What the Heck is a Natal Chart - And Other Astrology FAQ
The other day, a beautiful young woman slid into my DMs and asked me what a natal chart was, and if it was similar to fortune telling. And that’s when it hit me — not everyone knows what their natal chart is.
In a day and age where astrology is more prominent than ever before, it’s easy to forget that there are still those who are completely unfamiliar with practice, and have yet to have any introduction to it. Even my signature astrology program, Astrology Basics, was still built on the assumption that people knew what a natal chart was, prior to going in. As naive as it sounds, there was a part of me that was slightly oblivious to the fact that some people are brand new to the term. Maybe it’s just because I’ve spent too much time on #AstrologyTikTok that stepping out of that world can feel jolting.
But nevertheless, if the people have astrology questions, then I am here to answer them as best as I can. So, in this post, I’m going to make it my mission to explain the natal chart in as much detail as I possibly can, without making it too technical or overwhelming. And if you want that technical information, then Stars Made Simple is probably the place that you want to be… just saying.
What the Heck is a Natal Chart?
The Literal Definition: Known as an astrology chart, a “star” chart, a birth chart, and, most “technically” speaking, a natal chart, this circular diagram is the result of a series of precise mathematical calculations, marking exactly where each major planet and asteroid was, in relation to each of the zodiac signs and corresponding houses, at the time of your birth.
The Spiritual Definition: Your natal chart is your soul’s roadmap home. It represents where all of the major planets and asteroids were at the time of your birth, and can give us insights into our path in this lifetime (and, in previous ones).
Historically, natal charts were constructed by hand, through a series of complex mathematical calculations, done by an established astrologer. Charts were physically drawn up, and provided to a client at the time of a reading. In Eastern cultures, having the gift for astrology arguably required a bit more than it does today. Not only did you need the technical, educational background needed in order to interpret the chart (as well as a keen intuition), but you also needed math and artistic skills. Astrologers would take in their client’s birth information and then, consulting a thick, astrological database known as an Ephemeris, they would determine the exact position and transit of each planet with the client’s chart, and draft it up. Needless to say, it was a timely process.
Now, finding an astrologer, particularly in the west, who still constructs their charts by hand is a rarity (and, also, very expensive). For the most part, these days, the calculations are done by computer. In fact, it’s really as simple as inputting your birth information, and then clicking “enter”. From the viewpoint of astrologers, there are technicalities that go into each chart that we run (house system, fixed stars, asteroids, etc.) but for the sake of this guide, you don’t need to know about that. 😉
What is Your “Birth Information?”
In order to run an accurate natal chart, you’ll need to provide your astrologer with some birth information… like your parent’s full names, last address of residence, and social security numbers. I’m kidding.
In all seriousness, all you’ll need to provide your astrologer with is the following information:
Your full birth date, including the month, day, and year.
Your exact time of birth (or as close to exact as possible).
Where you were born (just the city and state/country).
It’s that simple! Most people, minus the time of birth, tend to have this information readily available on-hand, so this process tends to go quickly. And when it comes to my clients, as soon as they book a session with me, I have an intake form that captures this information from them immediately, so there’s no need to hunt it down last-minute.
But What if I Don’t Know / Can’t Find my Time of Birth?
Sometimes, finding a birth time can be sticky. For the most part, I would argue that the majority of people probably don’t have this information on-hand. And there are a variety of situations in which a birth time may be inaccessible. I’ve heard everything from lost or non-existent birth records, to parents forgetting or responding with, “I believe it was sometime in the morning,” to even situations where people are born in countries that don’t note the time of birth. All of the above are real-life scenarios that can make the process of finding your exact natal chart frustrating and, in some circumstances, discouraging.
From the astrologer’s perspective, when a client comes to me with one of the situations above, there’s usually two routes that I propose to them. First, we can run what’s referred to as a “noon chart”. This chart sets the default birth time as noon, to give a more “neutral” analysis of the chart. Now, there are some limitations here - first, the ascendant will neutrally be set to zero degrees Aries, which will therefore neutralize the houses. We won’t be able to garner as deep of an analysis without these houses, but we can still look at the planets and general aspects in order to But nevertheless, we can still give a more surface-level analysis that still answers all of your questions and touches on the key points.
And if you’re wondering how this works, or why a birth time is truly so important, this article by my mentor, Jamie Miller of Pandora Astrology, really lays it out beautifully.
The second option, if you’re really keen on finding your birth time and accurate natal chart, is rectification. Birth time rectification is a long and tedious process of determining some key events in your life, and then, creating several drafts of charts, playing with different times, to determine which one “clicks” and feels most accurate to your life. If it sounds like quite the undertaking, it unfortunately is. Because of the length of time required to perform rectification, very few astrologers offer the service, and, when they do, it’s often quite expensive.
If you desire rectification services, just keep in-mind that the astrologers that do offer them will almost always require that you exhaust ALL options to find your birth time, first. Whether that involves tracking down old hospital records or even local newspapers for birth announcements, generally it’s required that you make an honest attempt to search for your birth time.
Can the Natal Chart Tell Me If/When “____” will happen?
No. At least, not really. I always tell my clients that there are two things that the natal chart doesn’t take into account, and that is “linear time” and “free will.” Meaning, in a standard natal chart reading, we really won’t be able to piece together an exact timeline for events, especially when it comes to future events.
This is part of the reason why I would not consider astrology to be fortune telling. Unlike in any form of fortune telling, an ethical astrologer won’t be able to tell you whether or not you will break up with your boyfriend or win next week’s lottery, just from looking at your natal chart. Instead, they will be able to tell you what type of partner you may be most compatible with, or if you have the potential to win the lottery, based on your chart.
The Overall Takeaway
If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: while the natal chart is an incredibly powerful and useful tool for understanding both yourself and your place in the greater context of the world around you, it is not the be-all-end-all. Like with anything, any interpretation of your natal chart that you receive should be taken with a grain of salt. Treat it more like a guide that helps you to tap into your own potential, and give greater context to situations that have happened retrospectively, rather than a play-by-play guide as to what will happen in your life.
I hope this post helped you to understand a little bit more about the natal chart! If you are looking to have your natal chart read, you can click here to schedule a session with me.
