As of late, astrology has become a bit more mainstream with many people seeing astrology as a life-coaching tool or a general guide. In terms of a birth chart, your various placements can reveal a lot about your personality and your likeness– but if you don’t know what any of it means, the whole craze can seem sort of fruitless. So if you’re asking what a birth chart even is, you’ve come to the right place.
How do I get my birth chart?
The easiest way to obtain your birth or natal chart is off of sites like CafeAstrology or AstroCharts, or the app Co-Star. What you need is your birthday, the time you were born, and where you were born. My personal favorite is Co-Star, as it explains what each placement means in easy-to-understand terms.
What is a birth chart?
A birth chart, or sometimes called a natal chart, is a way to see what the sky looked like the moment you were born. No matter which method you use, you’ll be able to see what zodiac sign was “ruling” each planet at the time you were born. For an accurate reading, you need your exact birth time because each placement means something different.
The Basics: The Sun and Moon Signs
Your sun sign is said to determine your identity and role in life. This means that your sun sign is the core of who you are. It corresponds to your ego and your personality at face-value. The traits associated with your sun sign are what most people see. However, your deeper emotions and personality corresponds to your moon sign. The moon affects your moods and feelings. The people you are most comfortable around will see you exhibit traits more like your moon sign than your sun sign.
Planets and Ascendants
Getting into what each planet corresponds to is a bit tricky. The easiest way to remember what each planet means is that every planet corresponds to a different aspect of your personality. Mercury determines how you think and communicate, venus connects to love, mars to aggression, and so on. Your planet signs are not necessarily as significant as your sun and moon signs. Your ascendant, however, is just as important as the sun and moon. It is best known as how you come off in a first impression. The ascendant placement changes every two hours, so that’s another reason for having an accurate birth time. Your ascendant is your personal style. It is how you present yourself in new situations.
Each placement means something different depending on what sign it corresponds to. Even if you don’t relate to what yours says about you, you can still use your natal chart to navigate your own personality.