This ultimate guide to understanding your birth chart (or natal chart), will explain what a birth chart is, how you can create your own, and how you can make sense of what it has to tell you. This guide will get you to know the meaning of the Zodiac signs, the Planets, the Houses and everything else the birth chart has to show you about yourself.
The moment that I accidently stumbled upon my birth chart, I was amazed with what it had to show me, and even more so how accurate it was. The more I found out about the information in my birth chart, the more I got to understand why certain things are (or have been) a major topic in my life. And more importantly, it showed me what I could do to change it!
I would love for you to also discover this and find out about everything your birth chart has to show you. In this guide I will share with you everything that I found out about the birth chart. I hope you find it helpful.
- The Birth Chart Explained
- How To Create Your Own Birth Chart
- How To Interpret Your Birth Chart
- The Components In The Birth Chart Explained
- What Else Is There To Know About The Birth Chart?
- Want To Know More?
The Birth Chart Explained
What Is The Birth Chart And Why Is It Important?
The birth chart (or natal chart) is a snapshot of the sky taken at the moment when you were born, from the location you were born at. It shows the position of the planets, Zodiac signs and the houses relative to you, at that moment in time. Together this creates a chart that is unique to you. No one else (except maybe your identical twin) has the same birth chart as you.
Getting a copy of your birth chart and understanding it, is important for your self-development. It can provide you great insight in your personality, your struggles in life and what you need to focus on to overcome them. There is not a more personalized method for self-development than this!
Astrologers sometimes spend their whole lives studying this, but the good news is, you don’t have to do that. By understanding the areas in the birth chart described in this post, you can get a good understanding of your chart yourself.
What Does Your Birth Chart Tell You?
A birth chart can tell you several things about yourself and your life:
- What your personality is like
- How you present yourself to the outside world
- Who you are at the core
- What moves you emotionally
- Your strengths and weaknesses
- Your struggles in life
- The areas that will play a big role in your life
- What you need to focus on to improve yourself
- The main lessons you need to learn in this lifetime
How To Create Your Own Birth Chart
How To Create or find Your Birth Chart?
The easiest way to get your birth chart is to use an online birth chart calculator. If you search for ‘free birth chart’, there are many options you can choose from (Try this one or this one). In this post I will explain how you can interpret the placements and information on your birth chart yourself.
To generate your birth chart you need to know the date, place and time you were born. In case you don’t know your birth time, I described how you can find it below.
Can You Create Your Birth Chart By Hand?
To create a unique personalized version of your birth chart, you can draw one by hand as well. You will need the same information as your online generated birth chart shows. There are two things you can do: 1) use your online generated birth chart as a start; 2) find a table with all your planetary placements. I suggest going with the first option, as it is the easiest to start with.
Drawing your birth chart by hand is a fun way of getting to know your chart very well, and you can make a creative and personalized version of your chart. It is also great to gift someone with a unique handdrawn version of their birth chart. Especially for a newborn or for children: knowing their birth chart very early on in life, can be of great value!
I will soon share a free birth chart template here.
How To Create Your Birth Chart Without Your Birth Time?
If you don´t know your birth time, this is what you can do to find it:
- Check your Birth Certificate
- Look for Hospital Records, in case you were born in a hospital
- Ask Family Members
- Find your Birth Card that was created to announce when you were born
- If none of the above were helpful, you can try Birth Time Rectification. This is generally done through an astrologer that is specialized in this field. You will be asked about certain life events and that information will be used to derive your most probable birth time.
- Another option is to try Kinesiology. This is a method that uses muscle tests to derive what your birth time is. After all, you were there at the time you were born, so the assumption is that the information is somewhere stored in your body.
- If you still cannot find it, you can see if a Psychic can retrieve this information for you.
- As a Last Resort, you can pick a time in the morning or at noon, but realize that the outcome will probably not be very accurate.
How To Interpret Your Birth Chart
How To Interpret Your Birth Chart?
Interpreting your birth chart is a matter of connecting the dots. Each placement on your chart adds a piece to the puzzle of you and your life. You need to take into account the different parts of your birth chart and see how they influence one another. Go through it step by step and you will be amazed what it can show you.
