Ascendant Lord Conjunct Sun

This is an interesting combination that I don’t often see discussed in depth. If you happen to have this in your chart, perhaps you never noticed it.

Initially, I started paying attention to this in terms of combustion. I wanted to know the effects of a combust ascendant lord, so I studied charts for that. Here is what I’ve found to be true for those who have their ascendant lord conjunct the Sun, (hopefully written in a way that the beginner or laymen can also understand).

The Ascendant Lord

The ascendant is the first dharma house that shows the manner in which we express ourselves in the world. It represents the physical body, so influences to the ascendant and its ruling planet affect our appearance and physical constitution. We have our goals and interests in life, and the ascendant shows the manner in which we go about achieving them.

The phrase “mask we show the world” has become such a cliché description of the ascendant, and not even an accurate one. It implies inauthenticity, or that it somehow conceals who we really are. There is nothing secret or hidden about your ascendant – it’s one of the pillars of your personality. The element, gender, and modality of your ascendant all speak to how you move in the world.

So, the planet that rules the ascendant is showing the path of the body and what areas of life we become involved in. Naturally, planets influencing the ascendant lord have something to say about our life path and physicality.

Ascendant Lord Conjunct the Sun Gives Vision

Too many people spend their lives working for someone else’s vision or cause, but a life like that would drive these people crazy. These people are highly individualistic and may have visionary qualities, but at the very least they’ll have a vision for their life. They want impact, recognition, direct their life independently. Those with this conjunction will work to establish themselves as an authority of the matters of the house this conjunction is occurring in, or the house the Sun rules.

The Sun is also consistent and unwavering, so I see individuals with this really sticking to one thing for a long time. They have a tendency to be what they do. The dignity of the Sun will show to what capacity a person shows this quality of steadfastness. Generally, the life path feels anchored towards something, but also…I can’t deny the many cases I’ve seen of events that cause separations from their “path” or disruptive events that cause some dramatic shifts or derailments. Perhaps this could be one of the effects of combustion.

The Life Path Merges With Whatever House the Sun Rules

When the Sun is conjunct the ruler of your ascendant, the life path becomes heavily involved in whatever house the Sun rules. Because the Sun only rules one house, there is a bit of extra potency or focus regarding that house. Some examples:

If Sun rules the 8th house, the life path can feel like there is always some kind of problem interfering with progress. The life path involves esotericism, occult, research, psychology, etc. Care should be taken to avoid accidents and drama.

If it rules the 12th, then your life path is connected to foreign things/places, meditation, seeking seclusion, escapism, or spiritual pursuits. The energy/vitality may be weak, or the person has many things that demand their energy.

The 10th house creates the typical workaholic whose career is a primary source of their inspiration and purpose. They’ll want to establish themselves as a leader or someone who has authority or at least autonomy within their career.

If it rules the third, then the person is always questioning, learning, and works to prove themselves intellectually. Competition in hobbies/sports are also prevalent.

The Sun Inspires and Agitates

Despite the vision this gives, it’s really not an easy conjunction to have. As any planet conjunct the Sun, there’s an accompanying feeling of agitation as per the lajitaadi avasthas.

The agitation that the Sun causes feels like frustration or feeling blocked. But, you can’t really feel “blocked” or “frustrated” unless you are full of ideas and want to act upon your inspiration. So these are people who become frustrated by their vision for what they want to do, as life is not really allowing them to express it to the potential they desire. The desire for recognition and trouble with humility are other common sources of agitation. Their tendency to want to do things themselves and not accept help is just another symptom of pride. So, true modesty that allows them to successfully collaborate with others is often an area of growth for them.

Oftentimes, the house that Sun rules will be a source of inspiration, but the person feels like they’re never getting “enough” of it. Another form of feeling blocked could be towards being comfortable in their own skin/body.

As always, the dignity of the Sun is an important consideration to measure just how much a person will feel frustrated, or if they’ll be able to work more with their life path/dharma. When the Sun is in a good avastha, the agitation is reduced and it becomes more about feeling inflexible about any compromises they have to make about their dharma.

Combust Ascendant Lord

But what about when the ascendant lord becomes combust? The planet in combustion is still receiving some delight from the Sun, and has the aforementioned good qualities. But, the agitation caused by the sun is more severe. I have not mentioned much of the physical implications of this conjunction because that is often what other Astrologers focus on. But yes, a combust ascendant lord is certainly not a boon for health, and the Sun usually intensifies/aggravates the dosha of the planet it conjuncts, but I also see a lot of heat/pitta with his conjunction.

Summary of the effects of combust ascendant lord:

• Feeling frustrated by limitations of the body
• Will personally identify with their dharma to the point where it becomes hard to detach from what they do
• The path they want to pursue feels blocked
• Weakened physical constitution, particularly if in a dusthana house
• Agitated by not being seen or recognized to the extent they want

Conclusion

If you have this, I know you are passionate about directing your life as you see fit and living it on your terms. Unfortunately, the wind is not always blowing in the direction we need, and others are not always in line with our vision. Oftentimes, to make life work we have to compromise. Just focus on the joy you get from whatever it is you do. The joy, inspiration, and action are pure intent, but perfectionism, esteem, or recognition is impure intent.

Peace,