What is a Birth Chart in Astrology?
A Birth Chart refers to a horoscope that is cast for an individual the moment they are born. Once that happens and the birth is complete, the astrologer would be carefully watching the Ascendant to check what zodiac sign was in the East just coming up above the horizion. This is what we commonly know today as the Rising Sign.
Here is a photo from a Mongol compendium, Jamia al-tawarikh (14th C.), that shows the birth of a Mongol prince. Off to the side, you can see 3 astrologers holding astro-labes to calculate the ascendant.
In pop culture, people refer to their ‘sign’ as their sun sign due to astrologers of the 19th and 20th century like Alan Leo who popularized Sun Sign astrology through “The Astrology Magazine” that water-down astrology to be able to market and sell delineations on a mass-produced scale, rather than honing on individual fates, horoscopes, and nativities.Such practices would be foreign to the astrologers of the pre-modern world. Calculating the birth chart was something done by hand, and with the knowledge of complex mathematics to not only calculate the position of the planet in the sky but to also delineate it. It wasn’t determined from looking in a magainze at the range of dates you were born between.
In Europe, the role of the astrologer is split into two around the time of the Enlightenment: a secular version that doesn’t interpret meaning from the motions of the planets which we know as Astronomy, and Astrology as the interpretation of the planets. In the rest of the world (the Middle East, Africa, and Asia) the astrologer is still both an astronomer and astrologer. In fact, if you want to even be an astrologer, you had to learn how to calculate the positions and motions of the planets, in other words— astronomy is REQUIRED for the job.
The Birth Chart, Nativity, Natal Chart, your Horoscope all mean the same thing. They refer to your exact date, time, and location of birth. In turn, this horosocope shows the conditions and circumstances of life that you will have based on the moment you emerged into the world. Astrologers would then use these horoscopes to make Books of Life for rulers. We have records of astrologers hand-writing 30 years of predictions in advanced for newly born babies such as Sadique from the 18th Century. The Horoscope of Iskandar is another example where horoscopes are being turned into magnificent pieces of art, showcasing the mysteries of the heavenly spheres.
The Horoscope of Iskandar, 14th C. The Ascendant is Capricorn at the top of the horoscope, the planets are represented as people in the inner wheel. The Angels are shown on the 4 corners of the wheel.
In a birth chart, there are a few main components to examine.
There is no birth chart without an Ascendant. This is the exact degree of the zodiac that was rising in the Eastern horizon at the time you were born. This can only be known through your birth time. If the astrologer has knowledge of the birth time, they would then know exactly where the Sun was at in the sky, and the relationship of the rest of the zodiac to the Sun. Example: if its high noon and the Sun is in Cancer, I know Libra is Rising on the Ascendant. Or if its Sunset and the Sun is in Virgo, I know that Pisces will be rising in the East because the sun is in the opposite sign setting in the West. The Ascendant is determined by what sign is rising in the east, but what signs rise at any given time of day at a specific time of year is determined by the Sun.
For this reason, the Sun isn’t unimportant in your birth chart, but its use is not for what we understand it as in the modern world as astrologers of the pre-modern world did. The Sun, the length of daylight, and the arc of the Ecliptic are all important in the horoscope. In fact, the length of daylight (based on the time of the year) would be relevant for determining your planetary hour of birth. In the Babylonian tradition, some of the earliest examples of natal interpretation we have comes from the planetary hour a person is born. Horoscopes with 12 houses don’t become developed until the Hellenistic Greco-Egyptian tradition synthesizes African, Greek and Babylonian knowledge.
The Moon is next in importance. It is the fastest moving planet out of the 7 traditional planets, moving at roughly 13º10’ per day. Astrologers in India, the Arabian Peninsula, and China would develop what is known as the Lunar Mansions where every day the Moon is in a new station. The precise position of the Moon would show us what specific kind of spirit is being birthed, its qualities, characteristics, physical form, temperament, and more. Astrologers of the Islamicate Occult Sciences would understand the Soul as descending from God, moving through the 7 spheres of the 7 planets, and then descending through the Lunar Manzil on that particular day.
There are so many components to the horoscope such as the Midheaven, the 5 other planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), the Lots of Fortune, Hidden, and the rest of the lots cast in natal horoscopes, divisions of the zodiac, and more. All of these would be used to foretell the circumstances and conditions of a persons life, starting from the inception at birth. Astrologers would develop a system of prediction in a term coined by David Pingree as Continuous Horoscopy, where horoscopes are interpreted in an ongoing fashion rather than just making general predictions. The horoscope becomes like a clock, pointing to when particular experiences in the natal chart will be brought about and arise. Its the difference of saying you’ll struggle with poverty in the first third of your life verses you’ll struggle in your 25th year with damage to the assets of the home, or something like that. Predictions are refined and culminate in the predictive system developed by Abu Ma’shar in the 9th Century.
When you go to see an astrologer for a Birth Chart consultation, you’re essentially seeking the knowledge of the conditions you were born in, in order to understand how they have progressed to bring you to where you are at currently, and how they will continue to progress to show your destiny in the future. Astrologers should be skilled to be able to make predictions about the nature of your soul, money & livelihood, siblings, family, and children, matters of illness and sorrow, your relationships and love life, matters of death and calamities, your religious and spiritual path along with conditions of travel, your reputation, friendships, and enemies. All of this would come with remediation in the form of talismans, amulets, charms, herbal mixtures, actions and lifestyle adjustment to balance yourself in places that are the most disruptive and continue to cultivate the blessings as indicated in your horoscope.
The Nativity - PDF
When I cast horoscopes for my clients, I use the website Astro-Seek.com and then create my own PDFs with information and detail on the horoscope. If you’re looking to cast your own horoscopes, the link I provided will take you to the traditional astrology tab. One of my favorite softwares and it is free to use! Shout out to Peter at Astro-Seek.
When you book a Nativity Consultation with me, we’ll examine the Nature of your Soul, Love Life and Friendships, your financial fortune and eminence, your relationship to family, relatives, along with your career & vocation, the enemies, sorrows, and illness you have, along with active remedies you can practically use to make big changes to your life.
These sessions are meant to ground you in an understand of what your circumstances are. People get stuck into the idea with astrology that you have to “just deal with it”, instead of being in active participation with your fate. A natal chart session is more than just getting a birth chart delineated, it is about attuning yourself to which ways feel the best of LIVING for you, based on the cosmic imprint of your horoscope. In addition to being an astrologer, I have experience for 6 years as a mage, diviner, and occultist using talismans, natural, and supernatural means to influence our lives. Once the astrologer knows the conditions of life, they can prescribe talismans and rootwork to address imbalances. I do this in my own practice, prescribing talismans for clients to make themselves, or personally making them and sending them off, dietary changes, activity and lifestyle changes, moral and spiritual direction, ways to attract love and romance into your life— we’ve got a solution for EVERYTHING here.
