Your big three
Sun, Moon and rising sign: the three placements that describe your drive, your needs and your manner.
The Sun: what you are doing here
The Sun sign is where the Sun sat on your birthday. It describes your core drive, the thing you are trying to become, and it is the one placement almost everyone already knows. It is also the one most people over-read: a Leo is not always loud, but a Leo is always working on being seen for something they made.
The Moon: what you need
The Moon moves through a sign every two and a half days, so your Moon sign is more specific to you than your Sun. It describes what you need in order to feel safe, how you were comforted as a child, and how you comfort others. When people say "I do not feel like myself", they usually mean the Moon is not getting what it wants.
The rising sign: how you arrive
The Ascendant is the sign that was rising over the eastern horizon at the minute you were born. It changes every two hours, which is why we ask for your time. It describes your manner, your body, and the first impression, and it sets the whole house layout of the chart. Two people with the same Sun and different rising signs live in very different charts.
Reading the three together
A Capricorn Sun with a Pisces Moon and Leo rising is ambitious, privately tender and publicly warm, and those three do not always agree with each other. That disagreement is the interesting part. Look for where your three agree (that is your comfort zone) and where they argue (that is where you grow).