Natal Astrology

If you are ever to learn how to interpret a chart, you must first learn how to read it! It can be very confusing, what with all the symbols, numbers (which represent degrees) and lines all through the center. We are going to start very basic here.

Visit Astro.com . This link will take you directly to the page where you will be able to make your own natal chart. All the options, drop-down boxes, etc. are just the way they need to be, so no need to worry about that. Next choose “Click here to show the chart” and input your data. You may choose to register if you like, but it isn’t necessary. Remember, the more accurate the data you have (and enter), the more accurate a chart you will make. I suggest printing out the chart, as it will be much easier to look at a page while looking at the screen rather than switching between tabs/windows. While still on the webpage of your natal chart, in the upper left corner you will see an option for viewing additional tables in PDF reader.

This is very handy, as it contains the degrees for the House cusps, which are not visible anywhere on the natal wheel chart.

Your chart will look somewhat similar to mine:

Before we go into what all of this means, it’s important to know what those symbols are, well, symbolizing. The symbols for the planets are shown (like a legend) on the bottom right of the screen.

Some of them are very simple to remember as you have likely encountered some of them before, some of them will have you referring back to the legend. In my chart here, I’ve circled two r’s and one d. These symbolize retrograde and direct motions. The symbol for retrograde also sometimes looks like a pharmacy symbol: Rx. Here, Mercury in Virgo is retrograde, as is Chiron in Taurus. The True Node is direct. I will discuss retrograde and direct motions in further detail in a future post.

Some of the symbols for the signs are also simple to remember if you are familiar with what they represent. For example, the symbol for Aries the Ram, indeed looks very much like a ram.

Back to our wheel chart. I would like you to first note that there are essentially two parts to this clock-like chart. The wide circle on the outside “crust” is marked with the glyphs of the signs, each made up of 30° of the 360° circle. The inner circle is divided into 12 “pie slices” that are the Houses. The Placidus system - which we are using here - will likely divide the Houses into uneven degrees based on complex mathematics and physics. You can learn more about the Placidus system at Wikipedia.

At the far left, in the 9 o’clock position, you will see the Ascendant, abbreviated as AC. The chart is read counter-clockwise starting there. There is a number 1 near the center of that “pie slice” (the 1st House) that will help you to remember. As it were, all the Houses are numbered in this way.

The Ascendant, or the Rising is the astrological sign that was ascending (rising) on the eastern horizon calculated by the time and location a person was born. It marks the cusp of the 1st house. In my personal chart, the Ascendant is in Pisces.

Within my 1st house, you will see the symbol for the Moon. This is understood as Moon in 1st House Aries. While the Ascendant marking the 1st House is Pisces in my chart, the House cusp is very near the end of the sign of Pisces. The entire sign of Aries lies within my 1st House.

Next, let us look at the Nadir, or Imum Coeli. It is at the bottom center of the chart, in the six o’clock position and is abbreviated IC. Beside the IC is a number, 27³⁵, which represents the degrees longitude at which the IC begins in Gemini. Directly to the right of the IC in my chart is the symbol for Mars, followed by the number 0⁰² in Cancer and directly to the right of that is the symbol for the planet Jupiter with the number 1⁵¹. This is important because these three occurrences in my chart create a relationship, or as we call it in astrology, an aspect. This aspect is a conjunction. I will discuss aspects in more detail in later installments, but for now, I want to point out that these (and all other) aspects can be found in the bottom center of the natal chart. The aspects are also represented by symbols:

Conjunction
Opposition
Square
Trine
Sextile
Inconjunct or Quincunx

To find the aspect, find the symbol for Mars, then the symbol for Jupiter and locate the box where the two columns/rows meet. In my chart, you see the aspect represented by a symbol, the number 2 and the letter A. The letter A means approaching. In other aspects of my chart, note the letter S, which means separating. I will go over these things in a future posts, as well. The aspects can also be seen within the wheel chart, but they are much more difficult to decipher this way.

Back to the wheel chart, using your legend you can now find where all of the planets are within your personal chart. Write them down, say them out loud and before long, you will be as familiar with your chart as you are with your reflection!

At the bottom right side of your natal chart, you will find a box containing a quick reference to your Elements and Qualities :

The elements are listed down the side (Fire, Air, Earth, Water) and the qualities are listed at the top (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable). Some astrologers do what is called a chart signature based on the number of planets in an element and the number of planets in a quality. Using my chart as an example, with the most “weight” in the element of Fire and in the element of Cardinal, my signature would be the Cardinal Fire sign, Aries. While I have as many items in the Mutable quality, I give myself more weight in Cardinal since there are actual planets there as opposed to the Mid-Heaven (MC) and Ascendant (AC).

For the next series of posts, I will talk about each of the planets in detail. Stay tuned, there is much more to come!

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