Birth chart calculator
A birth chart (natal chart) is a snapshot of the sky as seen from Earth at the moment a person is born. The zodiac positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the sign rising on the eastern horizon at that moment, and the houses are shown on a 360-degree circle. Since two people born at the same moment in the same place would have the same chart, a birth chart is considered as unique to a person as a fingerprint. Astrologers do not treat the chart as a table of fate; they read it as a symbolic portrait of a person's tendencies, strengths and life themes.
Three pieces of information are needed to cast a birth chart: date of birth, time of birth and place of birth. The date gives the signs of the Sun and the other planets. The time determines the rising sign and the starting points of the houses; since the Ascendant changes sign roughly every two hours, the more precise the time, the more reliable the chart. The place determines latitude, longitude and time zone. Because Turkey has applied different daylight saving time rules in past years, the time for older births needs to be converted correctly to local time; a good calculator does this automatically. Since birth times are not included in civil registry records, you may need to consult the birth report or family records.
Each part of the chart answers a different question. The planets describe which functions of life are involved (such as thinking, loving or taking action), the signs describe the style in which those functions are lived, the houses describe the area of life where they play out, and the aspects describe how the planets relate to one another. For example, “Venus in Taurus in the 7th house” means that the sense of love and value (Venus) comes to the fore in a patient, sensual style (Taurus) in the area of one-to-one relationships (7th house).
The easiest place to start reading a chart is to look at the Sun, Moon and Ascendant together, known as the “big three.” The Sun describes your core and identity, the Moon your emotional needs, and the Ascendant how you appear to the outside world. After that, look at which element and modality are dominant, which houses hold clusters of planets, and which planets form the closest aspects. On a first reading it helps not to get lost in every detail and to see these main lines first. A chart is a picture of tendencies; it should not be seen as the only factor shaping a person's choices and life.
