The sign rising at the Eastern horizon at the time of birth is of special importance. It is
called the Lagna or the Ascendant. The Ascendant is as per definition the sign that is placed in
the first house. There are two ways that the Ascending sign is of special importance.
Because the 1st house signifies the personality, the body and the person’s life in general, the
Ascendant will have a major influence on all of these areas. Whatever the qualities of the rising
sign are, those qualities will become very predominant in life.

The second way that the Lagna is characterizing the chart, is by fixing up the way all the
other signs are aligned with the 12 houses. For example, every chart with Simha (Leo) lagna,
will have Kanya (Virgo) in the second house, Tula (Libra) in the third, etc. Therefore, the Lagna
implies 12 sign-house combinations at once. Each sign will color the house it is in, just like the
Lagna colors the life overall. Admitted, the other 11 houses are not as important as the first, but
their lesser significance doesn’t prevent them from contributing to the overall tendencies in the
chart with such a Lagna.

The 12 Lagnas(Ascendants are As Follows)

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Acharya

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