Understanding Astrology Transits: The Importance of Using Your Rising Zodiac Sign

When asked what sign we are, almost all of us will respond with the zodiacal sign in which the Sun was located on our birthday. The Sun is the center of the solar system, and it is central to seeing the higher purpose in each individual’s birth chart. Indeed, the Sun shows the soul’s purpose in this lifetime, and our goal as astrologers is to guide the individual to use the rest of the astrological energy in the chart to fulfill that purpose. While the Sun is of the utmost importance in natal and vocational readings, when determining how planetary energies affect us on a daily basis, the Sun is just another planetary point on the chart, the same as Venus, Mercury, or Saturn. 

Taking a quick step back, let’s explore some basics of astral-energetics and astrology transits. In astrology, the planets project toward us actual energies that impact our lives. They are like the actors on the stage. The parts of life on which the energy has the most effect are represented by the houses of the chart. The houses are like the setting. The way the energy expresses itself is shown by the zodiac sign. The signs are like the plot of the play. Aspects between planets show how the energies blend in more complex ways. This is how the actors interact in the play.

To understand how best to harness transiting planets’ energies, we need to look to each person’s ascendant or rising sign – the sign on the cusp of their first house. This is because the part of life in which the transiting planet will have the most affect is related to its position by house in an individual chart. The 12 houses rule different areas of life in which the planets express their natural energies. For example, the 4^th house rules, among other things, family life, home, mom or dad, properties you may own, emotional tendencies, home businesses, things hidden under the earth, gardens. The 6^th house rules, among other things, daily habits and routines, diet, exercise routines, daily health, daily work, places of employment, work or improvements on properties. These are parts of life that the planet’s energy will impact while it transits the 4^th or 6^th house respectively. 

If you are using the whole house whole sign house system (see my other blog post on why whole house, whole sign makes sense), each sign represents a new house in an individual’s birth chart. For example, if the person is a Cancer rising, the second house encompasses all of the sign of Leo. When a transiting planet enters a new sign of the zodiac, it will enter a new house in each individual’s chart. I review how the planet’s energy expresses in the person’s life based on the meanings of that house, blended with the sign on the cusp of that house. Therefore, I use the ascendant or rising sign as the first point of reference for reviewing transits in my private practice and in my blog posts and newsletters because the house in which a planet is transiting for each individual is dependent how far the sign on the cusp of that house is from that ascending sign.