Soul2Soul

The Basics For Beginners

The information provided below is enough to give you a general idea of how to read a natal chart, based on whole sign houses. The intention is for you to have enough knowledge to understand Horoscopes based on your Rising Sign and how transits play a big part of what you experience.

As above – So below.

To accurately read all conditions within your natal chart it requires extensive studies in astrology and attunement with spirit, as astrology is a divination tool. To learn more about your chart Book A Reading Here.

Whole Sign Houses & Hellenistic Astrology

• Originating Astrological Chart in History the Thema Mundi
• Marking the beginning of the Universe
• Dating back to the Babylonian Days
• Astrology was shunned by Religion and so was instead labeled as Science
• Making its way back to humankind during the Roman Era
• Astrology is a divination tool used to understand our life path and purpose
• The Planet Mercury rules astrology because Mercury is connected with consciousness, which is connected to the celestial realms of Spirit.
• The Moon (which only orbits us on earth and is closest to us) gathers energy from the other planets in the celestial planes and manifests it on the terrestrial plane, which is earth.

3 things to know

• The Zodiac are “backdrops” of characteristics
• The Planets are Mythological Gods – each ruling a Zodiac characteristic
• The Houses represent 12 different topic/aspects in our lives

BREAKDOWN OF CHART

• Horizon marks the Ascendent/Descendant Axis
• There are 12 Houses – all pertaining to different aspects in your life
• In the sky we can see the planets rise in the East and set in the West
• Moving in a clockwise direction over the horizon
• Planets orbiting through the Zodiac move in a counterclockwise direction through the signs and houses
• Determining your current life experiences
• Rising Sign is determined by the Sign & Degree on the Eastern axis of the horizon the moment you were born
• This is the spot the sun rises each morning

WHEN READING A HOUSE IN YOUR CHART

5 Important things to know when reading a natal chart

1. The Ruling Planet of the Zodiac signs govern the house topics
2. Zodiac sign adds a layer of character to the God planets in a house
3. Look for the Ruling Planet for each Zodiac sign in your chart
4. Follow your intuition, but also continue to increase your physical knowledge of the astrology and all its elements
5. There are many factors that determine the conditions of the planets in your Natal Chart – Book a reading for a deeper dive

12 HOUSES

• Starting point is the horizontal axis of the chart
• Ascendent / Descendent axis
• The sign and degree that was rising above the horizon at the time of birth
• The spot where the Sun rises each morning
• Other planets and signs also rise above the horizontal ascendent

Divided into 12 sectors of the chart

• Representing different aspects in our lives
• Each house has its own governing/ruling planet
• As the zodiac orbits – other planets might rule the sectors of your houses
• Ascendent is always the 1st House
• Counter clockwise the zodiac follows from the ascendent

• All planets, zodiac and celestial bodies orbit counterclockwise in transit

4 types of houses when reading a natal chart

AngLE | KARMIC | CADENT | SUCCEDENT

*Angle Houses (Physical manifestation) 1 , 4 , 7 , 10

• Initiating leading energy
• Creates primary experience
• Connects you to the greater world

*Karmic Houses 4, 8, 12

• 4 – Family karma and ancestral karmic gifts
• 8 – Karmic debt that is hard and sudden to free your soul
• 12 – Karmic spiritual evolution

*Cadent Houses 3 , 6 , 9 , 12

• Progression through phases in life
• Shifts transitions from one thing to another
• Flex and flow

*Succedent Houses 2 , 5 , 8 , 11

• Reflects areas in life if maintained consistency and steadiness is desired
• Not as powerful as Houses proceeding

THE 12 HOUSES – Brief description

1ST HOUSE *Angular (Manifesting)

*Cusp of Ascendent

Governed by Aries / Mars

• Physical YOU
• What you look like and physical body
• How others perceive you
• Your general approach to life
• Attitude & Identity
• Primal character and outer expression

2ND HOUSE *Succedent

Governed by Taurus / Venus

• Money and possessions
• Self-worth and self-esteem
• Your value systems
• Your talent and where you succeed
• How you can make money

