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Midheaven

The Midheaven, or Medium Coeli (MC), is the degree of the zodiac that was culminating at the moment and place of birth. Astronomically, it is where the ecliptic crosses the upper meridian, the great circle running from the south point of the horizon through the point overhead to the north. It is where the Sun stands at local noon. The Midheaven is not the point directly overhead, the zenith, but the ecliptic degree on the meridian, and it marks the top of the chart. Opposite it lies the Imum Coeli, and the two form the meridian axis.

The cusp of the tenth house

In the quadrant house systems, such as Placidus, Koch and Regiomontanus, the Midheaven is the cusp of the Tenth House. In equal and whole sign houses it is still calculated and shown, but it may fall in the ninth or eleventh house, which is one of the clearest differences between house systems. Lilly ranked the tenth second only to the first in strength, and counted a planet on the Midheaven among the strongest placements a planet can have.

What it signifies

Being the highest and most visible point, the Midheaven is traditionally the place of honour, office, authority and reputation, of the profession a person follows, and, in Lilly's scheme, of the mother. Modern astrologers read it as vocation and public life: what a person aims at and is known for, their standing in the world, and the direction their efforts tend to take over a lifetime. Its sign describes the style of that aim, and planets near it tend to become visible in a person's work and reputation. The ruler of the Midheaven's sign, and the house it occupies, adds where that drive tends to find its outlet.

Why the birth time matters

The Midheaven moves through the whole zodiac in a day, about one degree every four minutes on average, so it too depends on an accurate birth time. Without one, it cannot be known with confidence, and neither can the angular houses it anchors.

Reading it

The Midheaven describes a direction a life is inclined to reach for, not a career it is bound to. Many paths can express the same Midheaven, and the choice among them is the person's own.

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