Understanding the Midpoint and the Midheaven
For storytelling and for life. (+ Bottom of the Breath Retreat Pre-work, Part 1)
In a previous post, I recommended one of my favorite writing podcasts, K.M. Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors.
In her recent post titled “Who Am I?” The Midpoint as Self-Recognition in Story Structure, she summarizes this all-important halfway point:
“The midpoint is not simply a divider between halves of the plot, it’s the story beat that transforms perspective. From this moment on, the protagonist may still resist (the thematic truth) or stumble, but cannot return to ignorance.”
In other words, you cannot unring the bell.
Similarly, the Midheaven in an astrological chart is not simply the “middle of the sky”, but the point that speaks to life’s thematic truth. It is where we look to help find the answer to the question: “Why am I here?”
In storytelling, we use the literal midpoint of the story for a very specific purpose. Everything in the first half of the story leads up to this point, and it sets up everything that will happen in the second half. But it is more than that.
It is a moment of revelation and of self-reflection in which the protagonist has the opportunity to grow into the truth. She may or may not embrace it, but she has now seen the truth. This moment provides a heretofore absent understanding of the “right” way to go about things, and the protagonist may now adopt a different strategy in pursuit of her goal.
This “mirror moment” may involve a literal looking at a reflection in a mirror or a reflective surface, as in The Lion King, when Simba gazes into the water and his father’s spirit reminds him, “Look inside of yourself. Remember who you are. You are the one true king.”
Or it can be metaphorical. Weiland gives these midpoint examples:
In Stand by Me, when the boys sit around the campfire and tell secrets. And in Apollo 13, when astronaut Jim Lovell holds his thumb over his view of the lunar surface, blocking it from view as he realizes that his lifelong dream to walk on the moon is now unreachable.
In life, it is not uncommon to experience a midlife crisis, often near the actual middle of our lifespan, when we question our life’s purpose. We may reflect on what we’ve done and what we intend to do with the time we have left.
Even without a life-changing moment of crisis, we often ask ourselves (if we’re inclined to reflect on such things) if we’re doing what we’re meant to do, and if we’re using our God-given potential to its fullest.
None of us wants to end up on our deathbed full of regret over things left undone.
Success is symbolized in the horoscope by the Midheaven/MC. The purpose of exploring the MC point in a birth chart is to gain an understanding of:
· Our definitions of success. · How we want to receive social recognition. · Our status, image, and reputation. · The qualities we admire in our role models. · Our social shorthand ie, how 'the public' perceives our lifestyle. · Our game plan; where we’re headed.
The MC highlights our motivation, talents, and our approach to any field of endeavour. Contradictions can spur us on, and hard aspects to the MC can mirror the determination and backbone that have helped us succeed.
According to astrologer Steven Forrest:
“Navigating the Midheaven is never easy. Before it can blossom, we must first know ourselves very well. We must have sorted out our destiny from all that programming we received while growing up. If we succeed, we are at home in the world. Our work, our status, our public identity all reflect what is going on inside us.”
In his book, The Midheaven: Spotlight on Success, Frank C. Clifford writes,
“In the horoscope, the Sun is the image of the hero and the hero within, but the MC is the high noon position where the hero flourishes and shines ‘out there’ at his or her brightest.”
This is our appointment with destiny, a time of potency and creative splendor. The MC is a public point, a place where we announce ourselves and declare our intentions. But perhaps more importantly, it helps explain the path of least resistance toward fulfilling our life’s purpose—our essential life direction—and how best to express our philosophies to the wider world.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION is intended for our (Sold out!) Grand Canyon Retreat guests (and anyone else who is interested in a Midheaven deep dive):
All participants will receive their birth chart from me, like this one. A basic understanding of the following terms and definitions will help everyone get the most out of the two classes I will be leading on the retreat.
A proper discussion of the MC Complex—the MC angle, the MC-IC axis, signs, houses, elements, modes, and aspects is a BIG conversation, and since we won’t have unlimited time together, it may be helpful to familiarize yourself with basic terminology before our trip.
Notice the yellow box on the left side of the chart. It contains the same information in writing, symbols, and numbers that is shown in the zodiac illustration. This box is a good reference point because it shows each glyph (the symbol representing each planet and sign) and the sign and degree where each planet lies in the chart.
For example, the Moon is noted in the second line of the box (the glyph looks like a crescent moon) and it lies at 28 degrees Aries (Ari). In the zodiac, you will see the Moon in the sign of Aries with ‘28’ next to it—the same information in two places.
The zodiac is comprised of twelve signs, with 30 degrees (and appx. 30 days) per sign, shown as the twelve segments in the yellow band of the circle with the glyph for one sign in the middle of each segment. The signs move around the zodiac counterclockwise.
The MC-IC axis is the dark vertical line running at a slight angle from the top of the circle to the bottom. The point where the line meets the circle is called an angle. There are four important angles in a chart, and they are noted in the outer perimeter (AC, MC, DC, IC).
Notice the numbers assigned to each angle—in this example, the IC at the bottom of the circle lies at 10 degrees Pisces. The MC is opposite this point at 10 degrees Virgo.
In my welcome email to you, I explained, “The MC cannot be analyzed in isolation. It is strongly connected to the opposite point on the chart, the IC (Latin: imum coeli, ‘bottom of the sky’). The IC-MC axis is like a tree growing up and out. At the root of the tree are your parents, your ancestors, your past--where you come from. At the top of the tree are those things you aspire to--where you are going.”
The Sun sign (the circle with the smaller circle inside) in the above chart lies near the IC point. When we say what sign we are, we are referring to our Sun sign, the place in the sky where the sun was located relative to us at the moment of our birth. The ‘14’ near the sun glyph tells us the Sun was at 14 degrees Pisces. This person was born on March 5th, and she is “a Pisces.”
Notice there is another glyph right next to the Sun (an “h” with a line across the middle). This is the planet Saturn, and it also lies at 14 degrees Pisces.
When two planets are close to each other, they are said to be conjunct. In this case, they are almost exactly on top of each other, so this is a noteworthy placement that deserves further exploration. Both the Sun and Saturn are within 4 degrees of the IC angle. This is another important conjunction.
The AC is the angle that designates one’s rising sign. In this case, the AC lies at 3 degrees Sagittarius. She is said to have “Sagittarius rising.”
The Sun and the AC are important points that we will explore in our study of the Midheaven. We will also look at the sign that the MC lies in, in this case, Virgo. And we will look at any planets that are conjunct or in aspect to the MC, IC, or AC.
In pre-work Lesson 2, we will review the definitions of the elements (fire, earth, air, and water) and the modes (cardinal, fixed, and mutable). Much can be learned from simply knowing the element and mode of the sign associated with your Midheaven.
That’s all for now. Whew!
Thank you, as always, for being here. Remember. . .
Life is short. Read fast.
From one lover of the written word to another,
With love,
Jayne
Coming July 8, 2025! IT’S HERE!! Bottom of the Breath is the story of a woman catapulted from her tranquil life on the Florida panhandle onto a cross-country road trip with her recently estranged husband. She must outrun a hurricane, digest a shocking, decades-old family secret, and come to terms with her own pain-filled past. Laced with mysticism and set among the majesty of Sedona and the Grand Canyon, the novel explores the power of friendship, the importance of forgiveness, and the vital need to create a future that embraces the past.