In this chapter you’ll take the first giant leap on your astrological journey – by creating, or ‘casting’, your own birth chart (or horoscope) online. Then, as you read the subsequent chapters, you’ll learn how to ‘decode’ the absolute wealth of personal information contained in your chart.
The first thing you need to do is head to my website theastrologybook.com/freechart to cast your chart; once you’re there, simply key in the time, date and place of your birth where shown, and your personalized chart will be automatically created. It’s that simple. Enjoy the moment – it could be life-changing! (Note that for the most accurate chart, you’ll need your exact birth time; if you don’t yet know it, skip to the FAQs section below.)
Next, print out a copy of your birth chart, and take a moment to gaze at it. Just sit with it. On some level, you may well be remembering and recognizing it. As US astrologer Steven Forrest wrote in his book The Inner Sky, ‘The birth chart is a blueprint for the happiest, most fulfilling, most spiritually creative path of growth available to the individual.’ And now, that individual is you!
This could be a very important moment in your life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the information held in your birth chart could fill volumes of books. Your chart shows you the talents and challenges you were born with. It’s a document that can reveal your life purpose, your likes, your dislikes, your fears, your abilities, the blessings you came down to Earth with, and the ways that you can surmount challenges. Contained within it is a guide to the obstacles you’re going to face here on Earth, in this lifetime, in order for your soul to evolve. It can even tell you about your previous lifetimes.
At this point in any student astrologer’s journey, questions inevitably arise, so I’ve done my best to address some of them here.
There’s no short and easy answer to this. The obvious thing to do first is talk to your parents, or perhaps an older sibling, and see what they can remember about your birth. No luck with that? Sometimes a hospital or birth certificate will contain the information you need.
Still no joy? If you’re really determined, you can consult with an astrologer who specializes in ascertaining lost birth times, usually known as a rectification astrologer. He or she will note the big events in your life – the birth of your siblings, when you started school, when you graduated, started work, got your heart broken, got married or divorced and so on – and using that information, piece together the most likely time of your birth.
Alternatively, you can visit a kinesiologist, who will use a technique called muscle testing to tease out from you your exact time of birth. The idea is that on one level, somewhere deep down, you know the time of your birth, and this information is stored in your body and can be extracted using this particular method. Hey, you were there, right, so of course you know when you were born – deep down.
It can be fascinating to have a rectification astrologer work out your time of birth using traditional astrology methods, and then consult a kinesiologist to see what time your body ‘says’ you were born (obviously without revealing what the rectification astrologer has told you).
And if you don’t want to go through all that rigmarole? Well, the easiest option is to use 6 a.m. as your time of birth when you cast your chart online. In doing this, your chart will be less accurate – you won’t know your true ascendant, or Rising Sign, and you may end up with the wrong Moon sign (more on these later) – but as 6 a.m. is the arbitrary time that many astrologers use when the birth time is unknown, it’s worth trying it. Others use midday. Better to have a less accurate chart than abandon your birth chart studies right here. Perhaps once you see how much information you can obtain even without knowing your precise birth time, you’ll be tempted to dig deeper.
Most astrologers, including me, believe we’re born at the precise moment we’re meant to be born. This applies whether you were born vaginally, before or after term, or by c-section at a time appointed by your mother (or by the doctor, who was playing golf that day and scheduled your arrival at x o’clock).
As smart as we humans are, I seriously doubt that we’ve worked out a way to change the very blueprint of our lives! So you have the chart you do because in it is a guide to all the lessons you need to learn in this lifetime and information about all the blessings coming your way – should you decide to live out the potential in your horoscope.
No, they don’t. Some people have ‘easier’ charts, though. For example, HRH Prince Charles has one of the ‘easiest’ charts you can imagine and his life has hardly been one long, terrible trial. But that’s his karma – yes, karma is in the chart too (more on that later).
So if, after reading this book, you come to learn that you have a great chart or a troubled one, it’s not about being doomed or blessed. It’s about the lessons you need to learn in this lifetime. Astrological charts are neutral. Or as Shakespeare had it: ‘there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’.
A special note: You’re about to discover how to know yourself by learning to read and interpret your birth chart – and in turn, those of your friends and family. You must pledge here and now to use wisely the information revealed in any birth chart.
