Ascendant (Rising Sign)

What is the Ascendant (Rising Sign)?

The ascendant, or rising sign, is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of your birth. As the Earth turns, the sign on the horizon changes roughly every two hours, faster or slower depending on the latitude of the birthplace. So the ascendant cannot be found from the birth date alone; it needs the birth time and place too. The ascendant is read as outward appearance, first impressions, the way you enter a new setting and your approach to life, and the planet ruling it is treated as the ruler of the whole chart. A common mix-up is to confuse it with the Sun sign: the Sun sign depends on the birthday, the ascendant on the hour, so two people born on the same day can have different ones. You can find your rising sign by creating your birth chart with your birth time and place on Faltastik.

• Descendant

  The sign opposite the Ascendant at the cusp of the 7th House. Represents the qualities you seek in partners and relationships.

• Elements

  The four fundamental energy groups dividing the zodiac: Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces).

• Modalities

  The threefold classification of signs by seasonal position: Cardinal (initiating), Fixed (sustaining), Mutable (adapting). Each element group contains three signs.

• Decan

  Dividing each sign into three 10-degree segments. Each decan is ruled by a different planet, explaining differences between people of the same sign.

• Cusp

  The transition point where one sign ends and another begins. People born in the cusp zone may carry characteristics of both signs.

• Ruling Planet

  The natural ruler of each sign. For example, Mars rules Aries, Venus rules Taurus. The ruling planet's chart position strengthens that sign's energy.