So often in consultation with clients, I have found that the ruler of the Ascendant — its sign, house and condition — highlights an important storyline, an important thread that weaves its way throughout life development. Many times it allows the astrologer within minutes (if not seconds) to get right to the crux of the matter, to the heart of a very relevant theme within a client’s identity development.

With the recent passing of Lynn Redgrave and her eight-year battle with cancer, I was intrigued to study her horoscope and life events to understand what may have triggered the onset of her breast cancer diagnosis in 2002. It was within that year Redgrave found a lump in her breast. In December she was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy in January 2003 and underwent chemotherapy.

What is the purpose of my life? What has my soul come here to seek? Where should I focus my energy? —These are just a few questions many of us ponder about life. Can astrology provide insights and answers?

'The conjunction actually expresses the birth and the creation of the current, according to the nature of the conjuncting planets and the place of the conjunction. The sextile translates the evolution of the current; a passage from a virtual, latent condition into an affective and manifest one.