Natal chart online: how it works and how to read it
Our natal chart online is a map of the sky at the moment and place you were born, calculated from astronomy: planets, signs, houses and aspects. What they mean is a tradition for reflection, not a forecast.
What it is
A natal chart is a picture of the sky as seen from the place where you were born, at the moment you were born.
The circle is the zodiac: the band of sky along which the Sun, the Moon and the planets seem to travel. It is cut into 12 equal signs of 30°. On this chart the first sign, Aries, starts at the left, and the signs run counter-clockwise.
The planets sit on the ring as small symbols. Each stands at the point of the zodiac where it was at your birth, so each has a sign and a degree inside that sign. A small ℞ beside a planet marks a retrograde one: seen from Earth, it was moving backwards against the stars at that time.
The Sun, the Moon and the Rising sign are called the Big Three. Many people start with them.
The 12 houses are the numbered sectors inside the circle. They divide the sky around your birthplace. This tool uses the Placidus system. Houses need a birth time and a place.
The Ascendant (ASC) is the sign and degree that was rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. The Midheaven (MC) is the point of the zodiac that was highest in the sky. Both need a birth time and a place.
Aspects are the angles between two planets, drawn as lines across the middle of the circle. A pair counts when it is close enough to an exact angle; the allowed distance is called the orb.
All of this is astronomy, so it can be checked. What each position means is a tradition of interpretation. This page keeps the two apart.
How it works, step by step
- Enter your birth date. The time and the place are optional, but the houses, the Ascendant and the Midheaven need both. The date list starts at the year 1900.
- Choose the place from the country and city lists, or type coordinates by hand. A chosen city also sets the time zone. If you give a birth time, the time zone is required: it turns the clock time into an exact moment.
- Press the button to cast the chart. Our server converts your local time to universal time with a time-zone database, calculates the positions with an open-source astronomical library, and sends the result back.
- Start with the Big Three: the sign of your Sun, your Moon and your Rising sign. Then find each planet on the ring and in the table below the chart: its sign, its degree and, if you gave a time and a place, its house.
- Look at the lines across the middle. Each line is an aspect between two planets. The second table lists them, with the type of aspect.
- If you want a copy, sign in and download the PDF. The 3D view shows the same planets in space at their real zodiac positions; the distances in it are only for illustration.
What it can do
- Calculate a natal chart from a date, with or without a birth time and place.
- Show 10 bodies, each with its sign, degree and retrograde mark: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
- With a birth time and place, show the 12 houses (Placidus), the Ascendant and the Midheaven.
- Find five major aspects between the planets: conjunction (orb 8°), opposition (8°), trine (6°), square (6°) and sextile (4°).
- Show your Sun, Moon and Rising sign together.
- Cast the other chart types on the same page: transits, solar return, lunar return and synastry (two charts compared).
What it cannot do
- It does not include the lunar nodes, Lilith, Chiron, asteroids, fixed stars or other added points.
- It uses the tropical zodiac only. There is no sidereal zodiac.
- It uses the Placidus house system only. You cannot choose another one.
- It marks the five major aspects between planets only. Minor aspects, and aspects to the Ascendant and the Midheaven, are not drawn.
- Without a birth time and place there are no houses, Ascendant or Midheaven. Above 66° of latitude there are none either: the Placidus system is not defined there.
- It does not predict events and does not describe your character as a fact.
Who it is for
People who have never seen a chart and want to see their own. People who want to check the positions before talking to an astrologer. Anyone curious about how the picture is built. It is not a tool for medical, legal or financial decisions.
Questions and answers
What do I need to enter?
Only the birth date is required. Add the time and the place to see the houses, the Ascendant and the Midheaven. If you add a time, you must also choose the time zone of the birthplace.
What if I do not know my birth time?
Leave it empty. The chart is cast for 12:00 and shows planets, signs and aspects, with no houses, Ascendant or Midheaven, and it says so. The Moon is the planet most affected by a wrong time, so treat its degree with care.
How accurate is the calculation?
The calculation is astronomy, so it can be checked. In our tests, the Ascendant and Midheaven of three reference charts agree within 0.4°, and the Moon within 0.3°. Two more Midheaven checks cover time zones in India and Nepal. That shows the method works on those cases; it is not a promise about every birth.
Is my birth data saved?
No. The data goes to our server only to calculate the chart and comes back in the answer. The server keeps no copy and no cache of it, for signed-in visitors too.
Why are there no houses on my chart?
There are three possible reasons: no birth time, no birthplace, or a birthplace above 66° of latitude, where the Placidus system cannot be calculated. If you gave a time and a place and still see no houses, check the latitude of the place.
What do ASC, MC and ℞ mean?
ASC is the Ascendant, the sign rising on the eastern horizon at birth. MC is the Midheaven, the highest point of the zodiac in the sky. ℞ marks a planet that, seen from Earth, was moving backwards against the stars.
Does the chart predict my future?
No. The positions are calculated facts. Their meanings come from a tradition and are best used for orientation and reflection. They are not a forecast.
Is it free, and is there a limit?
On screen the chart is free and needs no account. The PDF needs a sign-in. To protect the server, the number of requests from one internet address is limited.
A note
The positions of the planets are astronomy: they can be calculated and checked. What a position means is a tradition of interpretation. Use it for orientation and reflection. It is not science and not a prediction, and it does not replace medical, legal or financial advice.