This post is part of a series on basic chart interpretation and how to read a natal chart. The other steps are listed below and will be developed soon.
The fourth step for a basic chart interpretation is where you take the margin notes and flesh them out.
You can either write directly onto the margin notes page or type some detailed notes up for a written report for your client. I tend to do the written notes if I am having a face to face session with my client.
Gone are the days of written reports but some of you may still find there is a clarity that comes from details written notes. I certainly suggest you do this at least once either for your own chart of someone close to you.
It is a good exercise in the discipline required to read an astrology chart.
Example Detailed Notes
Below is an example of the first page for detailed astrology chart notes for an example chart.
Each piece of the chart is considered and a report like this can be over 50 pages of text.
If you have Solar Fire you can start to add each paragraph into the database so you don’t have t o keep repeating yourself in the future when you do another chart which has the same components.
Notice how the second paragraph draws together the three parts of; the strong western hemisphere, the strong triple division of houses and the strong second quadrant.
This is a typical feature of interpretation where three indicators bring clarity to your readings.
1 Strong western hemisphere
2 Strong 2nd triple division of house
3 Strong 2nd quadrants
You always need to be on the look out for themes and indicators that come from more than one source when doing a basic chart interpretation.
Your Future Chart Interpretations
The more charts you read the better you will get at interpretations.
There is a tipping point for chart readings and when they start to get easier. It is after your twenty-fifth chart that you suddenly can read a chart with ease.
Every time you start to read a chart there are so many things to look at and it can be daunting.
Here I have brought the essence of chart reading down to a few features to consider. These are things you will always look at when you do any chart reading.
If you practice this type of high level chart your interpretation you will get to the heart of your chart reading sooner rather than later.
These tips will sharpen your focus so you don’t go off at a tangent or wander down a chart reading rabbit hole.
1. The Dominant Broad Stroke
The dominant broad stroke refers to the background feel for a chart. This is shown by the quantity of planets and their distribution throughout the chart.
The broad strokes do not consider individual planets.
Planet Count
You count the visible planets only and this will always add up to seven. The seven visible planets are the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
The four hemispheres of north, south, east and west
The four quadrants numbered first, second, third and fourth.
In all of this find the highest possible number and focus on interpreting that broad stroke.
2. The Chart Ruler Complex
The chart ruler is the planet that rules the sign on the ascendant. If it is one of the three signs with two rulers (Scorpio, Aquarius or Capricorn) then look at both rulers.
Look closely at this planet and discover it’s message. Understand the chart ruler by sign, house, aspects and position in the chart.
Strong
The chart ruler is strong if it is in its own sign or in exaltation or in other words if it has essential dignity.
It is strong in accidental dignity which is the natural house of its sign. So for example, Mars in the eighth house is strong because Mars rules Scorpio the natural eighth sign.
Notice if it rules the hemisphere, quadrant, division or the house it tenants.
If the chart ruler has only soft aspects it is supported, but if it receives only hard aspects it is afflicted. A combination of both brings a neutral feel.
Position in the Chart
See if the chart ruler dominates the chart by being high in teh chart and most elevated, oriental, the final dispositor or is it in an angular house (first, fourth, seventh or tenth).
These positions add weight to the planets and give it gravitas.
Major Aspect Patterns
See if the chart ruler is well engaged by being part of a major aspect pattern. Check if it dominates the pattern.
This placement adds strength to the chart ruler.
Chart Ruler’s Direction
Check if the chart ruler’s motion is direct, stationary or retrograde.
Being direct adds weight and makes the planet strong but the state of being retrograde detracts from the planet’s potential. Being stationary can add strength depending on how comfortable it is in its sign.
To find the tightest aspect you have to consider the aspects between the planets and the orbs.
What to Look For
Look for aspects between the planets and not the points.
The planets to consider when looking for the tightest aspect are; the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron.
What to Ignore
Do not consider any points like the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Lunar Nodes or the Part of Fortuneetc.
I also do not consider the asteroids unless you use them in your daily astrology practice. If not then ignore asteroids including Ceres.
Only look for the five Ptolemaic aspects which are the conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition.
Tightest orb
Find the aspect with the tightest orb which should be 00°00′.
See which aspect it is and understand the meaning of this aspect.
