Beauty, Burden, and Breakthrough - The IC's Role in Generational Patterns

by Dorje Kirsten

© Dorje Kirsten - published by The Evolving Astrologer, September 2025 / 25.11.2025

Home is where the heart is, and it is also where the family is. Astrologers commonly look to the fourth place for the signification of the home, family, and father.

In quadrant-based house systems, the cusp or marker of this chart point is called the Imum Coeli, or IC. It is the opposite of Midheaven, which was the highest point the Sun would arc to on the day one is born at the location of birth. The IC is the lowest point the Sun will arc to on the day of birth. If you use a whole sign house system, the IC may appear outside of the 4th house when reading a birth chart. It is a good idea to contemplate the distinct meanings of the 4th House and the IC, although they share many of the same significations.

Imum Coeli is Latin for “Bottom of the sky”. It is where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the north. In a natal chart, the IC can signify the subconscious, past lives, the soul, and genetic heritage. It is a place that is uniquely you and contains an intimacy that no one else will ever know. I like to think of it as the most internal part of the chart. This point can be deeply hidden within who we are, and we may not acknowledge it or know how to work with it in a healthy manner.

Joined by association with the 4th, the IC is a significant part of discerning the influence of family in the chart. Still, it holds an even deeper resonance to the thread of genetic heritage and spirit that passes through generations of time.

To test the hypothesis of the importance of the IC in passing on genetic gifts and traumas for this article, I randomly chose an actress whose mother was also an actress, and wow, it did not disappoint.

The Maternal Line of Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson is the daughter of actress Melanie Griffith, who is herself the daughter of actress Tippi Hedren. These three provide a perfect example of how the IC passes on genetic memories and experiences. I chose not to include Dakota’s father, Don Johnson, as I tend to look at the maternal line for women and the paternal line for men.

Tippi Hedren

Tippi Hedren was born January 19, 1930, at 6:35 am in New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S. The chart is AA rated.

Tippi Hedren married Peter Griffith, and their daughter was Melanie Griffith. Tippi’s IC is at 4º Taurus in the 5th House by whole sign. The IC is conjunct the Part of Fortune as well as the North Node. Venus rules the IC from the 1st house, endowing Tippi with a natural beauty that was inherited from her family line. Indeed, she was a model.

With Scorpio on the Midheaven, Tippi was cast in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (a horror movie! Oh, the Scorpio), and this role positioned her to become a successful actress. She has appeared in more than 80 TV shows and films.

Melanie Griffith

Tippi’s daughter, Melanie Griffith, was born August 9, 1958, at 11:49 pm in New York City, NY. The chart is A rated.

Tippi’s beauty and strength as an actress were passed on to her daughter, as signified by the IC at the final degree of Cancer. Melanie’s IC is in the 3rd House by whole sign, ruled by the Moon in Aquarius in the 10th.

Melanie’s mother appears to be a dominant influence on her life. Her good looks, talent, and successful path as an actress mirrored those of Tippi.

Along with the gifts came a curse. Tippi reported that Alfred Hitchcock tried to destroy her because she would not sleep with him (“Tippi Hedren claims”, 2016). Melanie became a sex object in Hollywood, with “half the directors in Hollywood encouraging her to expose her body.” The theme set in motion by Tippi’s IC and North Node on the Taurus-Scorpio axis of beauty, sensuality, and sex comes forth in Melanie’s chart, with the South Node conjunct her Ascendant in Taurus.

Taurus is ruled by Venus, who is conjunct Mercury in Melanie’s 5th House, where Tippi’s IC is. Both women bore the burden of being beautiful female actresses in Hollywood who were harassed by the male directors who dominated the industry.

Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson was born on October 4, 1989, at 2:49 pm in Austin, TX. The chart is A rated.

Dakota was discouraged from pursuing an acting career by her mother, Melanie Griffith (Sager, 2024). One might assume that, after two generations of actresses in the family, Melanie did not want Dakota to go through the same Hollywood meat grinder.

Dakota Johnson was born with her IC at 5º Taurus in the 5th house, conjunct her grandmother’s IC. It is my supposition that embracing the IC is a source of strength and success for the native. While Melanie’s IC in Cancer comes from her mother’s social status connections, Dakota’s derives from two generations of talented, gorgeous, battle-hardened actresses.

Venus, the ruler of Dakota’s IC, is in the 11th House in Scorpio. She was not only born into the film industry but also born with an IC / MC on the sensual and sexual axis of Taurus /Scorpio like her grandmother.

Dakota seemed to avoid the maternal curse by consciously tapping into the genetic talents and traumas of her IC. She embraced sexuality as an actress through her works in the 50 Shades film series, attracting acclaim from a global audience, as Venus in the 11th House suggests.

Transformative Timing: Transits and Solar Arc Aspects to the IC

When the IC or its ruler is aspected in the chart by transit, one can examine inner beliefs about who our family is and what our generational myths are. This can be a time of significant shifts in self-definition.