3RD HOUSE *Cadent House

Governed by Gemini / Mercury

• Communication: speaking / writing/ reading / listening
• Creativity
• Sharing and receiving information
• Siblings  / Aunts / Uncles / Cousins
• Short trips and transportation

4TH HOUSE *Angular *Karmic (Manifesting)

Governed by Cancer / Moon

• Parents and foundation
• Ancestry
• Corresponds to personal unconscious
• Old age and how you spend your last years
• Privacy

5TH HOUSE *Succedent

Governed by Leo / Sun

*Activates when you’re interested

• Pleasure, fun and being alive
• Free time and enjoyment
• Relationship with your inner child
• Sports and hobbies
• Dating and romance
• Children and your approach to them

6TH HOUSE *Cadent

Governed by Virgo / Mercury

• Health
• Relationships with co-workers & Ideal workplace
• Daily habits that maintain or destroy health
• Manifestation is in an inner/mental level
• Gives clues to avoid health problems

7TH HOUSE *Angular (Manifesting)

Governed by Libra / Venus

• Partnership and relationships
• Commitment
• Legal matters
• Perspective of others
• Approach to relationships and social events

8TH HOUSE *Succedent *Karmic

Governed by Scorpio / Pluto

• Birth / Death / Rebirth
• Sex and secrets
• Deep transformation
• Physical death
• Shows how you regenerate
• Financial gain through legacy or marriage

9TH HOUSE *Cadent

Governed by Sagittarius / Jupiter

• Wisdom,  knowledge & higher self
• Education and philosophy
• Foreign countries and long distance travel
• Laws, ethics and principles
• Service and learning
• Capable of complex data

10TH HOUSE *Angular (Manifesting)

Governed by Capricorn / Saturn

• Life goals and ambition
• Career and public image
• Shows the highest level you will get in life
• Restrictions and limitations
• Tangible results in the world
• Will test hard or reward

11TH HOUSE *Succedent

Governed by Aquarius / Uranus

• Relationship with others
• Groups and friends
• How you fit in with others
• Hopes and wishes
• Emotionless friendships
• Communication and relating with others

12TH HOUSE *Cadent *Karmic

Governed by Pisces / Neptune

*Helps you to understand your karmic path and steps towards spiritual growth

• Highest spirituality
• Collective unconscious and subconscious
• Source of power or will end you
• Hardest house: complex and foggy
• Connected with Asylums and Institutions
• Addiction and suffering
• Sleep, dreams and astral travel

Important planets to know when reading a natal chart

7 PERSONAL PLANETS

SUN & MOON PLACEMENT

• Do you have a Day chart or Night chart?
• Where is your Sun and Moon in your chart?
• Your “Chart Sector” determines whether the Sun or Moon is dominant in your chart – look there first!

SUN – Your Spirit | Soul

Most important celestial body

Never in retrograde

All planets circle the Sun

• Shows inner self
• Core personality
• Shows what makes you shine
• Describes your ego and will
• Helps you develop a healthy self image
• Father/Husband association

MOON – Your Body

Fastest object in the sky

Only circles the Earth

30 day orbit

Polar opposite of the Sun / Compliment each other

• Inutive / Deep / Ancient / Instinctive
• Emotions and feelings
• Moon in water signs give psychic abilities
• Governs the subconscious
• Shows your habits and irrational side
• Moon in Signs shows how you react to the world
• Moon in Houses shows what activity to recharge
• Mother/Wife association

MERCURY – Your Mind

Fastest moving planet

88 days orbit

Connected to Virgo (Nocturnal) & Gemini (Diurnal) & 6th House

• Transition of information
• Written and spoken communication and the conscious mind
• Virgo connection: Analytical / Reasoning / Love for facts
• Gemini connection: Chatty / Curious / Brilliant
• Connects a bridge between:   Soul > Personality   |   You > Other People
• Youth / Childhood / Education
• Brothers / Sisters / Acquaintances
• *If afflicted: It’s hard to express yourself

