A great way to understand what the signs represent is by getting familiar with their archetypes. Each sign represents an energy, and the archetype is representative of the energy that the sign desires to embody and express.
Carl Jung famously used archetypes in his psychotherapy practice. He suggested that they derived from the collective unconscious which became hardwired in our unconscious behavior. Jung used these archetypes to better understand his patients and their motivations and drives. He believed that the archetypes, once made conscious, could serve as guides towards individuation and self-actualization. This is how astrology and psychology are cross-connected. In evolutionary astrology, signs represent psychological motivations with a set of values and drives, which ultimately serve as an evolutionary aim/path.
Aries: the warrior, daredevil, pioneer, hero
Taurus: the earth spirit, musician, sensualist, pragmatist
Gemini: the storyteller, communicator, messenger, teacher
Cancer: the healer, therapist, nurturer, dream-weaver
Leo: the queen/king, performer, child, comedian
Virgo: the analyst, mentor, perfectionist, craftsperson
Libra: the lover, artist, peacemaker, diplomat
Scorpio: the detective, hypnotist, psychoanalyst, shaman
Sagittarius: the philosopher, student, optimist, adventurer
Capricorn: the elder, strategist, hermit, prime minister
Aquarius: the rebel, exile, genius, revolutionary
Pisces: the mystic, dreamer, visionary, poet
Once you become familiar with the archetypes you can add to the list and create your own.
The archetypes are the basis of the primal triad (sun, moon and ascendant) formula, which is the foundation of understanding your identity (sun), the soul behind your identity (moon) and the mask you wear in the world (ascendant).
To get a feel for your primal triad essence, use the following formula:
I am a (sun sign archetype)
with the soul of a (moon sign archetype)
wearing the mask of a (ascendant archetype).
Example: I am a healer (Cancer) with the soul of a mystic (Pisces) wearing the mask of a psychoanalyst (Scorpio)