Along with the Signs, Planets, Elements, House placements and Aspects, there are several other components which are vital to comprehension of the natal chart. A few of these follow.
Easily the most important of the "extras," the Ascendant, also known as the "Rising Sign," is the Sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. Your Ascendant always rules the cusp of the First House, and has the strongest effect upon one's physical appearance (the Sun sign also shapes the physical appearance to some extent). See the section on physical appearance and astrology for more on this. Your Ascendant is the face you present to the world, the "you" that others see. During childhood through puberty, the natal Ascendant is likely to have a larger impact on the developing personality than will the Sun sign, with its implications of full-on selfhood.
The natal placement of the Ascendant may provide important information about one's childhood, early formative experiences, basic attitude toward life, facial features, body type, constitution, gait and carriage.
There are those who call the Sun-Moon-Ascendant combo the natal chart's "big three," and they're certainly all quite important. How do you see yourself? How do others see you? How do you feel about your earliest learning experiences, about the environment in which you were nurtured -- or not nurtured? What are the forces that shaped you? While some would describe the Ascendant as a "shallow" or "surface" part of the natal chart, these are very deep questions, and all matters reflecting the influences of the Ascendant on the one's natal chart.
The word "retrograde" is made up of the Latin words retro ("backwards") and gradus ("a step"). Retrograde motion is the apparent backwards motion of the planets in the sky, as viewed from earth.
The term isn't solely astrological; it is used by astronomers as well. The website of Courtney Seligman,Professor of Astronomy, gives the following definition of Retrograde motion:
"Retrograde motion: This is an apparent backward motion of a planet caused by its being lapped by another planet, or vice-versa. Both planets are moving in a direct (eastward) motion around the Sun, but the planet with inside (smaller) orbit moves faster than the planet on the outside (larger) orbit, and as it passes the slower-moving planet, each sees the other one as apparently moving backwards relative to their usual motions around the sky. In this kind of motion, neither planet is actually moving backwards; it only appears that way, during the time that one laps the other. "
Historically, astrologers have given Retrograde planets in one's Natal Chart a bad rap, and there are modern astrologers who still believe that a Retrograde planet in the birth chart indicates problems or struggles, slowdowns, or a tendency to look back, rather than forward. In truth, there is no significance to a Retrograde planet in the natal chart in and of itself; rather, the sign and house location, and the aspects formed within the rest of the chart are an absolute requirement for comprehending the significance of natal Retrograde planets.
The other area where Retrograde planets come into play is more general: all the astrological bodies "turn Retrograde" for varying periods of time, with the exception of the Sun and Moon, which are always Direct. The Lunar Nodes (see below) are always viewed from the earth as Retrograde. During periods of planetary Retrograde motion, the astrological energies related to the planet in question may be slowed, skewed, or otherwise seem "off." The effects will depend on the planet in question, ie, as Mercury is involved with communication, you may encounter problems with communications of all kinds during periods when Mercury is Retrograde.
Another possible effect of Retrograde planets generally is a turning inward of the energy represented by that planet. For example, Retrograde Venus may have you thinking back on past relationships and old loves, rather than "slowing up" your current love life or relationships. This is not a bad thing, as looking back can reveal past mistakes, arming you with additional information that may serve to assist you with not making the same mistakes again.
The Midheaven (also called the meridian or Medium Coeli, abbreviated ª) is actually an angle: the highest point of the zodiac with relation to the exact location of birth in the natal chart. The Midheaven usually (though not always) rules the cusp of the Tenth House of career. The Midheaven indicates where you may find success and recognition in your life, as well as your attitudes and approaches to such recognition: your "public persona."
The Lunar Nodes are not bodies, like the Planets, but points in space, specific locations where the Lunar orbit intersects with the Plane of the Ecliptic. The Nodes are always retrograde.
The North Lunar Node, also known as the Ascending Node, is the spot where Luna crosses Sol's path, in a South-to-North direction. In the natal chart, it symbolizes the future, areas in which new talents are available to be developed.
The South Lunar Node also called the Descending Node, is the spot where Luna crosses Sol's path in a North-to-South direction. Its location is always directly opposite the North Node. In the natal chart, it symbolizes the past, and inherent talents which already exist.
