Many people wonder at some point or another what their purpose is on this planet. Astrology has the answer to this question.
The ascendant, also known as the rising sign, is the cusp of the first house. Just as it sounds, the ascendant is the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at your time of birth. For example, if you were born at 3:45pm and Virgo was just coming up over the eastern horizon, you are a Virgo rising.
This placement is very important as the beginning of the house of self-image, the physical body, general health and the beginning of life. Where the ascendant lies foretells an auspicious journey of the individual in his or her lifetime.
Just imagine as our ancestors looked towards the horizon where the sun rose and noticed that the Virgin, Scorpion, or Water-Bearer was rising at the moment of their child’s birth. They knew, depending on which sign was there, that their child would fulfill a certain role for the community.
Today, we are also aware of the power of the ascendant, as its effect is one of the three most powerful influences in the natal chart. However, mainstream astrology seems to stop at the basic explanation of what this point entails for individuals. One may have heard that his rising sign describes how he acts, that it is the mask he wears during this life time.
Partly true. But other astrologers, myself included, needed to go deeper: why is it that I have this ascendant, and why do I find myself unconsciously fulfilling this role described by the sign on my horizon? This esoteric view considers the soul’s evolution as it experiences many different desires through several lifetimes to finally reach the goal of enlightenment. Thus, it represents the desires you wish to fulfill in this lifetime, manifested as a purpose or mission we subconsciously strive to complete.
If you have ever been curious about what purpose you have in this life, your rising sign may contain the clue. We will look at each ascendant from the perspective of esoteric astrology to gain a deep insight on the mystery we call life. Read with an open heart and enjoy.
Aries Rising
In a previous life, you always wanted a relationship. You would have rather done things together and shared the wealth, or perhaps you did not believe in yourself, that you had the potential to get the job done. Now with Aries on your ascendant, you have the opportunity to prove yourself wrong. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, the leader and pioneer, and that is your current job in this life: to be the brave and courageous leader you sought previously; to become a pioneer and initiate that one project you trusted others to explore. Trust your intuition as the energy of the ram is pure and unmatched by any other sign.
Taurus Rising
Perhaps in a previous lifetime you felt inadequate as you could never provide for loved ones or you always had to depend on the resources of others to skirt by. Maybe you had fallen victim to your emotional desires. Now you want to earn the money and resources yourself to provide for anyone you wish. You seek to have all the material comforts at your fingertips. But how vapid is security when your next door neighbor is starving! Your path in this life is one of teaching others how to gain their own resources, after your own journey of accumulation. That way everyone can be secure and without need.
Gemini Rising
You were close-minded and bigoted against other belief systems in a previous lifetime. There was a resistance to learning about other cultures, or perhaps you traveled to a foreign land and felt unimpressed by your experience. In this lifetime, you are here to learn about everything, to gather as much information as humanly possible. A bit of advice: pick a seat and place your butt in it. The energy of Gemini can easily be scattered so a little direction goes a long way. Once you have gathered all the information you care about, share it with others. Don’t hoard information, egotistically wanting to be the go-to man that everyone has to beg for information. Instead, teach people how to connect with each other, and then no one will ever need to fight over a belief or information again.
Cancer Rising
Your past lives were filled with worldly ambition, success, and achievements. But your home life was lacking, and you felt alone and desired a spouse and children running around the home. This time around, you have the potential to experience that loving home life. But in this experience, you also get to realize how important nurturance is for humans to grow into their full potential. This is your treasure. Teach other people how to nurture each other and themselves and watch the human family grow like a verdant garden.
Leo Rising
The sign of enjoyment, love and self-expression takes on a different meaning in esoteric astrology. These people probably avoided center stage in their previous lifetime, leaving the leadership role to someone else, never taking the credit, always melting into their pocket of friends or acquaintances. In this lifetime, they have no such quarter. Theirs is the limelight in this lifetime! They learn how to take responsibility for their own creative power and also the incredible influence of inspiration. After learning how to overcome their own issues to be the stars of the show, their mission is to spread that awareness to others so they too can share in the dance of life. They need to teach people that love is meant to be shared and unconditional, not stored and reserved for a select few.
