Your Descendant in astrology, the cusp of your 7th House, describes traits that you don’t identify within yourself and also characteristics in other people that may draw you in.
This important line should always be a part of a thorough chart reading, but what insights does it have to offer? What is the Descendant in astrology and what lessons can it teach you?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Your Descendant in astrology is who you “are not.”
- It is always opposite of your Ascendant.
- Look to your Descendent for areas where you may need to find balance.
Table of Contents
- What is Your Descendant in Astrology?
- How to Find My Descendant in Astrology?
- What Can You Learn From Your Descendant in Astrology?
What is Your Descendant in Astrology?
One way to describe your Descendant is what you “are not.”
Depending on the placements of the planets in your chart, the motivations, strengths, and qualities of your Descendant may be things you don’t recognize in yourself at all.
But why is that?
Your Descendant is an angular house and always sits opposite your Ascendant. They sit in opposition.
The traits of the sign of your Descendant are polar opposite to the characteristics of the sign of your Ascendant (also called your rising sign).
Your Ascendant is sometimes called “the mask you wear” when interacting with others and the lens through which you see life.
Being the opposite of this, then, your Descendent in astrology is who “you are not” and describes a very different way of seeing the world than you do.
But before you go further, we created a Descendant Worksheet, emailed to you FREE when you sign up below!
How to Find My Descendant in Astrology?
Locating your Descendant in astrology is easy because it is always in the same place on every birth chart.
As you can see on the example chart above, your Descendant is also the cusp of your 7th House and is always on the right side of your birth chart.
It cuts the right side of your natal chart in half and is always perfectly horizontal.
You can see how your Descendant and Ascendant, the cusp of your 1st House, create a straight line that cuts your birth chart in half perfectly through the middle.
This line represents the horizon at the exact moment of your birth. Your Ascendant line is the western horizon and your Descendant is the eastern horizon.
Once you have located your Descendant, you can take note of what sign of the Zodiac it sits in.
The table below shows a few ways each sign could shape your Descendant, although how you experience this important angle is also very dependent on the rest of your chart. But, this table can begin to give you a sense of some possibilities.
We are working on a set of articles that dive deeper into the Descendant in every sign and those articles will are linked below as they become available.
| Descendant | Descendant Traits | Ascendant | Ascendant Traits |
| Aries Descendant | assertive, competitive, impulsive | Libra | diplomatic, considerate, careful |
| Taurus Descendant | calm, uncomplicated, very polite | Scorpio | intense, raw and honest, complex |
| Gemini Descendant | logical, objective, detached | Sagittarius | idealistic, passionate, optimistic |
| Cancer Descendant | emotional, imaginative, nurturing | Capricorn | practical, reasonable, solitary |
| Leo Descendant | expressive, grand, needs others | Aquarius | individual, logical, can go it alone |
| Virgo Descendant | mature, precise, realistic | Pisces | dreamy, feeling, compassionate |
| Libra Descendant | diplomatic, considerate, careful | Aries | assertive, competitive, impulsive |
| Scorpio Descendant | intense, raw and honest, complex | Taurus | calm, uncomplicated, very polite |
| Sagittarius Descendant | idealistic, passionate, optimistic | Gemini | logical, objective, detached |
| Capricorn Descendant | practical, reasonable, solitary | Cancer | emotional, imaginative, nurturing |
| Aquarius Descendant | individual, logical, can go it alone | Leo | expressive, grand, needs others |
| Pisces Descendant | dreamy, feeling, compassionate | Virgo | mature, precise, realistic |
What Can You Learn From Your Descendant in Astrology?
At The Happy Mystic, we don’t just want to read our charts, we want to learn from them. Every placement and angle is there to offer us ways we can grow as a person.
So what are some lessons your Descendant can teach you?
1. Who can balance you out
Some astrologers feel that your Descendant describes your “soul mate.”
I don’t know if I really agree with this or not, for reasons I will explain below, but there may be some truth to this.
The world seeks balance and we are no exception.
If you experience your Descendant strongly as “what you are not,” then you may unknowingly seek out the traits of your Descendant in others.
Creating relationships with people who possess traits that you don’t recognize in yourself may be a way that you can “balance yourself out” by being with people who excel where you struggle and vice versa.
After learning about your Descendant, ask yourself if there are people in your life that fit that description. You may have actually drawn them in as a way to find more balance!
2. Areas you can strengthen
Your Descendant points to traits that you don’t recognize in yourself, but that isn’t the same as not having them at all.
It could be that you really don’t possess the characteristics of your Descendant, or, you may just not see them in yourself. But either way, it certainly doesn’t mean you couldn’t strengthen them.
Learning about your Descendant in astrology could help point you in the right direction when it comes to areas and parts of yourself that you could work on and grow in.
Think of your Descendant as your own personal self-help coach that gives you an honest glimpse into the qualities in yourself that you could strengthen.
3. Learn to “complete” yourself
Earlier I said that I don’t really buy into your Descendant being your “soul mate,” and here’s why:
Personally, I don’t like the idea of being dependent on someone else to “complete you.” I think a healthier option is to “complete” ourselves.
This isn’t to say that I don’t believe in romance and love and serendipity. I absolutely do!
But, I think a bond where two people come together because they WANT the relationship will always be healthier than a relationship where people NEED the relationship.
See the difference?
Your Descendant is all about finding balance, and if you can strike that within yourself then you can come into a partnership already having “all you need.”
Then, you are just two souls who are both “complete,” on your own, but who choose to be in a relationship because you love life more together.
Sounds pretty magical to me.
Remember to snag your Descendant Worksheet, emailed to you FREE when you sign up below!