Consider at the two planets in the aspect and how they will work together in this chart and in this aspect.
Check the house and signs that the tightest aspect lies over and understand what this means.
5. The Prominent Major Aspect Pattern
You need the find the most dominant major aspect pattern in the chart.
Some charts may not have a major aspect pattern and if so, then skip this step.
If there is more than one major aspect pattern of the same type, say you have three T-squares, then find the tightest orbed T-square, the non-disassociate T-square and the one that includes the chart ruler, the Sun or the final dispositor.
Find this major aspect pattern and fully understand the planets involved in it by sign, house and essential dignity.
Use these tips to help you read a chart quickly and easily.
Alison helps you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor. She offers Consultations for everyone and Coaching for Aspiring Astrologers.
If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email atstarzology@gmail.com.
More Articles
If you enjoyed this post, you may like some more astrology related articles from our blog.
This post is part of a series on basic chart interpretation and how to read a natal chart. The other steps are listed below and will be developed soon.
Step 3 – Preparing for the interpretation – margin notes
Step 4 – Your interpretation – detailed notes
Preparing for the Interpretation – Margin Notes
Once you have the correct chart data, have cast the chart and printed it with the appropriate coloured highlights on the page the next step is the written notes you will make and first you will do the margin notes.
At this stage your are not using you astrology journal to take notes for a client that will be used to capture basic astrology interpretation meaning.
You will typically use loose paper with lines and, wait for it, a margin.
Margin
The margin is the column on the left side of a ruled page.
Margin notes are any notes you put in a margin. Simple.
Yes, but exactly what notes will you put in a margin when you do a chart interpretation?
Margin notes can be either handwritten astrology glyphs or astrology short form codes (used when typing or emailing).
Example Chart – Stephen King
Below is Stephen King’s chart.
Five Main Points for Chart Interpretation
The five important details for margin notes are:
The Balances
The Ascendant Complex
The Chart Ruler Complex
The Sun Complex
Major Aspect Patterns
Example Margin Notes for Stephen King
The Balances
Polarity
Active = 4 and passive = 3.
Hemispheres
NH = 6, SH – 1, EH = 4 and WH = 3.
Quadrants
Q1 = 3, Q2 = 3, Q3 = 0 and Q4 = 1.
The Ascendant Complex
ASC 29CA51.
Ascendant aspects
ASC-60-SU, ASC-60-VE, ASC-0-MA, ASC-120-JP, and ASC-120-NN.
First House Planets
PL and SA.
The Chart Ruler complex
MO SG 5th
Aspects of the chart ruler
MO-120-SA, MO-120-PL and MO-60-ME.
The Sun Complex
SU VI 3rd.
Sun aspects
SU-0-VE, SU-90-UR and SU-45-PL.
Major Aspect Patterns
Mini grand trine 1
(MO-120-PL)-60-ME
ME focal planet 4th
Mini grand trine 2
(MO-120-SA)-60-ME
ME focal planet 4th
Subsequent Margin Notes
After the five main points you will list in order:
The Moon complex (if not already done as the chart ruler)
The final dispositors complex (if not already done as the chart ruler)
The rest of the planets in order in the houses by angular, succedent and cadent
At the end, you will have everything listed in the chart. But the first five things will be the important issues and the ones that the client is dealing with already.
Interpreting a chart is easy when you break down the steps and do them in order of importance and order of relevance.
You do not need to be looking at a Chiron semi-sextile the North Node aspect as the first thing you consider.
Nor do you interpret from the planets in Aries first and then Taurus. Understand the weight of the planet and its prominence within a chart.
This post is part of a series on basic chart interpretation and how to read a natal chart. The other steps are listed below and will be developed soon.
The Physical Chart – Printing and Highlighting Main Features
This time I going to share with you some of my process and the focus will be on the natal chart. I will answer the following questions that plague new astrologers.
Once you have the chart cast what do you look for? What is important? What is not worthy of consideration and where do you start?
The image below is of a chart for Rosie and she is one of my clients. I have not shown the chart details that is; the time, date and place as that is not important.
What we are going to be looking at is how to prepare a chart for reading after you have printed it out and before you start.
This is like step 2 of the natal chart reading process.
What to Print
In Solar Fire or your other astrology program print a chart with a half aspectarian in the corner as shown above. This is a standard chart so you should have no problem doing this.
