Anne Massey’s astrology blog

What is a natal chart?

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | Ask Anne, Astrology for You

Natal means birth. This is a birth chart or a personal horoscope. It is very different from Sun sign horoscopes which rely on the sign the Sun is in. A horoscope includes all of the planets and is calculated for the date of birth, place of birth and time of birth. The chart is a 360—degree circle, which is divided into twelve segments called houses. These all represent an area of life. Astrologers commonly use eight planets and the two luminaries-the Sun and the Moon. The planets are Mercury of communication, Venus of love and value, Mars of action, Jupiter of expansion, Saturn of boundaries, Uranus of surprises, Neptune of otherworldly and Pluto of transformation. The planets hold specific degree placements within that circle and form what astrologers call aspects to one another. The natal chart is a blueprint for a life and within it contains information coded with planetary symbols. For example the Moon relates to our emotions and our natural reactions to life. When the Moon in each of the twelve signs functions differently, and when the Moon forms connections with the other planets astrologers gain more insight into the person’s nature. The same applies to all of the planets and other significant points astrologers look at in order to analyze people and events.

The chart yields information about the personality, likes, dislikes and interests. Astrologers can look at various facets of the human experience and discuss strengths and weaknesses, aptitude and skills. We can look at the times you are in by adding the current planetary cycles to the mix and by adding progressions; we can see how you have changed up until now. Progression is advancement and is associated with our maturation process.

Obama's chart

To a non-astrologer the chart is not likely to yield any information. It does take years to become familiar with the symbols and their innate meaning. In the first wheel you can see Barack Obama’s birth chart, the time for him is known. He has Aquarius rising (left side circled) and he is a Leo Sun (circled on the right side of the image). The rising sign gives information about how we present ourselves. In Obama we see an intelligent, skilled orator, who flashes a brilliant smile for people and the cameras. We see someone who appears to know how to relate to people and how to inspire with his words and demeanour. Obama has many planets in the sixth house, thus we astrologers would address the tendency to burn that proverbial candle at both ends, and ‘urge’ him to balance all that ‘work-a-holism’ with exercise, rest and relaxation because health is also in this area and it is important for him to look after his health. The women in his life, his wife and two daughters, are partially represented by his Venus, which currently receives a connection from an energy that we link to change, stress etc. thus astrologers might address the fact how hard living under the changed circumstances is for his girls.

If we didn’t know his birth time, we would work with a solar chart and lose some of the details and some of the timing tools. We would not know the natal houses or the sign of the Moon in his case. The next chart illustrates what information we retain without a known time but when we know the date and place.

Obama noon chart

On the day Obama was born the Moon moved from 23 degrees of Taurus to 5°47′ Gemini. Therefore we could not say with certainty which sign represented his emotional nature. This chart is calculated for noon, because it gives us the middle positions for the day—halves the potential error. This does not make that significant a difference in the planetary positions. We can still see that his Mercury by aspects makes him a skilled orator and that he has a lot of empathy toward people. He has a nice Mars and Saturn connection, which shows that he is a hard working, detail-oriented person. At the moment Saturn is in Virgo and has been on his action planet, which means that he has never worked harder in his life than now; this explains the obstacles he has to remove in order to live up to his election promises. Naturally there is a lot more, but just to illustrate how this might work.Now to how horoscopes in the newspapers work, when only the sign is known.

Leo horoscopes

The Sun is in orange and in Leo. In order to talk about the potential for the upcoming month astrologers look at current planetary cycles and how these relate to that one known factor. The Sun and Mercury are in Taurus after April 19, and this is the career/status sector for Leo, thus all of the astrologers will be making a statement that relates to this in their generalized analysis. Mars and Venus are in Aries and in the travel/foreign sector of the chart, so travel, foreigners, opinions and religion are featured in the horoscopes for the month/week/day. Saturn is the money sector for a couple of years and this began in September 2007, so money management is definitely one of the concepts addressed in the longer term horoscopes. Each way of applying the energy works at different levels. However, when all of the pertinent information needed to cast an accurate birth chart is known (date, time and place) we can offer more accurate timing and address all areas of life with more accuracy.

The other part of the question this item hopes to address for a reader was what does it cost. Well the first option of reading your horoscope in the papers and on the net is free. Buying astrological reports, which offer character analysis or even discuss the important themes in your life, are typically around $10 each; some cost more. A consultation with a professional astrologer ranges in price from about $100-$250. My current fees are available on my website www.astrologicallyspeaking.com/services.htm.

Copyright Anne Massey April 13, 2009

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