Start here: Download my Free Birth Chart Worksheet and fill in the information from your birth chart while reading this post.
What Components Are In The Birth Chart?
The birth chart is a wheel that has the following components on it:
- The 12 Zodiac Signs
- The 12 Houses
- The Planets and their placements relative to the signs and houses
- The Aspects (the planet’s placements relative to each other)
- Your Rising Sign (or Ascendant)
- Your Sun Sign
- Your Moon Sign
- Your Love line
- Your Career line
- Your Home line
- Your Lunar nodes placement (goal in life)
- Your Chiron (wounds to be healed)
👉 For some fun ideas, and to learn more about Astrology, check out my post 11 Astrology Essentials for 2023 🤩🌛🪐
Which Part Of The Birth Chart Is Most Important?
The most important part of your birth chart is sometimes said to be the Zodiac signs, followed by the planets and the houses. However, all parts of the birth chart play a unique role when you are interpreting your birth chart. They all affect one another and should therefore be interpreted in relation to each other. Begin by finding your sun, moon and rising sign.
The Components In The Birth Chart Explained
The Big Three: Find Your Sun, Moon And Rising Signs
When you have your copy of your birth chart, start by looking for your sun, moon and rising sign on your chart. These are sometimes referred to as the big three. Combined these give a good insight in who you are as a person at the core, emotionally and socially.
If you haven’t yet, download my Free Birth Chart Worksheet to get started.
Find Your Sun Sign
Most likely you already know your sun sign. This is the sign that is determined by the date on which you were born. For example, if you are born between 21 March and 20 April, you are an Aries. On your chart you can find your sun sign by looking for the sun symbol.
Your sun sign expresses who you are at the core. It answers the question ‘I am’.
Find Your Rising Sign (Or Ascendant)
Your rising sign, or ascendant, is the sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon at the time that you were born. You can find it on your chart by looking for the letters ‘AS’ or ‘AC’.
Your rising sign shows how you express yourself to the outside world. It is the first impression you make on someone. Read more about the rising sign here.
Find Your Moon Sign
To find your moon sign, look for the moon symbol on your chart.
Your moon symbol shows how you respond to things on an emotional level. It is the driver of the unconsciouss. If you are aware of your moon sign, so you can understand yourself on a deeper level. It explains why you react strongly to certain things.
Find the meaning of your Moon sign here
The Zodiac Signs Explained
There are 12 Zodiac signs, which you surely have probably heard of. The signs are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. To understand what drives each of the signs, it is important to first understand the Element that a sign is in. Also the modality and polarity will give more depth to the nature of the sign.
Now you have found your sun, moon and rising signs, let’s have a closer look at what these signs represent.
The 4 Elements Explained (Fire, Earth, Air, Water)
To get an understanding of each sign, first check what Element that sign is in. There are 4 elements and its signs:
Fire
The 3 fire signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. Fire signs are the most passionate, lively and creative of the signs. Fire can both light up and burn out very quickly, which makes them the signs with the most temperament. Check your chart to see which planets you have in a fire sign.
Earth
The 3 earth signs are Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. Earth signs are the most grounded of the signs, they want things to be authentic. You can count on an earth sign to be there as a steady force. They can also be very sensual and sometimes overly sensitive.
Air
The 3 air signs are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Air signs mainly live in their head. They love to think and to exchange ideas, but they can easily change direction and fly off to the next idea or focus. They are not too strongly affected by society´s expectations and are less emotional.
Water
The 3 water signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Water signs are the most emotional. They are in very strongly connected to their feelings and can be very sentimental and dreamy. This softer side can be very warming and is specific to the water signs.
The 3 Modalities Explained (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable)
Each Zodiac sign marks either the start, the middle or the end of a season. This gives each sign a certain characteristic called a modality. These are the 3 modalities:
Cardinal
The Cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. The cardinal signs kick off the season and are therefore good at starting things and taking the lead.
Fixed
The Fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. The fixed signs are the peak of the season. They have a great work ethic and strong drive to achieve their goals.
Mutable
The Mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. The mutable signs are ending the season. They are flexibel, accept change easily and go with the flow.
