Earth as your task in life?

An astrologer friend has been telling me about her use of the planet Earth, in a chart. I've not seen this mentioned in my readings on astrology. Is it not commonly used, or only used in certain ways?

Earth is at the exact opposite of your sun placement (e.g. my Sun is 23degree Aires, so my Earth is 23degrees Libra. A very nice result for someone who is an 8 numerologically and so also a Justice/Adjustment in tarot language Although I think that means my Earth is conjunct Pluto...)

For her it represents what our tasks on Earth will be about. The Sun tells what you will become, the Earth where you will do that and what work needs to be done (there is a Saturn-like influence due to the Earth, so its a practical application thing)

Any thoughts on the concept?

similia said:

Earth is at the exact opposite of your sun placement (e.g. my Sun is 23degree Aires, so my Earth is 23degrees Libra. A very nice result for someone who is an 8 numerologically and so also a Justice/Adjustment in tarot language Although I think that means my Earth is conjunct Pluto...)

Any thoughts on the concept?

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That's pretty interesting, I didn't realize Earth could be an active component in one's chart... So Similia, does that mean that you find yourself in "leadership" roles(Aries), becoming more confident within each given relationship(Libra)? Mirror effect?

I've got Sun 18 in Taurus(9th) so Earth would be 18 degress Scorpio(4th) conjunct Neptune. I find myself becoming more stable, secure in given circumstances having to do with personal philosophy. Work done on issues with confusion/disillusion helps to heal early childhood experiences? Possible transformation for better? I can see these themes played out in my life.

Wrong, really wrong!

If you stand outside in the evening and look to Libra, you will not see the Earth. Its not in the sky. Its below your feet. The earth is in the chart, so to speak -- its the center of the chart. The ASC angle shows what is on the eastern horizon. At this time of the year if Libra was rising, it would still be dark and the Sun would be below the horizon -- another two hours or more before early dawn would light the sky. The MC angle is above you, its all sky. Look at the western horizon -- what you can see where the stars are is all sky. The ground is below you, the earth is in the center of the chart.

Now, if you were using a Heliocentric chart, the Sun would be in the center and the Earth would be in Libra. But so few of us stand on the Sun to look at the Solar System. Perhaps you misunderstood what your friend was saying. Dave

squeakmo9 said:

That's pretty interesting, I didn't realize Earth could be an active component in one's chart... So Similia, does that mean that you find yourself in "leadership" roles(Aries), becoming more confident within each given relationship(Libra)? Mirror effect?

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Yes you could say that, but that would not be my first thought. Needing to extend my Aries side more into the way I relate to people is a challenge for me often. This system says that my dharma is to do so. A little play on the Earth glyph they use, is to say this is my cross to bear.

Dadsnook2000 said:

If you stand outside in the evening and look to Libra, you will not see the Earth. Its not in the sky.

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LOL Yeah I realise that Perhaps its better to say the point immediately opposite the Sun in your natal chart, is assigned the name and glyph of Earth and seen as the earthly/practical point of ideal expression/development of your sun energy. It certainly is an imaginary object for an astronomer, but a projected reality for at least a minority of astrologers.

Dadsnook2000 said:

Perhaps you misunderstood what your friend was saying.

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No I understood perfectly. Her astrology software also draws the Earth planet on the chart in that position, so I think its safe to assume that this is an approach used by many more people that her (or enough to be a commercial consideration for a programmer at least), but is clearly not a common one.

I'll have to ask her where she learnt this approach from.

Here's what Robert Hand has to say:

...in the traditional horoscope the Earth has no place as a symbol. The Earth is implied by the presence of houses in the horoscope but it is not explicitly there as a symbol like the other planets. It is as if the Earth is too much a part of us for us to be aware of it. In astrology the Moon has take on much of the Earth's symbolism: its position as the primary yin force among all the celestial bodies and its conncection with nurture and the mother. The Moon modulates the symbolic energies of the Earth in that it takes energies that are a part of us and puts them out away from us so we can perceive them consciously.

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If you follow this logic, then using the sign of Earth as something, would be double counting. This is similar to the qabala which has no symbol planetary attached to Malkuth becuase Malkuth is earth. Similarly, the center of the chart is Earth. I would also question that a single symbol can describe our tasks inasmuch as most of us have way too many tasks already.