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The ascendant of a given geographic location at a particular point in time is the point on the zodiac which is ascending over the Eastern horizon as viewed from that place and time. The astrological ascendant, or rising sign, is the zodiacal sign that was ascending on the Eastern horizon at a particular moment. For example, if a horoscope was drawn for an individual's birth that occurred exactly at the moment of sunrise and the sun was in Leo at that moment, the ascendant would be in the same sign as the sun-sign, so the person would be said to have Leo rising (or ascendant in Leo) in addition to having the sun in Leo. There are exactly 30 degrees per astrological sign, and because 12 multiplied by 30 equals 360 which is the span of the ecliptic, all twelve signs rise and fall during the course of one 24-hour day. This exact rising degree forms the first house cusp of a horoscope and is said to be of great significance in the interpretation. The planet that rules the astrological sign of the ascendant is said to be the "chart ruler." Since the ascendant usually forms the cusp of the first house in a modern horoscope many astrologers believe that it naturally corresponds to Aries, the first astrological sign of the zodiac, but these assumptions were not always made. Ancient astrologers used whole-sign house systems almost exclusively, which meant that each house of the chart began at 0 degrees of each sign. The first house was the one in which the point of the ascendant fell, but the ascendant itself did not form the boundary of the house. Secondly, the concept of each house having a corresponence to a zodiacal sign, which is sometimes called natural houses or the natural zodiac, is a modern one. In the original formulations of astrology, Mars, which rules Aries, the first sign, actually was most at home and most powerful in the sixth house, not the first. Some astrologers, nowadays, think that the ascendant could correspond to other signs in spite of Aries, like Leo (the sign of appearance, pride, egocentricity and self-importance, all characteristics that could likely be suitable for the first house) or Libra (because Libra rising seems to give the most good-looking appearance, very likable humane characteristics and diplomatic abilities, so astrologers think that is the best position for an ascendant). The Ascendant is of great significance in all schools of astrology due to the fact that it serves as the filter through which everything in a horoscope- including the Sun and Moon- is expressed. Thus, most astrologers believe that the Rising Sign exerts an influence equal to or more powerful than the Sun and Moon. In Jyotish, the ascendant is without question the most individual and defining element in the chart.
Long and short ascension Because the Earth's axis (see axial tilt) is tiled relative to the ecliptic, the twelve signs do not take the same amount of time to cross the eastern horizon. At the equator, there is very little difference (Pisces, Aries, Virgo and Libra take slighltly less time than the other signs) but as one moves from the equator, larger and larger differences emerge. In the northern hemisphere, the signs of Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and Taurus take much less time than the theoretical two hours to cross the eastern horizon, whilst the signs of Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius take much longer than two hours to do so. For example, at the latitude of Paris, France: At higher latitudes, these differences become even more marked. At the latitude of St. Petersburg, Russia: Astrologers consider the differences between the rate at which the signs ascend to be of importance. In many house systems, houses can become very large when they cover Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and Taurus because these signs are seen to be much smaller from the perspective of a northern hemisphere observer. Some astrologers, such as Richard Nolle, consider the prepondance of Ascendants in signs from Cancer through Sagittarius (known as the western signs) to be symbolic of the highly relationship-oriented character inherent in a complex or civilized society as found today in the northern hemisphere but never developed in equatorial or south temperate latitudes where eastern (Capricorn through Gemini), individual-oriented Ascendants are equally or more common (Richard Nolle, Chiron: New Planet in the Horoscope, pages 78 to 82). In the southern hemisphere, long and short ascension are reversed. For instance, at the latitude of Concepción, Chile: See also | ||||||||
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