Chart rulers: An alternative look

In astrology, the planet that rules your Ascendant is called the "chart ruler". For example, if your Ascendant is in Libra or Taurus, then Venus is your chart ruler. If it's in Aries, then Mars is your chart ruler.

I think Ascendant signs can be divided into three groups:

Group 1: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra

Group 2: Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces

Group 3: Scorpio

Can you guess the rationale behind this grouping?........................

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The answer is: Group 1 are signs that are ruled by personal planets, that is, the Sun (Leo), Moon (Cancer), Mercury (Gemini and Virgo), Venus (Taurus and Libra) and Mars (Aries).

Ascendant signs in Group 2 are ruled by a social and/or an outer planet (depends on whether you use the modern or traditional ruler, or like me, both!): Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, Capricorn by Saturn, Aquarius by Saturn and Uranus, and Pisces by Jupiter and Neptune.

I consider Scorpio as the odd one out (hence, Group 3) because it’s ruled by both a personal planet Mars and an outer planet Pluto!

The interesting question is, do you think there's an inherent difference between chart rulers that are personal planets and chart rulers that are social or even outer planets? I do!

Because by definition, social/outer planets transcend the personal realm. They represent the prevailing societal and global trends at the time of a person’s birth. The Ascendant, however, is a highly personalized point in the birth chart, specific to the exact time and location of a person's birth. So I'd say for people with chart rulers that are social and/or outer planets, they are also fundamentally a lot more conscious of the larger context in which they were born. They could feel a lot more impacted by this trans-personal context too.

But for those with personal planets as chart rulers, they could be a lot more idiosyncratic. They can march to the beat of their own drums more.

What about Scorpio then? I see it as a combination of both the personal and the trans-personal! This makes whatever aspect there is between Mars and Pluto in the chart even more important. Are these two perspectives, the personal represented by Mars and the trans-personal symbolised by Pluto, mutually supportive (if they are in soft aspects)? Or are they in friction (if in hard aspects)? Or somehow they co-exist without much interaction (not linked by any aspect)?

As far as I know, I don't think anyone has thought of the Ascendant signs and chart rulers quite like this. What do you make of it?

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