Calculating Midpoints in Astrology
There are a lot of calculators online that offer a quick means of calculating your midpoint when looking at astrological charts (whether that’s natal, composite, etc.) but after using some of them I found my calculated midpoint was actually the exact opposite from the method of self-calculation I’ve always used. I wanted to share for anyone who may be unfamiliar with how to self-calculate their midpoint!
There are 360 degrees in the circle and each sign contains 30 degrees. So from zero degrees of Aries (the start of the natural zodiac) you add 30 degrees for each sign. For ease of access:
Aries starts at 0
Taurus starts at 30 degrees
Gemini starts at 60 degrees
Cancer starts at 90 degrees
Leo starts at 120 degrees
Virgo starts at 160 degrees
Libra starts at 180 degrees
Scorpio starts at 210 degrees
Sagittarius starts at 240 degrees
Capricorn starts at 270 degrees
Aquarius starts at 300 degrees
Pisces starts at 330 degrees
Take the starting degrees of the signs each of the planets you wish to calculate for are in and add the degree where each planet sits in that sign.
e.g. my sun sits at 13° Aries, and my moon at 16° Aquarius. So I would add 0 + 13 = 13° and 300 + 16 = 316° .
Add these two numbers together, then divide by 2
e.g. 13 + 316 = 329 / 2 = 164°
Find the corresponding sign where this number of degrees sits in the wheel of the chart and subtract the calculated number of degrees from the starting degree of that sign. The difference is your midpoint!
e.g. 164° would be in the sign of Virgo, because Virgo starts at 160°. 164-160 = 4 degrees. So, my sun-moon (or Soli-Lunar) midpoint is 4° Virgo.
Many astrologers also calculate for this including the minute of the degree the planets sit in, which is simply done by adding the minute into the original calculation
e.g. Aries sun at (0 + 13° 33′) + Aquarius moon at (300 + 16° 10′) = 13° 33′ + 316° 10′ = 329° 43′
Midpoints can be extremely helpful in the way of navigating life events (in particular with transits), relevant/meaningful relationships in our lives, and areas of interest! As I continue to study them, they have revealed themselves to be yet another important component of understanding astrology. This method works for any planets, whether it is sun-moon, venus-mercury, pluto-mars, etc.
I am sure there are a plethora of other guides out there that have done the same as this one, but I thought I would share. I hope this was helpful! (:
xoxo