Have you ever heard ‘you don’t seem like a Taurus’ or ‘I don’t get Cancer energy from you’? It’s probably because of your Rising Sign rather than your Sun Sign! The sign we often get a glimpse of during our first impression is a Rising Sign.
If you’re familiar with astrology, you may try to guess people’s zodiac signs. Sometimes, you may have found yourself stumped when you’re trying to guess the sign of a new friend, coworker or crush! People may come off as a certain sign, but their birthday says otherwise.
Most people are familiar with Sun Signs. The Sun Sign describes the ego, thought, and personality. There is so much more to someone’s astrological profile than their Sun Sign!
You might be less familiar with other parts of your birth chart, like the rest of your Big Three - Moon Sign and Rising Sign. Sun, Moon and Rising Signs make up the foundations of your personality. Your Moon Sign indicates the inner you, but your Rising Sign is said to indicate the outer you and how other people perceive you! In some ways, your Rising Sign is a mask you are wearing, hiding your true and inner self until you get to know someone on a deeper level.
What is a Rising Sign?
If you feel like people don’t initially think that you’re like the description of your Sun Sign, that’s because they could be picking up on your Rising Sign!
Say you were born February 19, so you’ve been told that you’re adaptable, dreamy, gentle mutable water sign Pisces. But your Rising Sign is the stubborn, loyal, indulgent fixed Earth sign Taurus, so you come off as slower to adapt.
If you’re interested in how you come across to other people and what their first impression of you might be, you’ll want to find out your Rising Sign!
Your Rising Sign is you as you present yourself to the world. It is your social personality. It is your attitude, reaction to environments, and how you come off to people. It can also be your physical body and aesthetic.
Your Rising Sign is the image that you project to the world. Some say that it’s the mask you wear. The Rising Sign is how we are perceived and seen by people. The Rising Sign also symbolizes what skills and potentials are inside of you! It offers insights into your skills, talents and the strategies you might adopt when you make your way through life. This is the acting self, the personality as it may appear to others, and even the unfolding of an individual’s destiny.
The Rising Sign stands for people’s reactions to their environment and others. This is how they respond to the external inputs and deal with certain situations.
Your Rising Sign represents your physical body and outward style. As an essential part of what you present to the world, your Rising Sign speaks to the external self and can affect your physical appearance.
For example, Virgo Rising tend to be inquisitive and observative and have a calm and collected presence, and tend to wear tidy, prim and proper attire or Earthy tones. Aries Rising may come off as energetic, bold and daring, and gravitate toward more bright, cheerful or even shocking color combinations.
Your Rising Sign traits are what you’re destined to embody in your lifetime.
Okay, but really … what is a Rising Sign?
As the name suggests, the Rising Sign is the sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon the moment you were born. The Rising Sign is also known as the Ascendant. The Ascendant is abbreviated AC on birth charts.
To calculate your Rising Sign, you need to know your exact birth time. It’s important not to guesstimate to ensure accuracy. Rising Signs can differ minute to minute. You don’t want to end up with the wrong one in your birth chart!
Due to the movement of the Earth's axis, the sign changes approximately every two hours. The entire zodiac spans across the sky over 24 hours. The exact place of birth and time of birth are required to calculate the personal Rising Sign. But every two hours can be inaccurate depending on how close your birth place is to the equator. It’s not uncommon for a sign to ascend for only half an hour and for another for close to three hours. You see this happening to further you get from the equator.
This is why you need the exact time and place you were born! You should be able to find this on your birth certificate or by texting your mom. Only by having the precise time will you be able to get the most accurate Rising Sign.
Our Rising Sign is an essential point in an individual’s birth chart interpretation.
It’s worth noting that the Rising Sign, or Ascendant, always lands in your First House. Your First House is all about your personal brand - the first impression you give people, the way you take reins in life, how you first formed your self-image early in life, as well as your physical appearance.
To understand exactly what your Rising Sign is, you may need to know a little bit about the Birth Chart Houses.