The best known and most widely worked with of the Asteroids, Chiron, is not an asteroid at all, but a comet. Discovered in 1977, Chiron was at first thought to be a hitherto-unrecognized planet, then was classified as an asteroid until 1988, by which time astrologers had been observing, experimenting with, and arguing about Chiron's status and importance in the natal chart for eleven years. This was not enough time to reach a consensus, and there's a continuing dichotomy among astrologers with regard to the overall importance of the Asteroids (and Chiron) to natal astrology in general: while many astrologers are convinced of their import and work with them regularly, others all but ignore them and seem to achieve good results.
Although there are thousands of asteroids up there orbiting, modern astrologers generally concentrate their attention on four "biggies," Juno, Ceres, Pallas (Athena) and Vesta--along, of course, with Chiron!
When using the Asteroids in the natal chart, the House placement will show the area of one's life where its function is best expressed. For example, in the Sixth House of work, Pallas may tend to indicate an individual who would be well served by using intuition and creativity to solve work-related problems, while Chiron may tend to indicate a strong healing ability and the possibility of great success with some form of healing or teaching.
Discovered when the Sun was in Scorpio, 1977, Chiron is today classed as an extremely large comet, making a 50.7-year orbit between Saturn and Ouranos, with an occasional foray into Jupiter's turf.
Named for the famous "good centaur" Chiron, the healer and mentor-figure who acted as foster father to Hercules and archetype of the "wounded healer," the celestial Chiron has absorbed many of the attributes attributed to the centaur of mythology. Astrologically, Chiron has associations with wounds and healing. These wounds and the healing thereof may be literal and physical, and/or psychological and metaphorical. Some actual physical injury or disability may be indicated, but not necessarily. Your attitudes toward illness and wellness will show up in Chiron's House placement and aspects to other celestial bodies, as will the ways in which we deal with weakness or disability in others.
Chiron may also indicate where one's abilities as a teacher or mentor to others lie.
Juno is one of the "four biggies" mentioned above, asteroids in a busy area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, one of approximately 5,000 asteroids in the area.
All the "asteroids" with the exception of Chiron are named after females (just as all the planets with the exception of Venus are named after male gods).
Juno bears the name of the wife of Jupiter or Jove (in the Greek pantheon, she would correspond to Hera). As Juno-Hera was the goddess of marriage, Juno astrologically represents marriage and long-term partnerships, compatibility, and domestic harmony (or strife). Storms are also part of Juno's domain. Unlike the planet Venus, whose forte is the joy, beauty, and fun of love and social relationships, Juno represents commitment, stability, the long haul.
As the mythological Juno remained faithful to Jove despite his own notorious wandering eye, astrological Juno's fidelity and commitment, while wonderful qualities, may at times be a bit misguided. There's no guarantee that a long-term marriage or partnership will be a happy union, after all...simply a committed one. The relative harmony of the union will perhaps be revealed through study of house and aspect placement within the totality of the natal chart.
If Juno represents the Wife, then Ceres is most definitely the Mother, archetypally speaking. Mythologically, Ceres was a Sicilian grain goddess, worshipped as Demeter by the Greeks. Astrologically, Ceres deals with nurturing, and may indicate the relationship we will have with our own children -- the way we will nurture, as opposed to the way we were nurtured. Included in this aspect is Ceres' strong relationship with food, and our feelings and behavior with regard to food. Do we live to eat? Eat to live? Have an eating disorder? The reasons for our attitudes may lie in Ceres' natal placement.
Other Ceres matters include losses and reunions, one's own self-esteem (self-love or self-rejection), and bribes and rewards of various types.
Pallas was named for Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom. Astrologically, Pallas represents creativity and intuitive wisdom, courage, activism, and common sense.
Pallas' placement will tell us something about the causes we set out to champion, and the manner in which we do so. Additionally, Pallas' natal aspects may reveal areas in which our instincts will be spot on, where we should trust our gut reactions, where our intuitions will be logically sound, and where our creative tendencies will be strongest.
In Greco-Roman mythology, Vesta or Hestia was the ever-virgin goddess of the hearth, the youngest child of Chronos (Saturn) and Rhea. The Vestal Virgins, tenders of the sacred Temple fires, were Priestesses of the goddess Vesta, who some say engaged in a form of sacred prostitution, remaining chaste at all times when not engaged in rites of ecstatic worship. Astrologically, Vesta has retained some of this flavor, as its natal placement has an association with sexual healing, the use of sexual energy for physical or psychological health and healing.
The House occupied by Vesta may be an area of our lives where our energy is generally subdued, sublimated, or even withheld, until being intensely released under certain very special circumstances.
Self-reliance and security are other important Vestal matters, as is hospitality -- an important religious concept to the ancient Greeks, and an important secular social concept among many diverse cultures today.