Sun/Moon Midpoint The Sun Moon Midpoint in astrology, and more specifically in the natal chart, is a highly sensitive and personal personal point. It I t is a mathematical point--the point midway (or exactly halfway) between the Sun and the Moon. Inherent in the symbolism of the Sun/Moon midpoint is the desire for companionship. The Sun/Moon midpoint represents a point of "inner marriage" and symbolizes close personal relationship. This point is very important in any kind of relationship analysis, in addition to natal chart work. Note that with midpoints, it is customary to consider other planets and points that form the following aspects to the midpoint: conjunction, opposition, square, semi-square, and sesquiquadrature. When a planet makes any of these aspects to a midpoint, the notation looks like the following (where, for example, Venus is the planet forming one of these aspects with the Sun/Moon midpoint): Venus=Sun/Moon or:
=
In synastry, the Sun/Moon midpoint is very often activated by the other person's personal planet in significant relationships. If another person's personal planet, and especially the Sun or Moon, forms an aspect such as the ones referred to above, that person represents some kind of promise of integration to the Sun/Moon midpoint owner. Whether or not integration actually happens, this synastry connection offers a promise which can be difficult to resist. Therefore, it is a strong indicator of attraction. Many astrologers assert that significant relationships that lead to marriage or a similar commitment contain at least one of the following f ollowing interchanges interchanges in synastry: one person's Sun aspecting the other's Moon, and/or one person's personal planet aspecting the other's Sun/Moon midpoint. Note About Midpoints: In order to understand the symbolism of the Sun/Moon midpoint, one must understand the symbolism of midpoints in general. Ebertin, respected as an authority on midpoints, defined the midpoint as a sensitive point in a chart where the influence of the two planets involved combine together. How to Calculate the Sun/Moon Midpoint How to Find the Sun/Moon Midpoint. The midpoint of the Sun and Moon in a natal chart is a highly sensitive point. It is calculated by adding the position of the Sun with the Moon and dividing by two, so it is literally the midpoint between the Sun and the Moon! Calculating the Sun/Moon Midpoint: Deter Determin mining ing the Sun/Mo Sun/Moon on midpo midpoint int ( Sun and the Moon.
) of of any any char chartt invol involves ves taking taking the midpo midpoint int betwe between en the
For For examp example le,, if the the Sun Sun is is at 25 25 Virg Virgo o 21 (25° (25° 21) and and the the Moon Moon is is at 28 28 Pisce Pisces s 25 (28° (28° can calculate the Sun/Moon midpoint as follows:
25), 25), we
When working with midpoints, the best technique to use is to first convert the positions of the planets to the 360 degree zodiac.
The following table will help you convert the degrees of the zodiac into 360 degree format: Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330
To convert 25 Virgo 21 to 360 degree format, we simply add 25 degrees and 21 minutes to the starting degree of Virgo (150 degrees as shown in the table above). We then get: Sun is 175 degrees 21 minutes. To convert 28 Pisces 25 to 360 degree format, we add 28 degrees and 25 minutes to the starting degree of Pisces (330 degrees as shown in the table above). We then get: Moon is 358 degrees 25 minutes. In order to determine the midpoint of the Sun and Moon, we must add the two points together and then divide by two. A midpoint is literally the point midway between two points. Therefore, we must add 175 21 and 358 25. We get 533 degrees and 46 minutes. Dividing this figure in two, and we arrive at 266 degrees and 53 minutes. We then convert this figure back to zodiac format. Since 266 degrees is 26 degrees beyond the Sagittarius starting point, we come to the point 26 Sagittarius 53 (26° 53). Because in this example the Sun and Moon are more than 180 degrees away when we travel through the zodiac in logical order, common practice is to convert the midpoint to 26 Gemini 53 (the opposite point of 26 Sagittarius 53), simply because it is the closer midpoint between the Sun and the Moon. This is not highly significant in midpoint work, simply because oppositions and conjunctions are not considered to be much different when we deal with midpoints. Therefore,
= 26° 53
Simple Example: You can round off the positions of the Sun and Moon to the nearest degree in order to simplify the calculation. For example, if the Sun is 16 degrees Leo 54 (16° 54) and the Moon is 8 degrees Cancer 15 (8° 15), you can round the two to the nearest degree: Add 17 Leo and 8 Cancer.
17 Leo = 120 + 17 = 137 8 Cancer = 90 + 8 = 98 137 + 98 = 235 235 divided by 2 = 117.5 degrees 117.5 degrees converts to 27.5 degrees Cancer (117.5-90). Therefore,
= 27°
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