Your Ascendant, also known as your Rising Sign, is all about first impressions. It is the point in your birth chart that reveals the outward personality, and how the world sees you. It makes an impression on the world that may or may not relate to who you are inside.
Do people ever say that when they first met you, they thought you seemed really shy, outgoing, nervous, grouchy or what have you -- only to find you were really different once they got to know you better?
That’s how a Rising Sign operates: whatever your true, inner personality may be, you project an image of yourself that might be very different from the real you -- and might even hide your true personality from the world.
Your Ascendant is the sign of the Zodiac that was ascending on the eastern horizon when you were born -- hence the term Rising Sign. There’s a new sign on the horizon every two hours or so, so if you want to know your Rising Sign, you have to get really specific about your birth time and birth place.
Your birth date alone won’t cut it; you have to know the exact time of your first breath, in order to get an accurate reading of the face you present to the world. Many people identify strongly with the characteristics of their Ascendant, so it’s very worthwhile to go to the trouble of finding your birth time, so you can find your Rising Sign.
Learn more about the other angles: Ascendant or Rising Sign, Descendant, MC or Midheaven and IC or Imum Coeli