How to read a birth chart
A birth chart is a map of where the Sun, Moon and planets were at the minute and place you were born. You read it in layers: the big three first (your Sun, Moon and rising sign), then each planet's sign and house, then the aspects between them.
Each guide below takes one layer, and reads best with your own chart beside it.
| Part of the chart | What it shows | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Sun sign | Core identity and drive | Your birth date |
| Moon sign | What you need to feel at ease | Your birth date, and the time on some days |
| Rising sign | Your manner and first impressions | Your exact birth time and place |
| The houses | Where each planet's theme plays out | Your exact birth time and place |
| Aspects | How the planets work together | Your birth date and time |
| North node | The direction of growth | Your birth date |
How to use these guides
If you are new to charts, start with the big three, then the twelve houses and aspects. What the planets mean covers each planet's role, and reading your chart step by step puts it all together with a worked example. Each guide answers its question at the top, so you can stop as soon as you have what you need.
Get your chart first
Every guide is easier with your own chart beside it. The free birth chart calculator draws the wheel and lists each planet's sign, degree and house from your birth date, time and place. Without a birth time you still get the planets' signs, but not the rising sign or the houses, so check a birth certificate or ask a parent before you start.
Going deeper
Once the basics make sense, each house has its own page in the twelve houses, one at a time, every planet has a page for each sign in planets in the signs, and planets in the houses reads each planet in each house.
Birth chart guides
- Your big three: Sun, Moon and rising signThe three placements astrologers read first, and what each shows.
- The 12 houses in astrologyThe twelve areas of life a birth chart divides into.
- Aspects in astrologyThe angles between planets, and what each is read as.
- What the planets mean in a birth chartThe role each planet plays, from the Sun to Pluto.
- How to read your birth chart step by stepSix steps from the big three to the aspects.
- The twelve houses, one at a time
- The north node in each sign
- Rising sign calculator
- Moon sign calculator
Birth charts: questions people ask
What is a birth chart?
A map of the sky at the minute and place you were born, drawn as a wheel of the twelve signs and twelve houses with each planet in its place. Astrologers also call it a natal chart.
Can I read my birth chart without my birth time?
Partly. Your planets' signs need only your birth date, but your rising sign and houses need the exact time, because they turn with the Earth through the day.
What should I look at first in my chart?
Your big three: the Sun sign, the Moon sign and the rising sign. Then the planet that rules your rising sign, called the chart ruler, and any planet close to the four angles of the chart.
What is the difference between a birth chart and a horoscope?
A birth chart is fixed: it is the sky of your birth. A daily horoscope reads today's sky for a sign, and a personal reading lays today's sky over your own chart.