LEARN TO READ + UNDERSTAND YOUR NATAL CHART

it’s your personal instructional manual.

Your natal chart, which is also known as a birth chart, is an astrological map of where all the planets were in their journey around the Sun (obv from our perspective on earth) at the exact moment you took your first breath on earth.

In order to accurately calculate your natal chart, you’ll need the time, date, and place of birth. It’s true, some people do not know their birth times, and without this vital information it does make things a bit tougher and a bit less precise.

Without a birth time, you won’t be able to identify your rising sign, also known as an ascendant. Nor will you correctly know which houses the planets occupy in your natal chart. Thankfully, you can still retrieve a lot of info about yourself simply by entering your date and location of birth—so don’t let that stop you from astrologically investigating what you can about yourself.

If you do know your exact birth time, though, **accuracy is important** you’ll be able to get an expansive picture of your personal blueprint. The ascendant dictates a lot in your chart. The rising sign sort of sets the tone of your chart, especially dictating your personal flair as this energy governs your first house of self. This rising energy adds a layer of richness to the qualities of your essence (your sun sign). Take it a step further and see what planet rules the zodiac of your particular rising sign. For example, if you are a Libra rising (Venus is the ruler of Libra), look and see what house Venus falls in your chart. This will tell you a bit of how and where you will be heavily influenced by Venus (or whatever planet rules your rising sign) and in the particular part of your life that corresponds to that house.

Speaking of houses, every birth chart is broken down into 12 different sections or “houses”. Each house is related to a specific area of your life and each of those 12 houses is governed by one of the 12 signs in the zodiac. The ascendent line horizontally cuts the chart in half. It represents the literal horizon. The planets that fall under it can manifest in your life in a more private way, and the planets that fall above it can be experienced a little more publicly in your life. If you have a concentration of planets in a specific house, that area of your life will probably be pretty important.

So, planets. The planets + all celestial bodies are always moving. The further they are from the sun, the longer their rotations are. The moon is a different story, though. It’s so close to us so we perceive the moon as moving through each of the 12 signs every two days. With that being said, once you run your birth chart, take a look and see what sign and house each of your planets fall in.

Okay so, start nibbing around your chart. Check out where Venus, Mars, and the moon’s zodiac sign are placed in your chart because it will tell you a bit about your love language, and your emotional wants and needs. Mercury will tell you how you prefer to communicate, and how you like to receive and give information. Look where Saturn is for where you may need to work harder (even work out some karma) and also Jupiter for where you may be lucky and where things are super extra in your life.

Investigate to see what aspects or angles are formed between two planets and then research what those aspects mean and what areas of your chart each are in. Check and see if you have any “stelliums.” These are where you’ll find that concentration of energy within specific areas of your life that we discussed earlier. Look at the balance of elements (planets in fire, earth, air and water signs) in your chart... or imbalance. Then see what the balance of qualities are like in your chart (planets in cardinal, mutable, or fixed signs).

The best advice we can give is to simply investigate, research things you do not know, and be patient with yourself. Astrology is a language. It takes time to understand, and there are always new things to learn. 

THE 12 SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC

Aries // “I Am” // the ram
Taurus // “I Have” // the bull
Gemini // “I Think” // the twins
Cancer // “I Feel” // the crab
Leo // “I Will” // the lion
Virgo // “I Serve” // the virgin
Libra // “I Balance” // the scales
Scorpio // “I Desire” // the scorpion
Sagittarius // “I See” // the archer
Capricorn // “I Use” // the goat
Aquarius // “I Know” // the water bearer
Pisces // “I Believe” // the fish

GENDERS

MASCULINE     Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius // stable + righteous

FEMININE Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces // flowing + magnetizing

MODALITIES

a plan can be sparked by a cardinal sign, built by a fixed sign, and then perfected by a mutable sign.

CARDINAL Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn // initiating

FIXED Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius // immovable + grounded

MUTABLE Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces // flexible

ELEMENTS

FIRE Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius // dynamic + aggressive

EARTH Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn // loyal + dependable

AIR Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius // detached + curious

WATER Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces // intuitive + receptive

THE PLANETS

Sun // self awareness, ego, and essence
Moon // inner emotional life, and karma
Mercury // communication, processing of information
Venus // love, beauty, and money
Mars // assertiveness, aggression, and desire
Jupiter // luck, opportunity, and expansiveness 
Saturn // responsibility, time, and routine
Uranus // individuality, revolutionary, and sporadic action
Neptune // dreams, healing, and intuition
Pluto // sex, death, & transformation

THE HOUSES

1st // identity
2nd // values
3rd // communication
4th // roots
5th // creativity
6th // responsibility
7th // partnerships
8th // intimacy
9th // beliefs
10th // legacy
11th // friends
12th // transcendence

SIGN RULERSHIPS

Aries // Mars
Taurus // Venus
Gemini // Mercury
Cancer // Moon
Leo // Sun
Virgo // Mercury
Libra // Venus
Scorpio // Pluto (Mars)
Sagittarius // Jupiter
Capricorn // Saturn
Aquarius // Uranus (Saturn) 
Pisces // Neptune (Jupiter)

ASTROIDS, ANGLES, OR MATHEMATICAL POINTS + WHAT THEY GOVERN IN YOUR LIFE.

Chiron (Wounded Healer)

Ascendent (First Impressions)

IC (Private/Family)

Descendent (Partnership)

MC (Public/Career)

North Node (Destiny)

South Node (Talents)

Part of Fortune (Processes to Success)

Vertex (Fated Happenings + Connections) 

ASPECTS

Aspects are connections formed between planets/astroids/mathematical points depending on the degree of the Zodiac in which they occupy. When these bodies occupy the same degree of different signs, they have a connection that is either harmonious or challenging, depending on the signs involved, or the number of degrees separating them.

conjunction 0° ± 8° // blending

opposition180° ± 8° dynamic (difficult)

trine120° ± 8° flowing (easy)

square90° ± 8° dynamic (difficult)

sextile60° ± 6° flowing (easy)