Descendant

The descendant is the point on the ecliptic that is setting on the western horizon at the moment of birth. It is, by definition, exactly opposite the ascendant — if your rising sign is Aries at 14 degrees, your descendant is Libra at 14 degrees. The two together form the horizon axis of the chart.

Astrologically, the descendant is the cusp of the seventh house, which governs partnership: marriage, business partners, close one-on-one relationships, and the kind of person you tend to attract or be drawn to. It is sometimes described as the "you" you find in the other — the qualities you most need to integrate are often the qualities of your descendant's sign, encountered first through the people you partner with.

Because the descendant is automatically the opposite point of the ascendant, you do not calculate it separately. Once the ascendant is computed, adding 180 degrees gives the descendant's ecliptic longitude. Both points share the same axis and move together.

The descendant is also the entry point for what astrologers call projection — qualities of the chart that get attributed to other people rather than recognized in oneself. The seventh house is where this most often happens, and the sign of the descendant tends to describe both the partners drawn into a person's life and the inner qualities that person is still in the process of owning directly.