House Rulers
Write the house rulers against every house cusp. Start at the ascendant and in this chart (above) I have written Jupiter/Neptune and drawn a bubble around them at the house cusp.
Quadrant and Hemispheres
Draw a circle in the top right of the page. Draw a cross in it with one horizontal line and one vertical line.
This shows the four quadrants (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th) and the four hemispheres (north, south, east and west).
Only counting the visible planets from the Sun to Saturn count how many planets are in each quadrant.
In this chart there is one planet in the first quadrant (Saturn), two planets in the second quadrant (Jupiter and Venus), three planets in the third quadrant (the Sun, Mars and Mercury) and one planet in the fourth quadrant (the Moon).
Elements and Modes Table
Draw a table of four columns and three rows.
On the top label the columns F (fire), E (earth), A (air) and W (water). On the side label the rows C (cardinal), F (fixed) and M (mutable).
Add the number of visible planets (the Sun to Saturn) and write the quantity in the appropriate cell in the table.
Add up each row and column. The total will always be seven.
Chart Ruler
Find the chart ruler which is the planet or planets that rules the ascendant sign. In this case, it is Pisces so the ruling planets are Jupiter and Neptune. Colour in each instance of the ruling planets in yellow.
Major Aspect Patterns
Find all the major aspect patterns.
In this chart there is a stellium of the Sun, Neptune and Mars and a Moon yod of Mars, Pluto and the Moon.
Bracket the stellium and highlight in red so you can see it easily.
Colour the yod in green to relate to the quincunx colour which is green.
The idea is to bring forth the main features of a chart through the use of colour so you can easily see the main points when you pick up this chart again next month.
If you are reading many charts a week you do not have time to reread each chart to discover the main threads. they should be highlighted the first time around.
Most Elevated
Note the most elevated planet in this case it is Mercury (although I originally noted Mars in the drawing and I can’t change the image.
Note the lunar phase in this chart for Rosie it is a gibbous Moon phase.
Essential Dignity
Find the essential dignity of the planets and write the score on the left of the aspectarian. the aspectarian is the triangle-shaped grid at the bottom left of the chart.
In this chart we note that Mars gets a score of -5 for being in Libra and Venus of -4 for being in fall in Virgo.
Mutual Receptions
Note all mutual receptions in the chart. Interestingly enough in Rosie’s chart there are two mutual reception pairs, Mercury and Venus are the first pair and the Moon and Jupiter are the second.
On the back of the natal chart page you will also draw the dispositor tree using these handy mutual receptions as your start.
Alison
Watch the video about highlighting a birth chart as part of your chart preparation process.
Note that it refers to another birth chart but show sthe process that you will use for every chart you cast.
This post is part of a series on basic chart interpretation and how to read a natal chart. The other steps are listed below and will be developed soon.
Step 1 – The birth chart data – time, date and place.
Every chart is cast for a certain time, date and place. What we mean by these terms is explained below.
Unless you were witness to the birth you never know for sure.
Birth Time
The time for the birth chart is the actual time of the birth.
You really need the time of the first inhalation of breath by the child. It is at this time that the child takes in all the potentials of the universe at that exact moment.
A birth time of 5 pm or 6:30 am and close but not exact. As astrologers, we come across birth times like this every day and you will cast your chart to these times unless you have a better time.
The birth time is not:
The time the head crowned.
The time the umbilical cord was cut.
The time of the first slice for C-section or Cesarean births.
If there is no birth time
If there is no birth time ask questions to try to narrow it down. If their mother or aunt is alive you can ask them or anyone who may have been around at the birth.
For instance, you can ask, “Was it day or night? Was it before lunch or in the afternoon?
Birth Date
In all my years as an astrologer, I have only come across one person who did not know their birth date and they did not know the year.
As I recall she thought she was born on September 25th, 1967 or 1968. Wow, that was interesting. they had the time and the place but not the year.
Clearly, some people do not have a birth date and this really does pose a problem for astrologers as you cannot cast a birth chart with no birth date. In this case, it is better to ask a horary question and used the chart for those. It will not be a birth chart but it will be correct for the questions being asked.
Birth Place
The birthplace refers to the place they were born. We typically need the village, town or city and the county, state or province.
As an example, there are many places in the USA called Springfield and you need the state to know which one it was.
