 by Sissy Blue The Ascendant is the cusp of the first house, and rules the personality and personal affairs. The Descendant is the cusp of the seventh house, ruling relationships and other people. The Ascendant leaned on the first house cusp and glared across the Astro Wheel toward the seventh house, where the Descendant was sitting on the cusp. The Descendant felt a chill up its back and turned to look at the Ascendant. "What’s on your mind, now?" "I was just wondering why you waste so much time dealing with other people?" The Descendant answered, "Why do you consider it a waste of time?" The Ascendant snorted, "Because it takes up too much time to pay attention to other people’s opinions and ideas." "You’re just selfish!" the Descendant retorted. "All you care about is yourself." The Ascendant turned tiny circles, then looked back at the Descendant. "Don’t you get it? First, a native has to work out things in his own head. How can he go out and deal with others, if he doesn’t understand who he is, or what he wants to do with his life?" "There is a certain amount of truth to that statement," the Descendant offered. "It is true, that when a person begins to realize there are other people in this world, and they have feelings, ideas and opinions that have to be dealt with—" "They should ignore them and do what they wanted to in the first place!" the Ascendant yelled. The Descendant cleared its throat, "I’m just trying to say that relationships are extremely important. A love relationship can affect a native’s whole world." The Ascendant sneered. "Please don’t start talking about all this love stuff. It makes my stomach turn. When a native falls in love, he acts like an idiot, and forgets everything he wanted to do with his life." The Descendant sighed. "If a native stuck to your narrow outlook, he would go through life alone, and miserable. And listen here, it’s not just love relationships that we’re talking about. Every human alive has to deal with other people. I handle business partnerships, also. How would you ever work with a partner and promote your business if you couldn’t listen to their point of view?" "I wouldn’t work with anybody else," the Ascendant said. "It’s just that simple." The Descendant wiped its forehead. "You’re not getting the point. A native has to deal with other people, one-on-one, straight across, sometime during life. Let me give you an example: If two humans walk into a grocery store at the same time, and there is only one grocery cart, both of these natives are equal, one-on-one, straight across. They have to deal with each other, whether they planned it or not." "Well, if I was one of the humans, I’ll bet I could beat the other guy to the cart!" the Ascendant said. "No doubt," the Descendant fell silent. The Ascendant stared across the wheel. "What’s eating you now?" The Descendant sighed. "When we pull against each other, we make it very hard on the native. You’re right that the native just thinks about what he wants to do with his life, but you should help the individual realize there’s more going on than what’s in his own head. You should help him evolve. When he figures out what he wants to do, then he has to start figuring other people into the equation." The Ascendant argued, "But many natives become overwhelmed by a relationship and cannot see anything else. The individual totally loses himself within the energy and demands of the other person, and then he can’t remember who he is, much less what he was going to do with himself before he got mixed up in—in—a relationship. The Descendant laughed. "Even if you don’t make sense, I understand the point. There is a danger of a native losing his identity in a relationship, and it is my job to help the individual realize it is necessary to hang onto his own energy and personality." "That’s easier said than done," the Ascendant said. "Usually," the Descendant agreed. "So why do you bother?" the Ascendant asked. "Bother with what?" "Bother with other people," the Ascendant answered. "Why don’t you just let a person do what he wants to, without having to take into account what somebody else thinks about it?" The Descendant answered, "Because a human needs other people in his life." "Why?" the Ascendant asked. The Descendant declared, "Now, we’re going in circles. Isn’t this where we started?" The Ascendant challenged, "You’re the one that doesn’t make any sense! I AM the start! I’m the cusp of the first house, and therefore—" The Descendant buried its head in its hands and sighed again, knowing the ages-old argument between the ONE and THE OTHER would last through infinity.
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