The Polarities Explained (Yin and Yang)
There are 2 polarities, yin and yang, the feminine and the masculin.
Yin
The Yin signs are more introverted, they are receptive and are more connected to their feelings. The Yin signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces.
Yang
The Yang signs are more extraverted, they are action oriented and more in the head. The Yang signs are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius.
The 12 Zodiac Signs And Their Meaning
In the table below you see all the characteristics of each Zodiac sign, including their element, modality, polarity, their ruling planet and the house that they rule. This information combined, will give you a profound understanding of the nature of each Zodiac sign.
More on the meaning of the planets and the houses later in this post.
Understanding what each Zodiac sign represents is important to understanding the meaning of the planet placements in your birth chart. In your birth chart, you will also see that each sign and planet coincides with a certain house. The house indicates the overall theme that plays a role (more on that later).
Naturally, each sign is the ruler of a certain house. This tells you something about the nature of the sign.
| Sign | Element | Modality | Polarity | Ruling planet | Ruler of this House | Keywords |
| Aries | Fire | Cardinal | Yang | Mars | 1st house: The Self | Driven, passionate, takes action |
| Taurus | Earth | Fixed | Yin | Venus | 2nd house: Money, Values | Loyal, stubborn, sensual |
| Gemini | Air | Mutable | Yang | Mercury | 3rd house: Communication, The Mind | Talkative, outgoing, intellectual |
| Cancer | Water | Cardinal | Yin | The Moon | 4th house: Home, Family | Sensitive, creating, caring |
| Leo | Fire | Fixed | Yang | The Sun | 5th house: Creativity, Children | Center of attention, generous, warm |
| Virgo | Earth | Mutable | Yin | Mercury | 6th house: Physical health, Work | Down-to-earth, practical, analytical |
| Libra | Air | Cardinal | Yang | Venus | 7th house: Relationships | Easygoing, social, passionate |
| Scorpio | Water | Fixed | Yin | Pluto | 8th house: Rebirth, Other people’s money | Powerful, mysterious, intuitive |
| Sagittarius | Fire | Mutable | Yang | Jupiter | 9th house: High education, Travel | Adventurous, optimistic, loves to learn |
| Capricorn | Earth | Cardinal | Yin | Saturn | 10th house: Career, Vocation | Strong work ethic, grounded, disciplined |
| Aquarius | Air | Fixed | Yang | Uranus | 11th house: Community, Sharing | Rebellious, free thinker, original |
| Pisces | Water | Mutable | Yin | Neptune | 12th house: Spirituality, emotional health | Emotional, dreamy, intuitive |
More on the meaning of each sign, you can read here.
The Planets Explained
Each planet comes with its own specific energy. Have a look at where each of these planets are on your birth chart. Their placement (the sign and the house they are in) will show you how this planet’s energy manifests in your life.
For example, if Mars is in your first house and in the sign of Cancer, you can come accross as direct, assertive or even aggressive (Mars energy affecting the Self, the 1st house). You tend to be very driven to protect yourself and your loved ones (Cancer traits combined with Mars energy).
Each planet orbits the Zodiac in a different amount of time. Because of the constant movement, each person’s birth chart is different. You will find that the slowest moving planets have a similar placement in other people’s birth chart that are around the same age as you. Those are generational planets. For example, Neptune’s energy more or less defines a generation, and Pluto defines the energy of a whole era.
See below an explanation of each planet´s meaning and energy. Although the sun and the moon are technically not planets, I will include them in this list as well.
The Sun
The Sun is the driving force of life. It is at the core of everything. Where you have the sun in your birth chart is where you can shine the most. The sign that the sun is in, expresses who you are at the core. It can help you find focus on where your talents are, and can also help you identify what areas you may need to improve.
The Moon
The Moon is mostly visible at night. It shows the less obvious side to things and represents the unconsciouss and what is hidden. To know where your moon is in your birth chart, is to understand what drives you on a deeper emotional level. It shows you what your deepest needs are.
Mercury
Mercury is the planet of communication, which can be related to speaking, writing, learning and thinking. In this energy, things happen fast and always with a high level of energy. Mercurial energy comes with lots of possibilities and encourages change. There is a focus on short travel.
