Horizon

Definition

The horizon is the imaginary horizontal axis that runs through the chart from east to west at the moment of birth. It splits the chart into an upper half (what was above the horizon, in the visible sky) and a lower half, what was below it, hidden under the earth. The two endpoints of the horizon are the Ascendant in the east and the Descendant in the west.

In context

The horizon and the meridian together draw the angular framework of the chart. Reading the horizon means reading the Ascendant and the Descendant as a pair: the eastern end describes the doorway through which the life arrives, the way it makes first contact with the world, and the western end describes how the same life meets other people on the way back through.

To go deeper

The horizon is one of the two main axes of a chart:

• Ascendant: eastern end of the horizon.
• Descendant: western end of the horizon.
• Meridian: the vertical chart axis.