Child of Aokigahara: Aletheia, Edgar and Elijah.

Aletheia has a Pisces ascendant. As an Aries Sun, she's fiery and headstrong but with a temper. Her Virgo moon lends her to worrying, being critical and being analytical. But the Pisces ascendant gives one a self-image that is much more emotional and fluidic. Pisces ascendant people tend to idealize others, often putting them up on a pedestal and feeling shattered when they can't stay on. They're compassionate, but can easily fall into self-pity and can be quite unrealistic. In Aletheia's case, she has a strong urge to seem like a caring and sensitive person, but as we see in The Child of Aokigahara, she needs to embrace her fiery Aries core.

In Edgar's case, he has an Aquarius ascendant. His own desired self-image is very different than the one that we see. He wants to seem airy and intellectual, full of new and lofty ideals, humanitarian without getting terribly involved. However, Edgar's core is Pisces, and as we see again and again, the self-pity and escapist tendencies of his Sun sign run deep. His Moon is in Scorpio, which is a very emotionally intense and turbulent placement, so Edgar doesn't have much luck convincing the world that the image he would like to have of himself is the reality.

Elijah has a Scorpio ascendant. People with Scorpio ascendant can often be very brooding and emotional, but in a more private and restrained way than you find with Pisces. They also seek to go deep into the mysteries of life, transforming themselves and transforming others. Regardless, he has a need for absolute transcendence. In Elijah's case, he has both a Scorpio Sun and Scorpio ascendant. His core and his desired self-image are one and the same. It also means these qualities are much more powerful in him. His moon is in Aquarius, which for Elijah has been useful in providing objectivity and self-control, but also fuels the deep reserve of his Sun and ascendant.

To see how these play out, check out The Child of Aokigahara, available in print and on Kindle.