Virgo Rising
In a previous life you sought complete immersion into the spiritual realm. You may have been a spiritual healer or practitioner, or otherwise some servant who went out into the world to service as many people as possible. Now that the spiritual side of life has been explored, your quest involves digging deep into the factual reality of material existence. The dreams are over and the clock is ticking. Your purpose is to know exactly how situations in this reality can be run at their most efficient level and to share that knowledge with your fellow human beings in a positive, constructive manner. You possess a craving for perfection, and if you can inspire others to crave the same, in a helpful albeit critical manner, you will find many who trust your wisdom.
Libra Rising
It was all about you before, what you wanted, where you wanted to go, what you thought was correct. You rarely considered what other people thought, living life to the beat of your own drum. Now you wish to include others in your journey by seeking the balance that was missing before in every interaction. Instead of assuming the other person’s point of view, you seek understanding and harmony, accomplishing the perfect compromise each time. You know very well how quickly a relationship progresses when both parties are considerate of the other’s needs. The bigger challenge for you is how to forward the memo to the rest of humanity. A just society will be the result of your effort.
Scorpio Rising
This is the most complex rising sign. You are the ninja of the zodiac, with your own secret objective in this lifetime. Previously you had it all, material wealth, resources, pleasures at your fingertips. Now, you seek something emotionally meaningful. You need an intense connection to others to fill the hole you desperately tried to fill with material gains. This tends to play out as a dependency on other people in this life. Sometimes you can be controlling and manipulative to get what you want, feeding into the huge desire nature Scorpio is famous for. But if you can silence your emotional urges, and go within to the individual who is sitting in lotus pose atop your heart, you will transform your life and others through your inner power and wisdom of transformation. This manifests as a deep desire for the occult, metaphysics, or science. Scorpio ascendants learn that their determination is best suited to helping the whole human family, not just themselves. They learn to change from within to see the change without. This transformational power they can teach to other people, so they too can learn to share of their inner wealth with others.
Sagittarius Rising
You enjoyed loose relationship in a previous life, preferring to skirt the circumference rather than dive into any particular emotional connection. But having missed that opportunity then, you seek that passionate connection with every experience in life now. When you learn of the spiritual side of life, you begin to seek that same passionate connection to the divine, hence the relation between Sagittarius and religion. What you really desire is the accumulation of information for a desired result, a destination, a direction. You want feverishly to have an end goal and work towards that goal, so now you seek it through numerous experiences in life. You can teach others to search for their own destinations in life so that others can have the same drive in life that you do.
Capricorn Rising
In a previous life you were the homemaker or caretaker, the motherly figure who nurtured everyone and shared the love. But you secretly wanted to achieve something in life more than just a happy home. In this life you are seeking achievement and ambition. You want to get things done. There is a tendency to be very serious about life, meaning your emotional nature rides in the backseat this go around. With your ambitious nature highlighted for all to see, how are you going to share that wisdom with your fellow humans? If everyone had your work ethic, responsibility would be a much easier mantle to take on in this world.
Aquarius Rising
Previously you were all about the self, requiring attention 24/7 and demanding love from everyone. You probably were the leader of some group, inspiring others and sharing much love and creativity. Now you just want to rest and fall back into the crowd of humanity. You want to understand life as part of the whole, but you do so knowing full well that your individuality could never be crushed. You are eccentric and wild, sometimes rebellious as well. Your purpose is teaching others how to live in their own individuality while also contributing that uniqueness into the mix of humanity. You help to connect large groups of individuals and provide a network that enables collective development. With your help, new ways of thinking can emerge that pushes mankind to evolve.
Pisces Rising
If you are Pisces rising, your job is simply to understand that service is unconditional. Before, you had a condition for everything, being so critical and analytical about life. No one could ever fool you with details. But now, your mind is useless for discovering details, but so proficient at ascertaining the abstract. You have a duty in this life to the entire planet, certainly a huge task to accomplish. But first you must ask yourself “why are you here? What do you believe?” Without the answer to these questions, the meaning of life for the Pisces ascendant native is practically meaningless. You must find it, and when you do, you must live it honestly and wholeheartedly for everyone on the planet to see it manifested and real. They must come to know the power of belief.
The placement of the ruling planet of each rising sign in your chart, as well and the placements of the sun and moon, can explain further how you can live up to your life’s purpose as suggested by your ascendant. Not everyone is supposed to get a job, get married, have kids, and repeat the same inefficient cycle of recent times. Perhaps, your mission in life is much more impactful.
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Karma-Free Astrology 