Some Birth Chart Basics:
If you’ve never looked at your birth (or natal) chart, you’re missing out on a lot of details! Once you know the precise time and location of your birth, you can create an accurate look at the sky at the time of your birth. This illustrates where the signs, planets, and luminaries (Sun and Moon) were when you were born. It offers even more insight like houses, degrees and aspects!
If you think about your circular chart as the sky, the First House begins on the Eastern Horizon and goes counterclockwise. The sign that was rising on the Eastern Horizon at your birth is your Rising Sign and the sign your First House is in. The rest of the Houses will fall in Astrological order counterclockwise as well. Each placement on the chart will be laced in energy from the Rising Sign.
Basically:
Rising Sign = Ascendant = First House
The Ascendant, Houses, and Points are the most time-dependent factors in the birth chart.
Traditionally, a birth chart was done by hand, but now there are multiple websites and apps that will calculate this for you. The easiest way to calculate your Rising Sign is to put your information into an online calculator. It’ll do all the hard work for you, and even tell you a little bit about what your Rising Sign means.
Cafe Astrology - I love, love, love this site!
Chaos Astrology - Lots of info and references
Astrology.com - Great site with cool visuals
Apps:
CoStar - We’ve all heard bad things about this app, but it does lay out your chart in a table so it’s easy to picture it for those of us who like a list!
Sanctuary - I find this app to give a little more detail, plus I like it’s daily horoscopes a lot better
Chani - This is a newer app and it’s so cute! It will show you a chart and list out information from your birth chart for you, but doesn’t give extra information without paying.
When you figure out your Rising Sign, you can find even more websites to read more about what each of them mean! If you want a quick snapshot, below is a quick rundown of what you can expect from each of the twelve.
Aries
Aries Rising people are confident, direct, and even assertive. They meet life head-on and throw themselves into new experiences with enthusiasm. They are self-reliant, and tend to be either leaders or loners. They sometimes lack sensitivity, but wouldn’t want you to say something insensitive to them! They think in black and white, not dwelling on situations and wanting to move forward in life. They are strong, fierce individuals who won’t let you see their weaker side.
Taurus
Taurus Rising are strong, reliable, and constant. They have a sensible, realistic outlook on life! They are amazingly consistent and loyal. They have a gentle appearance, but can be extremely head-strong and stubborn. They refuse to be pushed into something they don’t believe in. Most of the time, they remain easygoing and peaceful, especially on the surface. They are often great lovers of beauty and appreciate the little things in life.
Gemini
Gemini Rising are clever, alert, curious and flexible. They are always questioning and learning. They love to talk. They have a young spirit and are very interested in new experiences. They get bored easily though. They need constant stimulation. They are charming and cheerful, usually not a somber presence. Humor is very important to them as to not take life so seriously. They seem unconcerned with important matters. Their response to life, however, is intellectual and they understand what is important and use logic. If they can’t understand something logically, they might just ignore it though!
Cancer
Cancer Rising are loyal, protective and supportive. They are nurturers who love to help others. They are reserved with strangers until they feel safe opening up. They appear shy and gentle. They have a strong need for emotional security. It can be difficult for them to make moves away from a place that is known and feels safe. They hang onto precious memories. They are emotionally in tune with their environment. They have strong instincts that are often emotionally driven. Their emotions and personal loyalties drive their thoughts and opinions. They have a hard time separating from bias.
Leo
Leo Risings are an admirable person with great courage and a beautiful heart. They put their best face forward, always. They are not timid or meek. Proud and somewhat vain, they like to be seen as someone who is special. They have a me-centered view of life. They don’t like to be in the background. They are natural leaders! They must have something of their own that is creative, like a hobby, club or even business. They like to put their unique stamp on whatever they do. They have a strong sense of dignity and self-respect! They dislike pettiness, but they will give a cold shoulder.
Virgo
Virgo Risings are businesslike, polite, have a generally cool attitude, and are self-sufficient. These placements have an eye for detail. They are very hard to please, but at the same time, they don’t need to be front and center. They like to help, but don’t always radiate sympathy. They are content to be in a supporting role, rather than lead. They are perfectionists and overly self-critical. They always see the flaws in things that they do. Sometimes they just flat-out refuse to do things because they won’t meet their own standards. Order in their environment is important. They cautiously approach situations, assessing them first. Worrying is a bad habit of theirs.
