Sun, Moon, and Rising Signs Explained (And How They Connect to Tarot)

When people say 'I am a Leo', they mean their Sun sign. It is one placement out of many in a birth chart, which maps where the Sun, Moon, and planets were at the moment you were born.

The Sun, Moon, and Rising signs are often called the 'big three' because together they give a rounded sketch of a person: who you are, what you feel, and how you come across. Many people who feel their Sun sign does not fit recognize themselves once they learn the other two.

The Sun sign describes your basic character and what drives you: the qualities you grow into across your life and the things that make you feel most like yourself.

The Sun spends about a month in each sign, so your Sun sign depends only on your birth date. If you were born within a day or so of the changeover between two signs, check a birth chart calculator, because the exact date shifts slightly from year to year.

The Moon sign describes how you feel, what you need to feel safe, and how you respond when you are under stress. It is the private side that close friends and partners know.

Someone with an outgoing Sagittarius Sun and a Cancer Moon can be adventurous in public and deeply attached to home. The Moon changes signs about every two and a half days, so you need your full birth date and, on days when it changes sign, your birth time.

The Rising sign, or Ascendant, is the zodiac sign that was coming up over the eastern horizon when you were born. It describes first impressions, your instinctive approach to new situations, and the style in which you move through life.

It changes about every two hours. This is why two people born on the same day can come across so differently, and why an accurate birth time matters.

You need three pieces of information:

• Birth date, including the year.
• Birth time, as exact as you can get. A birth certificate, a hospital record, or a family member's memory are the usual sources.
• Birthplace, meaning the city or town.

Enter them into any free online birth chart calculator. It will list your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant along with the rest of your chart.

Your Sun sign is still reliable, and your Moon sign usually is too. Run the calculator once for just after midnight and once for just before the next midnight. If the Moon sign is the same both times, it is yours.

Leave the Rising sign out. An estimate that is two hours off gives you the wrong sign, and a wrong sign adds confusion to a reading. Sharing only what you are sure of is fine.

Tarot and astrology share the four elements, which link each sign to a suit:

• Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) pair with Wands.
• Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) pair with Cups.
• Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) pair with Swords.
• Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) pair with Pentacles.

In the most widely used tradition, each sign also corresponds to one Major Arcana card: Aries with The Emperor, Taurus with The Hierophant, Gemini with The Lovers, Cancer with The Chariot, Leo with Strength, Virgo with The Hermit, Libra with Justice, Scorpio with Death, Sagittarius with Temperance, Capricorn with The Devil, Aquarius with The Star, and Pisces with The Moon.

When your sign's card or suit turns up in a reading, it can point to you directly or to a theme that runs close to your nature.

Knowing your placements gives a reader context for how a message is likely to land. Advice to slow down means one thing for a restless Aries Rising and another for a cautious Capricorn Moon.

Your signs are optional when you book. They add a layer of detail, and the cards will still speak clearly without them.