Alice McDermott is an eminent Australian Astrologer who, as Alice Portman, has consulted and taught professionally for 35 years. In 1984, she received her Professional Member of the Federation of Australian Astrologers (PMFAA) qualification and became an Examiner for the FAA in 1986-1988. She first spoke on the Vertex at the FAA International Conference in 1986.

In my previous article (Analytical Techniques May 2005) I described the Vertex axis as a ‘doorway’ that gives access to other realities. The doorway of the Vertex axis can open to many different worlds. It can describe that which delights, that which gives a touch of magic to life, as well as that which can bring terror and horror. The Vertex axis tends to intensify anything with which it has contact.

For an example of the more difficult manifestation of this doorway let us look at the chart of little Jenny who was horrifically beaten most of her life and murdered by her teenage mother when she was 2 years and three months old. She was born on January 15th 1983 2.15 pm MST in Las Cruces NM. [This chart and Jenny’s tragic story were published by KT Boehrer in her Declination, the other dimension.]

Jenny had her Vertex in Scorpio, indicating very intense life experiences. It was conjunct Saturn, the ruler of her 8th house as well as co-ruler of her 10th house of one parent. The Vertex was also conjunct its ruler Pluto and this made up a midpoint structure of Saturn = Pluto/Vertex.

One can deduce from this combination that Jenny’s life experiences might not be very easy and could perhaps be very unpleasant. On the date of her death, Solar Arc Saturn was conjunct natal Vertex and transiting Pluto was conjunct natal Saturn, both activating these most difficult energies. And there was more.

The Function of the Vertex Axis

Just as the 4th and 10th houses and their rulers often describe the parents and the 7th house and its ruler the partner, the Vertex Axis and its rulers tend to describe the doorways to the next level of our evolution and the means by which this can happen. The contacts it offers are frequently intensely personal and activate deep levels within us that we may not have been aware of previously. They can touch the soul.

For example: when his Vertex axis was being activated, a curious business man went to a meeting where people were practising a hands- on method of levitation, but this man was unable to levitate- he just couldn’t ‘lift off’. A wise person observed that his heart energy wasn’t working at all and rubbed that area of his body, the man then levitated up to the ceiling. He said he had never felt love until then, he had no idea such a feeling existed.
Planets in close contact with the Vertex Axis will often describe people, life forms, ideas and objects that have a profound effect on us or are instrumental in opening new doorways of perception for us.

I mention life forms because people have described angels, ghosts, spirits, animals, trees, mountains and many other life forms as part of their extraordinary Vertex axis experiences. From listening to these peoples’ stories I have come to the conclusion that the Vertex axis can bring intensely shamanic experiences at times.

To illustrate the possibilities of a planet in close aspect to the Vertex let’s observe the chart of our host Noel Tyl. He has his Vertex in Scorpio which will suggest very intense experiences in life; in the 5th house it would suggest these experiences are with love, children, sport and creativity.

The quindecile with Uranus would give particular emphasis on Uranian types of people in these fields who are friends (Uranus in the 11th house) and skilled in higher mind pursuits (Uranus ruler of 9th house). These people would enthral and fascinate Noel, particularly if they also have Uranus strongly placed in their natal chart. They would open new doorways, new realisations and new possibilities for him. For further emphasis, his Uranus is quintile Venus, the ruler of the anti-Vertex. Contact between both ends of the Vertex axis and their rulers usually strengthens the power of this so-called other ‘Angle’. The quintile aspect would give a creative thrust involving these associations.

Activation of the Vertex Axis.
This can be a bit of a puzzle to research because many of the experiences given by the Vertex axis are very private and can be so unusual people hesitate to speak of them.
As his biography has given clear information, to illustrate an unusual activation,

I will use the chart of Uri Geller (20th December 1946, 2.00 am, Tel Aviv, Palestine). Uri has his Vertex in Gemini, signaling a destiny involving communication and perhaps an involvement with matters connected to the air element. His Vertex is in the 8th house suggesting access to very deep areas.

The Nodal Axis is conjunct the Vertex Axis, indicating that he would have powerful and destined contacts with groups of people.

Uranus is conjunct the Vertex, indicating that he has access to unusual energies, particularly electrical energies as the Vertex axis is probably the electrical axis of the body and Uranus rules electricity. This makes up a midpoint structure of Vertex = Uranus/Node. –At age four, Geller had a mysterious encounter with a sphere of light that was eye-witnessed by a retired Israeli Air Force Officer. At that age his Solar Arc North Node was conjunct natal Vertex and his Solar Arc Vertex was conjunct natal Uranus, activating the potential shown in his natal chart. I don’t have the date for this event but would expect the Vertex axis would have also been triggered by transits and/or lunations at that time.

Further development of his skills would be shown by subsequent activations of his Vertex axis, but these are not published in his biography.

Relationships and the Vertex Axis

As has been shown by the above examples, the Vertex axis is not specifically oriented to romantic relationships; it covers all kinds of experiences that can involve life forms of various kinds. The one consistent factor is that these all open the mind or soul to encompass quite profound fields in the human dynamic; whether it its spiritual, emotional, mental or physical depends upon the condition of the Vertex axis and the planets with which it is in touch.
However, along with many other astrologers, I have noticed that profound experiences involving relationships can and do happen when the Vertex axis is triggered. Passion, love and hate are emotions that reach the core of a human soul, the rules of society rarely mean anything at all when these emotions are alive, and people have radically changed their lives for better or worse during these times.

Powerful and destined experiences in relationships are particularly likely if you have your Vertex axis in the 5th-11th (love) or 7th-1st (partnerships) or in Leo-Aquarius or Libra-Aries. The Vertex in the 8th house or Scorpio-Taurus gives incredibly intense and deeply felt experiences.
Particularly magnetic to you are those who have their Vertex axis straddling their Ascendant-Descendant or 5th-11th cusp axis.

Combined charts will often tell a clear and powerful story as well. These experiences can be just for a moment or last for a lifetime but you never forget the person and circumstances because they have touched your soul.
Should you like to further develop your knowledge on this subject, I am available for questions, discussion and analysis of examples about the Vertex axis via Noel Tyl’s forum.