Astrologers have seven "tools" available for helping them interpret astrological charts. The names of these tools are the: planets (and asteroids), signs, houses, aspects (or harmonics), the personal sensitive points (PSPs), the fixed stars, and cycles of the heavens. Generally fixed stars and the cycles of the heavens are infrequently used, but they are still a part of astrology's long heritage. A greater tragedy is a focus on only two or three of the PSPs. Thus, there is a need for education on their usage and meanings. There are eight PSPs available for use by astrologers. They are a set of paired points which lie across the chart opposite each other. The names and abbreviations of these points, their opposite side, their intersections, and locations are:

The Personal Sensitive Points and their Intersections

Personal Its Opposite Formed by an Location side in Sensitive Point Side's Intersection of the horoscope Name Name the Ecliptic and in general

Ascendant(ASC) Descendant(DSC) Horizon Left MC IC Meridian Up Equatorial ASC Equatorial DSC Polar Axis Left Vertex(VTX) Anti-Vertex(AVX) Prime Vertical Right Co-Asc. (CAS) Co-Des. (CDS) Co-Equator Left Polar Asc. (PAS) Polar Dsc. (PDS) Co-Polar Axis Right The Aries Point (APT) Libra Point (LPT) Equator Zero Moon's North Node (NN) South Node (SN) Moon's Orbital As defined Plane

It is important to realize that the PSPs fall out from the astronomy of astrology. These are not hypothetical points. For further information on the astronomy of these points please see "Essentials of Intermediate Astrology," Lorraine Welch, Editor, 1995, NCGR; and "The Astrological Thesaurus, Book One, House Keywords," 1992, Michael Munkasey, Llewellyn Publichers.

Astrological interpretations for these points are not easy to come by. As a subject area the PSPs are quite neglected. Often, where there is some information the incorrect names for the points are used, some of the points are omitted, and their interpretations are sparse. Work on the interpretation of the PSPs has continued throughout modern times. Two of the PSPs, the Ascendant and the Moons Node, have been astrologically used since at least 400 BCE (Before the Current Era). The MC and IC have been noted and used for hundreds of years. Recent interest in the other PSPs, especially the EQA and the VTX, has begun to grow, and articles about them have been appearing in the literature. Unfortunately, the EQA is often mis-titled "The East Point." This incorrect naming came from the pens of editors in the 1930s who felt that the name "Equatorial Ascendant" was too long for their readers. But, the name "East Point" refers to another astronomical location, and EQA is the correct name for the astrologer's point. Note that when one side of the PSPs is referred to the other side is also automatically included, whether specifically mentioned or not in the reference.