Some clients will tell you the actual hospital in the city they were born, which is interesting in itself, but if the birth time is not precise the exact hospital name will not help much either.
Overall
As an astrologer, you can only work with what they give you. If you have a good birth time, date and place then use it obviously you will do that.
Don’t worry about not being sure and not having exact with birth data as there is not much you can do.
The two options for getting a correct birth time from a near birth time are by:
Rectification or the birth chart. This is a special exercise that some astrologers do to good reviews.
Or checking the major transits to the ascendant and MC and this above all will be the best way to narrow down a wide birth time.
I personally do not practice rectification I prefer to use the transit and solar arc method for finding a correct birth time.
I mean you never really know do you?
My Kids
I have four children and with each birth my husband was there in the room with two watches on his arm to get the birth time. He was given strict instructions to get the exact inhalation of breath and because of this I have my four children’s birth times not only to the minute but to the second. Their birth times are precise.
If you are pregnant or someone close to you is expecting then get them to capture the exact birth time.
Even if they do not agree with astrology their child may thank them later when they grow up to be an adult and they need a birth chart cast.
I feel that in this day and age every child born now should have the correct birth time recorded for them for later.
Now and then you may manage to get to an Astrology Conference. What you pack and take with you can make or break your experience.
These events are typically three-day weekends but sometimes they have a day before (Thursday) and a day after (Monday) for special classes.
This weekend I’m off to Norwac the North West Astrology Conference in Seattle, WA, USA which has prompted this piece. I have attended this conference before and you can read about that trip here.
Short trips and weekends away are shown in your third house. Longer trips, overseas journeys, and extended stays from home of a week to ten days are shown in your ninth house.
So, is a weekend in another country (the USA) third or ninth? To my mind, the answer is ninth because it is further than a horse can travel in one day which they tell me is 50km and yes, I got that from the horse’s mouth. The trip to Seattle is 230km and that definitely falls into the ninth house.
Art of Packing
The time before last when I went to the Faculty of Astrological Studies Summer School in Oxford for a week I took a massive suitcase full to bursting.
I was overweight at Vancouver before I had even boarded the plane. Coming back I had to buy another suitcase in England for all the stuff (gifts, books and clothes) I had bought whilst I was there.
When the driver of the coach from London to Oxford tried to lift my 60lb suitcase into his hold under the coach he turned to me and asked, “Why is this so heavy? Have you got a body is here?”
Packing is an art. You need to learn how to pack and haul less stuff around.I now use a small Rimowa cabin sized suitcase on wheels and if something cannot fit in that it doesn’t go. The cabin size means it can be stowed in the overhead cabin on an aeroplane because it is small enough. I never check luggage to the hold when flying anymore.
Don’t take too much stuff.
Three-Day Weekend
I am going to share my tips and tricks about packing stuff for a three-day weekend astrology conference. This assumes you go on Friday morning and leave on Sunday evening, and so spend two nights in the hotel.
The Plan
You will be wearing your Friday outfit as your leave home. There is a new top for the Friday evening dinner.
Saturday sees you in a simple ensemble for the day and a change into your evening top for the banquet.
On Sunday morning your will again wear casual clothes as you will be traveling home in them later that day.
Tech stuff
Tech stuff is essential and you need the cables as well. If you are going to Europe you will need an adaptor to connect your tech stuff to the electricity supply.
Smartphone – To take photos, chat with the family at home, post to social media (I currently like Instagram) and to keep up with friends at the hotel with texts if you plan to meet up for breakfast etc.
I take my MacBook Air which I’ve had it since 2009 and it’s still going strong. I use this in my hotel room to continue my work but I don’t take it into the lecture rooms. The conference organizers don’t like that.
iPad with Astro Gold for casting charts at the conference. I usually offer readings at a reduced rate and currently do this through the featured charts and my Jupiter patron program.
Chargers for all equipment.
Clothes
These suggestions are for women. I expect men do something similar and may need a tie and jacket for the dinner and banquet.
Black pants.
Leggings.
Light tunic x 2.
Light knit top.
Light jacket.
Evening top, coloured – For the Friday night dinner.
Evening top, jazzy – This can have a little twinkle as it is for the banquet on Saturday night. This is where most of the photos are taken.
Running shoes.
