What is a Natal Chart?

Have you been hearing about natal charts but don’t quite know what they are? Maybe you got asked what time you are born? That seems like an oddly specific question, and here is why people want to know. Your birth chart or natal chart is a visual representation of the sky from the moment you were born. So, to calculate one, you need the time, date, and location.

Why is time so important?

Many of the slower-moving planets will not even change degrees over a couple of minutes, so why do you need the time? Well, more often than not, the Rising sign of a person changes, there is a possibility that the Moon switches signs, and very rarely (the so-called astrology cusps or when you are born on a date that is between two signs) the Sun can be determined. And if that is not convincing, aspects between planets can change, the house system can shift, and much more.

What if I don’t know my birth time?

Usually, the best thing to do is to hire a professional astrologer to help you find out. By asking you questions about your life, the person can determine when you are born. How does this work? Each rising sign has different qualities, the other planets and their effect will show up in specific places that show the astrologer how you see love, where you have problems, what life path you should try to follow, and so on. Understanding your natal chart better can help you gain a deeper perspective on events in your life and prepare for the upcoming ones.

Ok, so I have my chart, what do I do with it?

There are a lot of different charts and types of readings depending on what you need. For example, you have two completely different charts when you use Western or Vedic calculators. There are also full-house system interpretations, progressed charts, synastry, and much more! Therefore, your first task would be to decide which one you want or need. A good app for natal charts is AstroMatrix, it also has information about your aspects, and you can start learning today. Note that the input of time, date, and place is a bit complicated to handle, but it is worth it.

Well, I picked my chart.. but I am not sure what I am seeing on it.

Once you have a chart loaded it should look like a pie with 12 sections, those represent a different area of your life and where the planets were when you were born. Why does it look like that? Mainly for comfort and easy visual representation. This circle represents the sky at the exact moment you were born. Your rising sign - or where your first house begins, is the sign that was “rising” on the horizon. Think of it like this: the upper half of the circle is what was above the horizon, and the lower half is what was “hidden”.

You can see the symbols of the Planets, what sign they were in, what house, if they were Retrograde or not, and if they make aspects to other placements. That information can help you understand your love style, ideal career, luck, problems to work on, how to motivate yourself - what your positive and challenging qualities are, and how to work with them.

If you are a beginner, to understand your chart better you need to learn about the Archetypes of the Signs and Planets first. Then you can combine the information and see how it matches you. However, every astrologer has their own unique understanding and will give you a slightly different reading. Those are based on years of practice and life experiences, so it is always useful to check out what others have observed over time.

Where can I read more about the Archetypes?

Here! I will be posting more about understanding your chart, the planets in the different signs, the houses, and the archetypes! If you want to know specifically about yours, you can book a reading today!