The world of astrology is way more complex than we are led to believe. Most people are familiar with their sun signs, which is the astrological sign that matches up with your date of birth. However, there are many more parts that make up your personality. Each person has a birth chart which is made up of a sun sign, moon sign, rising sign and different planet alignments. If you didn’t “believe” in astrology before, analyze your birth chart and see if you can relate to it more!
Calculate your birth chart
There are plenty of free websites that will calculate your birth chart for you. Café Astrology is my favorite credible website. To calculate your birth chart, you will need to know your date of birth, exact time of birth and the city/town where you were born in. There are three main aspects of your birth chart called “The big three. These are your sun sign, moon sign and ascendant. Your date of birth will translate to your sun sign, time will translate to your ascendant, and birthplace will translate to your moon. These are the three most important parts that make up your birth chart.
Above is an example of what your birth chart will look like when using Café Astrology. The table shows the position of the planets in your chart, based on sign and degree. The planets on the left and the degree on the right correspond with the sign in the middle. For example, the Gemini symbol beside the sun symbol means that my sun is in Gemini.
Understand what each planet and house represents
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Sun signs determine your style and purpose in life. The traits that control your sun sign also control many variables or focuses in your life (education, relationships, career).
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The moon describes our habits, instincts and how we deal with our emotions. This means that the traits of your moon sign might not be directly visible to others unless you have a very close relationship with the person.
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The Ascendant/ rising sign is considered your “mask” when you meet new people or deal with issues in your environment. In other words, it shows your natural reaction to new people or situations. This is often the sign that people identify with the most because the ascendant can be seen through tangible behavior rather than thoughts and feelings.
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Mercury is the planet that rules expression and communication. Mercury decides the flow of your words and the nature of your speech.
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Venus rules the way we love and behave in relationships. This means that Venus rules your flirting style, love languages and define idealistic relationships for you.
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Mars rules our aggressions, desires and instincts. Your sign in Mars will describe the ways you handle anger and desire.
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Jupiter is known for controlling “luck.” However, this is loosely defined by the way Jupiter rules our trust and faith. This is revealed by our tolerance, patience and generosity as people.
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“The Houses” are the final aspect to understanding your birth chart. There are 12 houses of the zodiac and each house represents where your energies play out for different aspects in life such as self, society, finances and career. The right column of the birth chart example above has roman numerals beside a sign. This is describing which sign you have in each house.
Disclaimer: there are more elements to your chart, but these are the most important ones to focus on for a beginner.
Analyze how your chart works
After researching the aspects of your birth chart, you can now analyze how the planetary alignments rule your life. Some signs are more overpowering than others. This will become clearer as you analyze your chart. Your chart will also reveal truths about the way you live your life. Your alignments will show you the way you behave in each aspect of your life in respect to the Houses.
There are many other great free resources to check out if you are interested in astrology such as Rising Moon Astrology and Astrostar. Café Astrology has in-depth explanations of each planet, house, and sign and is a really good educational tool. Co-Star and The Pattern are both horoscope apps that use your birth chart to give you personalized daily horoscopes that don’t even come close to the basic horoscopes you have probably come across before. If you’re not already familiar with your birth chart, take some time to analyze it and see what you can discover about yourself!