Do I need my exact birth time for a birth chart?

For the full chart, yes. Planet signs are usually the same all day, but the rising sign changes about every two hours and the houses move with it. Without a time this calculator casts the chart for noon and leaves out the rising sign, houses and chart ruler rather than guess them.

How do I find my Big Three?

Enter your birth date, time and city above: your Sun, Moon and rising signs are shown first. For someone born July 15, 1990 at 12:00 p.m. in New York, the Big Three are Sun in Cancer, Moon in Aries and Libra rising.

What house system does this birth chart calculator use?

Whole-sign houses: the sign on the Ascendant is the whole 1st house, the next sign is the 2nd, and so on. It is the oldest system and works at every latitude. Placidus, another popular system, can shift a planet near a boundary into the neighboring house.

What is a chart ruler?

Your chart ruler is the planet that rules your rising sign, and its sign and house color the whole chart. In the example on this page the rising sign is Libra, so the chart ruler is Venus, which sits in Gemini in the 9th house.

Why is my Vedic birth chart different?

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which is measured against the stars and sits about 24° behind the tropical zodiac Western astrology uses. The planets are in the same place in the sky, but many land in the previous sign: in the example on this page the Sun is in Cancer in the Western chart and in Gemini in the sidereal one.

Free Birth Chart Calculator: Your Natal Chart Explained

Free birth chart calculator: enter your birth date, time and city to see your natal chart. Planets in signs and houses, your Big Three, key aspects, element balance and chart ruler.

Start with your own chart

Free birth chart

The direct answer: A birth chart, or natal chart, is a map of where the Sun, Moon and planets were in the zodiac at the moment and place you were born. Your Sun, Moon and rising signs, the twelve houses and the angles between planets describe your temperament.

Example birth chart: born July 15, 1990 at 12:00 p.m. in New York

Your Big Three: Sun in Cancer, Moon in Aries and Libra rising.

Sun in Cancer (22°54′ Cancer · 10th house)

Home and the people you count as family sit at the center of what you care about.
You remember how things felt, not just what happened, and that memory shapes your choices.
You protect others instinctively; learning to let others look after you is the harder skill.

Moon in Aries (25°36′ Aries · 7th house)

Feelings arrive fast and leave fast; you would rather blow up and clear the air than simmer.
You recharge through movement and independence, not long heart-to-hearts.

Libra rising (7°19′ Libra)

You come across as charming, polished and easy to like.
You meet new people diplomatically and tend to mirror what makes them comfortable.

Planets in signs and houses

Planet	Sign and degree	House
Sun	22°54′ Cancer	10th
Moon	25°36′ Aries	7th
Mercury	7°05′ Leo	11th
Venus	24°36′ Gemini	9th
Mars	2°03′ Taurus	8th
Jupiter	22°35′ Cancer	10th
Saturn	21°57′ Capricorn (retrograde)	4th
Uranus	6°57′ Capricorn (retrograde)	4th
Neptune	12°55′ Capricorn (retrograde)	4th
Pluto	14°59′ Scorpio (retrograde)	2nd
North Node	8°06′ Aquarius	5th
Ascendant (rising)	7°19′ Libra	1st
Midheaven (MC)	8°29′ Cancer	10th

Tropical zodiac, whole-sign houses.

Your strongest natal aspects

Moon sextile Venus (0°59′ from exact). Warmth and good taste come easily, and you know how to make small moments pleasant. Friendships and creative hobbies feed you.
Sun conjunct Jupiter (0°19′ from exact). Optimism is built in. You think big, give generously and expect things to work out, which often helps them do so; the thing to watch is overcommitting.
Sun square Moon (2°42′ from exact). What you aim for and what makes you feel safe pull in different directions, so inner debates are common. That friction is also a motor: you rarely settle for a life that satisfies only one side.
Sun opposite Saturn (0°57′ from exact). Authority figures and demanding partners test you, and you test yourself through them. Setting your own standards, rather than borrowing someone else’s, is the growth.
Moon square Jupiter (3°01′ from exact). You can want more comfort, food, reassurance or space than is good for you. Moderation, not denial, keeps your generosity sustainable.
Moon square Saturn (3°39′ from exact). You can feel that your needs come last, or that comfort has to be earned. Small, regular acts of self-care are the quiet work here.

