The Ascendant (Asc) is the horizontal axis on the figure at right. When you are born the Asc points directly east towards the sign, which is moving up over the horizon in that moment.
The Asc will tell you about your physical body and the moment of birth. There are different definitions of when a baby is born: Is it when the head is out or is it when the umbilical cord is cut? Many astrologers believe the Asc correlates the time, when you begin your own life, which is when you breath for the first time.
If you are born at sunrise the Asc and the Sun will be conjunct.
The Ascendant will determine your personality, that is, the “facade” that other people will see and causing the first impression other people will have on you. Later they will get to know you – which is your sunsign and therefore the person you are basically.
The Descendant (Dsc) will tell you about your relationship to other people in general and how you meet the world. Also the Descendant will tell you about partners and what sort of areas you have as keyword in a relationship. Often it is possible to reveal the time or period for when you begin a relationship – or the opposite.
Medium Coeli (MC) will always follow the Sun, that is, MC will make a full rotation in the chart within 24 hours. MC will point towards the hightest point on heaven at the time of birth. If you are born at noon, the MC and the Sun will be conjunct, however, not if it is summertime. If you are born at midnat, the IC and the Sun will be conjunct.
On the above figure the Sun is located halfway between MC and the Descendant. This means that the person must be born in the mid-afternoon, and since the Sun is in Capricorn, it is a period when sunset is at approx. 4 pm. Therefore the person must be born at around 2 pm. Had the Sun been located below the horizon, it would have been located on the “night-arch”. The “day-arch” is the part of the chart which is above the horizon.
Imum Coeli (IC) will tell something about where you are coming from, that is your past and roots. The IC also tells you something about the home of your childhood and the interior and by this it can also tell you, how you tend to arrange your own home.
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The Ascendant and the MC are moving at different speed within 24 hours. This is due to our location up north. Dublin is at 53.20 degrees north, while Paris is at 45 degrees.Had the axes been moving at the same speed, there would have been as many people with Virgo rising as with Taurus rising, however, the Ascendant is fastest while moving through Aries and Pisces and slowest while moving Libra and Virgo. This is the reason why more people are born with Libra rising than with Aries rising. |