Discovering Your Ascendant

The Ascendant is the first house of an astrological chart. It is also called the Rising sign by some because it is the constellation on the horizon at the time of birth (or rising at the time of birth). It is the first thing that an astrologer will look at to see how the Ascendant, or first house, relates to the other nine planets in your chart: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, but especially your Sun and Moon. This can be a quick overview of what the chart represents for an individual. Is it a challenging chart with many tests and lessons to be learned? Is it a chart filled with many opportunities that you must grab, or they will pass you by? Or will your life be easy?

What exactly is an Ascendant?

Your time of birth will determine the degree and minutes of the Ascendant. The Ascendant is how we appear to the world, the persona or camouflaged energy that one wishes to show the world instead of their established personality. This can be a defense mechanism or merely a caution that one uses to feel more in charge of a situation. An example of this is that one may want to exude more confidence than their sun sign provides. This is where the Ascendant takes over.

In my opinion, the Ascendant is the most important part of the chart. It is the individual’s representation of him or herself until it moves, occupying the next sign. Most of us will have three to four Ascendants in our lifetime. Let me explain; if the birth chart starts out with an Ascendant of nine degrees Leo, you have twenty-one more years of having a Leo Ascendant. Then after you reach thirty degrees, you begin again at zero, with a Virgo Ascendant, and so on.

The Year for a Day Method

In the “Year for a Day Method,” it takes the sun and all the other natal planets thirty years to change into a new sign as well. Again, remember which degree it started in. For instance, if you were born with a twenty-two degrees Gemini Sun, that means you were a Gemini for only eight years of your life because you have to go to thirty degrees before the sign switches into the next one. Then the next thirty years Cancer becomes your ruler, then Leo, etc. This gets confusing to those who have not studied astrology; however, the basic rule is that you rarely die the same sign you were born.

Didn’t you ever wonder why people change as they grow older? Couples who have been together for a long period of time, often say, “You are not the man/woman I married. You have changed!” Most think they have matured or learned patience, kindness, and compassion throughout the years, but in actuality, they may have just moved into an earth or water sign which would exhibit those traits. While fire and air signs tend to make the person in question start to be more congenial, more sociable, talkative, funny, loves to vacation, and perhaps even play sports more than they ever did before. Whichever astrological sign your sun, moon, and other planets move into may all be all different signs that either compliment or adversely affect your life that particular year. Of course, adverse aspects such as squares or oppositions are harder to deal with. During these harsher aspects, one would most likely learn a karmic or life lesson that should not be repeated.

However, if there are no adverse aspects in a chart, your life would be easy, and you may not have an opportunity to gain the skills you need to learn how to face jealousy, sympathy, empathy, or have harmonious relationships – just to name a few. You would have to combine all the energies from birth until the present day to see who you are today.

The Ascendant is a very important part of your chart, then your moon sign which represents your emotional, spiritual and demonstrative side as well as your subconscious, intuition, and psychic abilities. This is the second most important planet and then your sun sign is like the general essence of your soul and self. That is everything one needs to know on a deep and inward level. Just know that the moon moves one degree per month, so in thirty months, the moon sign goes into the next sign and not one degree a year. Combined they can show you a lot of a person’s characteristics, traits, behaviors, features, qualities, mannerisms, and even some peculiarities.

How to Find Your Ascendant in the Ascendant Table

1. Find your sun sign in the left column.
2. Find your approximate birth time in a vertical column.
3. Line up your sun sign and birth time to find your Ascendant.

This is your approximate Ascendant; this list is very accurate. I have only found a few instances in my forty-eight years of teaching astrology that it was the next sign. This was because the actual time of birth was very late in the night and close to the next day. The only way to get your exact Ascendant would be to have your complete natal chart prepared by a professional astrologer or one of those free sites that prepare your chart on the spot. Please note that the most accurate chart erected will include all of your personal birth information: exact time, place, and date of birth.