The Sun is regarded as the most impotant body in Western astrology today, going back a century or so, and especially since the 1960's when Linda Goodman popularized it in her book Sun Signs. Before that the Ascendant or Rising Sign was generally regarded as the most salient factor in the chart. In countries like India, however, the Moon is still regarded as being more impoortant than the Sun. Of late, the MC or Midheaven is also acquiring a significance of its own on par with the Ascendant.

So which is the most important or central factor in the chart: the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Midheaven? In truth, they may all be equally important, as are also the remaining planets or factors. People tend to forget that we are twelvefold beings made up of many different planets and signs rather than just one, but if we had to pick just one factor, most people would agree it would be either the Sun or the Ascendant. Without the Sun there would be no life and without the Ascendant(which stands for the planet being lived on) there would be no place for this life to exist or express itself. Only on the Sun would these two elements combine.

Yes, we are Solar or spirit beings from the Sun currently and temporarily expressing on another planet (which we call Earth). The planets are schools or extensions of the Sun and there is a theory that within the Sun itself are contained the orbits or circuits of all its planets. But because we are on Earth, our Ascendant and its sign takes precedence over and governs the rest of the chart, even over the Sun, but it is a temporary kind of governance or dominance. Just like an Englander who comes to the USA, he or she must subject themselves to the laws of the land they are in while at the same time expressing their native qualities.

The Sun, ruler of Leo, is our spirit or ego, that central innermost part of ourselves that sits like a king and makes all the important or final decisions. Jupiter and Mars also rule spirit but the Sun is the chief. Also, we may look and act more like our Ascendant, but the actions of our Sun speak for themselves. If your Sun and Ascendant are in different genders, for example, you are basically a mystery to others -doing one thing while appearing to do another, and only those closest to you really understand you. I call this type the DECEIVER, because that is basically what the individual is doing -he is struggling between two very different parts of him/her/self. That's 50% of the population. The other 50% have the Sun and Ascendant in the same gender or compatible signs, meaning that what you see is basically what you get. This is especially so if both the Sun and Ascendant are in the same element, and most of all of course, in the same sign.

Most of us readily identify with the traits of our Sun sign, even if only on a concious or inner level, but we don't always get to express them or play them out. In fact, it is easier for us to express or play out our Ascendant qualities, which are not always apparent to us and which don't necessarily fulfill us or make us happy -at least not in the long term. The Ascendant is what is IMMEDIATE in our lives whereas the Sun is more of a long-term yearning or influence. The Sun is where we originally came from and where we eventually will return. It represents both our primal past and our forseeable future, or that eternal/higher self part of us that haunts us througout our lives. It is that burning center that seeks love, life, and creative expression and is what is most important to us and makes us truly happy. Our Ascendant on the other hand, is our temporary Earth self which we have chosen to express and learn from in this particular incarnation. It reveals our life lesson on this planet which we will incorporate and carry with us forever after we "ascend" from this plane.

There is a lesser sun in our chart not widely understood by modern astrology but which has its indirect acceptance via one of the "angles" in the chart and which may rival the greater Sun in terms of importance or influence. This is the MC, Midheaven, Medium Coeli, or Zenith which is basically determined as the highest point in the sky along the ecliptic as seen from the individual's time and place of birth. The Midheaven basically represents the celestial sphere as opposed to the terrestial sphere(Ascendant) and is a projection of our hollow planet's inner central sun. It is the "soul" or "womb" state of the individual closely related to the mother and projects its qualities unconciously or subconciously for all to see. Astrologically it pegs our maternal as well as our public nature and is perhaps the least understood part of the chart. Like the Ascendant, it is based on the hour of birth and is often difficult to determine accurately.

The 10th solar house is almost always an overpowering influence for any sun sign. For a Sun in Capricorn, for example, the 10th house sign is Libra, and the issues of this sign will consume the native's interest and powerfully affect his or her direction in life. Capricorn is consumed or dominated by beauty, status, honor, and justice which drives them towards their goals and ambitions. They may be selfish but they are always fair and give as good as they get. It is not surprising to see them professionally as designers, artists, beauticians, mediators, and people managers. Aquarians on the other hand have Scorpio as their 10th house and their careers almost always involves secrecy, danger, or the death of others to FLOWER, and the position is usually of an extreme or highly exclusive nature. These are just two examples. The Sun sign and its 10th house describe deep or long-term desires and ambitions. The Ascendant and MC on the other hand, describe more immediate or short term desires and ambitions. Both are important to the native but rarely the same which is why most of us lead double lives.

The Moon sign can indicate professional as well as domestic qualities and its nature is usually more readily noticed than the Sun sign. Only the Ascendant(and perhaps also the MC) are more obvious than the Moon. The Sun is usually the least obvious factor appearance-wise but is the most strongly felt in terms of vibration or presence. Planets, it seems, are more flexible in function than the signs. They can, at least here on the physical plane, function as their opposite or traditional ruler. The Sun, for example, often functions like the Moon or Uranus and the Moon like the Sun or Saturn. It's also true that the Moon is more powerful in the chart of a woman and the Sun in the chart of a man.

If orbits are clue to a planet's power then the Sun is the winner. The Moon is the smallest orbit taking less than a month and so is the weakest. Mercury comes next with 88 days, followed by Venus at 225 days, Mars at almost two years, Jupiter at 12 years, Saturn at about 30 years, Uranus at 84 years, Neptune at 165 years, and Pluto at about 250 years. Does anything beat Pluto? Eris? How about the Sun? We don't generally think of the Sun as having an orbit, but it does, most likely orbiting its parent or super sun. Some say it orbits Sirius and others say Alcyone, but no one is quite sure. It does, however, seem to be linked to the precession of the equinoxes. From this it can be assumed that our solar system Sun has an orbit of some 25,000 years -or one hundred times that of Pluto! This would make our Sun by far the most important body in our solar system in terms of influence and also the deepest or most important in our chart!