The birthchart is depicted as a wheel, divided into 12 segments (houses). The far left of the wheel shows the Ascendant Line - the line which marks the exact degree of the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the date, time and place of birth. It is probably the single most important factor in any birthchart interpretation.
Each of the twelve houses is made up of 30 degrees. The degree of the Ascendant changes roughly every 4 minutes, so there is a new Ascendant sign approximately every 2 hours, which is why it's important to have an accurate time of birth. Place of birth is important because the sign rising in the east will be different to a greater or lesser extent depending upon where in the world the birth took place.
To calculate the Ascendant, we need to know the Sidereal Time, which we found in step one.
Then the Table of Houses should be consulted for the latitude of birth. Find the nearest Sidereal Time (first column) to that of the local Sidereal Time at birth, and check across the column marked "Ascen" to find the sign and degree of the Ascendant, for example, it might read as an Ascendant of 18 degrees 12 minutes of Virgo.
Proceed to Step 3 >>
Favourites (IE)
Print This
Email This
