Planets Above and Below the Horizon

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In this study we will look for the public figures in Lois Rodden's AstroDatabank that have most of their planets above or below the horizon. We will test the traditional astrological premise that planets above the horizon make a person more focused on outer affairs by looking at the charts of public figures that have the majority of their planets above and below the horizon.

First we filter for public figures with a Rodden rating of B or above so we can be certain that the birth time will be accurate enough to use houses. Then we construct an AstroSignature that counts the number of planets (Moon–Pluto):

• Above the horizon (Houses 7-12)
• Below the horizon (Houses 1-6)

In AstroDatabank the AstroSignature definition form looks like this:

(click image to enlarge)

by Mark McDonough
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Public Figures and the Horizon

Traditionally people with a planetary concentration above the horizon are supposed to be more public people and than those with most of their planets below the horizon. To check this assertion, we counted the number of public figures in the AstroDatabank with the majority of their planets above and below the horizon. Here are the results:

55 public figures had all ten planets above the horizon and 43 had all ten planets below the horizon. Thus there is a 27.9% difference between the number of public figures with all ten planets above the horizon vs. those with all planets below.

This result is in line with astrological tradition. It is not 100% (Thank God, the chart does not dictate your life), but a 27.9% differential is very impressive considering the fact that science would insist that there should be no difference between the number of planets above and below the horizon in the charts of public figures. In fact, the Chi Square function in Excel reports that the likelihood of getting such a disparity for more than eight planets above and below the horizon through chance is 1 in 10,000 (p<.0001). Very impressive indeed!

You will also note that as the number of planets above the horizon goes down, so does the differential in the number of public figures with planets above the horizon. 268 public figures had 9 planets above (and one below) the horizon. 229 public figures had 9 planets below (and one above) the horizon. The 17% differential is less than the 27.9% differential for all ten planets. By the time we get to 6 planets above the horizon the effect disappears. (Note that the 9-1 split of 17% is less that the 8-2 split of 21.7%. I take this as evidence of the power of a singleton to focus a person's experience. We will pursue the effects of singletons in another study.)

The practical significance of this study is that unless the client has at least eight planets above or below the horizon the hemisphere effect should not be mentioned.

A More Subtle Interpretation

Here’s what Kim Rodgers-Gallagher has to say about planets above and below the horizon in her book, Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain (p. 98):

"Individuals with all their planets above the 1^st/7^th axis (the horizon) are said to be here to experience life with others, to deal with relationships, to live a public life in which Others will be actively involved. Conversely, folks with most of their stuff packed below the horizon are traditionally more private, more 'self-involved,' and less liable to require Others for their development...

"Now as with everything in else in life, exceptions to these rules abound. If, for example, you were born with all of your planets above the horizon, but packed in the shadows of the 8^th and 12^th houses, you’re not going to see yourself as a 'public' person. If you’re born with all your planets below the horizon, but half of them are in your first house of personality, you certainly won’t think of yourself as a 'private' personality."

Marion March and Joan McEvers, in their book The Only Way to Learn Astrology (Vol. I, p. 43), describe the meaning of the horizon split as:

"If you have many planets above the horizon, you will be quite objective and you will want to rise above your position at birth. The public and your career will be important to you. If you have many planets below the horizon, especially if these include the Sun and the Moon you'll be somewhat subjective and content to work behind the scenes."

Steve Forrest, in his book The Inner Sky (pp. 141-143), gives us the most subtle interpretation of the horizon split:

"Half the sky can be seen. Half is invisible. Above: six houses representing an obvious, communally shared reality, visible to all. Below: six houses symbolizing a reality known only by inference. A reality encountered only in the imagination.

"Subjectivity: that is the theme of the hidden houses – the ones below the horizon. They represent feelings, secrets, the inner life. Reactions are formed here. But always in darkness, always hidden from view.

"When a majority of planets lie in the houses below the Earth, we do not necessarily see an introverted character. A Sagittarian with an Aquarian Moon and a prominent Jupiter is not going to be shy even if all his planets lie below the horizon.