Venus
Venus is the love planet. It is a very positive energy and is all about attraction and pleasure. Venus teaches us to be grateful for the connection we have with others and to strenghten the relationships in our lives. The energy of Venus is also aesthetic. It´s all about expression through the arts.
Mars
Mars is the planet of action. It is fiery, red and full of drive. The Mars energy is all about ambition and competition, but has to be careful not to become aggressive. Where Venus is the feminine planet, Mars is the masculin. Mars is a very strong energy and can achieve greatness as long as it remains in good balance.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the planet of happiness, fun and good luck. Where you have Jupiter in your birth chart, you are likely to experience a little bit extra of that energy. Because Jupiter reinforces the energy, this can lead to great fun, but also be careful you don’t overdo it in that area.
Saturn
Saturn comes with a more serious and heavier energy. Saturn’s energy is all about karma, and is not out to make things easy. It tells us to look at our fears and learn the important lessons in life to find wisdom. Saturn encourages hard work and perseverance.
Uranus
Because Uranus is one of the slower moving planets, its energy affects a whole generation of people as it stays in one Zodiac sign for many years. Uranus is all about new ideas, technology and inventions. It has an energy of rebellion and wanting to break with tradition.
Neptune
Neptune, who is also a generational planet, is all about extremes. It is the planet of the divine, enlightenment, connectedness, but also that of limitlessness and addiction. It is the energy of dreams and fantasies, but also that of failure.
Pluto
Pluto rules the underworld. Pluto will cause havoc to create change of what is not working. This will not go unnoticed nor very smoothly. Pluto´s energy is destructive and powerful. Pluto takes the longest to pass through the Zodiac and is the planets that often causes great transitions in the world.
The 12 Houses Explained
The birth chart is divided in 12 Houses which each represent a different area of life. If you have several planets in one of the houses, then this is an area that is extra important in your life. The houses come in pairs, so the same goes for the opposing house. For example, if you have many planets in the 1st house, then you will likely be dealing with topics from the 7th house too.
Have a look at your birth chart to see in which of the houses you have most planets. If a planet is in a certain house, it affects the theme of that house with its energy. For example, if Jupiter is in your first house, its energy affects the self. It can indicate a cheerful character that just has fun in life.
This is what each of the houses represent:
1st House
The First House is all about the self, your physical characteristics and how you present yourself in life.
2nd House
The Second House is all about money, values and your talents.
3rd House
The Third House is all about communication, learning and early education, short travel, neighbours and the mind.
4th House
The Fourth House is all about the home, family, stability and roots.
5th House
The Fifth House is all about children, self-employment, romance/love and creativity.
6th House
The Sixth House is that of physical health, work and habits.
7th House
The Seventh House is all about relationships and the interaction of the self with others.
8th House
The Eight House is all about sex and material possessions of others (inheritance, mortgages etc).
9th House
The Nineth House is all about higher eduction, far travel, spiritual travel and how to use the mind.
10th House
The Tenth House is all about your career and your vocation in the world.
11th House
The Eleventh House is all about sharing, teams, community and networking.
12th House
The Twelfth House is all about silence, the spiritual and mental/emotional health.
The Descendant (Love Line)
The Descendant is your Love Line. It is the opposite of the Ascendant, so to find your descendant on your birth chart, first find your Ascendant (look on your birth chart for ‘AS‘ or ‘AC‘). Your Descendant is the opposite of it.
For example, if your Ascendant is in Gemini, then your Descendant is in the opposing sign of Sagittarius. This indicates that in love you are adventurous and like your freedom (like a Sagittarius).
MidHeaven (MC or Career Line)
The MC, or medium coeli, is your Career Line. Look for where it says ‘MC‘ on your birth chart. The sign that it is in, tells you something about your career.
For example, if your MidHeaven is in Capricorn, it indicates that you are ambitious and not shy of hard work.
IC (Home Line)
The IC, or imum coeli, is the exact opposite of the MidHeaven. The IC represents your home and private life.
For example, if your MC is in Capricorn, your IC is in Cancer. This is a good fit, as Cancer is the most homely sign of the Zodiac.
