Hi there! Interested in astrology, but don't know where to start or you just want to read a little something about it? You have come to the right place. In this post I will be explaining how to read a natal chart in a few steps, with a brief stop at where did it even come from and what it is in its core.
It is no secret that since ancient times various aspects of human history and culture have been influenced by the astrological belief that there is a connection between celestial observations and earthly events. Originating in ancient Babylon, astrology
was developed in antiquity and the first signs of horoscopes and natal charts can be found in documents from around 2400 years ago, with the oldest surviving Horoscopic charting (birth chart) dating April 29, 410 B.C.E. in Babylon. Then around 2,100 years ago, astrology spread to the eastern Mediterranean, becoming popular in Egypt, which at the time was under the control of a dynasty of Greek kings. It was in Ptolemaic Alexandria that Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic/Natal chart astrology. This astrology contained the Babylonian concept of The the zodiac created by dividing the sky into twelve sections, each named after the largest constellation it contained and it incorporated the Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into thirty-six decans of ten degrees each, with an emphasis on the rising decan, and included the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership and the four elements.
But what is a Natal chart/Horoscope?
The word Horoscope comes from the Greek word Horoscopos, which means hour watcher. Today the word is used to describe the forecast made based on a chart that has been established based on a birthdate, time and location. This chart is filled with information personal and unique to each person and Astrology is used to pinpoint and interpret the person's characteristics, potential and strengths. The analysis of the chart is based on the Astrologer's knowledge of the fact that each planet has its own rulership over the different zodiac signs, the elements of Water, Air, Earth and Fire and the modality (cardinal, fixed and mutable) are associated with the zodiac signs and the twelve houses of a person's horoscope and this all influences a person's potential of life and character.
A horoscope can be erected for a person, a business, a city, a nation or just about anything.
How to read the Natal chart?
Once the natal chart has been established you can begin the process of interpretation. This means building a complete picture of the personality of the subject, or native.
This Interpretation involves a few main steps:
Understand that in astrology everything is connected. From the elements each sign represents, the modality of the signs, their archetypes, which planet rules each sign, and which sign rules each house, to the aspects.
Read, Observe & Learn as much as you can about the Zodiac signs' archetypes, their elements and modality, The Planets and how they influence a person, the Houses and the spheres of life they show. Furthermore, acknowledge the rulership - each house has a zodiac sign ruler and each zodiac sign has a planet ruler. When a planet falls Nataly in the sign it rules it is on a "throne" it is favorable, accordingly it is a good thing to know in which zodiac sign each Planet is in "detriment" or "fall" as this will set a limitation for the expression of it in the character of a person.
Tip: While reading dot down a few keywords for each sign, planet and house it will help you see how they are connected and you won't be so confused in the long run, as you will make the associations with the rulers of each.
Example: Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, so it rules the 1st house. Mars is the planet ruling over Aries. Dot down keywords for Mars, Aries and the 1st house - you will see how they are connected.
3. Locate the Sun, Moon and Rising sign in the Chart along with the house they fall in. These are the so called "big three" - The self, The thoughts, life force and the feelings.
4. Chart weighing - list all of the positions in the natal chart (Stellium) and look for a pattern. This could be a lot of planets in the same sign, lots of positions in the same element, modality, aspect patterns &/or houses. This will give you an idea of what the dominant character traits are.
The house weighing is divided by 3. Judging by which houses are the most occupied they are as follows:
Angular - 1, 4, 7, 10 - these are the houses of the cardinal signs, this is why the more positions you have in them the more cardinal strength you will have.
Succedent - 2, 5 , 8, 11 - The fixed signs' houses. Similarly they mean that a person with these houses strong will be concerned wit possessions, creativity and will be hard to sway.
Cadent - 3, 6, 9, 12 - The mutable signs' houses. Strong positions here indicate people who are more flexible and adaptable.
For more information about the houses: https://zetsubouzuzu.wixsite.com/rumcocoa/post/understanding-the-12-houses-in-astrology
5. Notice the four main houses/points of the chart - The 1st house (AC or rising sign) it's polar opposite 7th house (DC or descendant), The 4th house (IC or Imum coeli) and it's polar opposite 10th house (MC, Midheaven or Medium coeli). These will show you accordingly what this person is like at first glance, in their relationships, home life and in their career of choice.
6. Acknowledge all the planets one by one and the houses and signs they fall in. Start with the personal planets - Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and continue to the "slow moving" planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, focusing more on the house they fall in.
7.Include the aspects. They can be favorable - Trines and sextiles, conflicting - squares and oppositions and neutral - conjunctions.
Don't expect to know everything right from the start Astrology is a life long study. Have fun with it don't rely only on reading, but observe people around you and practice reading charts it's the best way to go.
Blessed be!
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