The Ascendant

The Ascendant is the point where the ecliptic meets the eastern horizon at the moment of birth, and it marks the cusp of the first house. It describes manner, approach and the way a person meets a new situation, and the ruler of its sign is taken as the ruler of the whole chart. The Ascendant advances roughly one degree every four minutes, changing sign about every two hours. All four angles are calculated from the time and place of birth, which is why an accurate birth time is required before any of them can be read.