Gone are the days of simple what's-your-sign astrology. Instead, more and more people are interested in a birth chart—the snapshot of the universe at the time of your birth.
Within NUiT, click on the advanced settings to explore your houses, planetary rulers, and aspects. A trine aspect (120 degrees apart) boosts the qualities of both planets and helps synchronicity. An opposition is more challenging, but can be used for growth if handled with care.
Signs of the Zodiac
When it comes to astrology, most people have their big three—their sun sign, moon sign and rising sign. These are the planets that have the strongest impact on your personality. But there's so much more to a birth chart than just these three. In fact, every planet has a different effect on your life and can explain so much about who you are. That's why it's important to understand your entire natal chart. astrologyvalley.com/tarot/yes-or-no-tarot
The planets are categorized by the four elements, as well as their qualities and functions: Fire (Leo, Libra, Sagittarius), Water (Cancer, Pisces), Air (Gemini, Virgo, Libra) and Earth (Aries, Cancer, Capricorn). They're also classified as cardinal, mutable and fixed. Cardinal signs are visionaries and big-picture thinkers; they're great at brainstorming and initiating, but can be a little weak on follow-through. Mutable signs are more flexible, but can be wishy-washy. Fixed signs are stable and practical, but can be stubborn.
Most charts are more or less balanced, with two to four planets in each of the elements. However, some are dominated by one element. If you have five or more planets in the same sign of one of the elements, then that specific trait will be emphasized in your chart. For example, if you have an abundance of planets in the Venus sign of Libra, then you may be known as a flirt. This is because Libras are ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty.
Some astrologers use pattern analysis, which involves dividing the circle of your natal chart in half both horizontally and vertically to see how many clumps of three or more planets are present. If you have a grand trine, that is three planets in the same element in a tight trine, then your energy flows easily. You're able to express your talents in the world and connect with others.
Then there are the outer planets, which exist in the furthest reaches of the universe and take longer to move through the zodiac than the inner planets. When an outer planet is in its detriment, it's in a negative space that can limit its expression. In its exaltation, on the other hand, a planet is in an expansive space that allows it to thrive.
Houses of the Zodiac
Every astro chart has 12 houses, which are sectors of the zodiac wheel that relate to different arenas of life. They are essentially what grounds astrology in earthly matters, and can reveal how you approach and handle different aspects of life in accordance with the sign and house in which they are located.
For instance, the first house—which sits directly on your birth ascendant and is ruled by your sun sign—is all about your identity, self-image, and how you are perceived. The second house is associated with value, ownership, possessions, and finances. “If you have a lot of planets in the second house, it can indicate that establishing a sense of security is a major theme for you,” Monahan explains. The third house, which is ruled by mutable Gemini and Mercury—the planet of communication—represents your relationships with others in your immediate environment. This includes friendships, siblings, short distance travel, and how you communicate verbally and through writing.
The fourth house, which is ruled by cardinal water sign Cancer and the intuitive moon, pertains to your home and inner family. The fifth house, which is ruled by fixed fire sign Leo and the sun, oversees romance, entertainment, fun, children, and creativity. The twelfth house, which is ruled by Pisces and the planets Jupiter and Neptune—is a mysterious arena of your chart that is often misunderstood. It’s associated with your imagination, emotions, and what operates beneath the surface of consciousness, as well as how you deal with old age and death.
Another esoteric arena of the natal chart is the angular houses—the first, 10th, seventh, and fourth houses. These are areas of the chart that receive a preponderance of planets, and are therefore given extra weight when it comes to themes. According to astrologer Clarisse Monahan, these include the areas of your life that you are most likely to be called on to take risks and to step outside of your comfort zone. It’s where you are likely to encounter your greatest challenges, but also your most significant growth and change. You can explore your house placements and the signs that rule them in NUiT App’s Advanced Birth Chart section.
Planets
Astrology has been a hot new age topic since the dreamy planet Neptune entered dreamy Pisces back in 2011. The celestial study is about more than just sun signs and houses, though. According to astrologer Susan Miller, your birth chart, also known as your natal chart, is a pattern made up of the positions of all the planets at the moment of your birth and what constellation they were in (calculate it here). This unique formation, which is almost as specific to you as your fingerprint, can help hone your potential and inform how the world perceives you.
The most well-known part of your astrological chart is probably your Sun sign, which reveals how you shine your light in the world and what areas of life are most important to you. The sign and house in which it falls also describes your basic personality, the way you express yourself, how you deal with conflict, and how others see you.
Other significant planets include Jupiter, which represents your luck, philosophy, and optimism (or the way you feel like you were born with certain talents and a knack for life). Mars, on the other hand, describes your passion, the ways you fight, how you react in anger, and what you do to make ends meet. And Pluto, a hardworking and powerful planet that brings you to the edge of your comfort zone, is associated with transformation.
Some astrologers use a more complicated method to understand your planetary placements, dividing the circle of a zodiac sign into parts or decans. The first, middle and final degrees of a sign are considered critical because they reveal the most potent energy of that sign, explains Chani Nicholas. She adds that a preponderance of planets in a certain hemisphere or in signs ruled by an element can be a major game-changer.
For example, if most of your planets are in earthy Taurus and you have Pluto in Scorpio, you will likely face relationship challenges that force you to transform over and over again. And when the Sun stands opposite Pluto in your natal chart, this can trigger crises that help you grow and evolve, especially during transiting Mercury retrograde, as we recently experienced.
Aspects
Once you understand signs, houses and planets, the next layer of your birth chart to dive into is its aspects. These are the connections that planets make with each other, and they can reveal your unique personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, and ways of working with (or overcoming) challenges.
The more pronounced an aspect is, the more impactful it will be on your life. For example, if two planets link at exactly 180 degrees apart on your chart -- that's called an opposition, and it can often create some pretty cranky energy within someone's personality. Likewise, if the planets you have in a tight bundle in one of the four corners of your chart (called a bundle), they'll likely work together well and have some synchronicity between them, which is great for boosting confidence and success.
On the other hand, if you have planets that sit in neighboring zodiac signs but don't share an element or polarity (like earth + air or fire + water), they won't get along as well and may cause some friction. This can also be the case if you have planets in opposite signs, which is known as a square and can bring a lot of seesaw energy into your life.
Other important aspects to know about are sextiles, semi-sextiles, trines and sesquiquadrates, which all have their own unique vibe. The more close the planets are in relation to each other, the stronger the sextile will be, while sesquiquadrates can feel like "cranky energy" and often result in someone pushing back against others, Budd says.
The outer planets -- Uranus, Neptune and Pluto -- also have their own unique energy to explore through your chart. Uranus speaks to unconventional experiences and can inspire innovation and creativity, while Neptune reveals your spiritual healing abilities. Pluto, which is slow-moving from Earth's perspective and shifts into a new sign about every 15 to 20 years, can give you a sense of drive and ambition and helps you take on bigger projects.
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