If (x < 0) thenīy definition of ascendant, we have to take the point easterly (the rising one, less than 180° from the midheaven) by using a final rule: The ascendant is then found in the correct quadrant (0° to 360°) by using the two rules. Λ A s c = arctan ⁡ ( y x ) = arctan ⁡ ( − cos ⁡ θ L sin ⁡ θ L cos ⁡ ε + tan ⁡ ϕ sin ⁡ ε ) is the observer's terrestrial latitude (southern latitudes are negative, northern positive). This intersection of the horizon with the ecliptic can be calculated from: The ascendant, from an astrological point of view, is the value of the ecliptical geocentric longitude (or celestial longitude, λ) which is easterly on the horizon.

First documented mention of an ascendent contained in the works by Balbilus. By the 3rd century BCE, Egyptians looked at the rising of specific asterisms to identify the ascending sign and get an approximate time of night, and that is reflected in the name subsequently given by the Greeks to the ascendant: horoskopos, or 'hour marker.' ὡρόσκοπος in the sense of 'ascendant,' and ὡροσκοπία, 'observation of the ascendant,' was used in the Greek manuscript of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos. History Īlthough Babylonian astronomers observed the actual rising times of the signs, there is no specific mention of the ascendant in the texts that have survived on clay tablets. For this reason, astrologers consider that the ascendant is also concerned with how a person has learned to present themself to the world, especially in public and in impersonal situations. It signifies a person's physical appearance, and awakening consciousness.īecause the ascendant is specific to a particular time and place, to astrologers it signifies the individual environment and conditioning that a person receives during their upbringing, and also the circumstances of their childhood. The ascendant ( A sc, Asc or As) or rising sign is the astrological sign on the eastern horizon when the person was born. The ascendant in this example is marked Asc and is usually in the nine o'clock position of the horoscope.

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