What Is Long and Short Ascension?
Long Ascension is caused by the Earth’s axis being tilted or inclined relative to the ecliptic, which means that the twelve zodiac signs don’t take the same amount of time to cross the eastern horizon. At the equator, the difference is small (Pisces, Aries, Virgo and Libra ascend slightly faster), but as you move away (North or South) from the equator, the differences become more and more pronounced. In the northern hemisphere, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus and Gemini ascend much faster than the theoretical two hours, while Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius take much longer. This is especially true at higher latitudes. Astrologers believe these differences are significant, and in many house systems, the houses covering Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and Taurus become very large due to these signs appearing smaller from a northern hemisphere perspective. Some astrologers think that the preponderance of ascendants in the western signs (Cancer through Sagittarius) symbolizes the relationship-oriented character of the northern hemisphere, while ascendants in the eastern signs (Capricorn through Gemini) represent the more individual-oriented character of the southern hemisphere. Of course, the opposite is true in the southern hemisphere. Important note: Read the chart scientifically with a dose of intuition.
