If you've dabbled in the vast universe of astrology, then you probably know that you have a complete astrological birth chart, which contains the zodiac signs, houses, and planets that make up the outline of your universe. While you may have exclusive knowledge of the Sun, Moon, and Rising Sign, do you know what the Descendant sign means in astrology? This important angle in your chart can give you a clear understanding of your relationships with others and yourself.
Unlike the Sun and Moon signs, the Descendant sign is represented by a point in the birth chart rather than an actual planet or celestial body. It is one of four important angles in every astrological chart, all of which lie on the X/Y axis (see image below for a visual - each point is marked with a letter on the perimeter of the zodiac wheel). The Midheaven sign (often abbreviated to MC) and the celestial sign (IC for short) represent your public and private life, respectively, and are located at the top and bottom of your chart. But the Descendant (DC) is on the left side of the chart, opposite the Ascendant (AC). While your rising sign (aka your rising sign) represents your superficial personality and self-image, your descending sign in astrology represents what you seek in your relationships with others.
How to Calculate Your Descendant Sign
In order to find out your Descendant sign, you need to know your exact birth time. Find your birth certificate and consult a professional astrologer to get this recipe, or use an online birth chart calculator to figure it out at home. If you already have a copy of your birth chart, you can look at the cusp of the seventh house and find which sign it begins with. That's your Descendant sign - and the qualities of that sign can tell you a lot about your sign. Qualities that you may be attracted to in a potential partner.
What does the Descendant sign represent?
Just as our Ascendant marks the cusp of our first house of self, our Descendant represents the cusp of our seventh house of partnership. This house rules all of our closest one-to-one relationships and the commitments we make to other people—including our bosses, business partners, and best friends. But this applies especially to our love lives and romantic partners. That said, our Descendant sign can tell us a lot about our attraction to others, how we want to manage important commitments and partnerships in our lives, and even parts of ourselves that we may have trouble accepting.
Because our Descendant is in direct opposition to our Ascendant, the qualities it embodies are the exact opposite of those we actively project into the world. Therefore, our rising sign determines how we appear to others and the image we create for ourselves—it has to do with our first impressions, our reactions to things, and our apparent personality. But on the other hand, the Descendant sign has something that the Ascendant sign does not have.
All tendencies, strengths and weaknesses that we (consciously or unconsciously) hide in the shadows can be found in our Descendant sign. This is part of the reason why we are continually attracted to these qualities. They are like missing pieces in the puzzle of our personality—holes we are always seeking to fill in our relationships with others. The "opposites attract" theory is in full force here: There's a clear (and sometimes irresistible) tension between the qualities we possess and the qualities we reject or feel we lack. So it makes sense that we find ourselves subconsciously attracted to things we don't have.
But there's an important synergy worth noting here, too. Opposing signs may conflict, but since they share the same "axis" in astrology, they actually have similar values and goals. That said, it makes sense that we are attracted to the qualities of offspring—it represents different ways of achieving what we want to achieve, which is naturally interesting.
What can we learn from Descendant signs?
Our Descendant sign represents the things we appreciate in others, in part because we have difficulty acquiring those things ourselves. These qualities are naturally attractive to us, even if they don’t come naturally to us. This is why we often seek to bring the qualities of the Descendant sign into our lives through external relationships. For example, you may find yourself forming many close partnerships with people born from your descendants.
If you don't, then maybe you should start - the sign that rules your offspring may prove to be the ideal sign for you, as they're likely to embody many of the qualities that inspire you to be interested in relationships. Someone with the energy of your Descendant sign can provide balance and synergy to your personality, which bodes well for a successful romantic partnership or business venture.
But ultimately, one of the reasons we seek out people and relationships that embody the qualities of our Descendant sign is because we try to find ways to express those qualities within ourselves. If we are not honest with ourselves about this struggle, our offspring's horoscopes may also point out the qualities, dislikes, or jealousies we project onto others. That is, we may subconsciously seek out relationships that are aligned with the energy of our offspring as a reflection of our own negative qualities. If you find yourself repeatedly attracted to or criticized by a certain personality type, try to find some clarity by examining your Descendant sign and getting honest about how these qualities manifest in you .
