Natal Chart 101

[Angaridatha]

Ok everybody! I don't know why I was content with just posting the sun signs. Dumb of me. No real information that can't be found on google a billion times.

Anyway.

What is a natal chart?

A natal chart is a planetary snapshot of the exact moment when you were born. It is much more explanatory of your personality and tendencies than just a sun sign, and is also used to calculate your transits.

What goes into a natal chart?

Well, the astrologer goes and consults an ephimeris (a schedule of the positions of the planets covering a period of years) and figures out these things: which signs were in which planet, and where these are placed in the houses around the chart. Thus, it gets more and more specific. Also, then the aspects (relations between planets) are calculated, and they have their own meanings as well.

[Angaridatha]

An overview of planets

1. Your sun sign. This is where the sun was when you were born. The sun makes an approximately one month transit through each sign, and is what is commonly read in layman's horiscopes. It represents your outer self, and thus is one of the more accurate signs to "ball everything up into" (though the ascendant would be more accurate for the personality and the moon for the core of *who you are*).

2. Your moon sign. The moon makes a transit about every 2 1/2 days. It represents your inner self, and was used in old astrology more commonly than the sun sign for predictions.

3. Your ascendant. This is used to draw a chart, as it is the sign on the horizon that determines the first house position (and thus the rest of the houses on the chart). This changes every hour or so. The ascendant represents the face you put to the world, or how others see you.

4. Your mercury. This is the first of the planets, and its transit is the quickest, going slower in order of distance. Mercury represents how you communicate with the world.

5. Your venus. The second of the planets in the chart. Venus represents, among other things, love nature, especially for females, and is looked at a lot. It also represents beauty and the aesthetic, women and emotional natures.

6. Your mars. The third. Mars represents energy and power. Usually it is used to interpret a love horiscope from the male side. It also is used to categorize war, conflict, and other such events.

7. Your jupiter. The fourth. Jupiter has arguably one of the most important influences in a chart, for it dictates where and how you will be fortunate or lucky, in a base way. It also is used in matters of money, thus.

8. Your saturn. Fifth. Saturn is the opposite of Jupiter, and dictates where you will struggle in life, and where you will learn your harshest lessons. It represents father time and all things realist/pessimist.

9. Your neptune. Sixth. Neptune represents spiritual nature, psychism and magick. This is where things get slow (vis a vis transit time)- the last three planets are often shared by a generation, and thus are more globally indicated.

10. Your uranus (heh). Seventh. Uranus represents the unusual or strange in life. It strives to break away from the norm and revolutionize. It is humanitarian in nature.

11. Your pluto. Eighth. Pluto represents the heavy mysteries of life, death and rebirth as scorpio, its ruled sign. Where pluto is indicated, a certain amount of change is expected.

12. Chiron. Ninth. On some professional charts, Chiron is indicated as well as possibly some other celestial bodies. Along with the debate over the tenth planet astrology is changing, and this is more commonly accepted as a factor in a horiscope but is still fairly new.

Chiron is the wounded healer. This Planetoid is for everyone who, rather than giving in to despair amid their own suffering, reaches out so others will not have to experience the pain they've felt.

[Angaridatha]

A brief overview of the houses[/u]

Each house is associated with an astrological sign, and this can help you remember them. Thus, each sign also has its "home" where it is expressed even more strongly.

1st house: House of Self.

The First House speaks to the person we are becoming and will become, both internally and externally. It addresses our personality and presentation to the world, our essential qualities, approach to life, demeanor and basic sensibilities. It also rules early childhood.

The sign placed here will be most noted as how we *are* to the outer world, aka the ascendant. Any planets placed here will be key to our core qualities.

The First House is ruled by the Sign Aries and the Planet Mars.

The Second House: House of Stuff(possessions)

I like to think of it as the house of stuff, anyway.

While this speaks to that which we own, it's not limited simply to tangible things. We own our feelings and emotions, as well as our inner selves, abilities, needs and wants. Who and what you value is marked here.

Specific possessions covered by the Second House include earned income and our ability to influence it, investments and moveable property (cars, clothing, jewelry and the like). Debt is also part of the equation here, since we own the responsibility to pay our bills. How we view money, the acquisition of wealth (and debt), financial reversals, savings, budgeting and financial status are all ruled by the Second House.

The sign placed here will dictate how extravagant or miserly, good or bad, you are with money. A planet placed here will figure in your financial future. Jupiter here is a good thing.

The Second House is ruled by the Sign Taurus (of course) and the Planet Venus.

The Third House: Communications

Covers intelligence (logical) and early education, means we use to communicate and how good we are at them, how we think, process and share.

Oddly enough it's concise.

The sign here will dictate how you communicate your ideas to others. Planets here will be influenced by (or influence) your communicative skills.

Ruled by the Sign Gemini and the Planet Mercury.

The Fourth House: Family and Home

This house covers what you think of as roots. It also includes your immediate family, especially your parents, and your physical brick and mortar home. Also, your home life is expressed here.

The sign here will give you a basic picture of what you consider home, or to be safe and comfortable. Planets placed here will have a significant effect on your home life, or will benefit in the action of you being home.

Ruled by Cancer (of course) and the moon.

[Angaridatha]

The Fifth House: Pleasure and Children

Ruled by Leo and the sun, this house encompasses your children (including biological and "brainchildren"), your creativity and artistic bent, and where you "feel good."

Romance and romantic affairs (but not relationships, per se), gambling, and all the arts are covered by this house. Sometimes it's considered another type of "house of self."

The sign here will indicate where you feel creative and what types or how many children you might have. It also indicates a general flair you give to the world, how you like to have fun. Planets here will influence your artistic and pleasure seeking drives, and will also dictate how extravagant you are (emotionally), or how extroverted.

The Sixth House: Health

The Sixth House is ruled by the Sign Virgo and the Planet Mercury.

This House further focuses on health (good and bad), diet, fitness and hygiene.

wooo, I'm going to have to finish this later. I feel distracted. More to come!