Your Big Three In Astrology: Unlock The Key To Your Personality

Have you ever picked up an astrology forecast for your sign just to scrunch up your nose because it sounds nothing like you?

Maybe you’re tired of the full moon coming and going in your birth sign and feeling nothing, or reading the “If It’s Your Birthday” horoscope in the newspaper only to have some watered-down, fluffy fluff about “chance encounters” and “imminent success.” If you’re nodding your head along at this point, you’re not alone.

Pop Astrology, what we call in the world of reading the map of the stars and interpreting the archetypes and corresponding relationships, loves to simplify. Pop astro loves to focus on one thing and one thing only: your sun sign. This is a huge mistake when seeking to understand yourself a little better through the lens of the stars and their archetypes. In order to gain a better understanding of the map being drawn for us, we must first have all the key elements required.

Enter, stage left: The Big Three.

Every single human being on this earth has a complex combination of zodiac signs within their birth chart, with varying meanings of how they relate to each other. To spare you the headache (and prevent you from falling asleep), there are three signs to pay attention to when getting the bearings of your internal compass.

These signs are as follows: Your sun sign, the zodiac sign which aligns with the sun present at your date of birth; your moon sign, the sign which aligns with the placement of the moon at your date of birth; and your ascendant, or rising, the sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon at the exact time of your birth. The ascendant only has a two-hour window before it changes signs, which is why knowing your birth time is essential to determine where you ‘rise’ in the zodiac.

Wait, Why Does This Matter?

Your ‘big three’ is like the car of your true personality: the precise make, model, and interior design all vary, and are all determined based on your astrological big three.

Sun Signs

The sun sign represents the core essence of the car – the mechanical workings, the type of engine, the quality of the body work. Your sun sign determines whether your vehicle has a V6 engine of a Ferrari (Leo) or the antique, but pristine mechanics of a collector’s car from the 1970s (Libra, Aquarius). Your sun, in most cases, represents your “I AM” presence. Are you mostly curious and open-hearted, like Sagittarius? Or impatient and bold like Aries? The sun sign is just a small aspect of your personality, not the whole picture. This is why knowing all three is essential to getting a full picture of the Self.

Moon Signs

Like the moon, your moon sign represents the more changeable, fluid, and emotional part of you. It’s like the interior decoration and upholstery of the car – is it decked out with fuzzy dice and weird little collectibles you’ve found on various adventures (Aquarius, Cancer)? Or does it have dark velour seat covers and an Evanescence CD in the sound system (Scorpio)? Your moon sign largely represents your emotional nature and how you process the events and impacts in your life. A Pisces Sun with an Aries moon, for example, may come across as kind of dreamy and floating in their own world, but always deals with emotions head on and can be stubborn and rigid about admitting they’re wrong (Which is never, according to an Aries)

Moon signs, especially for women, are invaluable when it comes to understanding our internal flow and emotional landscapes – especially around our cycles. Our moon sign tends to play a more dominant role when we’re in the luteal phase of our cycle, for example, a confident Leo with a sensitive Cancerian moon might become a watery mess every time their period is approaching and never know why. Just like the moon guides our oceanic waters, she guides our inner waters, too! 

Rising / Ascendant 

The rising sign, or the ascendant as it’s more traditionally called in astrology, is a mystical, deeply influential sign when it comes to understanding your relationship to the world around you. Because the ascendant is based on how the signs move across the horizon, there is only a two-hour window where you could align with a particular sign based on when you were born. That means of people who share the same sun sign as you, only people born within two hours of your own birth time will share an ascendant of the same sign. Pretty nifty!

The ascendant, although often forgotten, represents our outer shell and the image we present to the public world. In line with the vehicle analogy, this represents the body, color, and style of your personality car. Many bright, shiny Leo Suns are mis-labelled by others if they have an ascendant in an opposing sign like Scorpio or Aquarius. They may feel confident, outgoing, and brave, but their style or initial personality may come across as withdrawn, moody, or aloof. Because your ascendant reflects your personality and (generally) your personal style, those who identify more closely with their ascendant are the ones who feel the horoscope for their sun sign never applies to them.

Expressive Mix n Match

Understanding your big three in astrology boils down to the truth that everyone has varying degrees of embodied expression when it comes to their astrological identity. Your sun sign may be in a strong sign like Aries, but both your moon and rising are in Capricorn – so you act, dress, and behave more like a Capricorn than anything else. You may have sun and rising signs in the more mystical signs of Aquarius and Pisces, but if your moon is in Cancer, chances are you feel everything so deeply that your Cancerian nature overrides all other aspects.

Astrology birth charts are complex, and people are all different in the way they express themselves and embody the nature of their charts. The next time you pick up a newspaper or tune into an astrology forecast, be sure to check your big three to gain a better sense of the beautiful combination that is you!