Natal Astrology: The Basics
Here is the definition of the field of astrology from astro.com:
“Astrology sees mankind as being not only influenced by hereditary factors and the environment, but also by the state of our solar system at the moment of birth. The planets are regarded as basic life-forces, the tools we live by as well as the basis of our very substance. These planetary forces take on different forms, depending on their zodiacal position and on the way they relate to one another.“
Astrology doesn’t dictate our lives, and it’s not a set of instructions we will or have to follow. Your natal chart does not carve your personality or life into stone, and you (as a person) are not your natal chart. We can use astrology to discover our potential and to see what we are capable of.
Your natal chart shows the positions of the planets, asteroids, and other points at the moment of your birth, relative to the zodiac signs. Each zodiac sign is designated a 30º portion of the celestial dome, and our natal chart shows where the celestial bodies are positioned in the dome. For example, I am a Gemini moon, which means that at the moment of my birth, the moon was present in the portion of the dome assigned to Gemini.
Your natal chart as a whole maps out how you express yourself, perceive reality, and interface with the world around you. It does not determine your fate.
You can find your natal chart at any of these following websites (if you do not understand anything in my descriptions of each website, that’s okay! I’ll explain everything soon:
Astrolabe: Creates a basic circular chart with a placement-by-placement explanation, but the houses are not labelled and the chart does not come with a table of aspects
Cafeastrology: Creates tables showing planetary placements, house positions, aspects, and asteroids. Also creates circular chart (at bottom of page) with an aspects table. However, the first tables of placements do not show directly the house position of the placements or chart shapes. Comes with placement-by-placement explanation.
Astrotheme: Creates basic circular chart. Easier to read than astrolabe and comes with more, easy-to-use options. Also comes with explanations of each placement.
Astro-charts: Creates very aesthetically-pleasing chart and clearly displays placements, aspects, and house positions (along with house position of planets) in tables. Does not come with placement-by-placement explanations, I believe.
Astro.com: Creates basic circular chart with aspect table. Comes with many, many options. My personal favorite.
What are the zodiac signs and planets?
The sign each planet (sun, moon, Mercury,…,Pluto) is located within in your natal chart shows what sort of energy the different parts of your essence contain. Each zodiac sign is defined by a certain basic archetype with a distinct sort of energy. For the sake of brevity, I am going to sum the zodiac signs up using a few keywords that define their traits.
Aries: aggressive, brave, playful, active
Taurus: lazy, determined, artistic, loyal
Gemini: analytical, bubbly, restless, talkative
Cancer: defensive, empathetic, parental, caring
Leo: creative, dramatic, prideful, affectionate
Virgo: selfless, practical, critical, dependable
Libra: romantic, elegant, indecisive, social
Scorpio: mysterious, jealous, suspicious, stubborn
Sagittarius: honest, carefree, reckless, philosophical
Capricorn: ambitious, hardworking, greedy, careful
Aquarius: rebellious, unique, innovative, distant
Pisces: emotional, dreamy, manipulative, flexible
Each planet represents a different part of your essence.
Sun: Your identity, expression, ego
Moon: Your unconscious self, desires, emotions
Mercury: Your mental processes, communication, decision making
Venus: What you look for in relationships and partners, your style
Mars: Your drive, passion, sexuality
Jupiter: What expands you, your luck, growth, and your generosity
Saturn: What limits you, the lessons you learn, fear, and work ethic
Uranus: Your individuality, freedom, rebellion
Neptune: Your spirituality, ideals, deception
Pluto: Your most primitive side, your secrets
If you are looking for the rising/ascendant or midheaven, look under the section explaining houses.
Of course, like the zodiac signs, the planets can’t be fully encompassed using just keywords like the ones above, but they give you a good idea.
So, if, for example, your sun is in Sagittarius. Your identity, expression, etc. all has energy of the Sagittarius archetype. That is, you’re probably honest, carefree, and philosophical, though other placements in your chart can affect how these traits are presented.
The zodiac signs are classified three different ways: the modalities, the elements, and the dualities.
The modalities are cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Cancer; dynamic, leader-like signs), fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius; stubborn, determined signs), and mutable (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces; flexible, adaptable signs).
The elements are fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius; active, passionate signs), earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn; hardworking, practical signs), air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius; social, idealistic signs), and water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces; emotional, intuitive signs).
The dualities are masculine/yang/active (all fire and air signs; extroverted) and feminine/yin/passive (all earth and water signs; introverted).
[from my house guide here]
Astronomically, the positions of the houses in a natal chart are calculated using the person’s time of birth and geographical birth location. While the zodiac signs and the planets in the zodiac signs are based on the earth and the other planet’s revolution around the sun, the houses and the planets in the houses are based on the earth’s own rotation about its axis.
Astrologically, each house represents a different function of your life, and all the houses together encompass all the parts of a human’s full life.
Here are the life functions each of the houses represent:
House I: Expression (aka rising/ascendant)
House II: Possessions, money
House IV: Family, your roots and home
House V: Creativity, children, sex
House VI: Service, health
House VII: Relationships, marriage
House VIII: Death, transformation
House IX: Travel, philosophy
House X: Career, reputation (aka midheaven)
House XI: Friends, dreams
House XII: Secrets, self-undoing
Every planet in your chart is in a house the same way it is in a sign. There are two wheels in your chart as depicted below. There is the zodiac wheel which contain the signs (traced in purple) and the wheel of houses which contain the houses (traced in black). Houses can be uneven in size.
For example: look at the chart above, and find the moon symbol towards the top of the chart. It’s in the black division designated for the 9th house (you can see the tiny number 9 towards the center of the circle) and the purple division designated for Gemini (you can see the yellow glyph for Gemini at the edge of the chart above the moon).
The sign (Aries…Pisces) a planet is in shows HOW the planet is manifest in the person’s personality. The house (I…XII) a planet is in shows WHERE in the person’s life the planet’s energy is displayed. For example, my Venus is in my 1st house, which means my style and my love for relationships is very present in my expression.
Aspects are special angles that show relationships between your planets. Aspects show how different planets clash with, strengthen, or work in harmony with each other. There are major and minor aspects, and in this post I will explain the major aspects.
Conjunction (☌): When two planets are ~0º away from each other, they form a conjunction. A conjunction almost morphs the energy of both planets together. For example, a person with Mercury conjunct Sun will show Mercury traits in their expression.
Trine (△): When two planets are ~120º away from each other, they form a trine aspect. A trine brings strong harmony between those two planets.
Sextile (*): When two planets are ~60º away from each other, they form a sextile aspect. A sextile aspect is similar to the trine aspect, but weaker.
Opposition (☍): When two planets are ~180º away from each other, they form an opposition. An opposition brings tension between the two parts of your essence ruled by those planets.
Square (☐): When two planets are ~90º away from each other, they form a square aspect. A square aspect also brings tension between the two parts of your essence ruled by those planets.
To find your aspects, use one of the websites listed above that provide aspect information.
Where can I learn more about my natal chart?
Practice looking up each individual sign/house position and aspect present in your chart. After reflecting on and studying your chart for a while, you will see how everything comes together to form the map of your essence. You can use Google to look up your placements, or you can use almost any of the sites mentioned above where you can pull up your natal chart (I suggest Cafeastrology - it’s my favorite) or books from your local bookstore, library, or Amazon.