The Midheaven (shortly MC or Medium Coeli), meaning “the middle of the sky” is one of the most significant angles in the natal chart. It signifies our career and status we have achieved in society, our reputation, our aims and goals and our aspirations in life.
On the opposite side of this axis is the IC or the Imum Coeli, meaning “the bottom of the sky”.
The Midheaven describes us the way we are in public, our public persona, while the IC describes our behavior when we are alone or in the presence of the people who are closest. It describes our private personal. The MC/IC axis is always aligned with the north and south.
The other axis of the natal chart is the Ascendant/Descendant axis, which is equally as important as the MC/IC axis.
The IC symbolizes the way we feel, think and behave when we are alone and no one is watching us. It represents our behavior when we are in the presence of our family and friends, people who love and care about us.
This angle and the fourth house, in general, indicate our feelings when we are at home, our in our bed, when we read a book that we don’t want anyone to know about, when we think about a certain person no one knows we have feelings for, etc.
The IC and the fourth house also indicate our family and the people we live with, as well as our friends. It represents the most private space of our life, where we decide who we choose to let in.
On the other side, the Midheaven or the MC reveals our public persona and the way we choose to behave in public. The sign on the Midheaven reveals how people see you at work, or when performing, or when they hear you speak, or present something in public, how you manage and organize other people.
The sign on the Midheaven shows how you desire to be perceived by other people.
The Midheaven reveals not just your career and professional goals, but also the personal and spiritual goals you have. People are usually fascinated by the qualities of the sign which is on their Midheaven.
That sign usually reveals the career path, our life path and vocation, as well as the reputation we will be most likely to seek in life. The sign on the Midheaven also indicates the way a person will most likely react to stressful situations.
It usually indicates the profession we are most likely to choose to make a living.
The Midheaven/IC axis is a very important point of our natal chart because it also describes our parents. The Midheaven usually represents our mother, and the IC our father, but in some charts, it can be reversed.
These two angles are closely related to our childhood and growing up, and the authority figures which influenced us during that time, like our parents, grandparents, community leaders, teachers, priests, etc. as well as other adults which have in some way influenced us.
From these people, we have learned the basics about the right and the wrong way to behave and shaped our personality.
The Midheaven reveals our achievements which are visible to others, as well as our public appearance. The Midheaven is the highest point above the horizon at the time when we were born, and the highest point in our natal chart.
To determine the exact position of the Midheaven just like the other angles and house cusps of the chart we need to know the exact time, place and day of birth.
It is important to remember that the MC and the IC represent an integral part of our personality. We are one and the same person, both the one who appears publically and the private one, known only to a few chosen people.
Both these personalities represent the true you.
Midheaven in Cancer Man
Men with Midheaven in Cancer are often deeply hurt by the relationship with one of their parents, usually their father, and that hurt has marked their entire lives. They seek emotional satisfaction in their public surroundings, rather than in their family circle.
These men are good and kind bosses who treat their employees with respect and kindness.
They are known to make a family atmosphere at work. The main reason is their need to fill the emotional lack which they have experienced in childhood and during the period of growing up.
These men often choose a career where they can express their nurturing qualities and their need to make others happy. That can often be a career where they get emotional fulfillment by doing something.
They might appear reserved and guarded, but that is the first impression.
When meeting someone new, they need some time to relax in their presence because they fear the potential of being hurt or their reputation being ruined.
Midheaven in Cancer Woman
Women with Midheaven in Cancer are kind and gentle ladies who usually feel better interacting with the public which surrounds them, than with the members of their closest family.
The main reason is their childhood circumstances, lack of emotional expression by their parents, cold relations in the home, etc.
That is why these women seek emotional fulfillment through marriage and establishing their own family. They need to express their need for nurturing and caring about someone.
They are usually not very ambitious and have no problem devoting their entire lives to their children and their spouse. Honestly speaking, these women are not very ambitious, if at all.
They choose professions where they could express their nurturing and caring qualities, and that often includes hospitals, nurseries, and similar work environments.
Good Traits
Some of the good traits of Midheaven in Cancer: nurturing, caring, protective, expressing their emotions publically, love to make people happy, caring bosses, enjoy taking care of others, humanitarians, loved by the public, etc.
Bad Traits
Some of the bad traits of Midheaven in Cancer: emotionally imbalanced, emotional lack, not very ambitious, can appear reserved and guarded, fear of being hurt, bossy around the house, passive in regards to their work and career, etc.
