Signs of Short Ascension

latin: signa breviores ascensionis; signa obliqui ascensus · greek: ὀρθὰ καὶ πλάγια ζῴδια (ortha kai plagia zōidia, 'direct and oblique signs')

Definition

The signs of short ascension are the six zodiacal signs that rise across the eastern horizon in less than two hours each at northern latitudes — Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. They are paired by equidistance from the equator with the six signs of long ascension (Cancer through Sagittarius), which rise more slowly. At the equator each sign rises in equal two-hour intervals; at higher latitudes the ascensional difference widens, and in extreme northern latitudes some short-ascension signs rise in less than an hour while their long-ascension partners can take more than three.

In Tradition

Across Hellenistic, Arabic-Persian, and Western tradition the short-vs-long-ascension classification is read as a structural sign-property tied to terrestrial latitude. Sign pairs equidistant from the equator (Gemini-Cancer, Taurus-Leo, Aries-Virgo, Pisces-Libra, Aquarius-Scorpio, Capricorn-Sagittarius) form the basis of the 'obeying' and 'commanding' sign-doctrines, with the short-ascension signs in the obedient role in Bonatti's Alchabitius-attributed reading.

In Practice

Astrologers consult ascensional tables for the chart's terrestrial latitude to compute the actual rising-time of each sign on the day in question. The short-vs-long classification has several uses: in primary-direction work the ascensional difference modulates the timing of directions involving the Ascendant; in horary the 'obeying' (short-ascension) and 'commanding' (long-ascension) classification — in Bonatti's somewhat deviant reading — describes the dynamic between paired sign-pairs. Bonatti's terminology calls the short-ascension signs 'crookedly ascending' (rising at a slanted angle, taking less time) and the long-ascension signs 'directly ascending' (rising perpendicular to the horizon, taking more time) — a counter-intuitive labelling that Hand's footnote explicitly flags for the modern reader.

Historical Origin

The short-vs-long-ascension classification is documented in Ptolemy's *Almagest* II ascensional-difference tables and codified in the medieval Arabic-Latin transmission. Bonatti's *Liber Astronomiae* Tractate II Pars II Chapter IV (13th c.) preserves the Alchabitius-attributed pairing doctrine: those rising crookedly obey those rising directly, paired by equatorial distance — Gemini obeys Cancer, Taurus obeys Leo, and so on. Lilly's *Christian Astrology* (1647) preserves the same six-and-six classification.

Etymology

Origin: Latin. Meaning: From signa breviores ascensionis or signa obliqui ascensus, naming the signs whose ascensional arc on the local horizon is shorter than two hours. The English 'short ascension' renders the Latin technical term directly..

Further Reading