DESCENDANT OR DC
The Descendant in an Astrology chart is the opposite axis of the Ascendant and lies on the cusp of the seventh house. The Rising sign or Ascendant is the sign coming over the horizon from the east at birth, while the Descendant is the sign descending on the western horizon at birth. The natural rule of the Descendant is Libra, which is the sign associated with creating balance. This is what the Descendant’s energies pertains to--the need to integrate self with others.
Depending on the sign on the cusp of the seventh house which is always exactly 180 degrees from the Ascendant, it will define how we relate to others. As you can imagine, Aries on this cusp would be very different from let’s say Libra on this cusp.
The Descendant also defines what we seek in a relationship, what we are looking for in an individual and how we will react to them. On a deeper level, it is said that the sign on the seventh house cusp or Descendant describes the unconscious part of ourselves that we need to seek from within and work on in order to become complete. It is not that these qualities are lacking only that they are hidden or not acknowledged. We have to come to terms with these qualities and bring them to the surface or remove them from our makeup.
Through relationships with others, we build on and develop ourselves. The sign on this cusp often describes the type of person we are attracted to, good or bad. It describes the type of person we seem to keep meeting up with, over and over again.
An example of this might be if you have Virgo as your Ascendant. You would express yourself in an organized manner. You would be very precise and your attention to detail would be impeccable. You would easily see the faults or shortcomings in others as well as within yourself. You would undoubtedly use this information to decipher yourself as well as others. If your Ascendant were Virgo, your Descendant would be Pisces. With Pisces, you would be attracted to dreamy people, mystical people or people that you feel you need to save in some way. You may be drawn to people who have a difficult time in the so called “real world” and it would be easy for them to use alcohol and drugs to try to escape reality. They would be a very gentle person with an ability to accept others without restriction. They could be psychic, spiritual or an escapists and usually hard cold facts are not easily digested. These energies obviously would vary depending on the overall condition of the Natal chart and the emphasis in certain houses. A detailed examination of the Natal chart is required in order to get a full and clear picture.
As you can imagine, we can learn a lot from these ever gentle people and perhaps through these people we can learn not to be so judgemental or find within ourselves the ability to locate only the good aspects of in others and ourselves.
We can find out a lot about ourselves through close personal contacts and business relationships, as this would fall under the Descendant as well. We may find that the sign on the Descendant could describe our perfect business partner for a prosperous business or perfect lover eventually leading to marriage.
Discover more of yourself by carefully analysing the Descendant in your Natal chart and find hidden characteristics that if allowed to bloom will complete who you are as an individual. This is the highest qualities working at its best from this placement.