Your Ascendant, also called your Rising sign, is the outer you. It’s the version of you that other people see when you first meet. It’s the you that most often shows up in public social settings; at the dentist, a job interview, or on a blind date. It’s the mask you wear to the outside world and how you come across to others. Whether you’ve been aware of this or not, your Ascendant is the sign that essentially drives your outer personality and is most likely how others perceive you. 

The Moon is a powerful luminary and, second to the placement of the Sun, where the Moon exists in our natal chart influences much about our personalities. Where the Sun is an outward, visible expression of ourselves, the Moon represents our inner world of emotions and self awareness. The Moon rules the unconscious, the instinctual, the reactive-it’s the way we feel inside of ourselves and how we respond to situations when we don’t have time to think first. 

Your Sun sign is likely what you are most familiar with in your astrology. When someone says “I’m super intense-it’s a Scorpio thing,” or “What’s your sign? I’m really into Geminis,” they’re talking about Sun signs. As a key feature in a person’s natal chart, if all you know about someone is their Sun sign, you can understand a significant amount about who they are, how they express themselves, and their life purpose.