Our "Onion" selves: Ascendant, Sun Sign, Moon Sign.

While Western astrology places more importance on the sun sign in determining our personalities and characters, Indian astrology emphasizes the role of the moon sign rather than the sun.  In fact, while matching the horoscope charts of a couple, their moon signs are analyzed to determine relationship compatibility.

Sun sign is easily determined, as our calendar year is more or less based on the movement of the sun - which stays in each sign for about 30 days.  Moon sign is more difficult to calculate, as the moon stays in each zodiac sign for just a couple of days.  While the Ascendant or the rising sign (the easternmost sign in the sky at the moment we were born) is even more intricate as it changes every hour.  Thus to determine these, we need to know our exact time of birth. 

For a complete personality/character assessment, the sun and the moon are not the only variables - the Ascendant, the Venus sign, the Mars sign, and the Saturn sign should also be taken into consideration.

Each of our selves is layered like an onion, with the Ascendant forming our outermost cover. The ascendant sign shows how we appear to the world, or how we want the world to view us - in other words, it is what strangers first see in us before knowing us deeper.

The second layer is the Sun sign - which determines our general personality and how most people view us as.  Just as the sun is the most important star for the earth, our sun sign shines the brightest in shaping our personalities.

The third layer is the Moon sign - which is our innermost selves as seen by our close friends and family.  It is what we are when at home, when we have shut the door to the world, and what determines our emotions and feelings.  Just as the moon pulls at the waves of the oceans, our moon signs determine how we feel deep inside.

These 3 layers make the core of our beings.  If these 3 signs vary greatly in a person, he or she would appear very different inside and out.  Some may perceive that the said person is wearing masks, but the fact is that it is the signs dictating the person's different behaviour in different situations.  For example, someone with an earthy Taurus as ascendant and a fiery Aries as moon would appear calm on the outside, but his close ones would be well acquainted with his fearsome tempers as well. 

On the other hand, those in whom these 3 core signs are similar (or even same), will seem to have a constant fixed personality no matter who they are with, or where they are.  They may appear to be more 'genuine' as their 'moods' do not undergo much change in different circumstances or situations.

The other signs - Venus, Mars and Saturn also play vital roles in determining how we express love (Venus sign), how we fight (Mars sign), and how we handle adversity (Saturn sign).