What is a birth chart in Astrology and how to find it

We are going to outline the basics of what is a birth chart, aka a natal chart, and how to obtain it.

A birth chart is a specific blueprint of your soul at the time it arrived here on Earth 🙂
– Melanie

What is a birth or natal chart?

It is a composition of symbols, signs, and planets that describe who you are and what you’re here to do in this lifetime. You need to know your exact time of birth–find out how to get that here–to have an accurate chart. If you punch in any ol’ time you could be looking at something entirely different than your unique astrology.

Before moving forward, if you see the terms birth chart and natal chart being used, know that they are the same thing. If you’re looking online for a place to pull up your chart, you might find either term. Some individual astrologers might even use other terms but these are the most common and widely understood terms for a basic chart.

So where do you go to get this birth chart?

I recommend any of the following websites:

Astro.com – step-by-step photos shown in this post are from this website

Astro-seek.com – I love it for the customizable features & interpretations

Astro-charts.com – simple, clean look, & easy to use

Cafeastrology.com – makes it easy to start learning

Cafe Astrology is the site that most people start at when they first get into astrology. It breaks things down very simply in written format. When you are not familiar with the glyphs and symbols of astrology, a list is easier to understand than the classic wheel. If you are willing to practice looking at your chart, the wheel can offer you so so so so so much more information than a list ever can. Baby steps, though.

At this time you are simply looking to pull up a natal chart. There are other features on these sites that can allow you to see uncommon asteroids, extra aspects, transits, and more. All of the natal chart calculators are designed to pull up a chart with everything you need to get started so no need to customize for the moment.

Step 1: go to your astrology chart website of choice

Step 2: click on chart drawing/ chart calculator

Step 3: make an account (optional)

Astro.com will ask you to make an account but some other websites allow you to proceed without one. It helps to have an account to save your chart.

Step 4: input your birth information

Step 5: you now have your natal chart!

Note: the birth chart will look different depending on what house system you use. Most online calculators will pull up a natal chart in Placidus automatically. In Western Astrology, the two most common house systems are Whole Sign and Placidus. The primary system used here on Life in the Astros is Placidus. Just know that you can change this in the future if you ever want to try another house system.

The big, beautiful wheel is your natal chart! The thing everyone wants to know right off the bat is what their big 3 is. To do this, make note of where your Sun is–that would be the symbol of a circle with a dot in the center. Look for your Moon sign–which looks like a crescent moon. Lastly, your rising sign will be found on the left side of the wheel chart, distinguished by the term ASC. Ascendant (ASC) is another word for rising sign. The table next to the chart can also help you with identifying your placements.

So now that you have your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs, you have your big three! It is recommended to get to know these three signs deeply before diving into the rest of your chart. It will make future explorations in the Astros a lot easier, too!

Read this article next: Your sign vs Your Big 3 in Astrology.

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