If your rising sign is based on your date of birth, then think of your rising sign as a more specific look at who you are based on the exact moment and place you were born. Your zodiac sign is determined based on the position of the sun in the sky on the date of your birth. Your rising sign, otherwise called an Ascendent, is the sign that was rising (hence the name) on the eastern horizon at the exact moment of your birth. These two signs exist together at the time you enter this world and they are both important in understanding who you are, why you act the way you do, why you feel the way you do, and how to be as successful as possible in your life.
