What is the Ascendant Sign in Astrology?

Did you know that the Ascendant sign the most personal one! And yes, it is not the same as your Sun sign.

The Sun sign, is the one everyone knows-it shows the position of the Sun at the time of your birth-if you are born in April your Sun is either in Aries or Taurus etc.

The Ascendant is the actually the zodiac sign of the Earth!!
We do live on Earth, after all! This is the zodiac sign which rises on the Eastern Horizon the minute we are born! The sign which rises on the Eastern horizon changes once every 1-2 hours, because of the rotation of our Earth on its Axis. So the Ascendant sign is the fastest changing one, while the Sun sign changes once a month, the Moon sign changes every 2-3 days, the Ascendant sign changes 12 times a day!!

The Ascendant signs shows the most impermanent side of life-the material and physical side of the person/event/objects, (yes, even an event will have its own Ascendant sign).

The Ascendant sign is your physical body-the first thing you identify with! It represents your Gaia sign, from which the atoms and materials for your body are taken.

For example, someone with a fire sign Ascendant, will usually have hotter temperature of the body, more muscle, more energy and vitality-very fire like, while someone with an Earth sign Ascendant will have--you got it..a more solid, earthy, sensual body shape, usually more endurance too. Just giving you some simple examples to see how it works.

Because the Ascendant is our body and also our Earthly reality it also marks the start of the Horoscope! It does make sense! If we did not have the material body, we would not have an Earthly experience, and no horoscope, after all! That is the reason astrologers always look at your transits in regards to your ascendant sign-your physical body and what tangibly happens to it, while you are walking this earthly journey(the Ascendant)!

Your Sun and Moon and the other planets are also defined according to their position in regards to the Ascendant sign! Because the other planets become part of your consciousness, but they are dependant on their manifestation on the body(Rising sign).

The houses(the other signs counted from your Ascendant) indicate specific areas of manifestation in life. 2nd=resources and provisions, money, 3rd sign from Ascendant-early childhood, how we communicate, siblings, teammates, 4th from Ascendant=mother, extended family, home, property, etc.

For example if your Ascendant is in Leo, your Sun is in Virgo, then your Sun will be in the 2nd sign from Leo, then we say your Sun is in the 2nd house, so your Solar qualities of consciousness(action, shining your light, success, achievements) will manifest in reality through the 2nd house-material, financial goals and achievements.

The aspects of the other planets towards the Ascendant-their positional relationship to it, show how easy or hard you can manifest their energy on your path in life! For example: Venus-the planet of love, being in the 6th sign from Ascendant, which is a less harmonious angle of connection, shows that the person will have problems manifesting love-they might be more critical towards themselves, have a poorer self worth(Venus) and have to try harder to connect to this planet, hence its positive results(happy relationships) can be delayed in this person's life. Even if this Venus is in the 5th house of dating(unequal house system), but falls in the 6th sign from ascendant(whole sign house system), the person (Ascendant) will find it challenging to manifest love(Venus) smoothly.

So never underestimate the importance of your Ascendant sign-it is your Earth/Gaia, sign! It is the path you are walking on and the energy you have to learn to express all your talents through, because this is your point of materialisation. If you have an Air Sign Ascendant(Gemini, Libra or Aqua), for example, no matter how many planets in earth signs you might have(dealing with practical, material issues) you will have to learn to express and make these happen in an intellectual way-which is the air element, or through some kind of a verbal media.

You can find out your ascendant sign from my birth chart calculator, as long as your time of birth is relatively known(within 10-15 minutes). Then scroll to the planetary detail table and see the sign on your Ascendant. https://www.astrolada.com/birthchart-calculator