Each of the eight PSPs describes some part of worldly interaction and human mind. It is important to realize that the PSPs deal with various parts of consciousness, and that is partly why they use the term "Personal". They are personal to each living moment. They are "personal" to the location, the time of day, and the time of the year in all situations. The PSPs in a chart show certain ways that the mind grows from, responds to and interacts with the various socmic enegies. The Ascendant represents that part of mind which deals with the physical human senses. Tha ASC acts like a gatekeeper for human consciousness. The Asc takes in sensory impressions and shunts some aside into the unconscious, while allowing others to pass into the conscious side of the mind. This "shunting" is a very important part of the ASC's function. Without it our conscious mind could quickly become overloaded with the mass of detail we encounter every day: the rattle of a newspaper, the noise of children outside our homes, a radio in the background that you are not particularly paying attention to - any one of these sensory inputs could easily overwhelm your mind if you had to pay equal attention to each of them. The ASC is a part of mind that allows you to take in and shunt such impressions aside. The ASC also is the means we use to let others "see" those parts of our personality we want them to see. We all are more than our appearance, yet the ASC is that part of our mental inside which transmits the appearance we wich others to see. We are more than what others see and hear, but those parts of us that we let go through our mental gateway is the immediate impression that others receive, and these too are part of ASC. The Midheaven is that part of mind which allows us to maintain continuity with the inner "us" from day to day. We all know that we grow as people and change from day to day, but what is there inside of our minds that allows us to recognize ourselves as the people we knew one month ago, or one year ago, or ten years ago? It is the MC portion of our mind that helps us to maintain this continuity of existence. The MC represents that part of our consciousness which defines who we want to be and how we mature as people to become what we want to be in life. When the MC part of the mind is affected then people have a difficult time dealing with reality because they can not maintain any daily continuity about who they are as people. I like to use the keyword "maturity" for the MC. The MC represents how we choose to mature as people through the expiriences which pass through the ASC. The Equatorial Ascendant represents a part of human mind which lies between the unconscious (or that which we are not directly conscious of, our "hidden mental images") and the conscious. There is a part of our mind where we go to relax, take stock of what is happening, evaluate life and our attitudes, perhaps even form new attitudes. The prejudices we were taught, or the prejudices we were born with, reside in the EQA region of mind. It is here that we go when we are half-asleep or half-awake to formulate impressions of how we are performing or progressing in life. The EQA is where we go to evaluate self and life and how self is reacting to life. The EQA represents idea and image formation, or idea birth. The EQA is where we go to evaluate self. The EQA is where we go to evaluate how we "think" others do or do not accept us. Many of the reactions that go on at the EQA level are only half-conscious. Self-evaluation is an important concept for the EQA. The Vertex represents pathways and opportunities, but then so does the Moon's Node, so it is important to recognize their differences. The Vertex is a part of the human mind, whereas the Moon's Node represents events, people, or opportunities in the physical world. Did you ever "wish" that life's circumstances could be different? Did you ever "wish" that you could be taller or shorter, brighter or prettier, richer or live in a larger house, drive a better car? We all have this mental "wish mechanism" which is represented by the VTX. When we wish for these changes the VTX part of our mind goes out and tries to set up "opportunities" for these wishes to come true for us. The VTX part of our mind connects to the minds of others and then tries to set up "encounters" whereby others can enter our lives to effect changes. Wishing for a new car? You are out driving, and someone runs a stop sign and totals your car! You get your wish! You now have to get a new car! Be careful of what you wish for because you may get it. You didn't specify HOW you wanted the new car, just that you wanted one. This is a typical VTX interaction. The VTX is very necessary because often people will not or can not affect change by themselves in their life. Thus the VTX sets up an "interference" mechanism that allows others to come in and use our resources or time to effect our wish fulfillment. The Co-Ascendant represents those parts of mind that gather information which have nothing to do with physical senses. The ASC deals with the sounds, the sights, the touches, tastes and smells of life, but, the CAS deals with the "wibes", the impressions that we somehow get from others around us. People are heard to say "I get good (or bad) vibes from that place (or person)." Just what does that mean? That they receive, somehow, some non-sensory inputs to their psyche that strongly influences their feelings and attitudes? These "influences" come in through our CAS. The CAS represents what are called "tertiary sexual characteristics" or impressions about people or events which have no basis in the five physical senses. Why is it that some people appear as "good" while others appear as frightful? Why can an actor or actress turn a part of persona "on" or "off" and appear convincing while doing this? It is because of an ability to use or manipulate the CAS quality. The Polar Ascendant has much to do with an ability to win others over to our thoughts and ideas. The PAS is particularly well used by public figures who can address large audiences and make each person in that audience feel both comfortable and as if they are being personally addressed. The PAS has to do with being able to set up circumstances whereby your attitudes and ideas can become accepted or acceptable to others at a non-sensory level. Sales people often use their PAS to good advantage when convincing others that they should or should not do something that they had not perviously considered. A good politican uses his or her PAS to convince others that he or she sincerely cares about their personal needs. The PAS is also helpful in getting "the vibes" about an area, or a company in general, etc. The PAS helps us to do on a larger scale what the CAS does for us on a one to one scale. For instance, John Philip Sousa wanted to write musical love ballads, but his ballad music did not become popular. His PAS is connected with his Mars in his Eighth house. But, when he took those same tunes and notes but rewrote their tempo in march time he produced the marches which we recognize today. It was just the manner of presentation that had changed, the notes were the same, but the change now used a natal astrological strenght which others could relate to in a larger way. The Aries Point always lies at zero Aries for everyone, and thus it is how it is located or situated in a chart that becomes important. The APT represents the impersonal in life: impersonal situations, the people who pass through our lives that we never really get to know, events that occur around us but which don't really immediately affect us, the ability to detach from situations so that you are not emotionally involved in the activities, etc. In some ways the APT is the opposite of the CAS. The CAS involves emotional interaction, while the APT protects you from the various damages that emotional involvement can bring. The APT allows you to detach and become impersonal about events. This is why some people can perform jobs or do acts that are repulsive to others. They are able to draw on their APT abilities and "detach" from the event while still interacting with the circumstances. People with a strong ability to use APT energies often are able to say one or two words which can change other's lives. The APT function is important in the lives of therapists who must interact with people and their lives, yet not become involved with them at a personal level. The Moon's Nodes have been interpreted at two levels: one is an event level, and the other is a karmic level. It is the event or human level that I wish to address here. The important difference is that at the event or people level the Moon's Nodes have and use keywords, whereas at the karmic level the placement of the Moon's Nodes in the signs and houses take on certain meanings that some have interpreted as being oriented toward soul growth. The Moon's Node (NN) represents corridors, channels, pathways, connections, intersections, grooves, or paths. The NN can represent anything from a rain gutter on a house, a traffic circle, a hallway in a home, an alleyway, to a river channel. Anything that somehow channels or puts something into a pathway, is represented by the NN. A man I know once broke his ankle when he stepped into a street gutter incorrectly. Transiting Saturn was conjunct his NN at the time of this accident, and Saturn represents falling, and the NN the gutter. The ankle is also the means by which the foot is "connected" to the leg. The idea of "connections" remains strong with the NN. Anything, any means, that allows something to go from one place to another, is associated with the NN. The NN also has much to do with sexual magnetic attractions between people. It also has to do with being able to channel or focus for innate abilities which make certain difficult tasks (like playing the piano well) easy to do at an early age. The NN is versatile.

All of these PSPs are especially important when considering compatibility between people. When one person's PSPs are connected to another person's PSPs then "lines of communication" between the people open. Whether these will be used for good or ill is up to the people, but having more lines of communication open is better than having fewer lines of communication open between people. A person's Sun, Moon, Mercury or ASC strongly aspecting your EQA can open lines of communication to some secret and inner parts of your mind. You could well find yourself sharing parts of your innermost thoughts with this person that you would not share easily with others. Such are the roles of the PSPs. It is important to remember that the PSPs are there whether or not they are use. They are all equally important. No one PSP is more or less important than another. Try them in all of your astrological work. Use them with the same orbs you would assign to the ASC or the MC. Do not neglect one just because you are not familiar with it - it is still working whether or not you choose to use it. Use all of the PSPs you can.
They really do work!