The Ascendant or Rising sign is the name given to the sign on the eastern horizon during the time of birth of an individual. Having an Aquarius Ascendant means that during your birth, the sign of Aquarius was rising from above the ground, the same way that the Sun rises. People who have Aquarius as their rising sign, have Uranus (Aquarius’ ruling planet) as their overall chart ruler. Before the discovery of Uranus, planet Saturn was being considered as the ruler of the sign, and even now many astrologers regard him as the co-ruler. Thus, the condition of Saturn may appear helpful in understanding the functions of the native’s Ascendant too.
Uranus is considered the most unpredictable planet, and the one that grants the most altruistic views on life to an individual. Being the ruling planet of one’s natal chart, he will definitely prompt him to pioneer both in his ways of thinking and acting. Naturally, one of the most visible effects the sign of Aquarius has is making the person differ compared to the masses. He can be easily distinguished from other people, sometimes even being (and feeling) as a fly in a glass of milk.
Our Rising Sign is a very important astrological parameter, even though many theories are proposed by different astrologers and astrological systems. Still, most agree that the Ascendant defines our body and physical characteristics, also playing a strong role in the development of our character. This is quite natural, as the 1st house (the Ascendant being on its cusp) is responsible for our ego, self-perception and behavior.
We should keep in mind, that when the Ascendant is at the beginning of a sign, the sign’s traits are more potent than when it is placed at its end. When the next sign occupies the biggest part of the 1st house, it naturally gives a lot of its traits to the native’s character and even to his body. If your Ascendant is at the last degrees of a sign, you can consider the next sign as a co-Ascendant. Many people though, experience the next sign to behave as the Rising sign a lot more than the one which is actually rising.
Before we continue with the traits the sign grants, we should mention that depending on the geographical latitude, each sign needs slightly different time to ascend. If we are born near the equator, the differences are hardly visible. Yet, the closer we are born to any of the two poles, the better the differences between signs can be visible. This is also the reason why people born in rather extreme northern or southern latitudes can experience rather strange natal charts, with some houses being huge while some others quite small.
As always, we propose to our readers to use the Placidus system in calculating their houses, because we find it to function better both on our own charts and on the charts of other people that we have analyzed. In the northern hemisphere, Aquarius is rising rather faster than the average. When someone is born at 50 degrees Northern latitude, the sign will need one hour and fifteen minutes to rise fully. At a city placed at 60 degrees Northern latitude, the sign will need around forty five minutes only. Thus, a person born in the Northern hemisphere has statistically less possibilities to have an Aquarius Ascendant, when the average time a sign needs to ascend is two hours.
As we already mentioned, individuals with an Aquarius Ascendant will have Uranus as their chart ruler. The planet of progress and innovation will be very important in their lives, and also strongly connected with their physical body, vitality and appearance. Their body and self will be affected not only by transits of planets through their Ascendant, but also by transits to their natal Uranus. In addition, natal aspects of other planets to their chart ruler, while also its location in a particular house, will play a strong role.
People with Aquarius rising, must take care to empower their Uranus in healthy ways, as its functions will always have a positive or negative effect overall on their chart, touching all their life areas. Uranus is generally considered an unpredictable planet, difficult to control and responsible for all types of changes through unexpected events. We usually prefer to not experience uncontrolled situations that concern our body, as most types of disturbance of our body patterns usually indicate some issues. Our body tends to establish its own repetitive patterns, and changes concerning its functions are not preferred over stability.
Thus, such people should pay attention even more to make Uranus function well, especially if he is adversely aspected in their natal chart. On the other hand, Aquarius and Uranus can have extremely positive effects on the native’s character, even if their nature will make it rather erratic.
Having an Aquarius Ascendant feels like having Uranus in your 1st house. The native desires no borders, and even his own body may feel as some type of restriction that he needs to overcome. He usually will use it as a vessel, to pass through stereotypes imposed by the society that he denies towards new stereotypes that he will impose himself. We should not forget that we are slowly getting into the age of Aquarius, and eventually after centuries the Aquarian characteristics will prevail and become the norm for the masses. Thus, people who have Aquarius as their Rising sign become also messengers of what is to come. People with this placement are not only believing in new forms of society, but actually using their own body to fight for their establishment.
We mentioned a little before, about Aquarius Rising people being like a fly in a glass of milk. Indeed, this Ascendant can have a huge effect both on what they wear, and what style they generally have. When you see a person having his hair died green or purple, and wearing clothes that just cannot pass unnoticed, there is a high possibility that he has an Aquarius Ascendant. They adore not only to sign their uniqueness with vivid colors, but also to provoke – especially when the surroundings they live in are conservative.
