The Big 3 in Astrology: Sun, Moon, Rising Sign

Whenever I meet someone new I default into the thought of their Sun, Moon and Rising sign. I consider appearance, what they say and what they don’t say. Often times what they show at first encounter is their Rising sign. Their Moon sign shows up with a level of trust and comfort, while their Sun sign shapes the ego, it is an identity in the making.   

There are three major components to astrology. The Sun, the Moon and the Rising. Knowing them gives you a first-hand look at someone’s personality. They are referred to as “The Big 3.” As with any element of astrology, we look at each part having many layers of meaning, ones that are meant to interlink the self/personality or life into an integrated whole.

All things equal, it is the rising sign that we show upon a first meeting. Like a person who looks out from the door when someone comes knocking. If you’re a Gem rising like myself, the door is open for conversation, with the tone being light and fun. Generally, a conversation is the starting point for the air signs. An Aries Rising would come direct and ask the person what they wanted. A Scorpio will likely look through the peep hole first then ask the reason for their visit behind a closed door. I’d say the same goes for a Virgo.

Once that door is open, or once entrance is granted—depending on your sign—we are entering the realm of the Moon sign, admittance into a person’s comfort zone, personal space, where they can be themselves.

Your moon sign is also about the past and the conditioning involved. It is attached to the mother, or in some cases, detached. The space of that home tells you a layer of the signs energy. What appeals emotionally. A Taurus Moon will take comfort in physical objects, emotionally cushioned by physical pleasures, physical affection being priority number one, similar in nature for each earthy moon.  A Leo Moon can be expressive, gaudy, ostentatious about their comforts. They are nourished by individual self-expression and the praise they get from it. Whereas, a Pisces Moon is about the imaginative realm, free-spirited, characteristic of the hippie, artsy vibe with music playing, art on the wall and with incense burning. An elusive space that can change at each moment and even be gone the next, leaving you wondering on your next visit if you knocked on the right the door.   

The Moon sign is where we learn emotional patterns, whether they are paying attention to you, as a guest or do you get to wander around freely? Are you told to help yourself or are they at your service? The longer the stays and more frequent the visits, the more insight you get into a signs habitual nature. With a Virgo Moon, you’ll find consistency in emotion, a Cancer Moon, full of it and Scorpio, too much of it—emotions normally running rampant for all watery signs. You’ll also find out if their home is important or if its just a place for shelter and slumber, giving priority to their exterior world.

This is where the Sun comes in. Our outside priorities and goals. Our ego nature, one that is often validated by our accomplishments, our place in the world. It can be connected to our father and our relationship to him. Like the Sun, it is the rays of the sign that keeps us alive, growing and thriving.

Though the Sun sign is what most people are familiar with, it is the energy that is commonly misinterpreted. It is, in actuality, the energy we develop as we age and aren’t in full embodiment of it—or, at least its full potential and highest vibration—until maturity, until then we are under the habits and past patterns of our moon.

A Sagittarius Sun is about experiences, expanding through them. It’s about freedom and the importance of exercising them. Experiences created by constant socialization, interactions normally in cultural scenes and educational institutions. Sagittarius souls are the natural seekers of wisdom and as a fire sign, learns to develop flames of inspiration. A couple signs over, an Aquarius Sun is about the souls embodiment of knowledge, an established viewpoint that feeds into a system for the good of all. An Aquarius Sun develops the soul of the expanded mind.

Then we go back to the Rising sign as it is the energy that takes the lead and the launch point toward our goals. It is the vehicle in which we find our true identity—if we ever do. As a Gemini rising, I experience the world through socializing, communication, researching, interaction, on cerebral grounds. Hence, why I am innately open to conversation when first approached. An Aquarius rising would be in the same cerebral realm. The difference between the two air sign being that the Aquarian nature is experienced on a higher ground, where interaction is staged on a wider scale, community based, for some having an outlook beyond our earthly comprehension to get them to their goals. The Leo Rising would take the experience by action, with their body(athletes, actors etcs) performance and feedback of audience. Saturn ruled, Capricorns would approach life systematically, adhering to rules, with a limited point of view, trusting structures of the past.

It is the process and lens of our Rising sign that help us individuate our Sun sign into the uniqueness we are meant to shine.

Art: Cosmic Collage