The Beginner’s Guide to Your Big Three
⤏ YOUR SUN, MOON, AND RISING — WHAT THEY MEAN AND WHY THEY’RE EQUALLY IMPORTANT
⤏ WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE PERNETT
⤏ GRAPHIC BY FAYE ORLOVE
A saying you’ll often come across in astrology is, “as above, so below.” Meaning: what happens in the stars — and in the nonphysical realm— is also reflected in our day to day world.
If you’re just getting interested in astrology (or maybe even a skeptic!) you’ve probably thought, “I’m a (enter sun sign here) and I don’t act like (someone who has the same sun sign). Fair; maybe you don’t or maybe you just don’t see the patterns yet. Astrology, to me, is about patterns. That’s where your birth chart comes in. Think of your birth chart like a picture of where all the planets were the moment you were born. Now again you might be saying — I share my birthday with millions of people and they’re not all like me — and you’d be right! They’re not all like you, but it’s probably because they have a different moon or rising sign. Learning more about your moon and rising signs in addition to your sun sign can help you find more patterns in who you are.
All three signs matter. Your whole chart matters! But for now let’s break down your Big Three.
The sun
Most people, if asked their zodiac sign, would say their sun. To me, this shows how important the sun is to us personally. Now, I’m a Gemini moon, so I love words, especially words that are apt and succinct so, keywords for the sun and what it represents in our charts are purpose, vitality, and central. Aside from ideas, the sun also represents kings, authority, the mind, intelligence, public affairs, fathers, and notable figures.
Body wise, the sun rules the heart. Every planet rules a sign or two, and the sun (although it’s technically a star) rules the sign Leo. Leo’s are “like that” because they want to be seen and recognized. The sun as a being is individualistic, it can be overly focused on the self. The sun doesn’t care if it’s burning you or your plants. It just beams and shines. Love them or hate them, Leo’s will do exactly that.
The sun represents the areas of life we consider important or essential. It shines a light on all things, both physically and metaphorically. Depending on the sign and house placement, it’ll shine a light on what we need to survive and what’s important to our being. It describes the qualities we want to be seen as, how we want to be recognized. I’ll use myself as an example: I’m a Capricorn sun. Qualities of a Capricorn include being a hard worker, serious, and practical. I know the people in my life see me that way and I come across that way to others.
But if you’re thinking, “I don’t relate to my sun sign qualities” remember how I said it depends on the sign AND the house? Each house represents different aspects of your life. For example, the 1st house represents how people see you and the 12th house represents the subconscious mind (dreams, fear or imagination). Some houses in astrology are called “dark houses” making it more difficult for us to resonate with the qualities of the planets in those houses. Another reason you might not identify with your sun sign could be that there are other planets in your chart making a bigger impact. Wow, overshadowing the sun, can you believe?
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the moon
While the sun changes every 28 to 30 days, the moon changes sign every two to three days. This is why someone born the day after you could have a completely different moon sign. It’s like colors. There’s pink, but then there’s different shades of pink. A Scorpio born on October 27th may be different from a Scorpio born on November 1st, but they’re all Scorpios nonetheless.
The moon is our emotions and physical body. Since the sun represents the father, the moon is the mother. Neither is better, both have their distinct jobs ,but most children, especially young ones, are closer to their mother than their father. Just as the moon is the closest celestial body to us, our mothers are usually the person we are closest to, especially while in utero. It’s said that the moon can shed light on the conditions we were experiencing while in our mother’s womb. It can also describe the relationship we have with our mothers, and our experience with them. This is not limited to the person who birthed us. Your moon can include any caretaking figure in your childhood. Personally, I find it interesting to see the different moon signs between siblings. They’re often reflective of how each sibling experienced their mother figure differently.
Aside from representing mothers, the moon in our charts can show how we nurture others and how we want to be nurtured ourselves. It symbolizes the part of us that is vulnerable, needy, and dependent. When you’re stressed or going through a rough time, we revert to things that made us feel comfortable or safe as a child. It’s our instinctual mechanisms we developed to survive, to have our needs met. A Taurus moon will have different needs than a Virgo moon.
Overall, the moon is about how we receive. Not just the nurture from our caretaking figures, but how we receive our relationships, how we receive food, our environment, and our experiences. How receptive we are depends on the sign and house our moon is in. In a sense, the moon relates to our emotions and our hidden inner world. Compared to the sun, the moon also has a physical quality. It rules the breasts and the stomach.
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RISING / ASCENDANT
To get even more personal, let’s move on to the ascendant, also known as, your rising sign. Compared to your sun or moon sign, the ascendant changes approximately every two hours. While it’s not a planet, it is an important point in your chart as it’ll set up the rest of your houses. Fun fact: the word “horoscope,” is derived from the Greek word, “hōroskopos,” which means “hour-marker.” Initially, you would read horoscopes using your rising sign. It wasn’t until the 1930s when Richard Harold Naylor — a British astrologer — made sun sign horoscopes popular. Ancient astrologers in the first century BCE would use the ascendant for their predictions, just to give you an idea at how old the study of astrology is.
The ascendant and the first house describe how we approach life, it’s how we greet our immediate world. Just like the moon may show the conditions we experienced while in utero, the ascendant can show the conditions that were around us at the time of our birth. Planets in the first house or near the ascendant can influence that in a big way. Additionally, as the first house is the house of the self, it can influence our looks. Of course, biology still plays a bigger role in determining your features but once you start noticing patterns you eventually can begin to correctly guess someone’s rising. Patterns I’ve noticed are: Taurus risings look like dolls; pouty lips, lifted, curly lashes, and tiny noses. Virgo risings look like birds; they just have a pointed look to them. Cancer risings have beautiful eyes. They’re not necessarily big but they have a clear, watery look to them.
Maybe you’ve read the sun and moon section and feel like neither one describes you. Fortunately, the ascendant assigns us a planet that we may relate to, known as our “chart ruler.” For example, I am a Sagittarius rising so my chart ruler is Jupiter. I view the world through a Jupiterian lens, while my Taurus rising sister views life through a Venusian lens. I want to explore and see everything possible and impossible, maybe forgetting things in the physical world I have to take care of. While my Taurus rising sister may value the sensory pleasures of the world over exploring physical possibilities.
Since your rising sign changes every few hours, it’s important to have an accurate time of birth. You might think you’re a Libra rising because your parents said you were born at a certain time, but it’s absolutely worth a double check. Or maybe that’s just my Capricorn sun being a realist.
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Hopefully, you’ve gotten through this guide and are now inspired to look for your birth certificate, confirm your birth time, and study your chart! Maybe you’ll learn more about why you relate or don’t relate to your sun or moon sign. Regardless, astrology has such a rich history that spans centuries. You won’t understand that full richness only looking at sun sign horoscopes (although they are fun to read!). This is just a small sample of the world that awaits when you begin to study astrology. Consider this a starting point at seeing how the patterns in the sky reflect the patterns in our lives. As above, so below, of course.