"The Success System is a simple one because it is based on a simple equation: Success is finding out who you are and what you were meant to be. Your horoscope contains a multitude of components, but the Success System operates quite effectively around only four. The first three components this book examines -your sun, moon, and rising signs -form the essence of who you are, astrologically speaking. They are the brightest parts of your "aura." Your Midheaven house sign points directly to what you were meant to be in this world, thus filling in the second half of the equation. While your sun, moon, and rising sign are personal points in horoscope, your Midheaven is the destiny point -in fact it is the destiny point."

"The Midheaven deals with a segment of life or field experience, the "career ground" you were meant to occupy."

"Enter the Midheaven, perhaps the richest astrological symbol of them all."

"The House that falls at the Midheaven of your horoscope indicates in which of life's departments your career lies."

"The Midheaven in your horoscope marks off the slice of pie or house that was directly overhead as the great wheel of the zodiac was "stopped in time" at the moment of your birth(in the place of your birth). That Midheaven house represents your apportioned share in the world of work or profession. It is your career ground; it is unique to you and you were "meant" to occupy it. Like the Ascendant, the Midheaven is an elusive point in that it changes signs quickly in a twenty-four-hour period. Understanding the "slice of life" at which the wheel stopped is vital to your success."

"Unlike the sun, moon, and the Ascendant, which are personal points in a horoscope, the Midheaven is often described as a destiny point -the destiny point. This reputation derives, like all other astrological conclusions, from observations, thousands of observations by thousands of people over thousands of years(one of the reasons astrology is called the "observed science"). At a very early point in time, astronomical(hence astrological) calculations became quite precise: Stonehenge, for example, has been described as a giant astrological "computer." Therefore the elusive Midheaven -the highest point the Sun reaches in its daily path through the sky -got a lot of attention right from the beginning. And right from the beginning astronomers/astrologers noticed that the Midheaven had an uncanny connection to a person's role in life. Untill fairly recently most people didn't have much choice about roles or what they could do to earn their keep; kings produced kings, shoemakers bred shoemakers. That you have a career -let alone a choice of career -is quite a modern notion. As times changed, the significance of the Midheaven in earthly life became better defined. The fuzzy generalized view of it as the destiny point took more concrete shape, and the Midheaven was reborn as the point of profession , the point of status, the point of public performance. Your Midheaven is you in the open -exposed, you might say, for all the world to see. It doesn't make much difference how "private" your life or career is; you are judged by what you do and how well you do it. Those who judge you may be few in number, but they nevertheless represent your world."

"Despite the fact that I have defined the Midheaven as a destiny or life-path point rather than a personal point in your horscope, there is one way in which the Midheaven is an indicator of personality or, more properly, of character. The Midheaven sign embodies qualities that we admire, however unconciously. The Midheaven is what is important to us, what we respect, and therefore what we hope to incorporate into our own lives. Ideally we incorporate the Midheaven qualities through the life work or career route we choose. When you think about your real aspirations in terms of the person you would like to become, you are reflecting the influence of the Midheaven in your horoscope."

"...the saturnine character of the Midheaven means that the Midheaven is something to be achieved through time and maturity. Many people never achieve their Midheaven , no matter what chronological age they achieve; others reach for the Midheaven and arrive at it(and success) when they attain emotional maturity, which can be at any age."

The security of purpose your astrological profile -particularly your Midheaven -can give you is worth more than any pension plan the most generous company can offer. And it is the most valuable insurance against ever being out of work, a phrase that to me simply means one is temporarily not on a payroll(including one's own). If you understand your Midheaven correctly and understand what you're all about, you'll never be out of work, but only out of phase, a temporary condition in which one is preparing for the next leap forward and the next adventure. Your operative principle can be put to work at anything, anywhere. Not that your choice of career fields is unlimited; quite the opposite, in fact, because the boundaries of your Midheaven House are there for the purpose of defining the broad career fields and IPT clusters you belong in. But some of the most successful people in the world have created their own jobs. They have sensed a need, spotted a trend, and then applied their operative principle to it."

Note: Rathgeb sees the MC as the START of the 10th house -this is one point in the book which Libra Rising disagrees with. To find your Midheaven sign see here.