PLEASE NOTE:  By no means do the paragraphs on this page represent firm or final textbook delineations.  Please consider them as constituting an initial attempt to verbalize possible soul's-purpose implications of the ascending sign in the horoscope.  I offer them to you as a starting point, an initial frame of reference, in our collective quest to discern and recognize the various arenas of growth, types of consciousness expansion, and fields of service that can be intended by the human soul.  Of course, the esoteric significance of the rising sign must be modified by many factors, most significantly, by planets in the first house, aspects to the ascending degree, and the house position, sign, and aspects of the esoteric ruler of the ascendant.  Degree, decanate, duad, and fixed star symbolisms are among the many other possible colorations that can contribute to the synthesis that would begin to describe the soul's purpose.
 
 

ARIES - Replacing instinctual desire with will;  the increasing assertion of the Higher Self;  discerning Divine Will by birthing new ideas to aid the evolution of the planet;  embodying Divine Will by personifying and enacting these ideas

TAURUS - Being a wise steward of the Earth's resources, utilizing them for the fulfillment of the Divine Plan;  seeing, becoming, and using Light as a tool to dissipate astral glamour and to transmute material attachment into spiritual aspiration

GEMINI - Giving Love wisely and applying Wisdom lovingly; spreading Light and bridging gaps between people; being a channel of Love-Wisdom to help connect people and promote planetwide unity of all Humanity

CANCER - Realizing the Oneness of all manifested life, human, animal, vegetable, and mineral;  using innate attunement to mass consciousness to build forms that will uplift and inspire Humanity toward the universal Love of the heart chakra

LEO - Becoming centered in God-consciousness by perfecting the personality and infusing it with soul energy in order to radiate Love to others; leading a humanitarian service group and cooperating with other group leaders in a unified effort to usher in a higher planetary consciousness

VIRGO - Refining the personality so that it can receive the energies of the soul and thus birth the Christ Consciousness in the self;  helping to rearrange the physical plane in preparation for receiving the higher energies necessary for planetary initiation

LIBRA - Seeing the other as part of oneself;  incorporating insights from others in order to realize the balance between, and unity of, the personality and the Higher Self;  becoming Whole through cooperation with the Higher Self and the Divine Plan

SCORPIO - Transmuting lower desires into Higher Will through the testing and purging of the personality;  being a spiritual warrior and catalyst of healing through the embodiment and transmission of Divine Power

SAGITTARIUS - Experiencing all facets of human life in order to develop a complete acceptance, understanding, and love of others of different cultures, creeds, races, and religions;  bearing the torch of Light and Love to inspire others toward greater understanding of life and of each other

CAPRICORN - Developing patience, persistence, and perseverance by working productively within the limitations of matter, time, and space in order to progress spiritually, become increasingly involved with the Forces of Light, and assume greater responsibilities in helping to manifest the Divine Plan on Earth

AQUARIUS - Waking up to the universality of Spirit and the Divine essence and unity of all beings, interplanetary and extraplanetary;  serving uniquely and lovingly in a cooperative effort with other servers, under the direction of the Planetary Hierarchy, to help the whole of Humanity awaken and take its next step forward in consciousness

PISCES - Becoming aware of ingrained personal attitudes, cultural thoughtforms, and societal institutions which hinder planetary progress, then wielding Power to transmute these into higher forms of energy, thus clearing the way for the new thought forms which will serve the the Divine Plan of evolution for the planet and the solar system
 

See esoteric astrology illustrated in Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, Portraits of Sagittarius Rising