VENUS – Your Heart

225 days orbit

Connected to Taurus (Nocturnal) & Libra (Diurnal) & 2nd House

• Elegance and pleasure
• Shows what you enjoy
• How you love and want to be loved
• Sensitive and emotional
• Relationships and emotional bonds
• Describes the way love comes into your life
• Receptive energy: Magnetic attractive power
• *If afflicted: Have a hard time getting the love you want
• *KEY: Do what YOU love to do – self worth and love

MARS – Your Drive

687 day orbit

Connected to Aries & 1st House

Smallest planet

Planet of taking action

• Drive / Energy / Sexuality / Violence
• Needs a healthy Venus to be balanced – polar opposite
• Can be your greatest asset
• Helps you be assertive with willpower
• Destructive if not under control – cruelty and aggression
• Hotheaded – always wants to win
• Helps you follow through with courage
• Raw physical sexual instincts – not romantic
• Physical exercise and vitality

JUPITER – YOUR GROWTH & EXPANSION

12 year orbit

Connected to Sagittarius & 9th House

Biggest planet

• Good fortune and expansion
• Planet of faith
• Helps develop opinions and worldly views
• Wonder about mysteries
• Higher education and rules
• The more you ACT the more Jupiter blesses you
• Downside: over promise and under deliver attitude
• *If afflicted: over indulgence

SATURN *Karmic Life Lessons

29 year orbit

Connected to Capricorn & 10th House

Planet of life lessons

• Limitations / Restrictions / Delays
• Shows how to overcome difficulties
• Governs time / discipline / persistence
• Gives life structure
• Rewards hard work
• Hardships that don’t go away, use: focus / commitment / patience
• Position in your chart shows areas of restriction
• Develop work ethics and self-discipline

PERSONAL POINTS

ASCENDENT RISING

• What is your Rising Sign? The sign that your Ascendent falls into?
• Do you have planets in your 1st house – This is YOU
• Are they healthy or unhealthy
• How are they talking to the rest of your chart?

*Angle and *Cusp of the 1st House – Self-identity

Upper Hemisphere of the Natal Chart

IMPORTANT IN CHART: Changes every 4 minutes

• How the world sees you
• Shows identity and attitude
• Key for self-discovery
• Describes physical appearance and body

DESCENDENT

*Angel and *Cusp of the 7th House – Relationships

Lower hemisphere of Natal Chart

• Qualities you identify with the least – yet are within you
• You are attracted to these traits and seek in others
• Shows how you perceive life
• Qualities in the shadows you don’t recognize
• Helps with love and relationships

MC [MEDIUM COELI] MIDHAVEN

*Cusp of 10th House – Career

Top of the Sky

Changes every 24 houses

• How you react with society
• Shows your soul strategy to succeed
• Shows the ambition and success you find

IC [IMUM COELI] INNERMOST SELF

*Cusp of the 4th House

Lowest point in the sky

• Talks about innermost self
• What you only share with a few people
• Childhood upbring and family nurturing
• You and ancestors
• Shows blockages you can’t put your finger on

OUTER PLANETS

URANUS

84 year orbit

Connected to Aquarius & 11th House

*Affects society as a whole: large groups of people share this sign

*Transgenerational

• Originality and uniqueness
• Sudden changes: always expect the unexpectable
• Eccentric
• Inventions and new ideas
• Does the opposite of what others do
• Break the rules
• Revolutions and fighting for justice
• Oriented in the future
• Organizations / Groups / Common Interests

NEPTUNE

165 year orbit

Connected to Pisces & 12th House

• Shows where you seek spiritual development
• Divine inspiration and unconditional love
• Fantasy world filled with magic
• Teaches you how to find connection again
• Governs illusion: acting / movies / TV / Drugs / Anesthetic
• Collective unconscious
• Sleeping dream state is it’s domain
• NO BOUNDARIES

PLUTO

248 year orbit

Connected to Scorpio & 8th House

• Darkest aspect of the human experience
• Not for the faint of hearts
• Destructive power
• Challenging to constructively work with – but it IS possible!
• Transformation
• Quick, intense, and powerful events that change your life
• Brutal / Violent / Death / Cruelty / Control Issues
• Makes space for the new to be born
• Shows where your soul needs change
• Shows power to unlock

*Position by sign affects generational whole

Please visit https://soul2soul.ca/category/planets-asteroids/ to read more about the planets. Become more familiar with their relationship with other planets and the zodiac.

