Imagery: Matheus Ferrero // Unsplash

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Words: Emma Vidgen // @emma_vee

Reading your horoscope is a bit like listening to cheesy pop music. When it’s good, it’s fun and uplifting and may even feel like it’s actually written just for you! But when it’s bad, well it can turn you off the whole genre in a matter of seconds. “Sun sign astrology, the kind you read when you read you horoscope, was derived specifically for the media. It was easy for people to relate to because all they needed to know was their sign and the forecast was there,” explains Marc Laurenson from Sydney Astrology School. “This was handy because it kept astrology in the public eye, but it also trivialised it.”

One reason why your horoscope may not resonate is because of the way they’re written. Not the language, but the technique astrologers use. Confused? Let us explain. Think of horoscopes as a weather forecast. When astrologers write horoscopes, they’re essentially translating how the current planetary weather will play out on different parts of the chart - kind of like looking at the pressure systems on a weather map.

They do this by looking at which houses (in this case, divided into 12 equal segments) are hit by the current weather for each sign. But, horoscopes are written on the assumption that your sun was in the first house (i.e: rising), when you were born. Which of course, is not the case for most people, because it could be in any one of the 12 houses depending on the time and place you were born.

Without your exact place and time of birth, it’s impossible to know the finer details of how that weather will play out for you, so astrologers have to look at things more generally.

“By reading your rising sign, the planets would be transiting through the same houses as your birth chart so you would definitely be relating to them a lot more.”

A more effective way to understand the current astro weather is to read the horoscope based on your rising sign (also known as “the ascendant”). “By reading it this way, the planets would be transiting through the same houses as your birth chart so you would definitely be relating to them a lot more,” Marc says.

Plus, your rising sign is a big part of your astrological makeup. In fact, you may actually seem more like your rising sign than your sun sign. “Your Ascendant sign itself already has this active energy intact so in many cases people may resonate more with reading their Ascendant sign forecast,” explains Marc.

It’s a lot to process, we know! But trust us, if you can work out your rising sign, things may start to seem a lot more relevant. Of course the best way to know how to prepare for the weather is to get a chart reading done by a professional astrologer. But for day-to-day guidance, reading your rising sign could make a lot more sense.

To book a reading or learn more about astrology visit Sydney Astrology School

To calculate your rising sign, visit café astrology

Why you should read your rising sign horoscope

“By reading your rising sign, the planets would be transiting through the same houses as your birth chart so you would definitely be relating to them a lot more.”