Birth Chart: What It Is and What It Means

A birth chart is a map of the sky at the time and place you were born, showing the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets. How to read it.

What a birth chart is

Also called a natal chart, it's a circular diagram showing where the Sun, Moon and planets were in the sky when you were born, as seen from your birthplace. It's calculated from your birth date, time and city.

What it contains

The planets (which energy), the signs (how it's expressed), the houses (in which area of life) and the aspects, which are the angles between planets. The best-known points are the Sun sign, the moon sign and the rising sign.

Reading one means combining all these elements. That's why two people with the same Sun sign can have very different charts.

How to use it

It's best taken as a symbolic portrait to reflect on, not as a verdict. Without an exact birth time you can see the planets in the signs, but not the rising sign or the houses.

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Related terms

• Rising sign
• Astrological houses
• Moon sign

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