What is the Descendant in astrology?
The Descendant is the point of the zodiac setting on the western horizon at the moment you were born, directly opposite the Ascendant. It begins the seventh house, the house of partners. Astrologers read its sign as the kind of person you are drawn to. Like the Ascendant, it needs a birth time and birthplace.
The other end of the horizon
If the Ascendant is the degree of the zodiac rising in the east, the Descendant is the degree setting in the west at the same moment, always exactly 180° away. Someone with Leo rising has an Aquarius Descendant; someone with Taurus rising, a Scorpio one. 1
Ancient astrologers described planets near the Descendant as about to sink out of sight. The setting point marks the cusp of the seventh house, and the whole of that house was sometimes simply called the Descendant. 1
Why it is the partner point
The seventh house, opposite the self, has stood for marriage, partners and open opponents since the Hellenistic period: whoever faces you across the table. Modern astrologers read the Descendant's sign as the qualities you look for in a partner, or tend to meet in partners, often ones you don't show yourself.
In synastry, the comparison of two charts, a partner's planets falling on your Descendant are given special weight. 2
Sunset, and the axis of self and other
The Descendant is easy to picture at dusk. Anyone born at sunset has the Sun on or near the Descendant, sinking out of view, just as anyone born at sunrise has it on the Ascendant. A planet close to the Descendant at birth was setting in the west.
Because the two points are always exactly opposite, astrologers read them as one axis: the Ascendant for how you meet the world, the Descendant for who you meet in it. A planet near either end is said to colour both.
In whole-sign houses the Descendant always sits in the seventh sign, since it is always opposite the rising degree. That is not true of the Midheaven, which can drift into the ninth or eleventh sign. 3
How the machine works it out
Calculated facts only, worked out the same way the machine does it.
- The machine computes the Ascendant from your birth time and place, then takes the point opposite: Ascendant + 180°.
- In whole-sign houses the seventh house is the whole sign opposite your rising sign.
- Without a birthplace there is no Descendant, and the card says so.
Where the idea comes from
Era by era, with sources. More in the Reading Room.
- Classical1st century CEManilius names the four angles, the setting point among them, as the strongest places in a chart. 4
- Classical2nd century CEVettius Valens works a chart with the Descendant at 13° Virgo, opposite a Pisces Ascendant. 1
- Classical2nd century CEPtolemy's chapter on marriage reads partnership from the Sun, Moon and planets of the two charts. 5
Common misconceptions
“The Descendant is a planet.” It is a point, the degree of the zodiac on the western horizon at birth. 1
“Your Descendant is your sun sign's opposite.” It is your rising sign's opposite, which is a different sign for most people.
Questions people ask
How do I find my Descendant?
Take your rising sign and go six signs on: Aries rising gives a Libra Descendant, Cancer rising a Capricorn one.
Does the Descendant say who I will marry?
No. Astrologers read it as a pattern of attraction, not a forecast about a person.
Why does it need a birthplace?
Because it is a horizon point, and the horizon depends on where you were born.
Sources
- Descendant, Skyscript, Glossary of Astrological Terms (Deborah Houlding). Read on .
- Synastry, Skyscript, Glossary of Astrological Terms (Deborah Houlding). Read on .
- Whole Sign Houses, The Astrology Podcast (Chris Brennan), lecture slides. Read on .
- Angles / Angular, Skyscript, Glossary of Astrological Terms (Deborah Houlding). Read on .
- Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book IV, chapters 5–7 (Of Marriage; Of Children; Of Friends and Enemies), LacusCurtius, University of Chicago (Loeb Classical Library translation by F. E. Robbins, 1940). Read on .