Your Birth Data is critical. So what happens when someone gives false or wrong birth data to an astrologer? Here are some common examples of this problem and what to do about it.
Patsy Stone Syndrome – The Wrong Year
Whenever Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous (played by Joanna Lumley, further down) gives her age, she reverts to the decade before. Joanna genuinely looks absolutely fabulous, by the way (I was lucky enough to be invited to the Green Room at the BBC after the show and saw her in all her vegetarian glory) – but Patsy is certainly paranoid about looking old.
People who don’t give their true year of birth often work in television or the film industry where casting depends on age. This becomes even more of an issue if they have had cosmetic surgery and are angling for parts designed for people years younger.
I am always wary of anyone who has worked in Hollywood, who either has no authentic birth certificate, or who has only produced one after a first rejected attempt. And that includes Donald Trump.
Actually, Donald Trump (as the media reported in December 2017, below) does not know when his birthday is. So the original birthdate, time and place supplied by him, back during the election, produced wrong horoscope predictions. No wonder so many astrologers – me included – did not see him getting into the White House. That may not even have been his chart.
Working Without a Correct Date of Birth – or Time of Birth
Can any truth be found in a chart with the wrong year? It really depends on what the question is. If it concerns the individual’s need for power and control, the Pluto sign may not have changed. That helps. If we can narrow it down to the right decade, a Pluto signature in Leo, Virgo or whatever can be found, at least. This is why astrologers use country/national charts for politics. Why? Countries don’t lie about their foundation or ‘birth’ date!
Mother/Mommy/Mum and Birth Data
It is very common for mothers (even) to get the birth data wrong – quite understandable when you consider the long labour that some women go through, or the use of medication in the hospital ward. This is why Lois Rodden developed her Rodden Rating System (you can see it for yourself at Astrodienst). Astrologers prefer a birth certificate over anything else and if a birth time has been written down from the clock/watch time when the umbilical cord is cut, so much the better. Of course, in Scotland, this kind of information is mandatory. (This is why astrologers used to spend a lot of time casting charts for people like the Bay City Rollers).
Fudged or Faked Birth Certificates
If you want to know how easy it is to have someone create a fudged or fake birth certificate, just look up Uncle Google. It does happen. Why does it happen? People do have their reasons. But the chart will always be wrong. In fact, you will be creating a chart for someone who never existed – or perhaps someone who does exist – but turns out to be living a different life! Or a lie.
Date/Year Reversals
People record their date of birth differently, in different parts of the world. That’s why astrologers can sometimes read 7.6.76 as June 7th 1976 or July 6th 1976. This is a common problem between Great Britain and the United States.
Wrong Chart, Right Reading
What happens when the chart is wrong but the reading is right? Sometimes it’s just old-fashioned odds. If someone has a wrong chart and is asking a question where the odds are 50-50, an astrologer can get it right without too much trouble (and so could Paul the Octopus, stretching out a tentacle). In other cases, the astrologer may be operating purely as a psychic.
Angles!
The biggest problem for astrologers using false/wrong data is the impact on the angles of the chart. That’s the Ascendant (image), Midheaven (vocation), Descendant (partner) and Immum Coeli (home). So many questions relate to moving house, or getting a job, or finding love and you really need accurate angles for that – which depend on a precise birth time.
Cusps!
Without an accurate birth time, horoscope factors can fall in different signs. If your time is wrong and you were born as the Sun was changing from Aries to Taurus your Sun sign may be completely wrong. It’s the same if an asteroid like Psyche was moving from one sign to another. Signs rule houses in the Natural House system (life departments) so something as simple as a fluffed birth time could skew the chart.
Beware Round Numbers
Very few people are born right on the hour or half-hour. Beware round numbers. Look around the hour to check.
Computer Says No
Sometimes people come to astrology events and wave a tatty old horoscope at me, which they had printed out for them years ago – and I can see it’s wrong. The computer software has not processed the latitude/longitude correctly, or daylight saving has not been adjusted.
Vague and Forgetful Astrologers
Last but not least, we have vague and forgetful astrologers (just as we have vague and forgetful plumbers and ballerinas). If you are working with a huge pile of paper charts on your desk, or absent-mindedly reach for the wrong file on your computer, it is possible to give a reading from entirely the wrong chart. Of course, if you believe astrology is divination, then it won’t always matter. For more on this theory, see the remarkable work of Maggie Hyde or The Moment of Astrology by Geoffrey Cornelius.
9 Responses
Hi Jessica,
I have been wondering if there is a “birth” chart for London given the dreadful events recently and historically. Is there one? Can we hope for some peace and indeed kindness for this amazing city?
