At this point, you probably know your sun sign, or what’s more commonly referred to as your zodiac sign. However, not as many people are familiar with their birth/natal chart. Your birth chart tells you the location of each of the planets and the constellations they are in. Each planet in your birth chart symbolizes an aspect of your personality and the constellation is what describes that aspect of your personality. Your birth chart is much more informative than your sun sign alone. It tells you about your internal world and emotions, how you communicate and how you come across to others. To calculate your own birth chart you need three pieces of information: your birthday, your birth time and your birth location. There are many free applications and websites such as Co-Star or Sanctuary, that can produce your birth chart with this information.
The results of a birth chart can be a bit overwhelming. There is a lot of information to sift through which can make it feel less accessible to those new to astrology. The three most important pieces of information your birth chart will produce is your sun, moon and rising. Your sun sign, as general personality and identity, reflects your sense of self and essences as a person. This sign is what will best sum you up as a person. However, people are complex and one sign cannot sum up someone’s whole personality. Your moon sign describes your inner emotions and private thoughts. It is how you react to and feel the world. Your sun sign is a more surface-level representation of your personality while your moon dives deep into your inner world. Because of this, sometimes people might find their moon more relatable than their sun sign. Your rising, sometimes called your ascendant, is pretty much the opposite of the moon sign. It’s all about how you come across to the world, you can see this in the first impressions you leave and how others view you. Another way to think about it is your outward persona or mask. These three components of your birth chart, your sun, moon and rising, describe the most essential parts of your personality. They also help explain why people who share the same sign can often seem very different
The sun, moon and rising signs are the most basic components of your birth chart, however, there are also different planetary signs that provide an even more in-depth look at one’s personality. The most personally impactful of these planets are Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Mercury describes your communication style. This encompasses how you express yourself, interpret information and how you think and speak. For example, a Mercury in Pisces reflects a communicator who is gentle and empathetic. They are also great listeners. While Mercury’s main focus is communication, Venus reflects your desires. Specifically, this can be your crushes or just generally the things you want. An interpretation of a Venus sign typically focuses on the type of person one would be attracted to. So, an example for someone with Venus in Capricorn would be an attraction to people who are goal-oriented, committed and secure. Mars involves motivation, how you take action and assertion. Mars involves some of our most basic instincts as humans like our sexuality and aggression. An example of this would be someone with Mars in Pisces tends to go with the flow and avoid asserting themselves. Knowing these additional signs can help add another layer of depth to your understanding of your astrology and answer more specific questions like who you are attracted to.
Understanding your birth chart can be very fun and exciting. It provides a lot more information and can be rewarding, especially if you feel your sun sign doesn’t describe you very well. Astrology is also a fun way to get to know yourself and the people around you. It can even reveal things you might not have realized about yourself or others.