How To Make Sense Of Your Birth Chart

So, you read your horoscope regularly, you know your own sign backward and forward, and you've even dipped a toe into astrological sign compatibility. If you ask us, it's high time you got your birth chart drawn up. This astrological rite of passage can be handled online or one-on-one with an astrologer (for a price), but however you have it calculated, the info should remain the same — exactly where the sun, moon, and planets were placed in the sky at the moment of your birth.

While horoscopes, tarot readings, or other forms of divination work best when you have a question in mind, a birth chart is much more thorough (and doesn't require any particular query). Belgrave said to think of it as a snapshot of all the directions your life could take: "Within the natal chart you can see personality, drives, fears, parental relationships, siblings, children, psychological patterns, and more on one sheet of paper."


We spoke with astrologer Janelle Belgrave about how to figure out birth charts (or "soul maps," as she calls them), and what makes them so meaningful.

Getting Started

To kick off your journey, you need to know a few key details about yourself: the day you were born, the time you were born, and where you were born. Using these facts, an astrologer (with the help of astrology software) can map out which sign each astral body was in at the moment of your birth. You're probably most familiar with your sun sign, or the zodiac sign that the sun was aligned with when you were born. When you read your horoscope, you're reading about your sun sign.

Of course, the signs that the moon and the planets align with have major impacts on who you are, too. A well-made chart can tell you "about you, your family, the life that you were born into, and what your soul is looking to heal and/or achieve in this lifetime," Belgrave said.

You can absolutely find your natal chart online — Belgrave recommends using this site — but you might be missing out on some interpretive info you can only get from an astrologer IRL.