Ascendant and Descendant, Ascendant in a Birth Chart

In this post, we will talk about ascendant and descendant, the origin of the ascendant, and the importance of the ascendant in the birth chart. If someone says, ‘I am Libra, with a Taurus ascendant’, what exactly do they mean? The position of the ascendant is calculated from the day, month, year, time, and place of birth, just like that of the Sun or any other planet featuring in a sky chart. However, the position of the Sun and other bodies can be looked up in the daily ephemerides, (which will be supplied with feature issues) but the ascendant has to be calculated in a slightly different way. The ascendant is one of the 360 degrees of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon at the time of birth: it is mostly calculated depending on the time and place of birth. In other words, the ascendant is the precise point in the zodiac where the Sun is rising, rose, or will rise, at the precise time and place of birth.

It might sound odd to say, ‘is rising, rose or will rise’ but this is the key to the calculation. Birth can take place at any time during the day or night, at midday or midnight, in the morning or the afternoon, therefore, in a sky chart sunrise occurs:

• at the time of birth: the ascendant is the precise point of the zodiac where the Sun is rising;
• before the time of birth: the ascendant is the precise point of the zodiac where the Sun will rise.

The descendant is diametrically opposite to this point, being the degree of the zodiac on the western horizon where the Sunsets, set or will set. To summarize, one can say that the points of the zodiac where the ascendant (sunrise) and descendant (sunset) are found from an axis representing the horizon. For instance, the ascendant of a subject born at the time of sunrise is always situated in the same zodiacal sign as their sun sign. On the other hand, the ascendant of a subject born at the time of sunset is always situated in the sign as opposed to their sun sign which is then always close to the descendant.

You can check this article and find out your ascendant – How to Find Out Your Rising Sign. The Rising sign is the same as the ascendant.

What is the origin of the ascendant?

The first astrologer-priests of Mesopotamia did not draw personal birth charts. They drew sky charts because they were looking at the subject as a whole rather than at the individual. Much later, Chaldean priests emigrated to Greece, taking with them their remarkable knowledge of mathematics, geometry, and astronomy.

One of them, Berose, a historian and astrologer, settled down on the isle of Kos, where he founded the first school of astrology during the first century BC. It might have been there that the principles of genetic astrology (based on the position of the planets at the time of a subject’s birth) were first applied. It was certainly from this time onwards that they were commonly used and the search to discover a person’s destiny became an important concern with was going to leave its mark firstly on Greek, Roman, and Gallo-Roman mentalities and then the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Still today, we commonly talk about our sign and ascendant.

Importance of the ascendant in a birth chart

In practice, it is from the position of the ascendant (or cusp of the first house) in the zodiac, that the position of all the other houses can be found. But its situation in a birth chart is also very important because it tells us about the appearance and make-up – both physical and mental – of a person. It’s fascinating to discover that the general appearance, the shape and features of a face, the looks, and the walk can be defined according to the position of the ascendant in the birth chart.

Also, you can find detailed information about all 12 zodiac signs on our site homepage.

This information is qualified though, by the situation of the ruling planet of the sign where the ascendant was found. For instance, in order to define the physical appearance and psychology of a subject whose ascendant is in Sagittarius, you must take into account not only the characteristics provided by the ascendant of that sign but also those revealed by the position of its ruling planet, Jupiter which will differ for each sign of the zodiac.