Ascendant/Rising Signs

Your Ascendant (or Rising Sign) is the sign rising over the eastern horizon at your time
of birth. This indicates the personality you show to other people as well as relating to
your physical body.

You will need your time of birth to find the Ascendant sign in your birth chart.
ARIES ASCENDANT
With an Aries Ascendant you have a strong need to be noticed and do not like to be in an
inferior position but wish to be at the head of the pack. You have courage, daring and the
urge to win. You will shrink from nothing, dare to undertake anything and stick to it
through thick and thin. This courageous, enterprising spirit enables you to face and
overcome difficulties promptly and bravely. Ambition, self-reliance and confidence are
qualities that help you to win your way in the world. Your natural leadership potential and
unlimited energy for action can bring much success if applied correctly. The problem is
that you are somewhat lacking in coolness, calm deliberation and self-restraint. You tend
to over simplify problems and need to be more decisive and less vague. Although you are
able to adapt to any environment, you do not find it easy to bend or give way to others.
There is also a tendency to be impulsive and you are capable of violent outbursts of
temper without due provocation. But you have a natural sense of humour and robust
health. The physical areas you may have problems with are the eyes or headaches. Also,
however independent you appear to others, you have a strong need for a permanent
emotional relationship.

TAURUS ASCENDANT
With a Taurus Ascendant you are practical, loving, affectionate, sociable, fond of
pleasure, firm and strong-willed. You are quiet-natured, a lover of peace, quiet, comfort
and harmony. Although you are not easily roused to temper, when this does happen you
will stop at nothing. You do not change very easily as you are a little lacking in
adaptability and on occasion you can show great obstinacy. Because of this your life
tends to move from day to day and even from year to year with comparatively little
alteration. You are not easily influenced by other people, but can be somewhat reserved
and self-centred. Although you have ambitions of power you are a slow, steady,
persistent, determined, diplomatic and patient worker, but in your own way and according
to your own ideas. Despite this you may have a tendency to laziness and be overly
attached to possessions as you feel the need for material proof of your success. The
relationship with your partner will be intense and passionate with sexual fulfilment
important, but it must be alongside friendship. Your partner is likely to help you towards
considerable achievement. Because Taurus rules the throat you may suffer from weight
gain due to thyroid problems.

GEMINI ASCENDANT
With a Gemini Ascendant you are quick to learn and have an inquiring nature. You are
fond of reading, writing, study and intellectual debate. You are capable of acquiring a
good education because, with your liking of books, you can apply your mind to a variety
of subjects. Languages and science are your strong points. Ingenuity and inventiveness
are natural qualities that should bring you social or financial success. You have good
reasoning powers, a thoughtful mind and the ability for almost any literary pursuit or
clerical work. You are also fond of travel. On the negative side you may lack
concentration and perseverance. You can be rather nervous, restless and changeable at
times that may result in fits of shyness or reserve when you withdraw into yourself. You
are liable to worry and can be easily upset by little annoyances. You can, on occasion, be
irritable and downright rude. Reason and understanding are your strong faculties, but
you are liable to lack continuity and strength of will. Because you are kind, humane and
sympathetic you make a warm, enthusiastic partner. You gain intellectual satisfaction
from being in a relationship and challenge your partner to achieve more. Being
independent, you are unable to cope with jealousy and possessiveness. An inner
restlessness keeps you perpetually employed in research or other work and although you
are interested in occult or spiritual subjects, you will question or reject them unless they
can be proved by argument or evidence. Nervous tension can result in overstrain or
aggravate any asthmatic tendency and your hands are vulnerable, particularly to arthritis
in later years.

CANCER ASCENDANT
With a Cancer Ascendant you have a sympathetic, protective and sensitive nature
capable of much emotional warmth. You get great satisfaction from caring for others and
put much energy into your family. Domesticity and a happy family life provide your
nurturing quality with a means of expression. Despite your love of relatives and home,
you are fond of change, public life and travel. Emotional experiences are all important to
you and on occasion they may dominate your life for better or for worse. You are easily
influenced by those whom you love or admire, but are apt to be cold, reserved and
distrustful to those you do not know well or dislike. You have an active imagination and
often live the past over again in your mind in order to anticipate the future. You desire
possessions but your ambitions are for your partner to do well. At times you are
changeful and capricious, but you also have patience and perseverance. Your shy,
sensitive and timid nature makes you vulnerable to emotional pain. Other dangers are
moodiness, fantasising, restlessness and a predisposition to hypochondria. Worry about
health can lead to digestive problems. You probably possess some psychic or occult
ability and if you don’t have a family of your own, you will put all your powerful caring
need into a deep interest or career.