Element and modality balance

Fire: 2 (Moon, Mercury)
Earth: 4 (Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Air: 1 (Venus)
Water: 3 (Sun, Jupiter, Pluto)
Cardinal: 6 (Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Fixed: 3 (Mercury, Mars, Pluto)
Mutable: 1 (Venus)

Earth leads your chart: you are practical, patient and grounded, and you trust what you can see, touch and build.

Cardinal signs lead: you are a starter, quick to take the initiative and set things in motion.

Chart ruler: Venus (Libra rising), in Gemini in your 9th house

With Venus as your chart ruler, relationships, beauty and values steer your path, and harmony matters more than you might admit.

It sits in your 9th house (beliefs and travel), so that part of life is where your chart’s energy keeps returning.

Your sidereal second layer (Vedic zodiac)

Your second layer: Vedic astrology measures the same sky against the stars (the sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsa 23°43′ at your birth), so every position sits about 24° earlier. In that layer your Sun is in Gemini, your Moon in Aries and your rising sign is Virgo. Neither layer corrects the other; they are two ways of reading one chart.

Planet	Western (tropical)	Vedic (sidereal)
Sun	22°54′ Cancer	29°10′ Gemini
Moon	25°36′ Aries	1°52′ Aries (same sign)
Mercury	7°05′ Leo	13°21′ Cancer
Venus	24°36′ Gemini	0°53′ Gemini (same sign)
Mars	2°03′ Taurus	8°19′ Aries
Jupiter	22°35′ Cancer	28°51′ Gemini
Saturn	21°57′ Capricorn	28°13′ Sagittarius
Uranus	6°57′ Capricorn	13°14′ Sagittarius
Neptune	12°55′ Capricorn	19°11′ Sagittarius
Pluto	14°59′ Scorpio	21°16′ Libra
North Node	8°06′ Aquarius	14°22′ Capricorn
Ascendant (rising)	7°19′ Libra	13°36′ Virgo

Enter your own birth date, time and city in the calculator on this page for your chart. Computed with Swiss Ephemeris.

What is a birth chart?

Your birth chart is a snapshot of the sky from the place you were born, at the minute you were born. It places the Sun, the Moon and eight planets in the twelve zodiac signs, divides the sky into twelve houses from the horizon, and measures the angles the planets make to one another.

Western astrology reads that chart in the tropical zodiac, where 0° Aries is the spring equinox. The sign a planet is in describes how it behaves, the house describes where in life it shows up, and the aspects describe which parts of you work together and which pull against each other.

Your Big Three

Most people start with the Big Three. Your Sun sign is your core identity and what you are here to grow into. Your Moon sign is your emotional life: what you need to feel safe and how you react before you think. Your rising sign (Ascendant) is the sign coming up over the eastern horizon when you were born: your first impression and how you meet new situations.

The rising sign also sets up the houses, and its ruling planet becomes your chart ruler. That is why an accurate birth time matters: the rising sign changes about every two hours.

How to read your chart: the 12 houses

Each house is an area of life. The sign on a house describes your style there, and any planets inside it show where your energy goes.

1st house: Self

Your body, your style and how you start things. Planets here are part of the first impression you make.

2nd house: Money and values

Earning, spending, possessions and self-worth: what you own and what you think you are worth.

3rd house: Communication

Learning, writing, siblings, neighbors and short trips. How your mind moves day to day.

4th house: Home and roots

Family, home, ancestry and your private life. The base you return to.

5th house: Creativity and romance

Play, dating, children, hobbies and anything you make for the joy of it.

6th house: Work and health

Daily routines, the job itself, health habits and the ways you help other people.

