How to read a natal chart

Getting started

Reading a natal chart is a lot easier than it looks. Once you get past the funny signs and symbols the puzzle clears up tremendously. The first step is acquiring your birth chart and the aide of technology has made that extremely simple. Several websites provide free chart generating services everyone can easily access. I use www.alabe.com, but other sites such as astrotheme.com or astro.com are also very popular. Creating a chart by hand is very time consuming and you’ll have to consult an ephemeris, which I don’t teach you how to use. As long as you have your birthday, time, and the city you were born in any of these sources can give you what you need.

Once you’ve acquired your chart you’ll see a circle divided up into twelve sections with some unusual symbols around the outside. Those glyphs on the outside are the constellations and planets at their relative position for the time provided. Think of the circle as an upside down compass. East is on the left, up is the South, right is the West and down is the North. This is because from our vantage point the Sun is in the South. Each planet rises from the East on the left and continues to rise until it contacts the mid-heaven, then sets in the West. Two of the intersecting lines are usually bolder than the rest. The top half of the circle represents the sky overhead at the time selected. The bolder lines are very important divisions in your chart. One line is horizontal and the other is somewhat vertical. The horizontal line never moves but the vertical line most definitely does. On the left of this stationary line is the point called your ascendant or rising sign. As the Earth rotates, each constellation crosses this point in a span of about twenty-four hours. It’s a very simple concept, one rotation equals one day. The vertical line represents the Earth’s axis and usually has an arrow on the upper point. That arrow is called the mid-heaven, which is described more later on. As the Earth spins and wobbles the mid-heaven changes as fast as the ascendant.

In the middle of the circle will be a series of blue, red, and green lines. Blue lines are the sextiles and trines. Red lines are the Square, oppositions, sesquiquadrate. Green lines are the quincunx and semi-sextile. Their purpose is to show you which planets are within a given orb of influence. After your Sun, Moon and rising signs the aspects are the personality traits making you who you are.

Say your Sun is in the 15th degree of Aries. You would look at the 15th degree in each of the following signs for the exact aspect.

Sextile 60 degrees- Gemini/Aquarius

Square 90 degrees- Cancer/Capricorn

Trine- 120 degrees Leo/Sagittarius

Quincunx- 150 degrees Virgo/Scorpio

Opposite- 180 degrees Libra

Once you have acquired your natal chart here are the first few steps I use when interpreting.

1. Look at the ascendant and the relationship with the Sun. Whether good or bad this indicates how easily you integrate your spirit into your personality.

2. Look at the relationship between the ascendant and Moon. Whether good or bad this indicates how easily you integrate your emotions into your personality.

3. Look at the relationship between the Sun and Moon. This indicates how well you integrate your emotions and spirit.

4. Look at the sign of ascendant and the relationship to its ruling planet. This planet is your ruling planet.

5. Look at the relationship between the ruling planet to the Sun and Moon.

The Elements

Fire-Masculine-Spirit, Inspiration, Assertiveness

Earth- Feminine- Strength, Determination, Possessions, (material, spiritual, and philosophical)

Air-Masculine- Intelligence, Nervous system, curiousness

Water- Feminine- Emotions, Habits, Unconscious actions

The signs

Aries-Cardinal-Fire

Taurus-Fixed-Earth

Gemini-Mutable-Air

Cancer-Cardinal-Water

Leo-Fixed-Fire

Virgo-Mutable-Earth

Libra-Cardinal-Air

Scorpio-Fixed-Water

Sagittarius-Mutable-Fire

Capricorn-Cardinal-Earth

Aquarius-Fixed-Air

Pisces-Mutable-Water