Aspects of astrology: what makes you shine

Wonder about your soul path sometimes? You know, it is all there in your chart. It is the energy that was present at the time of your birth that will help your soul remember who they are. And that is why the rising sign is so important. It tells us how to follow our soul path. It will be the guiding star helping us understand why we are here and what tasks this life has in store for us.

I would like to explain the signs by working with the following image. Imagine each sign is on a journey. You walk up a hill. What you see right when you reach the top is the dream that will drive you on. Let us try to see what each sign wants to find there.

Aries rising: a climbing rack. This sign wants to move forwards, but they need to have the feeling that they did it all by themselves. And so they instinctively go for projects that are just a tad beyond their level of experience, but then often manage to pull it off through sheer foolish luck. And so this is very much the sign of the fool. The people who have no real purpose in life, but instead are called to fill the gaps, and engage with the purposes that nobody else dares to touch because they seem too far-fetched and unrealistic. But Aries rising has a knack at proving them all wrong time and time again.

Taurus rising: the bar. For people with this sign on the horizon, the focus is on anything but work. They aim to finish what they started, not because they crave completion so much, but rather because a job that is out of the way opens the door towards leisure time and carelessness. And so paradoxically, these people make powerful motivators that can hold the eyes of their team members fixed on the goal like no other. Bullseye!

Gemini rising: the sun. This sign wants to grow in wisdom, and so it likes clarity above all else. That implies that they will work tirelessly to remove obstacles that prevent proper communication from happening. In terms of soul path, these people are called towards creating connection between people.

Cancer rising: a staircase. Why would you make life more difficult than necessary? This is not the sign that seeks out big adventures, but rather they tend to look to others to create opportunities for them to fill. But when that niche has been found, they will shine like no other. In terms of soul path, they tend to be very grateful for the opportunities they have been given themselves, and so feel naturally drawn to reciprocating and putting their own life in the service of others.

Leo rising: a stage. Life for these people is, in essence, a play. And so what they will strive for is for everyone to play along with their vision. That is what makes them happy: a situation where everyone can shine (and with themselves as the head star, of course). The soul strives for beauty, and they find it in a world where people are not afraid to acknowledge their own unique qualities and put them on display for everyone to see.

Virgo rising: a nicely paved road. When you have a lot of things that need doing, it is essential that other aspects of your life don’t require too much planning. When things are going smoothly, the risk of overwhelm gets quite a bit smaller. And that means the odds of success get so much better all of a sudden. The life goal of this sign is to build roads and to make it easy to get down to the essence of things quickly.

Libra rising: the setting sun. This sign likes endings and conclusions. It absolutely abhors loose ends. It asks that every problem is solved today rather than tomorrow. In terms of soul path, its eyes are on the price. It has a firm vision of what a harmonious ending would look like, and so it is prepared to put its life in function of that dream.

Scorpio rising: a place to lay down their burdens. As scorpio tends to favour the shadows, it also usually has a tendency to avoid seeking the limelight, preferring to work on their projects undisturbed. But somewhere it always keeps nagging. Have they found the deepest shadow yet? Wouldn’t it be possible to dive even deeper? And that deep dive gets easier if you can focus your full attention on it. The material world and other people can feel like a burden. If only they could just put these aspects of their life on hold for a while… The soul path of such a person lies in learning to relax and see the joy in the simple things of life.

Sagittarius rising: an archery stand. Always practical, this sign is looking to transfer their skills to as many people as possible. For what better way to bring a project to fruition than to train a crowd of accomplices? In terms of higher purpose, this sign aims to empower people to take their life in their own hands and make it better.

Capricorn rising: a grassy meadow. As usual, capricorn spends most of their time ensuring their foundations are solid, and exploring only those things that naturally follow from there. And so their striving is to create a world of plenty, where that condition of finding sustenance can be met without much further effort. In terms of the pathways of the soul, such people will feel a strong calling to work with the poor and disempowered, as they are the ones who would benefit most from not having to worry about basic survival anymore.

Aquarius rising: a palace. This sign has a tendency to assume they are great visionaries, and that the world would be a far better place if only they were allowed to rule it. In terms of soul paths, this points to an inner revolutionary and a strong drive to set right the wrongs in society. They see it as their personal mission to bring about change, and their self-confidence is derived from the inner conviction that they are the right person for the job. Which may well be true.

Pisces rising: the ocean: This is the sign of the selkie, the people who feel trapped on dry land, but have a strong longing to return to the ocean. What this shows is a desire to live a life that does not force you to pick a side. Living on land is great, but it will not stop the longing. And on the other hand, there’s things on land that we do not want to miss out on either. This sign is a great compromise-maker. They will naturally always strive for the middle ground, the land between the ocean and the sea. They are the peacemakers and the ones who manage to see all sides of an argument better than anyone else.

Also, notice the natural complementarity: in order to achieve their dreams, each sign would benefit from the talents of the sun signs on the opposite side of the zodiac. And so that tells you who your natural allies are! (Aries rising+ libra sun, taurus rising+ scorpio sun,…)