Hemispheres and Quadrants in Astrology

Hemispheres and Quadrants in Astrology

The energy of the natal chart varies based on whether the planet is located in the top half of the chart, bottom half of the chart, in the East or in the West. When you look at a Natal Chart, Ascendant is on the East, Descendant is on the West, Midheaven is on the top and IC in the bottom.  If you notice, I did not mention Midheaven on the South and IC in the north, because this may be different based on whether the person was born in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere.  But we know that irrespective of where one is born, Sun rises in the east, moves to the the highest position in the sky around noon,  sets in the West, and then finally moves to the lowest point around midnight.  The picture above shows the Sun’s movement in the Northern Hemisphere. So if a person is born around sunrise, Sun is going to be close to their Ascendant (1st house cusp) and if a person is born around Noon, then Sun is going to be close to their midheaven (10th house cusp), if born during Sunset. it will near their Descendant (7th house cusp) and finally if born at midnight, Sun will be conjunct the IC (4th house cusp). Based on this information, the top part of the chart shows the movement of the Sun from Sunrise to Sunset, and the bottom part of the natal chart shows the movement of sun from Sunset to Sunrise.   This affects the expression of the planets located in the top or bottom portion of the chart, as the planets in the top generally have light while those at the bottom are in the dark.  This is of course is relative with midheaven being the most bright and IC being the most dark.

(Note: Therefore anyone who lives South of the Tropic of Capricorn will see the Sun rise in the East and then move to the north of the zenith (overhead point). Likewise anyone who lives to the north of the Tropic of Cancer will see the Sun rise in the East and then move to the south of the zenith. Those living on either the Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn will see the Sun pass overhead at the times of the solstices)

Top and Bottom Hemisphere in Astrology

There is relatively more light here with Midheaven being the most bright and gradually getting less as one goes close to the Ascendant (sunrise) and Descendant (sunset)  Here one is able to see clearly, there is clarity in thought,  things are concrete, black or white, there is no guessing needed and solutions are easily available.  So the planets here are more extroverted, direct, objective, and rationale. Their functioning depends on the external information.  If you look at a ball, based on your senses you can say It is a ball.  u

The story is a bit different for planets in the bottom portion of the chart.   Imagine having to navigate in a dark room.  This requires a whole different  skill set.  You can’t see anything around you; you have to feel them, guess, use your intuition and prior knowledge to understand your environment.  If you hold an object , all you can feel is the shape, the texture, whether it is soft or hard, any markings, etc…but you can never clearly say what it is. In this scenario,  understanding and decision making becomes subjective. You may think it is round while the other person may call is square and no one can really tell. 

So you see how a planet in the 10th house is going to function very differently from a planet in the 4th house.  Planet in the 10th is  going to be direct, depends on external validation and approval, wants to make a mark on the world, and is rationale, objective in how it makes decisions, and easier to find solutions.  However a planet in the 4th has to listen to its internal message,  has to learn to get comfortable with uncertainty, goes along with its intuition even when there is no supporting evidence and  depends on internal validation. So the environment and landscape are different in the hemispheres and hence the expression of the planet is also going to be modified.

 Eastern and Western Hemisphere in Astrology

Planets joined together in Eastern Hemisphere have a very different energy than ones in the Western Hemisphere.  Imagine what one usually does in the morning.  There is more energy, more optimism, need to get ready on time and get prepared for the rest of the day.  Unless you like to brush your teeth standing next to another person, most of the work in the morning is done solo and it is self initiated. So the planets in the East have more optimism, are self initiators, self motivated, hopeful, and trusting. So how does the Western Hemisphere planets function? Now imagine your are coming back from work, the Sun is down, you are tired, waiting to get home, hopefully to connect with family or friends, want to relax and take it easy, prefer to do things with others and for others, like making dinner or spending time with kids, etc.  So planets here don’t want to jump into action, they take their time to get motivated, they are dependent on others, and generally more cautious. 

Quadrants in Natal Chart

Based on the information given above, the natal chart can be divided into quadrants. When majority of the planets are in one quadrant, then the person attitude and behavior will be reflective of the quadrant energy: 

1st Quadrant – 1st to 3rd house with 2nd being the most typical of this quadrant.   Self Motivated,  make their own decisions, go getters, intuitive and self resourceful and optimistic.

2nd Quadrant – 4th to 6th house with 5th being the most typical of this quadrant.  Very subjective and intuitive, need others but not overly dependent, hesitant to take action, can be confused, and introverted,

3rd Quadrant: 7 to 9th -with 8th being the most typical of this quadrant.  Very people dependant, need intimacy, need help from others, external motivation and validation, objective and rationale but need Ok from others and cautious before making decisions,  concept of self is based on what others reflect to them.

4th Quadrant: 10 to 12th with 10th being the most typical of this quadrant.   Look at things concretely and rationally and take action based on what they have analysed, self actualization is very important, want to make a mark in the world, ambitious, very interested about the world at large.

Are you one Hemisphere or Quadrant dominant?  How is this expressed in your life?