Decoding Your Birth Chart
At Boketto, we see astrology as one of many lenses through which to better understand and contextualize our lived experience, and in turn, how we care for ourselves. Boketto’s own Christina Lyon has put together her top ten tips for understanding the language of astrology and beginning to make sense of your own birth chart. We’ll let her take it from here.
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My top 10 tips to decode your birth chart like a professional astrologer
First things first. Astrology is not a belief system, it’s a language, and like any language, learning the alphabet is one of the most, if not THE most fundamental element to learn in order to speak, read, and master the language.
This leads me to my very first tip.
Tip #1
Memorize the glyphs. (The symbols of the natal chart)
Yes, all of them. If you truly want to be able to decode your own natal chart this is the first step. The glyphs are the symbols that represent the planets, zodiac signs, asteroids, lots, and other important elements of the chart like the ascendant. Once you have these memorized you are one step closer to being able to fully synthesize and decode your chart. Here is an example of the glyphs of the planets
Tip #2
Make sure you know your exact time of birth if possible
The reason for this is because you need to make sure your rising or ascendant sign is accurate in order to calculate your true birth chart. If you don’t know your birth time I highly recommend ordering a long form birth certificate from your state's department of health. This should have your exact time of birth. Oftentimes regular birth certificates don’t have this detail so you must order a long form birth certificate. You can also ask your mom or a family member if they remember, but I find that this tends to not be entirely accurate or is a general time. If you only have a general time you can still start from there, but please know there is a chance your entire birth chart could change if you have the wrong time. In this case the best thing you can do is hire an experienced astrologer to create a rectification chart which is a technique some astrologers do to try and find your birth time based on specific life events.
Tip #3
Find your rising sign
The rising sign is the zodiac sign that was rising or ascending over the eastern horizon the moment you took your first breath. This is one of the most, if not the most important part of your chart, and it’s because it maps out the rest of your houses by the zodiac signs that follow your rising sign. This is why it is so important to know your exact time of birth, and even if your birth time is off by just a few minutes, in some cases it can change your entire chart.
For example, if you are a Sagittarius rising (like me) your 2nd house cusp is always going to be Capricorn, (when using whole sign houses) and then the 3rd house is Aquarius, 4th house Pisces etc.
Let's do another example. If your rising sign is Taurus your 2nd house cusp will always be Gemini, 3rd house Cancer, 4th house Leo etc.
Tip #4
Figure out your planetary ruler
Your planetary ruler is the planet that rules over your rising sign. For example, I am a Sagittarius rising, and Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. Therefore Jupiter is my chart ruler and a very important planet in my chart and in my life. It will be important for anyone who has Jupiter as their chart ruler to pay attention to when Jupiter is moving zodiac signs or making important aspects to their natal chart. This applies to any planet ruler.
Here are the rulers of each rising sign.
- Aries rising - Mars
- Taurus rising - Venus
- Gemini rising - Mercury
- Cancer rising - Moon
- Leo rising - Sun
- Virgo rising - Mercury
- Libra rising - Venus
- Scorpio rising - Mars
- Sagittarius rising - Jupiter
- Capricorn rising - Saturn
- Aquarius rising - Saturn
- Pisces rising - Jupiter
Tip #5
Check to see if you have a day or night chart
Before you check this one off. It’s a bit more complicated than whether you were born in the AM or PM in terms of the timing. This is especially true if you were born around dawn or dusk at the hour when day transitions to night or when night turns to day.
If this is true for you, here’s what you need to do to check this in your natal chart. You’ll want to see if your sun falls above or below the horizon line.
If the sun falls above the horizon line like in the first photo, then you have a day chart. This means Jupiter is your most supportive planet and Saturn is your less challenging malefic planet. You could also think of it like Jupiter and Saturn are on your “team”.
If the sun falls below the horizon line like in the second photo this means you have a night chart. Venus will be your most supportive planet, and Mars will be your less challenging malefic planet. Again you could also think of it like Venus and Mars are on your “team”.
Astrologers use this simple, yet very effective technique to understand the quality of your planets and how their energies may play out in your life, especially when tying in other predictive timing techniques. The point is don’t sleep on this one. It’s very important.
Tip #6
Check your essential dignities
This one is a bit more nuanced, but in an effort to commit to the title of this article, “how to read your chart like a pro”,here it goes.
You may need a software for this one so apologies if this isn’t accessible on free softwares. I am using a professional astrology software called Astro Gold for this one.
This is going to show you how your planets are ranked in terms of how supported they are or how debilitated they are. Basically what I am saying is that some planets favor being in certain zodiac signs. It’s much more complicated than this, but I don’t want to lose anyone so for the sake of simplicity we'll keep it at that for now. Depending on how this all plays out in your chart you can have some planets that are ranked “higher” or seen as more auspiciously supported by their specific planetary configuration.
For example, if you are lucky enough to have Jupiter in Sagittarius you may be someone who is naturally lucky, or find that somehow everything works out for you. Obviously this is an over generalization and nothing in life is this simple, but if you have Jupiter in Sagittarius you may be someone who has a naturally charismatic, jovial, or expansive energy and you could attract a lot of good things the more you are connected and embodying the energy of Jupiter.
