Hey Baby, What’s Your Sign?

Photo by Nick Sarebi (cc)

What’s your sign?

The thing you think of as your “sign”… the one you look up in the newspaper, the one you tell (or lie about) to weird strangers in bars, the one you’re pigeonholed into. In astrology, your “sign” is what we call your sun sign. Your sun sign is simply a marker of where the sun was in the sky when you were born.

Some people are very much like their sun sign, but others aren’t. This is how horoscopes get a bad reputation: “That doesn’t describe me at all!” Why not? Your sun sign is just the first piece of the puzzle.

Our sun travels in a circle, through all the signs, over a year. Your sun sign is connected to the season you were born in, and  corresponds to your core personality- your individuality. Your sun sign represents who you are.

The next piece of the puzzle is far less familiar: the moon sign.

The part of the zodiac where the moon fell when you were born is your moon sign. The moon travels in a circle through the signs, just like the sun does. However, the moon only takes a month to do this, so a person of any sun sign can have any moon sign- the two don’t have to match at all.

For example, all the people born between mid-August and mid-September are Virgos. But over that month, the moon travels through every sign. So a person born on August 25th might be a Virgo with their moon in Taurus, but a person born two weeks later might be a Virgo with their moon in Scorpio. Your moon sign is connected to the time of the month you were born in, and  corresponds to your emotional needs- your habits and patterns and cravings. Your moon sign represents what you need.

The third piece of info is called your ascendant.

This is called a couple different things: your ascendant, your rising sign… they mean the same thing. Your ascendant is the sign that was coming over the horizon when you were born. It’s the constellation that was in the sky to the very east at the moment you were born- during the day, the sun obscures them, but at night one can see the actual signs.

Because the earth rotates, the rising sign changes throughout the day, and the sign visible on the east horizon may be different depending on where you’re standing. This is why astrologers need to know your birth info for the most accurate reading- the ascendant changes depending on what time of day you were born, and in what place.

Your ascendant is connected to the time of day and location you were born in, and  corresponds to your worldview- how you act in public, the way people see you and how you see them. Your ascendant represents your first impressions.

So, to begin to see your true horoscope you have three things that mark the beginnings of your life: the time of year, the time of the month, and the time of day you were born. These give you your sun sign, your moon sign, and your rising sign.

• Sun – who you are
• Moon – what you need
• Ascendant – your worldview

You can find out your own signs by visiting Astrodienst; Click “My Astro” on the top right, follow the account creation links, and enter your birth data. Try exploring the interactive horoscopes.

Above all, don’t get bogged down by the idea that the newspaper horoscope is all there is. Your sun sign is only the beginning!

Related posts:

1. Ask the Astrologer!
2. Ask the Astrologer #3 – Ascendants
3. On the Ascendant: See the World Your Way