So, let’s get started…
Astrology is underpinned by a system that more or less builds on itself, and each chapter in this book is designed to help you understand this system, layer by layer, and to see how it relates to your birth chart. Keep the printout of your chart to hand as you read on, so you can refer to it as you complete the simple Take it back to your birth chart exercises, which will guide you through all the new concepts and terms you’re learning.
To begin with, you’ll need to become familiar with the layout of your birth chart, and then identify the three most important astrological pillars or concepts on it: the signs of the zodiac, the planets and the houses. Let’s start with the layout. You’ll see that your chart is composed of several wheels within wheels – these might look complicated, even daunting, right now, but don’t worry, before long they’ll make complete sense to you.
A blank birth chart on which the wheels have been labelled A, B, C and D – let’s go through them in turn.
Figure 2: Birth chart layout
Let’s move on to the 12 signs of the zodiac: the starting point for understanding astrology. You’re probably aware that your ‘personal zodiac sign’ (i.e. whether you’re a Gemini or a Leo or an Aquarius, and so on) is dictated by which zodiac sign the Sun was passing through on the day you were born; that sign is your Star sign, or as astrologers call it, your Sun sign. Below is a list of the zodiac signs in the traditional order used in astrology: the sooner you memorize the signs, in the order shown here, the better.
However, you’ll have noticed already that the zodiac signs on your birth chart (see the outermost wheel – labelled D in the birth chart layout illustration above) aren’t indicated by their names, but by mysterious-looking symbols. For convenience, astrologers use symbols – which are known as glyphs – to represent the zodiac signs (and other information) on a birth chart. Believe it or not, once you get used to using glyphs, it’s much easier than writing out the names for things in longhand.
Let’s take a closer look at the zodiac glyphs: there’s no need to memorize these just yet, but getting comfortable with them now will help your understanding. The table below shows the glyph and symbol used for each sign: the symbols give a good indication of the ‘energy’ of each sign (you’ll learn more about what this means later in the book).
| Sign | Glyph | Symbol |
| Aries |  |
The Ram |
| Taurus |  |
The Bull |
| Gemini |  |
The Twins |
| Cancer |  |
The Crab |
| Leo |  |
The Lion |
| Virgo |  |
The Virgin |
| Libra |  |
The Scales |
| Scorpio |  |
The Scorpion |
| Sagittarius |  |
The Centaur |
| Capricorn |  |
The Sea Goat |
| Aquarius |  |
The Water Bearer |
| Pisces |  |
The Two Fish |
On your chart, write the names of the zodiac signs next to their glyphs.
Hint: you’ll find the signs in the outermost wheel of your chart and once you’ve identified one sign, they run in an anticlockwise direction in the following order: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
Now let’s turn our attention to some of the other strange squiggles you see on your chart: the ones found in the section labelled C on the birth chart layout illustration above, and shown in the birth chart with planets illustration below. Among these are representations of the 10 planets of astrology: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. (For the record, astrologers are fully aware that the Sun and Moon are not planets but what is known as luminaries, or lights. For simplicity’s sake, though, we often refer to them as planets.)
As you know, when you look at your birth chart, what you’re seeing is a snapshot of the heavens at the moment you were born: all 10 planets are in there. But once again, astrologers don’t use words to denote this information – as with the signs, the planets are shown as glyphs.
Name: sample birth chart
Birth Date: Mar.20,1976 06:00:00
Time Zone: PST
Location: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
(Produced by http://www.allstarastrologers.com)
Figure 3: Birth chart with planets
The table opposite shows the glyphs used to represent the planets on a birth chart. Take some time now to learn them. Try writing them out, and then see if you can name them. Then do the same in reverse. I’ve included some memory aids in the table to help you.
The planetary glyphs have deeper meanings once you start to investigate them. Here is a brief outline of the glyphs’ meanings:
On your chart, write the names of the planets next to their glyphs.
Use the planetary glyphs table above as a guide.
So now you should be able to identify both the signs and the planets on your chart. Let’s combine what you’ve learned so far and look at which signs in particular your planets are in. Start with your Sun. Find the Sun glyph on your chart. The section it’s in will have a zodiac sign on its outermost wheel. If, say, the glyph for your Sun is in the section with the glyph for Aries on the outermost wheel, then your Sun is in Aries. Then look for your Moon: if your Moon is in the section with the Aquarius glyph on the outside, your Moon is in Aquarius, and so on.
Make a note of the signs your planets are in.
