Imum Coeli

The Imum Coeli, usually shortened to IC from the Latin for the bottom of the sky, is the lowest point of the chart, sitting directly opposite the Midheaven on the meridian axis. It marks the cusp of the fourth house in quadrant systems, though in whole sign and equal house charts it can fall in a neighboring house. It describes home, family, roots, and the private inner foundation a person builds a life on. The sign on the Imum Coeli shapes a person's relationship to their origins, the atmosphere of the early home, and what they need to feel grounded and safe. It points to the most private part of the self, the place a person returns to when the public day is done, and it carries the legacy of family and the past. Because it sits opposite the Midheaven, the two are read together as the axis of public and private life. Since the angles move about one degree every four minutes, an exact birth time is needed to place it. The work is to tend those roots so outer life has something steady to stand on.