Why Am I Nothing Like My Zodiac Sign?
A lot of the time, astrology enthusiasts aren’t aware of much beyond their Sun, Moon, and Rising signs. Those who are, may not fully grasp the significance of their other placements, the calculated points within their chart, and everything else besides. There is a lot going on in the birth chart, and we are all so much more than our Sun sign. In fact, we are all much more than our Sun, Moon, and Rising signs combined!
For the longest time growing up, I didn’t feel much like a Leo. I was quite shy, introverted, and extremely inquisitive about the world around me. I found it easier to relate a lot more to the signs Virgo, Aquarius, and Gemini. As I became more familiar with astrology, I discovered that this was natural as I had a lot of Virgo, Aquarius, and Gemini energy in my birth chart.
Over the many years that I’ve been learning astrology, and reading many different birth charts, I’ve been told by a large number of people that they don’t feel like a Scorpio, or a Capricorn, and so on. Being unable to relate to the Sun sign is actually fairly common. And there are numerous factors that could be responsible for this, which I’ll now discuss in detail below.
The Moon’s Placement in Your Chart
It may surprise you to know that once upon a time, centuries and longer ago, the Moon was viewed as the most important part of the birth chart. While the location of the Sun in the chart represents your ego and outer self, the Moon represents the true self; the inner you.
For instance, if you have a Gemini Sun but a Cancer Moon, you might not be nearly as talkative or extroverted as the next Gemini who has a Moon placement in a fire or air sign. Or perhaps when people first meet you, you’re chatty and animated but if they were to get to know you better, they might find you much less so.
So, finding out which sign, as well as which house, your natal Moon is in can help you to understand why you might not be able to relate a great deal to your star sign (Sun sign).
The First House in the House System
The first house has a few names. You probably know it as the Rising sign, buy it’s also referred to as the Ascendant. It contains the sign and planet or planets that were rising above the eastern horizon over Earth at your exact moment of your birth. The Rising sign is, for all intents and purposes, your planet Earth sign! Yep, that’s how important it is.
The first house indicates how you see yourself, how you see the world, how you interact with others, as well as the first impression others typically form of you. For instance, if you have Sagittarius in the first house, you might view the world as a place that is rich in fun learning experiences. When meeting new people, you probably come across as bold and self-assured.
Any planets situated in the house are equally important as they add more flavour to it. To give you an example, someone who has Mercury in the first house might also be chatty, intelligent, highly observant and discerning as these are some of the traits associated with this planet.
Please bear in mind that the signs on the cusps of the houses vary according to which house system you use for calculation. The vast majority of pro astrologers use the Tropical Placidus system. This is the one that I use and I’d advise you use it is as it’s popular for a reason — Western astrologers think that it produces the most accurate results. I agree and it’s the only house system I use.
Mercury’s Placement in Your Chart
Mercury is just as influential as the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant. It mainly governs thought processes and intellect. It’s the lens through which you understand the world around you. If Mercury is in a sign that it rules — Gemini or Virgo — its influence will be even greater. Have a look at your chart to see where it lies. Chances are, it’ll be in the sign that comes before or follows on from the Sun’s sign.
The Dominant Element and Modality
Most of us, but certainly not all of us, have more of one of the elements and modalities in our charts. There are four very different elements in Western astrology — fire, earth, air, and water. There are also three very different modalities — cardinal, fixed, and mutable.
If someone has a lot of water energy in their chart, for example, they’ll be heavily influenced by the water element. And if someone has a lot of fixed energy in their chart, they’ll influenced by fixed energy. Both the element their Sun sign belongs to, or the quality that is associated with it, may be different to the dominant element as well as the dominant modality. For instance, while my dominant modality matches the modality of my Leo Sun sign (fixed), my dominant element is air as I have a lot of air (Gemini and Aquarius) energy in my chart.
Heavily Aspected Planets and Calculated Points
Planets, especially personal ones, that form numerous aspects with other planets, as well as celestial bodies and chart points are very important. The more aspects a planet has within a chart, the more influential that planet is. For instance, if Mars is in Capricorn in the chart and it forms numerous strong aspects with other planets, it gains considerable importance.
The Dominant Sign Differs From the Sun Sign
If someone has an Leo Sun sign but Virgo Rising and Moon and Mercury in Virgo too, anyone who knows anything about astrology would likely assume they identify more with Virgo than Leo. While it’s rare to come across a chart with an overwhelming amount of one sign in it, it does happen. Personally, I’ve come across plenty of charts where a sign other than the Sun sign dominates the chart.
The sitter, who may not know a great deal about astrology, is often surprised when I suggest they might relate a bit more to their dominant sign as opposed to their Sun sign. I recall one gentle, sweet-natured man whose chart I read in the early 2000s; he was blown away when I told him that his dominant signs were Taurus and Cancer, as most of his planets were in these signs. While his Sun sign was Gemini, he was quiet and introverted. He said that he had always felt more like a Taurus than a Gemini.
How We Understand Ourselves
In school, one of my closest friends was a Scorpio. She never regarded herself as a Scorpio though. She really disliked being associated with the sign as she understood it to be riddled with negative connotations. I know a lot of people who don’t behave all that much like their star sign but in many ways, she was very Scorpionic. I think that at her young age, she may not have been fully aware of her own nature, although even as adults, we can sometimes be unaware of our own traits.
Everyone is Unique!
Even if two people have very similar birth charts, they’ll probably still be significantly different from one another. This is mainly because of the experiences we have in life. They would have had different parents, grandparents, siblings, and other family members (unless they’re twins). In addition to this, they would have probably gone to different schools, had different teachers, friends, and other experiences later in life. If you believe in reincarnation, as I do, they would also have had a series of very different past lives, which also shape us.
As we travel through life, our relationships with other people, coupled with the various experiences we’ve had, mould us all differently. We may also manifest traits that are normally associated with other signs if we are constantly told by others that we’re like another sign! Furthermore, we sometimes also alter our behavior a bit to become more acceptable to others. So, it’s really no wonder why so many people find it difficult to relate to their Sun sign in full or all of the time.
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