The Rising Sign in Personal Astrology Readings

The sign that is rising at the minute of your birth is known as your ascendant, and forms the basis for your personal astrological readings, destiny and compatibilities. Today we are looking at what the ascendant is, what it means to your natal chart, and how different ascendant signs can affect your personality.

The ascendant sign is one of the most important factors in determining your personality, love compatibility and future life events. It actually has more of an impact on your personality than the moon sign you were born under, and explains why many people who were born under a particular sign seem to have contradictory traits.

Your ascendant sign explains your automatic responses to your environment, indicates the front that you put on when meeting other people, and the way you cope with everyday life.

To calculate your rising sign you should get a qualified astrologer to do a personal astrological reading for you. Ascendants are not the same every year -- you need to know your time of birth, preferably to the nearest minute, to know your rising sign accurately. Knowing your birth time to at least the nearest 15 minutes can usually give you an accurate idea of your ascendant. You also need to know whether daylight savings time or war time was in effect in the year you were born -- it will affect your ascendant.

You can figure out what traits your ascendant sign causes you to express, according to astrological principles, simply by reading a personality guide for that monthly zodiac sign. For example, no matter what your monthly sign, if you have:

• Aries rising: your outward personality is often direct, competitive and a natural leader
• Cancer rising: your outward personality will be a sweet and gentle one that tries not to make waves.
• Virgo rising: you will generally appear intelligent and reserved to those around you, and be exceedingly aware of your body.

If you want to know your own ascendant sign, look out for automated guides on the internet. Astrology is not quick and easy -- it is both a science and an art, according to the practitioners. A personal astrology prediction is the best way to accurately know your ascendant, as well as to interpret that in light of the other astrological positionings at the time of your birth.