A natal chart (or birth chart) is a picture of a person's personality, talents, character, drives, and feelings based on the specific configuration of the solar system at the time of birth.
A natal chart looks like a circle divided into 12 pie-shaped sections. These numbered sections are called "houses" in astrology. The houses represent a developmental pathway that touches on every aspect of a person's life, from individual concerns to living and working with others to cosmic unity. The symbols, or glyphs, that go into these houses stand for the planets and zodiac signs.
Everyone's natal chart is different. It would probably surprise you to learn that a specific chart comes around only once every 25,000 years!
People are usually also surprised to learn how comprehensive natal charts are. Most people know their Sun sign, for example. They know that given the month and day they were born, they're say, a Libra or a Capricorn or a Pisces. But most people don't usually know how the other planets, with their specific zodiac sign energies, affect them.
The main reason to find out about a natal chart is more awareness. The information in a natal chart helps people to get clearer about themselves and their affect on other people. Awareness and understanding of one's natal chart can help a person find more joy, satisfaction, and success in life.
Baby Natal Chart
A baby natal chart looks the same as any other birth chart. But the report that comes with it is written for the parents and other primary people who take care of the child. The report tells how others will see the the child. It describes how the child will think, communicate, relate to others, and what their specific talents, challenges, and limitations will be.
The main benefit of a child's natal chart is helping parents provide a nurturing space that respects the child's uniqueness and provides what the child needs for his or her specific well-being and success from an early age.
Find out more about the planets and houses below. Click here for more on the zodiac signs.
The Importance of Planets in a Natal Chart
The planets represent the different parts of the self and are the foundation of a natal chart. Nothing happens without the planets. They get their particular flavor from the signs they are in at the moment of birth.
Birth Chart Houses - A Developmental Journey
The 12 houses show where each planet is located in the unfolding movement from the personal to the cosmic.