Booties (ankle boots).
Socks – Always wear socks in a hotel and avoid walking barefoot on the carpet or in the bathroom and shower).
Camisoles or bras and panties (knickers) x 3 (the camis and panties double as pajamas).
Pashmina in a solid colour. I like rose pink or cream.
Scarf – Light cotton or silk in bright tones. Wrap twice around the neck with both ends hanging at the front.
Jewelry – regular daytime and statement jewelry for Saturday night.
Handbag/tote bag for the daily lectures, for notes, your journal and lecture handouts. Watch out that this particular bag is not massive or you will haul more stuff around all weekend.
Evening bag black, small – For your phone, credit cards, business cards, lipstick, cash and room key.
What to Wear When
Friday in the day – Leggings, tunic, light jacket, socks and booties.
You will be travelling and need stretch pants thus the leggings. The jacket could have pockets for your phone and cash. The tunic hangs lower at the back to cover your bottom and can be shorter in the front for ease when sitting in a car or on a plane for hours.
Friday evening – Replace the tunic for a nice coloured evening top and lose the jacket. Booties and socks. Evening bag. Photos may be taken.
Saturday in the day – Black pants, top (tunic or knit top) and scarf. Running shoes and socks.
Saturday evening – Black pants, jazzy evening top, pashmina, booties, socks, statement jewellery and evening bag.
Sunday in the day – Leggings, another coloured tunic, and the light jacket. Running shoes and socks.
With the leggings, you can wear them on Friday and Sunday. If you like you can wash them on Friday night so they will be dry and fresh for Sunday. It is up to you. If you do decide to do washing in your hotel room squirt some shampoo into the basin and wash your leggings a by hand. Hang them up in the shower to dry.
Makeup and Hair
Your usual makeup.
Earbuds.
Hairbrush.
Toothbrush and toiletries.
Medicines and Imodium. You never know.
Usual vitamins and supplements
Books
Promotional material – For instance a workshop you are presenting soon or another event that is coming up.
Ephemeris – I always travel with my big paperback Ephemeris.
Astrology journal – This is your daily astrology journal and contains all the information you like on astrology.
Business cards – To give to those who want. Never push your business card. Have them with you or out in front of you at the lecture table and people who need one will take one.
Awareness cards – I’ve started using these special postcard sized “awareness cards” and will give them out if someone is interested.
Pencils – These are my promotional pencils with my website details printed on. You may have other freebies to give.
Coloured crayons – This is for the astrology journal. After I have attended a lecture I like to colour the pages perhaps immediately or later that night as I unwind in my room before bed.
Pens – Take about three in case you lose one and then you can share with others
Extras
Your passport and Nexus card.
A copy of the proof of your conference payment. I once arrived at an astrology conference in Toronto and they did not have a record of my having paid. Fortunately, I did have my credit card receipt in my bag so all was good. But these things do happen.
A copy of the hotel booking. This can be in your wallet app to the hotel’s chain app, for instance, the Hilton app is used for Norwac.
Small denomination cash. This is so you will be ready to give something to any charities the conference supports, raffles at the banquet, a Tarot card or palm reading, the cash bar for your wine and tips for the waiters and chambermaid.
Sometimes there is a “Free stuff” table in the conference gathering area. This is the place to put your business cards, awareness cards, promotional materials like in my case my pencils and the flyer for our summer workshop in Vancouver in July.
What Not to Take
There are some things that you will use at home but don’t need to carry on trips. After all, you are hauling the bag around. If you free up your life and lighten your travels you will enjoy them so much more.
Pyjamas.
Robe or gown.
Slippers.
Extra shoes.
Extra bags.
Too many clothes just in case…
Regular shampoo and conditioner bottles. Always decant into 100mm bottles, take travel sizes or use the hotel’s products.
Alarm clock – Use your phone.
Big coat unless you are going north of the 60th parallel.
Other junk.
Your dog.
Astrology conferences can be so much fun. If you plan your trip carefully and only take the minimum of stuff you will enjoy the event all the more.
Hi, I’m Alison Price, an astrologer and podcaster helping aspiring astrologers read charts with confidence. At Starzology, I share clear lessons, tips and resources from beginner basics to advanced techniques so you can connect with the cosmic story and grow your skills one starry insight at a time.
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Extras
