I.

Introduction
We all want to know about ourselves. “Who am I?” you ask. We want to know
what makes us tick, why we have such intense feelings, if you and you’re partner are
compatible, etc. Carl Gustav Jung said it perfectly; “We are born at a given moment,
in a given place, and like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and
of the season in which we are born.”
Astrology has been described as a stairway leading into your deeper self. It opens
a door so that we do not have to pass through life blind and helps to reach a truer self-
understanding. Astrology is the world’s oldest science and our own generation newest
subject of inquiry. According to a Gallup poll, 35% of American adults believe there are
lives are influenced by the stars and positions of the planets. It is now being offered as a
serious subject in over a dozen universities.
Even with the strong interest, the general public only has slight knowledge on the
subject and an even bigger problem is that when people want to broaden their knowledge,
most don’t know where to begin. In getting a basic knowledge of astrology, we’ll need to
know that every human person born into this world has three signs—sun sign, moon sign,
and ascending sign and then learn how each one interacts to help shape your life.

II. History
Like most subjects, in order to understand fully we also need to learn the history.
The study of the sun, moon, stars, eclipses, day and night began well before recorded
history. Some bones from the last Ice Age have carvings of the moons phases dating
before 25, 000 b.c. Ancient Astrologers charted the movement of planets and stars, and
made predictions about eclipses, upheavals, famine, and fortune. They developed
calendars for marking and measuring the passage of time. Also, astrology and religion
were inextricably linked in the ancient societies along with astrology and medicine. The
Hindus, Egyptians, Chinese Society, Babylonians, the Greeks, Romans, and even
continuing into our modern era have used astrology to predict, to worship, for advice, to
defeat other cultures, and their many other uses.
The zodiac is a belt circling the earth and within this belt contains the orbits of all
the planets, except Pluto b/c of the very wide orbit. Also, the stars are in the belt which
the ancients organized by constellations which most seemed like animals. Therefore, the
zodiac became known as the Greek term, zodiakos meaning “circle of animals.”
The zodiac is divided into twelve constellations, each with a name and animal or
figure. Using these constellations, the ancient astrologers named the 12 astrological
signs; Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn,
Aquarius, and Pisces.
 One could say that each astrological sign is a miniature Book of Knowledge, and all
twelve put together give a picture of human beings, our bodies, minds, and emotions, and
of the surrounding world in which we live. The zodiac is a whole entity that can be taken
apart and examined in different ways.

III. Sun Sign

As I said earlier, each one of us is ruled by 3 signs; the sun, the moon, and then
our Rising or Ascending sign. At one point in our lives, we’ve either been asked or asked
someone what’s there sign? We’re talking about our sun sign. It’s the position of the sun
when we were born, and the one we look up in the news paper. The sun is our most
powerful planet; it gives us life, warmth, energy, food and is also the most important and
pervasive influence in your horoscope and astrologers see it as the way others see you.
The position of the sun governs your individuality, your distinctive style, and your drive
to fulfill your goals in life.

IV. Moon Sign

The other sign that helps shape us is our moon sign. Sybil Leek said “Everyone
is a moon and has a dark side that he never shows to anyone.” As the sun is most
apparent on the surface, the moon is the part that you yourself see. The moon stands for
emotions, instincts, and the unconscious. Some astrologers say the moon is the part that
reacts before you have time to think. According to Sigmund Freud, the ego is the
persons’ consciousness, symbolized by the sun, and the id represents a person’s instinct,
the moon. Often your moon personality is expressed through your dreams.
Scientists continue to study the moon’s power over plant life, tides, emotions,
fertility, menstruations, crime, etc and they continue to find new and subtle way in which
the moon influences our daily lives.

V. Rising/Ascending Sign
Lastly, the 3rd influence we have is our Ascendant or also known as our Rising
Sign. Unlike the sun sign which is the way others see you and the moon which is our
hidden aspect of our personality, the rising sign determines how the outside world looks
at you. In our terminology, it is our image, our first impression. Characterizes the way
you deal with others and the style of interacting in the world. It is known as the sign of
your self—self-awareness, self-sufficiency, self-interest.
So what exactly is an Ascendant? I found some rather difficult explanations and
the easiest one to explain is as follows: “Your Ascendant is the astrological sign that
was riding on the eastern horizon at the moment of your birth.” I know it’s
confusing but let’s break it down. (Draw diagram)
It is determined by longitude and latitude of where you were born, the exact time
then converted to Greenwich Mean Time in England which is where time is derived
from. The ascendant is very prominent in our horoscope since it will be very limited
unless it is known.

VI. Conclusion
In learning our three signs astrological signs, it again helps to a better self-
understanding. Once I was able to know all my signs, I then was capable to create my
birth chart and others which in turn opened my mind to other subjects. I became
knowledgeable in astronomy, the weather, more observant, However, I do not feel that
each person is strictly these signs; we all contain a part of the zodiac and that is where our
birth chart comes in. It’s the positioning of the planets and signs in the houses.
The ancient Greeks carved Know Thyself on the temple at Delphi. It is an ideal
that human beings have struggled toward for thousands of years. It is what astrology can
teach us. Remember that the sun sign, moon sign, and our ascending sign are only the
beginning to astrology and they lead us to a deeper self-awareness.