Guides / Western astrology
What is a natal chart?
A natal chart is a map of the tropical sky at birth: planets in signs, houses from the Ascendant, and the major aspects between them.
The sky at a birth moment
A natal chart, or birth chart, is a map of where the Sun, Moon, and planets stood at a particular time and place. Western astrology usually draws that map as a wheel, using the tropical zodiac and a house system such as Placidus when birth time is known.
The same birth details can also produce a Vedic Kundli. The planets are the same; the zodiac frame and the drawing conventions differ.
What the wheel contains
Signs describe a planet’s style. Houses describe the area of life. Aspects describe the angular conversation between two points. A complete reading holds all three. Inner Light calculates the positions, houses, and major aspects from the birth data you enter.
Common questions
- How do I read a birth chart?
- Start with the Ascendant, Moon, and Sun. Then read each planet by sign and house. Then read the major aspects. The meaning is in the relationships among those pieces, not in any single placement.