On the printout of your chart, you’ll find a list of your planets and which sign they are in. Using that and the information above, work your way around your chart and familiarize yourself with the location of your planets; record what you find here, or in a notebook.
For example:
My Sun is in Cancer
My Moon is in Pisces
My Mercury is in Gemini
Your turn…
My Sun is in ______________________________
My Moon is in ____________________________
My Mercury is in __________________________
My Venus is in ____________________________
My Mars is in _____________________________
My Jupiter is in ____________________________
My Saturn is in ____________________________
My Uranus is in ____________________________
My Neptune is in ___________________________
My Pluto is in ______________________________
Do you see any ‘double-ups’ or ‘triple-ups’, or more? Is your Sun in one sign and nearly all your other planets in other signs? If that’s the case, you might be one of those people who don’t relate that strongly to their Sun sign. For example, if the Sun is the only planet you have in Leo, and you have quite a few other planets in neighbouring Virgo, you’re probably going to think and feel way more like a Virgo than a Leo.
Next, you need to know some more basic information about the 12 houses. The houses you see on your chart are divisions of the ecliptic, which is the path the Sun appears to make across the sky from our point of view on Earth.
Take another look at the birth chart layout illustration. The sections labelled B and C show the house divisions: they look like this on your chart too. Note that the lines that divide each of the houses are called the house cusps (you’ll learn more about these in Chapter 7).
Each of the 12 astrological houses relates to a specific area of life. Here’s a brief summary of what is governed by each house.
The 1st house: your appearance and image; self-identity; how you come across to others.
The 2nd house: cash, property and possessions; values, including how you value yourself.
The 3rd house: communications; siblings; neighbours; quick trips; early learning and education.
The 4th house: home and family, all things domestic; where you belong; your past.
The 5th house: romance; creativity; kids (your own or someone else’s); pursuit of pleasure; love affairs.
The 6th house: daily routines, including at work; your health; duty.
The 7th house: your lovers, your spouse and your ex; open enemies; any sort of partner, including business partners; cooperation and competition.
The 8th house: joint finances; credit cards; debts; sex; anything you consider taboo; inheritance; transformation.
The 9th house: study; travel; the Great Cosmic Quest; the internet; higher learning; religion; spirituality; dreams.
The 10th house: your career and ambitions; how you make your mark on the world: what you’re known for; your reputation.
The 11th house: friends; networks; social circles; hopes and wishes.
The 12th house: the deepest, darkest, most sensitive part of your chart. Your fears; your spirituality; self-undoing; withdrawal; secret or hidden enemies.
The zodiac sign that’s at the start of a house is said to ‘rule’ that house. For example, if you have Leo at 9 o’clock on your chart, then Leo rules your 1st house, and when it comes to 1st house matters (e.g. your appearance and how you come across to the world), you come across in Leo style.
Scorpio at 6 o’clock on your chart would be Scorpio ruling your 4th house, so when it comes to 4th house matters – such as home and family – your life has a Scorpio flavour. The house at 3 o’clock is your 7th house, so if you have Aquarius ruling your 7th house, in the 7th house matters of love and relationships you behave in a distinct Aquarian style. (You’ll learn more about the meaning of the signs and houses later in the book.)
Make a note of the sign that rules each of your houses.
Record this information here, or in a notebook.
The sign of _____________________ rules my 1st house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 2nd house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 3rd house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 4th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 5th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 6th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 7th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 8th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 9th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 10th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 11th house
The sign of _____________________ rules my 12th house
Even if you’re new to astrology, you may have heard about your ascendant, also known as your Rising Sign. The Rising Sign is so-called because it’s the sign that was rising in the East at the moment, and in the place, you were born. To discover your Rising Sign, simply look at the sign that’s at 9 o’clock on your chart, which is the sign on your 1st house. That sign is your Rising Sign, or ascendant. (Your Rising Sign is also shown on the list of planets on your chart.)
Make a note of the sign your ascendant is in.
For example: My Rising Sign, or ascendant, is in Virgo
Your turn…
My Rising Sign, or ascendant, is in _________________________
In this chapter, you’ve learned how to identify the three most important astrological building blocks on your birth chart: the signs, planets and houses. Now we’re ready to go deeper, and to learn the significance of all this information.
Note that on your chart you’ll also see two glyphs which look like 
and 
. These are the Moon’s nodes, and you’ll learn more about them in Chapter 11.