Libra
Libra Risings are generally kind, friendly and cooperative. Naturally a diplomat, they are kind, reasonable, tolerant, and always willing to listen to multiple viewpoints. Even if they don’t agree, they will try to see it from another side. They very much want to be liked. Sometimes they will suppress their unpleasant feelings in order to make others feel comfortable. Their need for harmony extends to their environment with beauty, good taste, art, style and general aesthetically pleasing things in life. Relationships are an art for them. They tend to feel more secure when they are in a relationship.
Scorpio
Scorpio Rising are intense, cautious, and devoted. Nothing is done halfway. Behind the quiet exterior lies a great deal of emotional depth, sensitivity and determination. They are strong-willed and proud, but very private and not easy to get to know well. They go after things they want wholeheartedly, and usually get it! They don’t live lightly or superficially. They want to live passionately and intensely. They function well in a crisis and may even seek a crisis out. They have a strong intuition, especially about other people and their motives. They are suspicious of others. When they commit to someone, it is with undying loyalty.
Sagittarius
Sagittarius Rising are independent, but friendly. This placements are enthusiastic, adventurous and have a great yearning for more! They tend to believe the grass is always greener somewhere else. They love to have a goal and something to aim for. The possibility of discovering something new is what keeps them going. They have great faith in life and easily bounce back from downfalls. They resist commitments and don’t like being caged. They are big talkers, big promise makers and are convincing. They’re a good sport and a good friend, but they aren’t always consistent. They are wise, because they don’t get caught up in pettiness. They have a bigger way of looking at things. They perceive the world as a bigger picture. They believe in miracles, luck and never give up! They are inspiring to others.
Capricorn
Capricorn Risings are excellent strategists, planners and are very serious. Cautious, prudent and self-contained, they take a realistic approach to life. They don’t get carried away with optimistic ideals. They are sometimes even cynical. They are careful and calculated. They will work long and hard for what they want. They don’t expect to be taken care of, nor do they ask for help. They are quietly ambitious. They are concerned with their duties and how they appear in society. They won’t openly display affection. They like appearing poised and in control.
Aquarius
Aquarius Rising are independent and liberated. They are friendly, but often seem impersonal. They have lots of acquaintances but few true friends. They base their closeness on common ideals and principles rather than emotional ties. They are supportive of change, innovation and human advancement. They are aware of the interconnection and interdependence of all people. They take their personal issues into a much larger framework. Sometimes they ignore their own needs and feelings for the bigger picture. They want to contribute something good to the world. They have no patience for narrow-mindedness. They don’t often show their feelings, and sometimes don’t know how to respond to others' emotional expressions because they’re so rational.
Pisces
Pisces Rising lead with their intuition and heart. They are gentle and sensitive with a deep understanding of people and a very tolerant, accepting approach to life. They are not forceful or aggressive and dislike conflict. They prefer to watch and wait, to know much but act very little. They may have deep spiritual feelings, but not necessarily orthodox ones. Periods of solitude do them well. They don’t like to see human suffering. They may cry very easily, especially as a child. Imagination and fantasy is important to them as a place to escape. They sometimes don’t like to look at reality, even making excuses for people who could be taking advantage of their kindness. They just aren’t as rigid and structured as most people, seeing many points of view as valid and makes them very flexible.
I have also begun a series where I am detailing each Rising Sign.
Scorpio • Sagittarius • Capricorn • Aquarius • Pisces
Look out for more! Lots of content is free.
Interpreting a Birth Chart is a lot of work for a beginner! Experts can look at a picture of your chart and clarify a lot of things about you. Your big three are a big part of your personality and destiny, but your other planets may show how you navigate through life. If you would like your birth chart explained by me, I will detail it out for you in an essay, starting at $20.
One last tip:
If you’ve been reading your horoscope for your Sign Sign, as opposed to Rising, you could be missing out on crucial intel. Most horoscopes are written with a person’s Rising Sign in mind, so once you know yours, the predictions in your Rising might be more accurate than your Sun!
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