I was born in London so I have often looked at this question myself. The city’s best chart is drawn up for the moment London Bridge connected both sides of the Thames. What we’re really waiting for is Brexit, because then we get ‘the new London’ and in fact, the new Britain too, and a chance to get away from some of the problems of the past. Looking at the rest of 2017 the stand-out development here is wealth. Jupiter (abundance, harvest) moves into Scorpio which rules The City of London (the banks and old trade/financial institutions) and there is no sense of austerity here. Of course it all depends on Prime Minister Theresa May, or some other woman who seems to be in charge of the treasury…I do feel the value of the pound is going to be the key. Of course, much as Remoaners complain about a weaker pound, the fact is, it attracts global bargain-hunters who want to a) invest and b) take holidays and that may in fact be behind this Jupiter boom I’m seeing in the chart.
Great article very interesting. Love Ab Fab!
Hi Jessica
Since becoming a premium member and having my birth chart calculated, I’m starting to wonder if I too have been reading my horoscopes wrong all these years based on what I now see as wrong data. I had originally thought I was just a gemini with aquarius rising, so read both signs monthly, but having looked at my chart and learning from your website how to read it, it looks as though I am more aries and libra which is a bit of a shock!
Am I right to think I also have a stellium of gemini, aries and libra, with a hint of virgo? And if so should I also read those signs each week/ month as well?
Thank you!
You are a Sun Gemini with Aquarius Rising (Aquarius Ascendant) but if you are reading predictions on this website, please only read Gemini, not Aquarius. I use a system based only on your Sun Sign. So who are you? For a start, remember the Rising Sign or Ascendant is just your appearance, reputation, title, wardrobe, body type and persona. Just the window dressing, not the person. For the real deal look at your whole chart. You are strongly Gemini so you need to experiment with a variety of different mediums to get your message across. The worldwide web (and whatever comes next) springs to mind, of course, as does multimedia. Then there is public speaking. Writing. Your entire life and personality is pinned down by this mission, but for more clues, we look to the Sagittarius-Gemini axis of your MC and IC. It’s very close to your AC and DC in Aquarius and Leo – in fact, just one degree away. That combination of Gemini, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Leo together is about having faith in a particular belief system, philosophy or ideology. Astrology is one. Quantum mechanics is another. Roman Catholicism is another! It is also about leading, mentoring and guiding. It is all about ‘Listen to me.’ The need to connect and communicate is Gemini. The groups you are inevitably part of, are the Aquarius part of the pattern. Yet, here is someone who belongs to a group, community, collective, movement – and yet can’t really be immersed in it, as Leo needs to rise above the common herd. You will explore each and every avenue of this over your lifetime and if you want to, achieve something quite dazzling and wonderful as you explore all your options. If you want to know who you are, though – it’s what you believe.
Hi Jessica
A friend of mine born 25.06.83 in CY (cancer 3 degrees) has just had a major curveball thrown their way. Any idea how the Leo eclipse or the 23rd Cancer new moon will affect them? Thank you.
Leena
Leena, I am not surprised to hear that about your friend. Sometimes all you need is the Sun sign and degree. Of course, Cancerians currently have Uranus in Aries in their Tenth House of career, unpaid work, status questions, academia and – in general – the horoscope zone where we ask questions about what success actually is. With Uranus in Taurus just one year away (in your friend’s zone of groups, teams, clubs and people politics within a group) the issue is really how to address communication. Victory for some often means resentment elsewhere. I guess that’s politics! Victory can also be so transitory. Actually, what is worth everyone’s time over the next 12 months is co-operation and collaboration and that means communication which seems to be awfully lacking. Saturn in Sagittarius (work, workload, daily routine, the mind, body and spirit connection) moves out at Christmas and that will make a difference.
Good evening Jessica. I am not sure if this is the right place to post my query, but here goes anyway.
My DC is in Pisces. I am disheartened in life, it looks like I am born to sacrifice and work thanklessly for others. I read in one of your articles that swimming or being near a water body helps Neptune effects. I live near the sea, does that help the Neptune fog and zero boundaries life I have? Does my chart show I am incapable of having a fulfilling relationship? Does a Piscean descendant mean I have to do all the giving? Add a Virgo ascendant, and we have a self sabotaging team.
My MC is in Gemini. My life purpose. The reason my soul chose to reincarnate. But after four decades, I am still clueless.
How do I find peace and solace in my closest relationships? I am tired of being Atlas, bearing the world on my shoulders.
I am aware I write often to you, but you are my only guide in life, the one I turn to when things look overwhelming(damn Piscean moon). Looking forward to your reply.
You sound very down about life, but the Pisces DC or Gemini MC won’t really be part of that. I should not also be your only guide in life! If you are suffering from depression please see a doctor. You have identified yourself as a victim and that is part of the problem. The answer is money. How to access that money requires a bit of thought. You can take the long way round or find another option. In the first place I would say adjust yourself. Work on you, you, you so that you can do something practical and useful with who you are, and what you have. In fact you can convert and change what is there, so that instead of identifying as victim, you begin to look and behave far more confidently and optimistically. This will help you move towards the money – it is there for you – but you will get there faster and more easily if you sort yourself out first. Easier said than done, I know, but there are sources of support and help all over the world, and on the web, and many of them are free. You can do this.