There is little information about the Earth and Sky in ancient cosmological/astrological lore, except in the earliest civilizations,
such as ancient Greece and Egypt.
In ancient Greece we have Ouranos the sky god and Gaia the Earth goddess, whose incestuous matings give birth to the other gods.
In the ancient Egyptian version, Nut the sky god or mother and Geb the Earth god, mate and produce other gods as well.
Separating Nut and Geb are Shu(air) and his sister and consort Tefnu(moisture), both likely symbolizing our Sun and Moon.
Inside Nut(our sky dome?) are the stars, and below are various depictions of her as she arches or hovers over Geb the Earth. |
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In astrology, the Earth and Sky, are not considered planetary bodies, but as this author will show, they may indeed be the biggest planets or planes of all. The Earth below us and the Sky or Heaven above us form the two most fundamental features of the so-called birth chart in astrology -The Ascendant and the Midheaven.
The Earth planet or plane's influence comes to us via the Ascendant/Rising sign or eastern horizon in astrology. The eastern(and western) horizon is where the Earth plane meets the sky plane(ecliptic). These two points of intersection(nodes or equinoxes) of the Earth's equator with the Sky's equator give us our Ascendant and Descendant respectively. The 23.4 degree tilt of the sky or celestial sphere in relation to the Earth sphere or plane is what makes those crossings or intersections possible(see diagrams below. Were it not for this tilt, we would have no zodiac or seasons(at least as we know them). |
flat view of Earth and Sky grid |
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The Midheaven, MC, or "middle of Heaven" is the midpoint of that sky bowl that rotates above us -and how it measures against the ecliptic coming down(or up) through the birth native's longitude of birth. In essence, the MC is the astrological marker for one's Sky or Heaven sign, just as the Ascendant is the marker for one's Earth or Gaia sign.
The bible refer's to Heaven and Earth a lot and as real places, and their astrological equivalents are the MC and Asc. The Desc and IC are, by natural extension, their opposite halves or points. Most astrologers use the Ascendant and Midheaven to create the houses in astrology, but is this what we should really do? The Asc and MC are entities unto thermselves and should be treated as such(planets). One is the Earth and the other is the Sky or Heaven. The houses are simply aspects(by sign) for the planets in relation to the Earth/Ascendant. Whole signs are the key to uncluttering astrology. While degrees may have their place in some instances, they have caused much more harm than good. They are, for example, directly responsible for creating all those messy unequal house systems, as well as intercepted signs, and out of sign aspects. Astrology is a lot more simple than we make it out to be: twelve signs and twelve planets and how they all relate(sign aspects) -that's all there really is to it. The Earth and Sky as planets? It may seem strange at first, but it's no stranger than the Sun and Moon in comparison to the planets or stars in astrology. Size or distance has nothing to do with it. Twelve parts of our cosmos or reality have been designated or assigned major astrological power by the gods or deities, whether it's the vast Earth and Sky below and above us, the great lights we know as the Sun and Moon, or the dim points of light we call planets and stars. In this way the WHOLE of our observable realm or reality is taken into account astrologically, and its given PERSONAL significance via our birth charts. It's quite beautiful if you think about it. Remember that astrology is an OBSERVABLE art or discipline, and unlike astronomy, the APPEARANCE of things from the native's perspective, is what really counts. |