Midheaven in Cancer – General Info
People usually perceive these people as reserved and guarded. The reason is that they usually behave in this manner.
They don’t relax easily in the presence of strangers and their behavior can be described as cautious. They might refrain from talking and appear as if they have hidden in their protective armor.
These people protect themselves and their reputation. They fear getting hurt and they protect themselves by not revealing their true nature and opening up to people they don’t know well.
These people are very sensitive about other people’s feelings about them and they desire to maintain a perfect appearance, especially regarding their work and career.
They desire to impress people and earn their admiration and respect and that’s what makes them very careful about their behavior. They try not to do anything which might jeopardize their reputation.
In public, you appear timid and quiet, but privately, as a person with IC in Capricorn, you know what you want and make sure you get it. That refers to matters related to your home and family.
People with IC in Capricorn are usually the leading force in their household and others listen to what they have to say. They have a need to be involved in all matters related to the house and if they live with someone or with a bunch of people, that can be very annoying.
These people usually grew in restricted and controlling family conditions. In many cases, the parents have a great influence on these people’s choices and decisions.
They most likely accepted the imposed lifestyle and choices from their parents or other authority figures without allowing themselves to make their desired choices.
In some cases, these people were treated badly by their parents, or their parents were not very interested in their upbringing, and they needed to fight to gain their respect.
In some cases, one parent was not present in the life of a person with this placement; either was not physically present or wasn’t emotionally involved in this person’s life. In this case, the other parent was very much involved in their life.
The person usually tried to impress the parent who was absent from their life, usually the father.
These people accepted important habits from their parents, such as the importance of work ethic, success, and respecting moral values.
You tried to fulfill these lessons they taught you to make your parents proud of you, especially if you grew up with a feeling that you weren’t loved enough by your parents, or that one of them didn’t love you enough. You were most likely a person who did all your duties perfectly hoping you would make your parents happy.
People with Midheaven in Cancer are focused on making others and themselves comfortable, and often choose careers which provide them with such results. These people often feel uncomfortable around their family members and cannot seem to relax in their presence.
They seem to receive more emotional satisfaction from the public than from their family members. They often have a problem in caring so much about others without asking others to care about them.
They often choose careers which involve some humanitarian issue or some kind of taking care of groups of people and making them happy.
These people often choose some artistic and creative profession. Many actors have this placement of Midheaven.
These people intuitively know what is best for their careers. They usually make others feel as if they know who they are and recognize their genuine kindness and nurturing nature.
These people grab the attention of the public and are well known by the people from their surroundings. They desire to feel comfortable in every environment and try to create a feeling as if it were their home.
Although they might appear reserved and timid when these people relax they become very accessible and allow people to enjoy their presence and the comforting aura they exude.
The rigid upbringing caused these people to seek the feeling of comfort from their surroundings. You might be prone to express emotions and feelings publically with more ease than in person.
If they find themselves in a position of authority they tend to be easy going and make people feel at home although they are at work.
They cannot be strict and severe because their personality is overly sensitive for that. They should watch not to allow themselves to become very soft towards their employees because they might use that and take advantage of such treatment.
These people need to learn how to receive and not just to give to others.
These people are often involved in charity work, taking care of the sick and elderly, people without privileges, or somehow neglected by society. They also have the need to create their own family and demonstrate the love and affection to their family which they lacked when they were growing up.
These people have a profound need to take care of others in some way and being a parent is an excellent way to fulfill this need.
These people are not very ambitious when it comes to their career and professional success.
They prefer spending time with their family than at work. They can have a passive approach towards their work which is not always a smart way to behave.
Summary
People with Midheaven in Cancer are usually not very ambitious and don’t put much effort to be successful in their career. These people often feel emotionally deprived and that feeling has roots in their childhood.
Many of these people have experienced cold and unemotional relations with one or both their parents, absence of one parent, strict and rigid upbringing, strict rules they had to obey, etc.
These facts caused these people to feel the need to fill that emotional gap and they usually do it through some public recognition and receiving an emotional response from the public, instead of from their family.
These people often choose careers in the public or careers somehow related to taking care of others and helping them.
They can choose a profession where they help minority groups, the elderly, mistreated, sick, hurt people, or similar groups.
Helping others and receiving their gratitude makes these people extremely happy.