Interpreting the Astrology Birth Chart for Yourself

Now that you have your birth chart in hand, it’s time to understand more about this diagram and the symbols presented. In this video, you will learn how to read and identify the different components in the astrological birth chart.

Interpreting the Astrology Birth Chart
Astrological Birth Chart Interpretation Using Zodiac Wheel

Review an example birth chart generated from www.astro.com and break down the various sections of the page to get a basic understanding of what they mean.

YouTube player

In the above video Chris Brennan from The Astrology Podcast explains how to read an astrological birth chart generated from www.astro.com

Date, Time and Place to Cross-reference Correct Details

The top left of the chart displays the date, time and place data that you would have originally input to generate the birth chart. This is useful for cross-referencing that the details are correct before proceeding with the chart interpretation.

Check the Astrological House System You Are Using

Knowing the astrological house system potentially may not be that important as an astrologer beginning to learn the birth chart. However, it is a good idea to make note of what house system you are using for future reference. It will become important for more in-depth analysis and future interpretations of the chart.

Another point mentioned in the video is the identification of where the sign the Sun and Ascendant is placed. The astro.com chart generation conveniently displays these sign positions for you under where the house system is displayed.

Looking at the Zodiac Wheel and How It Is Constructed

Signs of the Zodiac

On the outer rim of the zodiac wheel, you will observe twelve symbols evenly spaced with a thirty-degree division. These are the signs of the zodiac that you may be familiar with. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

Aries Astrology Sign
Aries
Taurus Astrology Sign
Taurus
Gemini Astrology Sign
Gemini
Cancer Astrology Sign
Cancer
Leo Astrology Sign
Leo
Virgo Astrology Sign
Virgo
Libra Astrology Sign
Libra
Scorpio Astrology Sign
Scorpio
Sagittarius Astrology Sign
Sagittarius
Capricorn Astrology Sign
Capricorn
Aquarius Astrology Sign
Aquarius
Pisces Astrology Sign
Pisces

Planets of the Zodiac

Moving another layer inward on the chart you will see where the planets of the zodiac of position. They will fall under one of the signs of the zodiac as mentioned above.

The planets used in astrology are Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. There are other important points used in the chart that relates to asteroids and the moon’s nodes but for now, we will keep things simple.

A good point the instructor makes about becoming aware of the birth chart is that we have more signs than just our Sun sign, commonly known as our “star sign”. The Moon also has a sign, Mercury has a sign, Venus, Mars and so forth.

It’s important to note what degree the planet falls on as this will be useful when interpreting that aspect relationship the planet makes to other planets.

Aspecting Planets Forming Relationship By Degree

Astrological aspects are when planets form special angles by degree placement. Important degrees, include 0, 60, 90, 120 and 180 degrees. For instance, the Sun in 5 degrees of Capricorn may form a 90-degree angle to Pluto in 5 degrees of Aries.

The video goes on to explain the blue and red lines that are displayed depending on if the aspect is positive or difficult. Generally, the sextile (60 degrees) and trine (120 degrees) are more harmonious while square (90 degrees) and oppositions (180 degrees) are more challenging.

Further Explanations Given in the Birth Chart Interpretation

Other points included in this video include the following…

  • A look at the aspectarian that shows all the planetary aspects in a table format. It assists the astrologer by providing an easy “at a glance” way of identifying all the close aspects formed in the birth chart.
  • How to recognize elemental factors of the chart. The elements include fire, earth, air and water. What kind of weighting a chart has in each of these elements.
  • Also, view modality weightings. These are cardinal, fixed and mutable and make up further properties of the signs.
  • Learning to identify a planet and its representing symbol.
  • Identifying retrograde (backward moving) planets and where they are positioned in the chart.
  • How the houses are drawn on the chart. Starting with the horizontal ascendant/descendant axis. The ascendant being an important point that shows what sign was rising on the eastern horizon when the person was born.
  • View how the astrological houses are broken up in a number format. This being first house, second house, third house and so on through to the twelfth house. Each house representing a specific field of experience that the planetary energy operated in.