But your ascendant isn’t just about how others see you - it also sheds light on how we see ourselves. In a group setting, the first impression you give off to others will usually align with the energy of your rising sign, and it can influence how you react to things off the cuff.
"Having a grasp on your rising sign helps in evaluating how you interact with new people and how others might perceive you." "Knowing your ascendant is important, as it represents how you appear to the world, your general nature in day-to-day existence, and the manner in which you meet life's lessons," astrologer Caitlin McGarry tells Bustle. It's the version of yourself that is presented to the people around you and it dictates the energy you project to others, intentionally or not. You can think of your rising sign as representing who you are at a glance.
What Exactly Does Your Rising Sign Represent? That's your ascendant sign - and the qualities of that sign can tell you a lot about how you show up in the world, as well as the way you see yourself. If you already have a copy of your birth chart, you can look at which zodiac sign the cusp of the first house (the point on the center-left side of the circle) falls into.
Dig up your birth certificate and consult a professional astrologer to get the scoop, or use an online birth chart calculator to figure it out at home. In order to find out your rising sign, you need to know your exact birth time (as the sign on the eastern horizon changes approximately every two hours!) in addition to the date and location.
The ascendant is one of the key astrological ingredients when it comes to understanding ourselves through a cosmic lens, so read on for the scoop on how to find and understand your rising sign. "Understanding the rising sign is about understanding how you like to express and project yourself to the world.” “The ascendant in astrology shows your mannerisms, your persona, your direct personality, and your identity,” astrologer Alby Toribio tells Bustle. But our rising signs represent a significant piece of our personality, self-image, and our outward-facing selves in general. The sun sign represents our ego and the core of what drives us, while our moon zodiac signs represent our private, emotional, and vulnerable sides. The rising sign is one of the “big three” signs in astrology (sun, moon, and rising) that represent the core of our cosmic self. (That's where the term “rising sign” comes from!) In your astrological birth chart, the ascendant is always the sign that rules your first house - meaning that it determines the cusp of all 12 astrological houses that follow. Whatever sign happened to be rising at the sunrise point at the exact time of your birth is considered your rising sign.
It refers to an angular point in the birth chart that is based on the position of the eastern horizon in the zodiac at the time that you were born. Unlike your sun and moon signs, your rising sign isn't based on the placement of any particular planet. But what is a rising sign and how do you find out yours? But did you know that when someone meets you, they’re actually more likely to pick up on the qualities of your rising sign? A rising sign (aka your ascendant sign) is the part of your astrology that dictates how you come off to other people and the way you show up in the world - and it’s arguably one of the most important pieces of one’s astrological chart. When we think of astrology, most people think of their sun sign first and foremost.