LEO ASCENDANT
With a Leo Ascendant you display courage, kindness and an air of authority. You have
dignity and self-confidence that will enhance your social position in life and sustain you
through trouble or difficulty. With compassion, tenderness and sympathy, you are eager
to give help to those who need it and to protect those who need protection. Friends find
you courteous, loyal, warm-hearted and generous. Yet, on occasion, you may allow
uncertainty, conceit or inaccessibility to spoil your social image. Impulsiveness is a further
danger and your anger is sometimes quick to rise, but you are a forgiving enemy and
prefer peace to war. Your pride is rather easily hurt but this doesn’t stop you from being
cheerful, sociable and companionable. You are ambitious, fond of power and distinction
with a firm, strong will. You do not readily change your course when you have once
decided on it, but are capable of persistent effort extended over a long period.
Organisational ability is one of your strong points but you also think you know better than
anyone else. You may need to put a curb on your fondness for luxury and pleasure as
this type of lifestyle can be difficult to maintain. This may also result in you putting your
career before any hobbies or creative interests that will not be good for you long term as
you need a creative outlet of some kind. Drama, acting, painting or other artistic pursuits
are suitable. Your ideal partner is someone with a strong and independent mind to keep
you on the ball as you are mentally active. Neck or back problems are more likely to have
a psychological rather than a physical cause.

VIRGO ASCENDANT
With a Virgo Ascendant you are unemotional, self-reliant, calm, intelligent, inventive and
have a systematic approach to life. You have a need to communicate and examine every
situation in life in great detail. Careful and prudent, you are capable of exercising much
forethought before you act. Although you are very adaptable and almost capable of
being all things to all men, you seldom show your real nature openly. Because of this you
are at times difficult to understand. You have a fondness for learning and a mind that is
active and logical. You are good at reasoning and have the capacity for scientific or
literary pursuits. But you are able to develop a fair amount of practical ability also, and
can attend to small details skilfully and methodically. At times you tend to worry
unnecessarily and may be too readily give way to difficulties. This is probably due to a
lack of self-confidence and being too self-critical. Although you have a sound business
sense and a good eye for detail, you work best if you have a leader to follow and rely on.
When in a relationship you have a tendency to nag but you also have much inner warmth
and sensitivity. Worry may cause headaches, migraines or constipation. Hypochondria
will be likely.

LIBRA ASCENDANT
With a Libra Ascendant you have a courteous, kind, honest and sensitive disposition with
a strong sense of justice. You strive for the beautiful and more refined things in life and
will evade unpleasantness at all costs. You are fond of good society, fine clothes and
jewellery. Your feelings and affections are strongly developed and are likely to play an
important part in your life. You are able to make many friends as you associate easily with
other people. A cultivated taste for music, painting and other artistic pursuits is also
possible. Your surroundings influence you very much and you are not happy unless they
are elegant and harmonious. You will be less fortunate if you live alone or dissociate
yourself from others. Your mind is capable of considerable cultivation but you have more
intuition than reason. Emotion and affection mean more to you than cold intellect. You
can be rather changeable, your likes and dislikes vary a good deal, and your ideas
change with your moods. Attaining your full potential is only possible with companionship,
friendship, partnership and marriage. You tend to fall in love with love and have great
enthusiasm for the physical aspects of relationships. Dangers are apathy, lack of
perseverance, selfishness in close relationships and emotional fragility. You may suffer
from headaches due to kidney problems.

SCORPIO ASCENDANT
With a Scorpio Ascendant you have strong willpower, ambition, physical energy, passion,
determination and deep emotions. Wilful, ingenious, resourceful, self-reliant and
courageous you do not shrink from controversy or dispute if it is thrust upon you, neither
do you shirk responsibility. You have strong likes and dislikes toward both persons and
ideas, and you do not easily change your opinions or habits of life. You are angry when
provoked and a good fighter when the defensive, critical, sarcastic or analytical side of
your nature is activated. At times, you can be too blunt and forceful with those who differ
with you, creating an unnecessary friction. Although you tend to look after your friends
and go out of your way to help those in need, on occasion you can be very rude. With
great endurance and persistence you can work long and hard to achieve your goals.
Despite this you are sometimes swayed by intense feelings, emotions and passions. You
also have a predisposition to secrecy and jealousy. Although you do not like to reveal
yourself fully to others, you have a strong need to know yourself and are capable of
seeing your own problems clearly and honestly. Emotional security is as important to you
as financial security. In a relationship you are tender and charming but keep signs of
affection between you and your partner totally private. You may, at some stage, develop
a taste for mystical or occult subjects. Worry about problems can lessen your sex drive.

