What is my rising sign?
It’s a question I often get asked, and the answer is there is no definitive answer.
It’s like asking ‘what is astrology?’
There are so many different takes.
Astrology is more than just my horoscopes that you read and watch. As I say in my live shows, it’s like when you see a telecoms engineer working on one of those green boxes on the street and you get a peek inside at all the those tangled wires.
That’s astrology.
The rising sign (or ascendant)
The rising sign (or ascendant) forms part of what’s known as ‘the big three’ in astrology: sun, moon, and rising sign.
Its importance depends on which astrologer you ask. I’m a psychic astrologer and I bring a different spin to this practice.
The rising sign is the sign that is rising over the eastern horizon at exactly the time you were born and sets the tone for your whole chart as your rising sign is one on your first house, determining what are called the house cusps and I’ll do another blog on those soon.
The sun spends about 30 days in each sign, and the moon spends roughly two and a half days in each sign, and unlike your sun sign, or even your moon sign unless the moon moves signs on your birthday, you need to know your birth time to determine your Ascendant.
The rising sign and timings
The ascendant sign changes roughly every two hours, but this is quite variable depending on how close the birthplace is to the equator. That’s why some rising signs are more common than others.
Gemini, Cancer, Libra and Scorpio are the most common, while the rarest are Pisces Aquarius and Aries which rise for less than 100 minutes.
A sign can ascend for only half an hour, another close to three hours.
It’s also said that when what is called a luminary rises, that’s the sun (Leo rising) and moon (Cancer rising), the person takes on more of the traits of the sign that planet is in rather than the rising sign.
For example, if a person with Cancer rising has their moon in Aquarius, it’s this sign that might be more dominant in their chart.
I told you it was complex!
The rising sign and appearance
The rising marks the beginning of your first house, the most personal house in the horoscope, which signifies your self, physical body, character, and appearance. It’s your personality, your physicality, and the first things people notice about you.
Some rising sign examples
You might describe the rising sign or the ascendant as the mask we wear or the energy people first pick up on. For example, you can have a fun Gemini sun personality with a Scorpio rising, so the first thing you will pick up on on first meeting is the more mysterious and reserved Scorpio energy.
But once this person is comfortable, up pops their fun Gemini sun side.
Or you might have a Cancerian with a Sagittarius rising. On first impressions, you might think they’re a bit dictatorial or preachy or opinionated or the life and soul, but once you get beyond this and the sun sign shines through, you might find that they’re probably fairly home-loving and quiet.
Get your birth chart and find out your rising sign
You need a professional astrologer like me to cast your birth chart to know your rising sign, along with everything else a birth chart unlocks for you in terms of personality and potential.
Please get in touch for more info!