"The ascendant is the astrological sign that is ascending on the eastern horizon at the specific time and location of birth" - not a planet
One concept that should be understood in astrology is the concept of Houses. There are 12 houses in astrology, each ruling different things, and each taking action in a different part of you life. The first house, ruled by whatever your rising sign is, is the house of personality and self image. The rising sign changes about every 2 hours, and is the easiest sign to get wrong if the birth time calculated is even a half hour off, so it is necessary to have an exact time of birth and not depend on an estimate. The rising sign will be the first house, as mentioned before, and therefore set into motion the placements for all your other 11 houses. For example, if I am a Cancer rising, that means I have Cancer in my first house. This means my second house is Leo (Leo comes after Cancer in the order of the 12 zodiac signs), and that my third house is Virgo as Virgo comes after Leo, and so on. So, as you can imagine, the rising sign is very important as it is the first house of self, and also the leader of all the house placements.
The ascendent is thought of as the automatic responses to one’s environment. This is our first initial reaction, natural defenses, and our most obvious selves. This sign is also often called “the public mask”, as it shows how people see you on a first impression and how our personality comes off. At a first meeting, job interview, or party, people will perceive you as your rising sign. As they get to know you better, they come to see the rest of your chart. This can happen at different paces depending on the relationship. It is also believed that the rising sign has some impact on physical appearance, which is why many people with the same rising sign may have similar physical features. The rising also denotes your ruling planet, which carries the energy of that sign. This planet carries extra meaning in your chart. For example, as an Aries rising, you could say that Mars is the ruling planet of your chart and are more likely to have Mars characteristics, even if there are no other Aries in your chart.
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