SAGITTARIUS ASCENDANT
With a Sagittarius Ascendant you have self-confidence, optimism, enthusiasm for life,
good humour and tolerance for others. You have an honourable, open-minded,
generous, kind, friendly, sympathetic, truthful and just disposition. With a sound sense of
dignity you ensure neatness, orderliness and precision both in your person and
surroundings. You do not tolerate any breach of etiquette and insist on correctness for
any social occasion. You have a versatile mind with the natural ability for higher learning
particularly in subjects such as philosophy, sociology, religion, theology or law.
Intellectual challenge is something you need and you have what it takes to exploit your
potential to the full. But sometimes you think you have all the answers when actually
some important details are missing. You are strongly aware of your own shortcomings
and fascinated by self-knowledge. You are a lover of freedom, independence and are
restless for activity. Outdoor sports, exercises and travel are important to your well-being.
On occasion, you can be somewhat impulsive, fiery and a little harsh or abrupt with
people, but usually only when you feel offended. In relationships sexual fulfilment alone is
not enough and you also need friendship and intellectual rapport. Liver problems may be
caused by binge eating or drinking and depression is possible if life offers no challenge
or becomes static.

CAPRICORN ASCENDANT
With a Capricorn Ascendant you have the ability, tact and talent to cope with serious
practical issues responsibly. You have a quiet, steady and patient disposition with a
capacity for hard work. You are ambitious and have desires for power and social status.
With much practical ability you are a steady, patient worker and will carry out faithfully any
work entrusted to you. Having strong self-control and strength of will you can pursue your
ends persistently in the face of many obstacles. You also believe in justice, economy,
caution and prudence and you usually think before you act. You are ideally suited to
executive duty because you are very capable of exercising power. Also, you are well-able
to order, direct and manage subordinates very efficiently, although you are apt to be
more respected than loved by them. But your self-confidence in the work sphere may not
be apparent in the other areas of your life and this may be due to you underestimating
your non-work abilities. In time you will acquire a self-disciplined and methodical approach
to all life's problems. Your natural reserve and restraint may inhibit you from making
friends easily, but you are very faithful to those you have. Once in a permanent
relationship you are very caring and sensitive to the needs of your partner but this may
not be obvious to those around you unless they know you very well. On the negative side
you can be a stern, ruthless and rather pitiless enemy. You are at times inclined to
melancholy and a too-serious frame of mind. Providing you do not allow this negative,
pessimist and sometimes depressive attitude to cloud your judgement, social success will
ultimately be achieved. You are a little lacking in cheerfulness and sometimes look too
much on the dark side of things. Because of this you need a routine that allows time for
physical exercise, relaxation and some type of spiritual connection. It is likely that any
problems will manifest themselves physically as digestive upsets, ulcers or even skin
disorders.

AQUARIUS ASCENDANT
With an Aquarius Ascendant you have intellectual abilities, idealism, sociability, sympathy
and a magnetic social presence. You have a good memory, reasoning ability and are
capable of receiving a good education. You have an open disposition and are kind,
cheerful, candid, frank and truthful, but also stubborn. At times you can be very silent and
self-contained but this does not imply melancholy. On these occasions, others may view
you as a little eccentric and changeable. You are likely to make many friends and you are
constant and faithful in your attachments. You will benefit a good deal through friends
and acquaintances and take much pleasure in their companionship. Although you are
strongly independent and your distant personality means it is difficult to feel close to you,
the concept of a brotherhood of man is something you truly believe in. You are very
capable when dealing with facts and are inventive and self-controlled. Subjects such as
science, literature, art and metaphysics will attract you. In a relationship your partner
needs to play a supportive role as you are inclined to be inflexible and need to be the
boss. Regular exercise is essential for you to keep the circulation and therefore your
heart healthy. Worry can cause back problems.

PISCES ASCENDANT
With a Pisces Ascendant you have sensitivity, gentleness, and sympathy for others,
artistic ability and a harmonious disposition. You have a benevolent, humane, generous
and charitable nature and your feelings are easily roused by suffering and need. You will
often go out of your way to help those less privileged than yourself. Unfortunately, others
may sometimes take advantage of your kind and self-sacrificing nature. Sociable and
friendly you are able to make friends easily and get on well with most people. You are
deeply emotional and have a strong fertile imagination. This side of your nature will find
expression in music, painting, religion, theatre, singing, poetry or imaginative inspiring
literature. As well as this you are quick in understanding and work best in the
background. You have a strong sense of dignity, pride and social etiquette making you
considerate of the views and feelings of others. You enjoy peace and seclusion and the
more simple things in life. On occasion you can be lazy, wasteful and dreamy, wishing to
escape the harsh realities of life. To avoid trying to understand yourself you will invent
another persona and put all your effort into becoming it. However, you would achieve
great self-confidence if you did gain self knowledge. You are able to blend with your
environment and because of this you are psychically receptive. When in a relationship
your changeable nature and being too critical of your partner can be destructive. Health
wise you have an increased tendency to hypochondria.
The                       site provides a service to help pinpoint your exact time of birth.

Free birth charts are available on the web so do a search for 'free birth chart'.