How to read your birth chart
- Julia Topaz
- Mar 29
- 4 min read
Your birth chart is more than just your sun sign. It’s a soul map, a blueprint of your essence's journey, revealing your emotional needs, communication style, love language, wounds, karmic lessons, and even your potential path to healing and purpose. But if you’ve ever looked at your chart and felt totally overwhelmed by the symbols and lines… you’re not alone.
What is a Birth Chart?
Your natal chart is a snapshot of the sky the moment you were born — including the position of the Sun, Moon, planets, and other celestial points. It’s unique to you, like a fingerprint. To generate it, you need your:
Date of birth
Time of birth
Place of birth
Using these, astrology software calculates the exact planetary positions and lays them out on a circular chart (also called a wheel). You can do this on my website directly at the following link. You will also get a free natal chart report which will give you a detailed list of all of your birth chart placements, along with a free interpretation of your natal chart. Do note, I did not write these interpretations, but I have reviewed them and deem them worthy of being read!
The Big Three: Sun, Moon, and Rising
These are your chart’s main pillars.
Sun = Your identity, core self, ego, and drive.
Moon sign = Your emotional world, instincts, and inner needs.
Rising sign = How you present to the world; the lens through which you experience life.
Together, they form a powerful triad that says a lot about how you operate both internally and externally.
The Houses: The “where” of your life
The circle of the chart is divided into 12 houses, each representing an area of life. For example:
1st House = Identity, body, personality
4th House = Home, family, roots
7th House = Partnerships, marriage
10th House = Career, reputation
If planets fall into a specific house, they energize that domain of life. They also do tend to take on the energy of the house.
The Planets: The “what” energies are at play
Each planet symbolizes a core part of the human experience:
Mercury: Thinking, communication
Venus: Love, beauty, pleasure
Mars: Drive, anger, sex
Jupiter: Growth, wisdom, expansion
Saturn: Discipline, boundaries, karma
…and so on.
Aspects: The conversations between planets
The lines crisscrossing your chart show aspects and relationships between planets. For example:
A trine (120°) is flowing and supportive
A square (90°) brings tension and growth
An opposition (180°) calls for integration and balance
These aspects tell the story of your inner dynamics — your gifts, your struggles, and the places where life invites evolution. You can review my in-depth take on each major aspect here and also my take on quincunxes, a type of minor aspect, here.
Understanding the rulership system
In astrology, each sign is ruled by a planet. And each sign and planet is associated with a house. This creates a network of relationships that deepen interpretation.
For example:
Aries is ruled by Mars and is the ruler of the 1st house
Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus and is the ruler of the 2nd house and 7th house
Gemini and Virgo by Mercury and is the ruler of the 3rd house and 6th house
Cancer by the Moon and is the ruler of the 4th house
Leo by the Sun and is the ruler of the 5th house
Scorpio by Pluto and is the ruler of the 8th house
Sagittarius by Jupiter and is the ruler of the 9th house
Capricorn by Saturn and is the ruler of the 10th house
Aquarius by Saturn and Uranus and is the ruler of the 11th house
Pisces by Neptune and is the ruler of the 12th house
Each planet is “at home” in its ruling sign and has a natural affinity for certain houses. This is why understanding the sign a planet is in, the house it occupies, and the sign it rules gives you a layered view of how energy moves through your chart. For example: If you have Moon in the 8th house, Scorpio territory, your Moon will take on Scorpio undertones.
For example, if your Moon is conjunct Pluto, it will take on Scorpio undertones (STRONGLY)
Why every planet’s placement matters
To truly understand yourself through astrology, you need to go beyond your sun sign and explore every planetary placement.
For each planet, ask:
What sign is it in? This reveals how the planet expresses itself.
What house is it in? This shows where the expression happens in life.
What aspects does it make? This explains how it's challenged or supported.
What sign does it rule and where is that sign? This shows how its influence is extended elsewhere in your chart.
How to put it all together
Reading your chart is like weaving a story. You’re not interpreting parts in isolation—you’re integrating them into a holistic narrative.
Start with the big three to get a baseline understanding.
Look at each planet by sign, house, and aspect.
Use the rulership system to trace how planets influence multiple areas of life.
Pay attention to repeated themes—for example, if multiple planets are in water signs or in angular houses (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th), that reveals dominant patterns.
Over time, your chart becomes a living, breathing story of your soul's path—revealing where you’re stuck, where you’re growing, and how you can return to your truth. I can teach you how to read your birth chart with my Astrology beginners Course. It's in-depth, will push you to rely on your intuition and build the skills necessary to become a confident Astrologer.
Comments