A natal chart, or birth chart, is a 2D representation of the sky at the moment of your birth relative to where you were born. It’s a snapshot, or a map, of the sky showing where all the planets and points were within the zodiac wheel at the moment that you took your first breath in this world. Your natal chart gives astrologers a lot of information about your core personality, your gifts and talents, your areas of struggle and the inner conflict and tension you may experience (among many other things!). Having a natal chart reading with an astrologer (or diving into the information on your own) can be incredibly validating and healing. When you are equipped with the story of your chart, it becomes easier to step fully into who you really are. Birth charts looks something like this:
This particular chart was run using a professional astrology software called Astro Gold, so it will look a bit different using other softwares and using the free tools on astro.com.
Charts can be cast for anything at all that has a beginning, like a business, a marriage, a party, etc. These charts are used to understand the energetics that will be dealt with throughout the duration of that event. Similarly, your natal chart can be used as a tool to help you understand yourself, the energy dynamics that are at play within your psyche and your life, as well as help give perspective of the world around you. Your natal chart is calculated using your birth date and location, and an accurate birth time is required for certain parts of the chart to be known. Without a birth time, you still have a birth chart, but there are certain details of it (houses and angles) that can’t be known for sure. If you don’t have your birth time it is common practice to run your chart using a noon birth time.
Where can I go to find my chart?
A great free option for calculating your chart is astro.com. On the home page, click on “Chart & Calculations”, then choose “extended chart selection”. Under Birth data, you will have to click “Add” and enter your birth info. If you don’t know your birth time, use 12:00 PM.
Next, under “Zodiac and Houses” you can choose your house system in the drop down menu. You can leave the default setting, or choose the house system of your choice. I have chosen ‘Whole Signs’ as it is the system I use the most. The most commonly used system by modern astrologers is the ‘Placidus’ system so this is a good one to start with if you are brand new and have no idea what I’m talking about!
The next thing you can choose is “draw no aspect lines” under “Display and calculation options”. This is totally optional and is just to keep things simple visually while you are starting out.
Next, click on “Show the Chart”! And there you have your personal birth chart, which will look something like this:
Now what do you do with it? Well, you can start to learn what all those symbols mean and begin to interpret it yourself! This is always really fun and if you choose to do that, be prepared for the fascinating rabbit hole that you are about to go down. Even professional astrologers have blind spots when it comes to their own charts though, so if you want to understand more about your chart then I recommend having a professional reading done. There are things in your own chart that you will never pick up on that someone else will see, and this can be really valuable!
Thanks to video conferencing tools and the multitude of brilliant astrology software programs out there now, you can have online astrology readings done from astrologers all over the world!
What does an online natal chart reading look like?
After you have contacted the astrologer of your choice, they will probably ask you to send your birth data ahead of time so they can “prep” your chart. The bulk of the work for the astrologer is done before they ever actually meet you. Then you meet online (or in person if you have found someone local who does that) where you can discuss the energetics of your chart and focus in on any problem areas that you are perhaps struggling with.
There are so many different kinds of astrologers out there so it’s important to find someone that resonates with you. Hopefully, what will result from your chart reading is a feeling of being seen and a greater understanding of how to consciously participate in the unfolding of your life. I personally use astrology for my clients as a healing tool and a jumping off point for doing some of the deeper work and manifesting their soul’s potential.
You can click here to learn more about the different services that I offer. To go ahead and book your natal chart reading, book online here.
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