Dakota Johnson’s Progressed Sun was conjunct her MC and opposed her IC when she started was cast for 50 Shades. Her Mars by solar arc direction conjoined her MC and opposed her IC when the film was released. It was at that time that she harnessed the power of the genetic challenges and gifts presented to her, which launched her career and propelled her to fame. She was listed as one of Forbes magazine’s “30 under 30,” becoming a significant archetype in the American psyche.

Dakota has a half-sister whose father is Antonio Banderas. If the IC holds keys to genetic trauma, as well as strength and power, there should be a compelling story in Stella Banderas’ chart. Indeed, there is.

Stella Banderas

Stella Banderas was born Sept 24, 1996, at 9:18 pm in Marbella, Spain. The chart is AA rated.

Stella’s IC is located in the 4th house at 17° Cancer. In this family of women, we see a pattern of feminine wisdom, experience, and power passed down. Dakota’s IC is conjunct to her grandmother Tippi’s IC, while Stella’s IC is conjunct to their mother Melanie’s IC.

Stella Banderas disassociates symbolically from her mother’s lineage by dropping the name of Griffith from her full name in 2021 when Jupiter, in a retrograde cycle, was conjunct her natal Moon, ruler of her IC.

Melanie struggled with drug addiction while married to Antonio Banderas and rearing Stella (Cooney, 2017). Stella’s IC is ruled by the Moon, symbolic of the mother, in the 12th house!

While Stella has appeared in films, started a fashion brand, and is living a fulfilling life, her career as an actress has not been as successful in terms of fame and productivity as her sisters. I would note that in her case, she appears not to have embraced her IC and its acting heritage in the same way as her sister, mother, and grandmother. This is symbolized by having changed her name from Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith to Stella del Carmen Banderas.

Following the power that comes from the IC helps a person engage fully in life. When examining the IC for a natal chart, consider the sign in which the IC falls, as well as the ruling planet of the IC and the house it occupies.

While the IC contains shadows, full power is not unlocked through denying one’s genetic makeup. It is through embracing the shadows, integrating them into consciousness, and then moving forward with that knowledge that the IC’s power is fully unlocked.

This process can involve a lot of personal work, as the IC is, by nature, a dark part of the chart. Psychologically, we reject our parents as we individuate, which is healthy, but then we must embrace them as part of who we are as we grow and age. If this is done consciously, we can clear out the cobwebs that come with our genetics and pass on a more conscious creative world to the generations that come after us.

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Three Generations: One Thread

The charts of Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith, and Dakota Johnson reveal how the IC functions as a genetic thread. Each woman inherited both gifts and challenges through this foundational point, demonstrating the IC's role as a repository of ancestral memory.

Tippi's IC at 4º Taurus established the family pattern: beauty as both blessing and burden. Her magnetism launched a successful career but also subjected her to Hollywood harassment. This dual inheritance became the generational legacy passed through the IC.

Dakota Johnson's IC at 5º Taurus, conjunct her grandmother's degree, represents the culmination of this pattern. Rather than avoiding the family legacy, Dakota consciously embraced it. Her choice to star in the 50 Shades series demonstrates conscious integration of the Taurus-Scorpio axis running through her lineage, transforming potential victimhood into empowerment.

Stella Banderas chose differently. Her decision to drop "Griffith" from her surname suggests rejection of the maternal line's influence, correlating with more modest career success compared to her half-sister.

When transits activated Dakota's IC-MC axis during 50 Shades, she stepped fully into her generational destiny. This conscious embrace of her deepest astrological inheritance launched her to international recognition.

The IC holds both your greatest gifts and deepest wounds. When you embrace the shadows and gifts encoded in your deepest astrological point, you unlock the full power of your ancestral inheritance and create conscious transformation for generations to come.

References:

• Sager, J. (2024, January 29). Dakota Johnson’s parents: everything she’s said about her famous family. People Inc. https://people.com/dakota-johnson-s-parents-everything-she-s-said-about-her-famous-family-7509935
• Tippi Hedren claims Alfred Hitchcock sexually assaulted her. (2016, October 31). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37821400
• Cooney, S. (2017, April 5) Melanie Griffith spoke candidly about addiction, divorce and plastic surgery. Time. https://time.com/4726332/melanie-griffith-addiction-divorce-plastic-surgery/
• All chart data can be found in Astrodatabank
• All images and charts are taken from The Evolving Astrologer. Images of persons are Creative Commons.

Author: Dorje Kirsten

Dorje Kirsten is a professional astrologer who lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and children. He has been reading charts professionally since 2006. Before that time, he spent 12 years studying Buddhism at Chagdud Gonpa Foundation, a Nyingma Retreat center. Dorje is also a Tea Master, software engineer, and 32º Mason. He is training under the OPA counseling astrology certification process. A few of the astrologers he has studied with are Kay Taylor and Bernadette Brady, who received certificates of accomplishment from the Astro Logos medieval astrology school and Predictive Astrology school, and studied Greek Astrology with Joseph Crane. His writings can be found at his website, www.heartastrology.com, and he posts astrology meditations @dorjekirsten.substack.com, and his astrology videos can be found on YouTube @heartastrology.

Published in: The Evolving Astrologer, September 2025.
© 2025 - Dorje Kirsten- The Evolving Astrologer

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