The Anatomy of a Birth Chart

Astrology is so much more than a horoscope! You’re the expert on you, but your birth chart can paint an even clearer picture of who you are, based on where the planets were in the sky the minute you were born.

When you begin to learn the details of your birth chart, you’re learning a new language for describing yourself, your relationship to others, and your place in this complicated and exciting world. We’re giving you the tools to understand this language in order to better understand yourself. It’s also beneficial to understand how astrologers talk about birth chats, so you can bring your best questions to an astrology reading because, just like in any conversation, it helps to use the same terms when chatting about astrology.

Let’s get started!

The Planets

Planets are the “who” of your chart. Every planet is represented in every person’s chart.

The “who,” or the move-makers in your chart. Every planet, along with some other planetary bodies in our solar system, is represented in your chart. They each play a specific role. For example, Mercury is the planet of information and speech. Its position in your chart teaches you what kind of thinker and communicator you are!

The Signs

The “how” plays out in the signs around a chart, giving the planets each personalities to match the sign they are hanging out in.

How do the planets act in your chart? The signs can tell you. There are 12 signs, and ALL of them are represented in your chart. Signs give personalities to the planets hanging out in them. If there is a sign without planets in your chart, it still influences a particular part of your life via the house. (We’ll explain below.)

The Houses

The houses of your chart complete the story, giving the “where.”

By now, you have the “who” and the “how” of your chart. The houses complete the story with the “where.” Each of the 12 houses influences a different area of your life. They reveal which part of your life is impacted by the planets. Together, the houses and planets make up the building blocks for your personal development. Astrologers also use the houses to map out how the planets influence you at a specific point in time.

The Aspects

Aspects are like conversations between planets in your chart.

The aspects in your chart show us how the planets interact with each other. In a more literal sense, aspects are the angles that the positions of planets make in the sky. You can think of aspects as a conversation between two or more planets. These conversations can be helpful or challenging.

The fundamentals of your chart boil down to this:
Planets + Signs + Houses + Aspects = Your Birth Chart

All the pieces come together to make a chart as special as you, sparking questions that are unique to you.

That’s a lot of information! And those are just the basics. It’s complicated, which is why an astrologer is so important! If you’re ready to explore your chart with an astrologer’s help, head over to the Sanctuary app!