Following the introductory section on the earth signs, we continue with extracts from Firmicus Maternus’s Mathesis, turning now to the fate of those born with an air sign rising.
If the Ascendant is in Aquarius, all that the native has acquired will again be diminished by losses of some kind. Whatever he has possessed or sought, he will lose again; yet whatever is lost will generally be recovered with ease. He will undertake to help many people and provide many with necessities, but those for whom he has done much will be ungrateful to him. And after he has been exposed to danger and all have abandoned hope, he will be delivered through the protection of the gods. He will be assailed by many people intoxicated with envy. Moreover, he will perform duties connected with divine writings, sacred matters or religious observances. His good deeds will bring him to the notice of eminent men.
If the MC is in Scorpio, the native will be strong, but shaken by a difficult life and troubled dealings with others. He will make his way from place to place. If he is of humble birth, he will perform menial duties, but afterwards favourable circumstances will arise for him in all things. At first, however, he will suffer through afflictions befalling his wife and children; prosperity will then come to him by the decree of an eminent man.
If the Descendant is in Leo, the native will part from his wife because of a quarrel. For he will marry a woman of low standing, an elderly woman, or one who has experience of, or has been carried away by, love affairs. He will suffer from plots laid against him by his own people, and his enemies will move against him with unexpected lawsuits. Through his own strength and courage he will take a foreign wife, or else he will assuredly marry a widow.
If the IC is in Taurus, the native will be an eminent man, associate with many powerful people, and be renowned in all matters. He will manage the resources of many people, and much will be entrusted to him on account of the integrity of his conduct. He will die after a long life, weighed down by the burden of great age, provided that the ruler of the Ascendant is in its own sect and placed in the principal houses of the chart, fortified by both sign and degree, signifying the greatest number of its years.
If the Ascendant is in Gemini, the native will labour hard in the first part of his life, while his parents will provide him with comforts. He will assuredly always be versed in celestial religions and enjoy the faithful friendship of those more eminent than himself. He will be among those who lose their inheritance.
If the MC is in Pisces, he will spend his life in a place beside water and acquire his wealth through occupations connected with water. He will live on the property of others, and either his power or his personal wealth will be divided between two cities.
If the Descendant is in Sagittarius, he will cause the death of either his brothers or his relatives, and at various times his mind will be tormented by the greatest cares and fears. He will have enemies, and after leaving his own hearth he will wander among strangers. When he later returns to his native land, however, he will believe that he has been restored through the intervention of the gods.
If the IC is in Virgo, he will be hindered by various difficulties in his youth, but with the passage of time his good fortune will increase greatly. These things, however, will come to each individual according to the measure of the nativity, which, as we have often said, must be considered in all matters.
If the Ascendant is in Libra, the native will be prone to illness and exposed to many dangers. A multitude of rivals will constantly assail him, and he will enter into disputes over matters of truth and justice. He will assuredly be religious and worship the gods, but he will be among those whose lives are always liable to change through the most varied inconsistencies. Yet he will not be overcome in anything, nor will he show himself weak in any matter; he will be a person of renown. Matters concerning offspring, however, will be uncertain, for not all his children will survive. He will be among those who seek to exercise sound judgement in all things and devote themselves to divine and celestial religions.
If the MC is in Cancer, the native will perform deeds that bring him renown. He will earn his living through religious or public service, and in his later years attain the greatest glory, so that the final years of his life will be adorned with the splendour of nobility. In old age he will be successful and wealthy, and much good fortune will gradually come to him as time passes. He will have children late in life, or have only one son. But if Jupiter aspects this house, he will enjoy numerous and fortunate offspring.
If the Descendant is in Aries, the native will derive income from matters connected with water or from places beside it. He will live in constant fear and bring dangers upon himself in uninhabited places, and he will also be afflicted by prolonged bouts of danger. He will be distinguished by his many and frequent journeys. He will assuredly have some hidden bodily defect; yet in his later years the greatest good fortune will fall to his lot. His wife, however, will be in danger of madness.
If the IC is in Capricorn, his personal wealth will undergo various changes: whatever he acquires he will lose again, and whatever he loses he will recover. Yet he will acquire all his possessions through his own abilities and strength, so that the final years of his life will be adorned by the greatest increase in good fortune. Moreover, he will adopt a child born to someone else, or have children by a woman of humble birth.
Text taken from the articles The Ascendant in the Signs I (Aries–Virgo) and The Ascendant in the Signs II (Libra–Pisces), published on https://astroriznica.com/