On another note, let's say you have Jupiter in Virgo. Jupiter doesn’t love being in this zodiac sign because Virgo is much more detail oriented, practical, and analytical, whereas Jupiter is more expansive, freedom oriented, and philosophical.
It’s not to say that you're doomed or that you can’t be successful or lucky if you have Jupiter in Virgo, it just might not come with as much ease. Perhaps leaning into the practical, and ritualistic energy of Virgo can help you reach the goals that Jupiter has in store for you.
You’ll want to go over each of your planets and figure out what their ranking is in terms of their essential dignity in your chart. This tells you which planets you may be able to naturally embody with ease and feel more flow in that area of your life and which planets you may need to “work” with more in order to see the supportive expressions in your life.
Are you seeing how by even unlocking these 6 steps you’re already starting to tune into the level of nuance and detail that goes into each unique chart. If so, you can imagine the levels and layers of depth it takes to learn to interpret not only a single natal chart, but also transit charts, progressed charts, solar return charts, etc etc. The layers to learning and decoding astrology are honestly endless.
Tip #7
Make note of all of the major aspects to your Ascendant
The aspects are the angles that the planets are making to each other based on their locations in the sky and therefore in your chart.
Here are the most important angles to learn first.
- Conjunction 0 degree angle
- Sextile 60 degree angle
- Square 90 degree angle
- Trine 120 degree angle
- Quincunx 150 degree angle
- Opposition 180 degree angle
Please know not all squares are “challenging or intense” and not all trines are equally supportive or harmonious.
For example, if you have Mars in Taurus square Saturn in Leo this is likely to be a bit more intense in the way it expresses than say having Mars in Sagittarius square Venus in Pisces. The intensity of the square depends on the zodiac signs involved as well as their essential dignities.
Another mini tip, the closer the degrees in aspect the more potent the expression may be in the native.
For example, if you have your Ascendant at 15 degrees in Pisces squaring your Mars in Sagittarius at 16 degrees, this square would be a strong aspect because it is only 1 degree off from an exact 90 degree square making it a very tight aspect in your natal chart. Looking at all of your aspects at once can be a bit overwhelming which takes me to tip #8.
Tip #8
Review the planets in your angular houses
These are some of the most personal places in the natal chart and can really tell you a lot about your fate, storyline, and potential especially in regards to your 1st house: identity, 4th house: ancestral lineage, 7th house: your relationships, and 10th house: your legacy.
Tip #9
Memorize the meanings of all 12 houses
One of my last tips is similar to my 1st tip and this is to memorize the meanings of each of the 12th houses. This tip might seem simple or overrated, but I am telling you it’s crucial if you really want to be able to synthesize what everything means and how to put it all together. Here is a little guide I’ve created just for you of each of the 12 houses and the keywords that go along with the areas of life associated with that house.
And last but not least…
Tip #10
Learn the decans
The decans in astrology are an important component to truly mastering the art of decoding your natal promise, but oftentimes overlooked by new students. The astrological concept of decans originated from Egyptian astrology. The Egyptians created a calendar with 30 day months in order to break down all of the fixed star groupings into categories. The word decan originates from the Greek word “deka” which means 10. In this system there are a total of 36 decans, which is derived from a 10 degree division of each of the 12 zodiac signs.
For example, If you are a Gemini sun depending on the degree of your sun sign you are either a 1st degree, 2nd degree, or 3rd degree Gemini.
1st degree Gemini’s are born approximately from May 21-May 31st and their sub ruler is Mercury. These gemini’s will have their sun between 0-10 degrees. These are the Gemini who will have strong characteristics of Mercury. They are the Gemini’s that are most known as the playful tricksters, they are inquisitive, intellectual, multi-talented, restless, and talkative. These are the most classically “Gemini” of the group.
2nd degree Gemini’s are born approximately from June 1- June 10 and their sub ruler is Venus. These are the Gemini’s that will have their suns between 11-20 degrees. They are known to be very charming, likable, social, creative, romantic, and charismatic. Often very good looking too.
And lastly 3rd degree Gemini’s are born approximately from June 11-June 20th and their sub ruler is Uranus. They have their suns between 20-29 degrees. These are the most independent, innovative, unconventional, rebellious, and visionary Gemini’s of the bunch.
This is why there is truth to the difference between “May Gemini’s” and “June Gemini’s” (and all the other months and the zodiacs associated with them for that matter) but it’s not really the month that matters so much as the degree of the sun.
When You Want to Go Deeper
As you can see there is so much depth in unlocking your natal promise. I hope these 10 tips give you some insight into where to begin so that you can unlock the layers of astrology and learn to decode your birth chart like a pro.
I hope you found this helpful, inspiring, and perhaps it’s sparked your curiosity to go pull up your natal chart.
Or if you’re like wow okay this is fascinating, but still a bit overwhelming and don’t have the time or patience to decode your chart yourself and want help from a professional you can book a session with me. Here.
I am currently offering in person consultations in Richmond, VA or via Zoom.
If you’ve made it this far thank you so much for your commitment and interest.
As always this article was written exclusively from yours truly. I do not use AI to write or edit any of my content. I prefer to showcase my writing in its most human form.
If you have questions or any suggestions as to what you’d like me to teach or write about next please leave your comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
With gratitude,
Christina Michelle Lyon
Your 3rd decan Gemini bestie & creator of Lua Astrology