7th house: Partnership

Marriage, business partners, close collaborators and the people who mirror you.

8th house: Shared resources and change

Joint money, debt, inheritance, intimacy and the deep changes you go through.

9th house: Beliefs and travel

Higher education, long journeys, publishing, faith and your philosophy of life.

10th house: Career and reputation

Public life, ambition, status and what you want to be known for.

11th house: Friends and future

Friendships, groups, networks, causes and your hopes for the years ahead.

12th house: The hidden house

Rest, solitude, endings, the subconscious and work done behind the scenes.

The five major aspects

Conjunction (0°): Two planets side by side. Their energies merge and act as one, for better or worse.
Sextile (60°): An easy opening between two planets that rewards a little effort.
Square (90°): Friction that pushes you to act. Squares are often where growth and drive come from.
Trine (120°): A natural flow. Trines are talents that come so easily you may take them for granted.
Opposition (180°): A pull between two ends that you learn to balance, often through other people.

Western or Vedic birth chart?

This calculator shows the Western (tropical) chart first. Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which is measured against the fixed stars and currently sits about 24° behind the tropical one, so many people find a different Sun or Moon sign there.

Both layers come from the same moment and the same planetary positions. The sidereal layer is shown under your result; for the full Vedic chart with nakshatras, dashas and divisional charts, use the Vedic calculators linked below.

How your birth chart is calculated

Planet positions come from Swiss Ephemeris, the same engine AskSoma uses for all of its charts, as geocentric tropical longitudes for your birth moment converted to UTC from your birth city’s time zone (daylight saving included). The North Node is the mean node.

The Ascendant and Midheaven are computed from local sidereal time for your birth city. Houses are whole-sign houses counted from the rising sign. Aspects use standard Western orbs (8° for the Sun and Moon, tighter for the other planets), and the six strongest that have a written meaning are shown.

What this page can NOT tell you

A birth chart describes tendencies and temperament. It cannot tell you what will happen or decide anything for you.
Birth time matters: a time off by 30 minutes can change your rising sign, your houses and your chart ruler. Use the time on your birth certificate if you can.
Houses here are whole-sign houses. Placidus and other house systems can put a planet in a neighboring house, especially near a house boundary.

Frequently asked questions

What is a birth chart?: A birth chart, also called a natal chart, is a map of the sky at the exact moment and place you were born. It shows which zodiac sign and house each planet was in and the angles between them. Astrologers read it as a description of your temperament, strengths and recurring themes.
Do I need my exact birth time for a birth chart?: For the full chart, yes. Planet signs are usually the same all day, but the rising sign changes about every two hours and the houses move with it. Without a time this calculator casts the chart for noon and leaves out the rising sign, houses and chart ruler rather than guess them.
How do I find my Big Three?: Enter your birth date, time and city above: your Sun, Moon and rising signs are shown first. For someone born July 15, 1990 at 12:00 p.m. in New York, the Big Three are Sun in Cancer, Moon in Aries and Libra rising.
What house system does this birth chart calculator use?: Whole-sign houses: the sign on the Ascendant is the whole 1st house, the next sign is the 2nd, and so on. It is the oldest system and works at every latitude. Placidus, another popular system, can shift a planet near a boundary into the neighboring house.
What is a chart ruler?: Your chart ruler is the planet that rules your rising sign, and its sign and house color the whole chart. In the example on this page the rising sign is Libra, so the chart ruler is Venus, which sits in Gemini in the 9th house.
Why is my Vedic birth chart different?: Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which is measured against the stars and sits about 24° behind the tropical zodiac Western astrology uses. The planets are in the same place in the sky, but many land in the previous sign: in the example on this page the Sun is in Cancer in the Western chart and in Gemini in the sidereal one.

Ask Soma to read your whole birth chart

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About the author

Written by Savan Vyas, founder of AskSoma.

The astrology is not written from memory: every chart position, dasha period and panchang timing AskSoma shows is computed with the Swiss Ephemeris on the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa. How we calculate.