The First House The First House of the horoscope represents the 'self', the physical person as well as the outer personality.  Through this house we present ourselves to the world.  Since our presentation starts with our birth, the sign and/or any planets in this house may give clues to describe the type of birth we had. For instance, with Capricorn on the cusp or Saturn near the cusp it might indicate that your birth occurred after several hours of labor for your mother. Neptune may indicate a health problem at birth or possible involvement of drugs, such as ones of inducing labor.  Pluto may indicate that either you or your mother may have been close to death or suffered some type of trauma prior to or during your birth.  Gemini or Sagittarius could indicate a fast birth.  Mercury might indicate you were born on the way to the hospital.  Mars could represent some type of surgery or even a cesarean section birth. Presentation of our "self" includes our physical appearance. Attributes of our physical body are seen via the zodiac sign (known as the Rising sign) on the cusp of the 1st house. For example - Taurus Rising individuals might have a cleft chin or dimples; Aries Rising may have a straight nose; Leo's could have a separation between their front teeth; Sagittarians may have long faces which look somewhat like a horse.  But physical appearance is also seen through other factors in the chart as well, such as the Sun Sign, Moon Sign, the sign on the Midheaven (10th house cusp), and even through the planetary ruler of the rising sign.  A person with Pisces Rising may have a gap in their front teeth because they also have a Leo Sun or Moon.  Additionally, a Leo Rising person may have no gap in their teeth because of other factors in the chart.  Since this is house is the beginning of the chart, it shows the approach that is taken in starting any project or endeavor.  Aries may jump right in with enthusiasm to begin something.  Gemini may talk about it first.  Libra may try to first find a partner to participate.  Taurus may have to seen the plans in order to get organized.  Capricorn may be insecure or reluctant but once started will set about to do it successfully. Along with our physical entry into the world and our physical attributes, presentation includes our personality.  Our "outer" personality is represented by the First House. The characteristics of our outer personality are seen through  the zodiac sign on the Ascendent/1st House cusp and any planets in this house.  The outer personality is what others see because this is what you project outward to the world.   Sagittarius on the 1st House cusp may be seen as friendly and generous; Capricorn as somber and conservative; Cancer as affectionate and motherly; and Scorpio as one hard to get to know. Many people read the Sun Sign descriptions for their own sign and say "That doesn't fit me at all!" or "It's only partially right, some things are true and some are not."  The reason is that the Rising sign is often not the same sign as the Sun Sign.      Not only is the 1st House how people see you; it is also how you view the world around you. The First House is your window to the world and the sign on the cusp is the filter on that window so to speak.  Aquarians may see the world through a humanitarian lense while Virgo's lense is to see the perfection or criticize the lack of perfection in what they see.  Leo may view the world from a fun aspect while Pisces filters their view spiritually or with confusion.  In any case, this filtering process is the basic approach in which the person operates in the other houses of the chart as well.