They are natural eccentrics, and not at all shy to show it. Eventually, the style of an Aquarius Ascendant will find its way inside the social system and become a trend – many others will follow. This is quite natural, as the whole era we are experiencing is a transgression towards an Aquarian atmosphere; the societies will eventually follow whatever the Aquarius as an archetype will promote.
Additionally, an Aquarius Rising person will be a lot more technologically progressed than the average human being. They already interconnect their existence with a strong presence in virtual worlds and the internet, definitely investing in their web personas or being part of groups that transcend higher than individuals, blending with other people easily and taking part in auto-organized structures. In future times, Aquarius Ascendant people will probably be the first ones that will implement technology for supporting even their body functions, and will probably willingly pioneer in mixing the human body with experimental robotic features. In case that humanity chooses to enhance its powers with the aid of technology that will literally be a part of our body, Aquarius Ascendant natives might be the first ones tempted to try it.
A native with an Aquarius Ascendant may have a not so serious and realistic approach to life, preferring to rebel against daily reality, and will usually feel better when being in a turmoil. Stability may feel boring, and whatever involves a risk definitely feels more appealing. Many times, such a person will even not perceive himself so much as a single organism, but will a lot more concentrate on his existence as a part of groups. This can be an amazing experience, as can lead to dissolving their ego in a hyper-organism with collective functions. Yet this will only happen if the group is a healthy one, and that it indeed promotes some good cause. People with this placement should really guard themselves from dubious organizations of people, and especially those where the decisions are not taken through harmonic interaction of the members, but by people who are higher in the hierarchy.
Such a person is conscious of his individuality from his childhood. He may have developed his own traits, either because of lack of pressure from his parents, or even because his parents were not some strong role model that he would choose to follow. In many occasions children with an Aquarius Ascendant were regarded as weirdos by other youngsters, which may have been even a difficult experience involving alienation and even loneliness. Sometimes, even some physical characteristic of their body (usually involving some sort of asymmetry) might be the reason behind this dissociation from groups of youngsters. All this may create an inner need to become, in the future, a member of groups that do not have any types of social discrimination, and motivate the youngster to even establish such a group.
As a body, Aquarius Rising people tend to be tall, if proportionally compared to the average person. They have a predisposition to have some sort of asymmetry, either on something visible on their body or on how it functions – as for example a strange type of walking. In any case, there is usually something that even if when not very visible, gives them that atmosphere of “strange” and “different”. Their public image is rather unstable, as they experiment both with different styles, clothes and even behaviors, creating more than one personas which can vary not only during long periods of time but even during some short ones.
They can have one persona at work, another one for their casual time, and a radically different one for when they go out – or even a lot more! Natives with their Ascendant in Auarius usually are not stable in their communication patterns, and will definitely prefer to use technology in any interactions with others. They are very friendly and will usually have wide circles of friends, and of course be part of at least one group – if not many. Volunteering or promoting some special cause may bring them huge inspiration, and those groups will frequently have such a higher – and idealistic- purpose.
The Aquarius Ascendant body is governed by Uranus, so it may also experience dysfunctions connected and ruled by the sign and the planet. Aquarius rules our ankles and circulatory system, while is also connected with neurotransmitters. Uranus, rules the thyroid gland, neural activity and is also connected with senses and functions of our body that are either still inexplicable, or transcend to the non-material level. Thus, difficult transits to such an individual’s Ascendant or natal Uranus can affect the body parts mentioned above.
Always have in mind that any planet present near the Ascendant point will definitely alter both the physical appearance and the characteristics of the native. We could say that in the first 10 degrees of the first house it will have the strongest influence on the Ascendant, while also the last 5 degrees of the 12th house.
The planet’s energies blend with the Ascendant ones; we can imagine the sign as a canvas while the planet as the paint that will, in the end, create the unique picture of the individual. Of course, it is possible to have more than one planets (or astrological points/ asteroids) in conjunction with the ascendant – furthermore complicating the big picture. To understand better your body, your Ego and how they function you should analyze all those planetary influences. This is why knowing your Ascendant does not necessarily mean jumping to correct conclusions about your life.
You can use our free natal chart generator, in order to understand better not only your Rising Sign but also any possible planets that are present near it. Also, do not forget to pay attention to your natal Uranus placement, so that you discover the functions of your chart ruler and how it will affect your life and priorities. Finally, do not forget to read the article about natal Uranus in the 1st house, as it has many similarities to having an Aquarius Ascendant.