"What we see is more subtle. Emotion and intuition flavor all his perceptions. This conversation tends to emphasize feelings about facts rather than facts themselves. He is in the search for an inner state, and he takes major evolutionary steps without creating the slightest ripple in his outward pattern of circumstances.

"The masterpiece of work below the rise and is not the ambition fulfilled with a dream made real. Nothing so concrete. It is their realization. And realizations happen visibly.

"A preponderance of planets in the upper hemisphere has precisely the opposite connotation. Concrete, palpable experiences are emphasizes in the houses above the rise. The sky above is seen by all, shared by all. It conceals no secrets. Objective structures and communal consciousness come to a focus, balancing the privacy, mysticism, and illogic of the lower hemisphere.

"A person born with most planets overhead is not always an extravert. Again, the issue is more subtle. Signs and planets spotlighted in her birth chart determine the tone of her character, not the houses. But whether she is a book worm or an exotic dancer, her life is a busy one. A visible event marks every important developmental milestone on her path. The event may be a move to another city. A marriage. A journey to the east. No way to tell. But it will be there. For such a person there is a perceptible life ritual signaling every evolutionary step. No significant change occurs without an accompanying rite of passage, visible as the sky. Realizations are insufficient. She must craft an event through which we she can project a crystallized or changing individuality."

Planets above the horizon. We move into life experience instinctively and without preamble. If we don't start at the top we do at any event make an early start, moving right into the fray to interact with our environment. In our own parameters, whether they are our world, our culture or our neighborhood, everyone knows who we are and we step right out, stage center, to be highly visible.

Planets below the horizon. We need to prepare for our public life, often with years of education or training before we feel ready to step before the public. Our time is filled with low-profile activities of maintaining what is essentially a private life. With planets "in the dark" we can still be public figures, or be well known for the matters symbolized by the planet when that planet aspects the MC, a planet in the 10th house, or the ruler of the MC.

All Planets Above the Horizon

Now let's take a look at the public figures that have all their planets above or below the horizon.

For a selection of public figures with all ten planets above the horizon, click here for a table of names and biographies.

For a selection of public figures with all ten planets below the horizon, click here for a table of names and biographies.

You certainly don’t recognize all these public figures, but for the sake of intellectual honesty I am displaying the whole list. I am always suspicious of lists comprised of “selected highlights.” I always wonder what data was suppressed to make sure the data fit the theory.

These lists are very small. I wish we had space to display all the people with eight planets or more on one side of the horizon. There are some terrific examples.

Nine planets below the horizon:

Yarrow, Peter
Carroll, Lewis
Luther, Martin
Nicholas II, Czar
Parker, Dorothy
Khan, Hazrat Inayat
Dobyns, Zipporah
Williams, Tennessee
Streisand, Barbara
Clooney, Rosemary
Spielberg, Steven
Donovan
Applewhite, Marshall
Irving, Amy 

Nine planets above the horizon:

Alexander I, Czar
Andre, Maurice
Ashe, Arthur
Barnicle, Michael
Brown, Jerry
Chase, Chevy
Chavez, Cesar
Curtin, Jane
Dali, Salvador
Damon, Matt
Douglas, Michael

But you know my opinion of selected highlights lists...

If you had AstroDatabank, you could click on any person's record and see their full biography and chart displayed in your favorite wheel making software. For a tour of Lois Rodden’s AstroDatabank, click on the logo.

What Do You Think?

Can you sense an inwardness even among those public figures with all their planets below the horizon? Is there more of a relational focus to those with all their planets above the horizon?

Who do you know with 8 or more planets above or below the horizon? Having eight planets above the horizon may not put you on the world stage, but it might make you president of the PTA or give you some other notoriety in a more circumscribed area. Can you tell us a story about someone you know who has eight or more planets above or below the horizon? Don’t forget to include their birth data and source (birth certificate, from memory, etc. see Rodden Rating).

View Others' Answers

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The Fine Print

- someone in public office - someone in film or on stage professionally - the subject of a biography - a published author or exhibited artist - someone listed in Who’s Who or a Hall of Fame inductee - someone included in almanacs of a certain profession - someone in the news consistently over time - a historically significant individual

2/10/2000: