AstraLink1. What is a rising sign?
The ascendant, why birth time matters, and how it shapes first impressions. Transcript live.
Video series · 6 episodes · transcripts first
Birth Chart Basics: A Video Series for Beginners
Birth Chart Basics is a six-episode video series for people who know their Sun sign and want to understand the rest of the chart. Each episode is five to eight minutes, teaches one idea with a real chart on screen, and comes with a full transcript. Episode 1, What is a rising sign?, is live as a transcript now; the video follows.
Quick answer
Birth Chart Basics is AstraLink's beginner video series in six short episodes: what a rising sign is, the Big Three, what each planet does, the twelve houses, aspects, and how to read a whole chart in five minutes. Every episode is published with a transcript and key takeaways, and pairs with the first module of the AstraLink Academy.
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Birth Chart Basics, Episode 1: What is a rising sign?
Video coming soon. The full transcript and key takeaways are already on the episode page.
The Big Three: three layers of you
Sun, Moon and rising sign are where every chart reading starts.
What you will learn
By the end of the series you will be able to look at any birth chart, including your own, and say what the rising sign, Sun and Moon are doing, which planet rules the chart, which houses are busy, and which two or three aspects matter most. That is the same skill the first module of the AstraLink Academy teaches, and the two are designed to be used together: watch the episode, then do the lesson in the app with your own placements.
The series is a birth chart for beginners course in the honest sense: we assume nothing beyond your Sun sign. If you do not have your chart yet, run the free birth chart calculator first so that every example has a personal version.
What a birth chart is, in one paragraph
A birth chart (natal chart) is a map of the sky at the exact minute and place you were born, drawn as a circle. The circle is divided into twelve signs, which describe how energy is expressed, and twelve houses, which describe where in life it shows up. The planets, the Sun and Moon included, are placed around the wheel according to where they actually were, using ephemeris-grade positions and the tropical zodiac. Lines between planets show aspects, the angles that decide whether two placements cooperate or argue. The point on the left is the ascendant, your rising sign, and it is where this series begins, because it is the one piece that depends on the minute you were born and it fixes everything else. Six episodes later, that sentence will make complete sense. Every term used along the way is defined in the glossary.
Episodes
- What is a rising sign? The sign on the eastern horizon at your birth, why it changes every two hours, how it shapes first impressions, and how to find yours. Transcript live.
- Sun, Moon, rising: your Big Three. What each one governs, why they can contradict each other, and how to read them as a set. Written guide: Big Three astrology. Coming soon.
- The planets: what each one does. Mercury to Pluto in plain language, with the difference between personal, social and outer planets. Written guide: learn hub. Coming soon.
- The twelve houses: where life happens. Why the same planet behaves differently in the 2nd house and the 7th, and what each house covers. Written guide: the 7th house. Coming soon.
- Aspects: how planets talk to each other. Conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition, and why a square is fuel rather than doom. Written guide: the square aspect. Coming soon.
- Reading a whole chart in five minutes. A method: rising sign and its ruler, the Sun and Moon, the busiest house, the tightest aspect. Written guide: chart ruler. Coming soon.
How to watch
Episodes are published transcript first. Each episode page goes live with the full script, key takeaways and links; the video is added when it is finished. The transcript is not a summary; it is the words the presenter says, so you lose nothing by reading. Captions and the transcript stay on the page permanently for accessibility.
We suggest one episode a day, in order, with the matching Academy lesson afterwards. The whole series takes under an hour of watching and about a week of letting it settle.
Who is presenting
Episodes are written and presented by members of the AstraLink Editorial Team, practising astrologers who also write the guides on this site and review the interpretive framework behind the app's AI reading. Scripts are checked against our editorial policy: tropical zodiac, Placidus houses, ephemeris-grade positions, and no fatalism.
After the series
When you can read the basics, three directions open up. The synastry guide shows how two charts interact, which is the foundation of AstraLink's compatibility and Cosmic Dating features. The Saturn return guide is the best introduction to timing, and the Void-of-Course Moon page is the quickest practical use of a chart you will find. And the glossary is there for every term you meet along the way.
Episode list
Six episodes, five to eight minutes each. Only Episode 1 has its own page so far.
2. Sun, Moon, rising: your Big Three
What each one governs and how to read them as a set.
3. The planets: what each one does
Mercury to Pluto in plain language.
4. The twelve houses
Where life happens, and why the same planet acts differently by house.
5. Aspects: how planets talk
Conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition.
6. Reading a whole chart in five minutes
A repeatable method for any chart.
About this series
Do I need my birth time to follow Birth Chart Basics?
You can follow the series without it, but Episode 1 and Episode 4 (rising sign and houses) are about the parts of the chart that depend on birth time. If you do not know yours, check your birth certificate or ask a parent; if it is truly unknown, the series still teaches the Sun, Moon, planets and aspects, which need only your date.
Is the series free?
Yes. Every episode page, transcript and written guide on this site is free with no signup. The matching Academy lessons live inside the AstraLink app, which is in early access.
Why is only Episode 1 available?
We publish transcripts first and add video when it is finished. Episode 1's transcript is live now; the remaining five episodes are in production and will appear on this page as they are ready, in order.
Which house system do the videos use?
Placidus, the default in the AstraLink app and in most Western astrology software. Episode 4 explains what a house system is and why whole-sign houses give a slightly different picture.
Is there a Spanish version?
Spanish versions of Birth Chart Basics are planned after the English episodes are complete. The Spanish written guides, including the rising sign and birth chart pages, are already available under /es/.
Guides that go with each episode
Early access · US launch
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Cosmic archetype, chart ruler, strengths, karmic lesson and more, written for your exact placements. Join early access for the complete reading, free.
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AstraLink content is written by our editorial team, reviewed for astrological accuracy, and refreshed as the sky moves. Interpretations are for reflection and entertainment; they are not medical, legal or financial advice.