The birth chart in Astrology was once drawn up by the astrologer according to the birth details of a person. The Ephemerides is sacred for the astrologers as they give the daily position of the Planets they study and work with. To get an accurate birth chart, they need the day, the place and the exact time of birth. The time of birth is essential as it will determine the Ascendant or Rising and therefore the 12 Houses. It was a long process to do the necessary calculations in order to draw up a birth chart. Today, numerous sites on Internet will calculate it for you, almost instantly, without effort nor money.
What can we see on a birth chart?
A Birth chart displays astrological details on a disk showing an outside wheel with the 12 astrological Signs such as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
The Planets such as the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto will be placed according to their position on the day (sign and degree).
The Ascendant or Rising sign will show the beginning of the 1st House and will determine the 11 others, the IC is the beginning of the 4th, the Descendant is the beginning of the 7th and the MC, the beginning of the 10th.
Chiron, the North Node and Lilith will complete the picture.
The Aspects
Planets form aspects with each other when there are specific distances between them.
0o for a Conjunction
60o for a Sextile
90o for a Square
120o for a Trine
180o for an Opposition
A Stellium is when three or more planets are close to each other. It gives extra strength to the Sign they occupy.
The Sun, Mercury and Venus are often close to each other.
When a planet isn’t “aspected”, it can show an absence or a weakness related to the planet.
The work of the astrologer will be to translate the pattern that appears when the birth chart is finalized, into words . Mythology and Symbolism will be useful to the astrologer to understand the characteristics of the person and the personality. Intuition and practice will complete and improve the astrologer’s skills. With Transits and Progressions, it is possible to feel the situation of the person involved and give directions if need be. With Synastry and Composite charts, it is possible to identify the needs of a Relationship and the way to handle it!