Understand the ROLE of the Zodiac when reading a natal chart

ZODIAC

• Zodiac Signs & Their Ruling Planets

The Relationship Between:

• The House Ruler and Influence on that House’s topics
• Zodiac Sign and Ruler in relationship to the Planet/s stationed in that House
• It’s a 3 way relationship for how you navigate and experience in that house

• House Topic Ruling Planet >> Look Which House & Sign The Planet Is Stationed

Eg. Career – Look at the 10th house ruling planet and where that planet is stationed in the chart. Read the relationship that is happening.

Please visit https://soul2soul.ca/category/zodiac-signs/ to read more about each zodiac sign and the rising signs associated with the zodiac.

How the planets talk to each other when reading a natal chart

ASPECTS & RELATIONSHIPS

(Putting It All Together)

• Distance and relationships of the planets to one another
• Distances have different meanings

CHALLENGING ASPECTS

Square, Conjunction, Opposition

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Square:

This aspect creates tension between the planets and points involved. Tension is necessary in order to stimulate action, but too much tension translates to stress.squares force us out of complacency and get the ball rolling. Squares are often more difficult when we are young, as these aspects force us to grow and learn our lessons.

The higher planet in the signs has the upper hand over the other planet

90 DEGREES APART | 4 SIGNS ASPART | CONNECTED TO MODALITY

Conjunction:

Planets and points that form a conjunction are energies that are united. They are blended; therefore, they act together. The closer they are to conjunction, the more subjective these combined energies are. They don’t stand alone, and they have a difficult time truly acknowledging each other as distinct or separate.

The two planets will move away from each other in orbit until they meet up again.

Moving towards each other: Applying Aspect (Things coming up in the future)

Moving way from each other: Separating (Things happened in the past)

OCCUPIES SAME SPACE OF SIGN |  DEGREES VARY PER ASTROLOGER

Opposition:

“It takes two” is the expression, and the opposition is created by dividing the circle by 2. Therein lies the key to the meaning of this aspect: relationship. People with oppositions seek out others as if to mirror their own internal struggles. They learn about themselves through interactions with others. Very often, oppositions cause us to swing from one side to the other and we feel torn.

180 DEGREES APART | 6 SIGNS APART | ELEMENTS ARE OPPOSITE

HARMONIOUS ASPECTS

Sextile, Trine, Semi Sextile

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Sextile:

A sextile is a positive aspect spanning 60 degrees between two signs. Sextile aspects offer a calmer, sweeter energy—and bring light to the area it’s highlighting.

60 DEGREES APART | 3 SIGNS APART | CONNECTED TO GENDER

Trine:

Planets in trine support each other. Trines, by nature, are accepting. They allow us to accept others, ourselves, and situations.

120 DEGREES APART | 5 SIGNS APART | CONNECTED TO ELEMENTS

FINAL WORDS…

• It takes time to understand how to accurately read a natal chart.

• The most important to start with is understand the Zodiac Signs and Planets
• Understanding their archetypical nature, qualities and characteristics
• How they relate and communicate on their own and with each other
• Changing your perspective of astrology and seeing it as a whole
• Astrology is so much more than your Sun sign
• All signs, planets and celestial energies affect your life, direction and purpose in this lifetime and those to come.

I hope this post gave you enough basic insights into reading a natal chart. The content should help make more sense when listening to Rising Sign Horoscopes and Current Transits against your own personal natal chart.

With love and eternal guidance from Spirit ✨🙏💛