What Does Your Rising Sign Really Mean?

By now, you probably know what your star sign is. It's the one everyone means when they ask you your zodiac sign. Your star sign can also be called your sun sign. However, in astrology, there are more signs you should be looking at to create a better look at your whole picture. The two remaining signs that make up "the big three" in astrology are your moon sign and rising sign.

According to astrologer Annabel Gat, these three signs allow astrologers to see your natal chart from a bigger picture (via Vice). Your rising sign is important because it will ultimately determine your placements, or houses, on your chart. The rising sign will always fall into one of the 12 signs that we all already know. Having all of this information gives you a better glimpse into who you are and why you are the way you are.

According to More, your rising sign is the fact that you show to the world. It is your personality when you're among others and how they perceive you. Your rising sign is the way people would describe it and can sometimes be different than who you feel you are. Until the 20th century, it was thought your rising sign was the sign to best represent a person, rather than the sun sign, which is the predominant sign today. If you ever feel like people are not fully understanding you or misinterpreting you, it could be due to your rising sign.

InStyle also suggests that your rising sign can affect your physical appearance. For instance, your rising sign can determine how you present yourself in front of others. This could be why some might say you have an imposing figure even if you feel shy inside. It's the first type of self-image that you experienced while growing up. Your rising sign also represents how you show up in the world. Knowing your rising sign gives you a glimpse into how others see you. It also helps you decipher your horoscope as this is how most people will perceive you.

To know what your rising sign is, you need to know your time of birth and where you were born. This is because your rising sign is the zodiac sign that was on the horizon in the Eastern Hemisphere at this time. Although other signs can be in their zodiacs for months or days, your rising sign is very specific to your time of birth. As The Cut shares, the zodiac sign in the rising sign can change every two hours. This is why it is important to know the time and place of birth, to fully know which sign was in the east at that time. 

After figuring out your exact time and place of birth, you can easily find out your rising sign along with the rest of your natal chart. You can simply plug your information into a birth chart calculator such as Cafe Astrology and immediately know what zodiac your rising sign is in.