ASCEND

Inspiration

ASCEND started with one question: “What’s rising right now?” I wanted to make astrology feel alive and connected to the present moment, instead of something static you only read.

What it does

ASCEND is a real-time astrology app that uses your location and time to calculate what sign is currently rising. It connects the live sky with your personal birth chart, planetary events, AI astrology, and location intelligence, helping users discover places, events, and experiences around them.

How we built it

We combined astronomical calculations, location data, personalized astrology, AI, and subscription infrastructure powered by RevenueCat. We also integrated Google Maps, Ticketmaster, and Tripadvisor to connect the cosmic experience with the real world, allowing ASCEND to surface places to go, events to attend, and experiences to explore based on location.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was bringing so many different systems together while keeping ASCEND simple and intuitive. We faced deployment issues, API limitations, mobile builds, app-store requirements, and the complexity of coordinating real-time astronomical data with external location, events, and travel data.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

We turned a simple rising-sign concept into a much broader experience combining the sky, personal astrology, AI, places, events, and travel. ASCEND is becoming less like a traditional astrology app and more like a living interface between the cosmos and the world around you.

What we learned

We learned how much work goes into connecting different APIs and services into one cohesive product. We also learned the importance of designing monetization early, with RevenueCat helping us build a flexible premium subscription system.

What’s next for ASCEND

We’re expanding ASCEND into a deeper real-time cosmic companion, connecting the live sky to where you are, what’s happening around you, and what you might want to experience next.

The goal: make the sky something you can interact with, not just something you read about.