North and South Nodes (Lunar Nodes)
The Lunar Nodes (one Northern and one Southern node) indicate the points where the moon would cross the sun’s path in its orbit as if the sun were moving around the earth. This is seen from our earthly perspective as, in reality, the sun does not revolve around the earth.
More importantly, the North and South nodes can tell you a lot about which behavioral patterns you need to work on in your life. Your goal is to move away from the comfort of your South node toward the challenge of your North node. The South node is where you feel comfortable, the North node is where you need to develop.
For example, you have your North node in the 4th house, and your South node in the 10th house. This means that you focus a lot on your career (the 10th house), but you need to realize that focus on your family and home (the 4th house) is also of great importance.
The North Node shows you what path you need to take to fulfill your life’s purpose.
Find the meaning of your north and south node placements here: The North And South Nodes In Your Birth Chart
Chiron: The Wounded Healer
Chiron is an asteroid that is know in Greek mythology as ‘The Wounded Healer’. Chiron was known to be able to heal everyone but himself. Find where Chiron is on your birth chart and you will find what is it you need to heal in this lifetime.
Check in which house and which sign Chiron is in. For example, you can have Chiron in Aries and in your 11th house. Because Aries rules the 1st house, and Aquarius rules the 11th house, look up the meanings for both ‘Chiron in the 1st house’ and ‘Chiron in the 11th house’.
Find the meaning of your Chiron placement here: Chiron Meaning Explained
Black Moon Lilith
Your Black Moon Lilith placement in your birth chart can show you the darkest side of your personality. It’s called the dark side because it is the part of you that is most primal and most hidden in the subconscious. Black Moon Lilith can show you where you need to be more independent and what you need to be more conscious of in your life. At the same time Lilith can reveal what your greatest potential and deepest desires are.
Find out more about the meaning of Black Moon Lilith and the meaning of your placement here: What Is Your Dark Side? Find Your Black Moon Lilith
The Aspects
By calculating the exact angles in which the planets where at the moment you were born, you can find the cusps that they were in in relation to each other. By doing so, you will find different patterns on your birth chart between the planets.
Each type of aspect (conjunction, square, triangle, sextile or opposition) has a different nature. Certain aspects indicate a clash, and some are much smoother. By finding the aspects on your birth chart, you can indicate where in your life you are likely to experience clashes and challenges.
If you would like to know more, check out the book Discover the Aspect Pattern in Your Birth Chart.
What Else Is There To Know About The Birth Chart?
Retrograde
When planets move backwards in their orbit (or seem to move backwards from our perspective on earth), we call it retrograde. It is basically seen as a regression or pause of that planet.
When a planet goes in retrograde, it can have an opposing effect of the normal effect of that planet. For example, Mercury is the planet of communications, so when Mercury goes in retrograde, we can experience problems or mix-ups related to communication. On the contrary, the Mercury retrograde also presents an opportunity to start things anew.
If a planet was in retrograde when you were born (sometimes indicated as ‘Px’ in your birth chart), this can have an effect on the corresponding energy in your life.
Lunar Phases
The phase the moon was in when you were born, can also have an effect on your personality. The moon phase can be calculated by comparing the angle between the sun and the moon on your birth chart.
When the moon phase was between New Moon and First Quarter, you are willing to start new ventures and you are generally optimistic.
When the moon phase was between First Quarter and Full Moon, you are keen to work on yourself and to grow. You are also good at forgiving.
When the moon phase was between Full Moon and Last Quarter, you are very social and like to work in teams.
When the moon phase was between Last Quarter and New Moon, you are good at bringing balance to any situation.
Want To Know More?
👉 For some fun ideas, and to learn more about Astrology, check out my post 11 Astrology Essentials for 2023 🤩🌛🪐
For more Astrology posts, go HERE.
This Post Was All About The Ultimate Guide To Understanding Your Birth Chart.
Now you understand what the main components of your birth chart are, and how you can interpret them, you may want to go even more in-depth into finding out the meanings in your own birth chart.
And if you’re anything like me, you are now so enthousiastic about this and cannot wait to get the birth chart for your family and friends also.
I hope this post was helpful to you and has given you a basic understanding of the birth chart. Have fun!
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