By Sukriti Wahi Entertainment 26.03.2026

You’re (Probably) Reading Your Horoscope Wrong – Here’s How to Do it the Right Way

Two astrologers explain the one thing most people miss when interpreting their horoscope.

Whether you’re deep into astrology and know your birth chart off by heart or just enjoy the occasional dabble on astro TikTok, it’s safe to say most of us have looked to our horoscopes for a little guidance at some point or another.

And while our ‘star sign’ – technically our sun sign – is what most of us turn to in these moments of curiosity (or, you know, chaos and confusion) to see what the cosmos has in store – but it’s not quite the right way to read horoscopes. In fact, according to traditional astrology, it’s even kind of, well, ‘wrong’ – thanks to a little (big!) something called: the rising sign.

For the complete lowdown on what it is, its relevance in your birth chart and why it matters when it comes to your horoscope, we spoke to astrologers Grace Tebble of the Sydney-based Surya Studio, and Narayana Montúfar, author of Written in Your Stars: Use Your Saturn Return, Pluto Square, and Other Planetary Cycles to Become Your Best Self, to find out everything there is to know.

What exactly is a birth chart, and how does it work?

A birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the precise moment that you were born. It shows the position of the planets, zodiac signs and houses (areas of life, such as money or relationships) at that time, and astrologers use the chart to understand your personality, patterns, passions and the kinds of themes you’re likely to experience throughout your life.

“Like everything in the universe, the planets are in constant movement, but this snapshot freezes everything (the planets, luminaries, and asteroids) to basically record your astral DNA,” Montúfar says.

“All this information recorded within your birth chart will accompany you for the rest of your life, serving as a North Star and anchor for personal growth.”

While it’s not a fortune-telling tool that details your exact future, your birth chart can offer insight into your life’s potential and evolution, Tebble notes.

“The chart is a very intricate system that uses pattern recognition and an ancient symbolic language to describe how a person uniquely functions,” she says.

“When we understand the birth chart as a whole system, we move beyond just the sun sign and start to see a person more holistically — through the positions of all the planets, the houses they occupy, and the signs they express through.”

What is the rising sign or “ascendant”?

One of the most important parts of a birth chart, the rising sign (also called an ascendant), is the zodiac sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the precise moment you were born. It shows the position and it’s crucial for putting together your overall chart.

“The rising sign actually sets up the entire structure of the birth chart. It determines where the houses fall and where the planets are placed within the chart, so it plays a very important role in how your chart is interpreted,” Tebble tells Bed Threads Journal.

Fun fact: Unlike the sun, which spends an average of 30 days in each of the 12 zodiac signs, the rising sign changes roughly every two hours – and the exact degree changes every few minutes! So, even a small difference in time can change the sign.

“Two people born at the same time in two faraway locations across the globe will have very similar birth charts but two different rising signs,” Montúfar says.

There are online calculators that can do the astro-maths to find your rising sign, but you’ll need to know your exact time of birth and location (for the time zone).

So, what does our rising sign say about us?

While you might have heard that the rising sign is the “mask you wear in public”, that isn’t quite the case. According to Tebble, the rising sign describes the energy you entered the world with, how you instinctively approach life, the lens through which you experience the world, as well as how others first perceive you.

“I often think of the rising sign as the posture your soul assumed to meet this lifetime. It reflects the conditions of your early environment and the instincts you developed in response to those conditions. It’s your first orientation, your first compass. Over time, that way of moving through the world becomes so natural that it simply becomes who you are,” she says.

Together, your sun, moon and rising signs make up your ‘big three’, giving a strong overview of your overall personality, Montúfar notes.

“If your sun sign is your personal essence, and your moon sign is your emotions, your rising sign speaks of your perception of reality. While the rising sign is important throughout your life, it’s most visible to others during the first part of your life. Since it’s defined from one’s first breath, it can serve as guidance for parents on how to raise a child in a way that feels more natural and organic,” she says.

Why is the rising sign important when it comes to reading horoscopes?

Did you know the sun sign wasn’t always the main character of the horoscope section? Before the 1930s, astrologers placed much more emphasis on the rising sign because of its role in setting up the entire birth chart.

“[The rising sign] was traditionally considered the starting point for chart interpretation,” Tebble explains. “But in the 1930s, newspapers began publishing sun sign horoscopes, which is really what brought astrology into mainstream culture.”

Mainstream media’s reason for the shift from the rising sign to the sun sign was simple: not everyone knows (or can accurately find out) their birth time and place. So, to bring it to the masses, the sun sign – much more easily calculated with only the birthdate required – took over.

“Since the zodiac band around the Earth moves quite quickly, changing from one sign to the other every 1.5 hours, the latitude of your birthplace is key,” Montúfar adds on pop culture’s move away from the rising sign.

When it comes to horoscopes, Tebble and Montúfar agree that the sun sign is still important, but suggest finding out and reading your rising sign’s horoscope as well as your sun’s to get a much more well-rounded picture of what may be going on for you astrologically.

“I always advise my clients to first read the horoscope for their rising sign, and secondarily, the horoscope for their sun sign,” says Montúfar. “Sometimes, they will both resonate. But other times, one will resonate more than the other.”

What else should you know about the rising sign?

Fancy going a little deeper down the astro rabbit hole? Montúfar emphasizes that each person’s connection to their rising sign will be different, varying based on their stage of life, how much they have integrated their rising sign (the soul path) with their sun sign (the core identity), and the planets in the first house.

“Most people are connected to their rising sign during the first third of their lives, growing more into their sun sign when older,” she says.

“But this changes from person to person, too, according to the astrological aspects, the relationships between planets and points within the birth chart. For example, if someone has a lot of planets in the first house, which is the closest to the rising sign, they will feel a much stronger connection with the rising sign than someone who doesn’t have planets in the first house.”

Tebble concurs, saying that some people have charts that emphasize their rising sign’s expressions more than others’, due to the planets present in the first house.

“As an example, if someone has an Aries rising and also has Mars (the ruling planet of Aries) in the first house, they are likely to express Aries qualities more strongly – more direct, energetic, and action-oriented – because that Mars energy is reinforcing the rising sign,” she explains.

So, if you do know your rising sign, the next thing you should look at is the planet that rules it.

“One of the most important things to understand about the rising sign is that the planet that rules your rising sign becomes the ruler of your entire birth chart,” Tebble continues.

“Astrologers call this the chart ruler. The chart ruler is very important because its placement in your birth chart – the sign it’s in, the house it’s in, and the aspects it makes to other planets – adds a lot more nuance to how your rising sign actually plays out in your life. It’s almost like the rising sign sets the direction, but the chart ruler describes how you travel that road.”