This book concentrates of the use and meaning of the
Ascendant or Rising Sign in interpreting one''s chart and understanding
oneself (and others), from an astrological point of view. It
discusses in the introductory section of the book what the true meaning of the
ascendant is; it is handled in depth, and a number of examples are introduced and explained. The author also discusses personal karma (the results of one''s actions) and the public karma (that which is external to oneself that one may participate in because of being in a certain place and time). One of the author''s interesting distinctions is between a person living from the "inside out," using the ascendant as a doorway or a filter for his perceptions and relationship with the Universe, and one living from the "outside in," regarding himself in terms of others ideas, attitudes and values rather than using his own innate point of view and his own soul task in this lifetime. The second section of the book gives a detailed analysis of each Ascendant in the Zodiac, from Aries through to Pisces. The author discusses in a short essay, the Illusion of Appearance, that one should not judge too quickly on appearances. The third section of the book gives two detailed horoscopes, discussed especially in terms of the Ascendants: Rembrandt van Rijn, the great painter, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the noted writer and spiritualist, who created Sherlock Holmes. The last part of the book is an Allegory of the king and his two sons. I leave the meaning up to you.