Sun, Moon and Rising Calculator

Your big three are your Sun sign, your Moon sign and your rising sign. The Sun sign is the one most people know, set by the Sun's position on your birth date. The Moon sign comes from where the Moon was, and the rising sign from which sign was on the eastern horizon at your birth time and place. Astrologers read them as identity, emotional needs and outward manner. Enter your date, time and place above to get all three at once.

Astrologers usually read the Sun as your core identity and sense of purpose, the Moon as your emotional needs and what comforts you, and the rising sign as the manner you bring to new situations and the first impression you give. Each sign colors its placement: a Sun in Leo and a Moon in Pisces are read very differently from the reverse. Your result gives a short reading for each of the three and points out any element they share. These are traditions offered for reflection, not predictions.

Partly. Your Sun sign needs only the date, apart from the rare day the Sun changes sign. The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days, so the date is often enough, but on about 44% of days the Moon changed sign at some point and the time decides. The rising sign always needs your birth time, because it changes about every two hours, so without a time we leave it out and tell you if the Sun or Moon could be in either of two signs.

No. The big three are the Sun, the Moon and the rising sign. Astrologers often read Venus and Mars next to them, Venus for affection and what you value and Mars for drive, and you can find both with the Venus sign calculator and the Mars sign calculator. The birth chart calculator shows every planet at once.

The Sun changes sign about once a month, the Moon about every 2.3 days, and the rising sign about every two hours on average, since the whole zodiac passes over the eastern horizon in a day. The rising signs are not equal: at 51.5 degrees north we found Aries rising for only 0.88 hours while Virgo lasts 2.85 hours. That is why the rising sign is the one that separates two people born on the same day.

Astrologers do not agree on an order, and no measurement could settle it. Popular guides often start with the Sun sign because it is the easiest to find, while others begin with the rising sign because it is the most personal to your time and place. A simple way to use them is as three views of one person: who you feel you are, what you need and how you meet others. Read together they usually say more than any one alone.