Aug 12. 2020
Ascendant and descendant - what is it, and how does it influence your personality?
You surely know your zodiac sign, since it's determined by the day you were born. But did you know that the exact time and place of your birth also determined your ascendant and descendant? Both terms come from Latin: ascendant means "rising" and descendant means the opposite, "setting." Your ascendant is the sign that was on the eastern horizon at the moment you were born, while your descendant is the sign that was on the western horizon.
The ascendant directly shapes how we experience reality. You can think of it as a kind of astrological filter that affects how our inner self is projected into the outside world, and also how we personally experience that outside world. It works a bit like a "mask" we wear, because it doesn't always reflect our true identity and emotions.
It reflects:
- How our personality shows itself to the world
- How other people see us
- Our relationships
The descendant, on the opposite side, can be described as our "shadow side." It reflects everything we are not, yet are drawn to in other people and in life in general. It helps us uncover the qualities we distance ourselves from or push out of our awareness. When the people we meet have these qualities, we feel attracted to them, because, put simply, opposites attract.
We see ourselves through the qualities of our ascendant, but other people often see us through our descendant. Because people with the qualities of our descendant keep coming into our lives, we get the chance to face the parts of ourselves we deny, and that helps us become more whole and balanced.