Reading Your Birth Chart
This lesson discusses how read your birth chart. If you don’t have your chart yet you can pick it up free at astro.com or become a Premium Member here for the price of a coffee and bagel. You’ll also unlock exclusive extras. Or, you can just have the coffee and bagel.
The Twelve Houses
Houses are the twelve segments you see on your horoscope wheel. Each rules one of twelve departments of your life, from sex to money. Your personal birth chart is like a birthday cake, with twelve slices. Each slice shows a different area of your life and personality.
House systems are a way of dividing up the horoscope wheel into slices – all describing what matters most to you, which could be your career, your lover, your child or your cash.
Each house system reflects the life, times and personality of the astrologer who introduced it. They are all different. Each astrologer favoured a different recipe. But – it’s all cake. House systems are a matter of taste. You will slice up the horoscope wheel cake to suit your own needs. Chocolate or vanilla?
The Placidus House system is very common in astrology. It was made popular by a 17th century Italian monk. I’m not entirely sure Placidus ever shook hands with a woman.
I like the Natural House System, because we don’t know who invented it – man or woman. What we do know is, it works. It looks elegant. And it shows how you change the world, and the world changes you.
Here’s an example:
Were you born between 1960 and 1969? You have Neptune in Scorpio in the Eighth House, the sign which rules banks.
When slow, stuck Saturn went through Scorpio and the Eighth House in 2012-2015, you experienced the Global Financial Crisis. The global Credit Crunch was personal for you. It was your credit card or mortgage. You also helped to make the crunch happen. Micro-macro. That’s how this house system works.
Scan your personal birth chart now. Some houses, or slices of the wheel, will look busier than others.
The law of averages says you should have around three factors in one sign and house. If you have more than three, this sign/house defines you! It shows who you are and what your life is about. It shows what we call a stellium. A cluster of chart factors in one sign.
If it’s empty, don’t panic. It just means that you are not defined by that area of life. If you have nothing in Libra and the Seventh House, it doesn’t mean that you won’t have lovers – it just means they don’t say who you are. Each house with a stellium is like a stage where you act out your performance and your story.
Aries and the First House
- Your armor – your wardrobe!
- Your body and how short/tall/fit/unfit you are
- Your reputation – Your title and name
- How you attack and defend yourself
Taurus and the Second House
- Your money
- Your possessions
- Your business
- Your charity
- Your property
Gemini and the Third House
- The internet – The mail
- The media – from television to newspapers
- Your way with words, ideas and images
- Commuting and short-haul travel
Cancer and the Fourth House
- Your home
- Your family
- Your hometown and homeland
- Your patriotism
- Your property investment
Leo and the Fifth House
- Activities which adults and children share
- Children
- Young Adults, 20+ years your junior
- Leadership, mentoring and guidance
- Playing King or Queen in your world
Virgo and the Sixth House
- Your body
- Your daily routine and lifestyle
- Food, drink, doctors, drugs, healers, fitness
- Your work ethic
- Service and duty to others (even the cat)
Libra and the Seventh House
- Marriage – Partnership
- Duels, feuds, battles, wars and rivalries
- Equality between genders, races, classes
- Fairness, justice and what is ‘law’ or legal
Scorpio and the Eighth House
- Legacies, wills and life insurance
- Mortgages and all agreements until death
- Sex
- Power Vampires
Sagittarius and the Ninth House
- Travel
- Education and Academia
- Foreign people and countries
- Beliefs of all kinds
- Publishing, from digital to traditional
Capricorn and the Tenth House
- Career – Status – Success
- Social mountaineering – Rank, title and honors
Aquarius and the Eleventh House
- Friends
- Social media
- People power and good causes
- Group psychology and the hive mind
- Societies, associations, clubs and teams
Pisces and the Twelfth House
- Secrets
- Roles you play behind the scenes
- Your subconscious mind
- Your astral body for dreams and astral travel
- Psychic ability and mediumship
What to Do Without a Birth Time
If you don’t know your birth time or your mother can’t remember (or is no longer here to help) then use 12 noon. If you do that, don’t pay any attention to the Midheaven (MC), Immum Coeli (IC), Ascendant (AC, also known as the Rising Sign) or DC (Descendant). They will probably be wrong. Sorry, but I would rather you skipped them, then worked with the wrong MC, IC, AC or DC.
If you have no birth time and are using 12 noon, when you spot any horoscope factor right on the edge of a sign, at either 0 degrees or 29 degrees, also handle with care.
It may be correct, but if you are using a 12-noon birth time, it could be the sign before, or after. I would ignore those too. You don’t want to assume your Moon is Virgo if it’s Leo!
Your Midheaven or MC
If you have an accurate birth time (to the minute) then you will have your Midheaven or MC exact. It shows you your highest achievement, in this lifetime. This may be your job. It may be something else.
Steve Jobs had the MC in Gemini. His birth time is accurate, so we know for sure. Steve Jobs was the man who gave us the Apple computer and also the iPhone. Gemini is the sign which rules communication – it has done so for over 2000 years, when people were using quills, not laptops.
What are the chances of Steve Jobs being born with a Gemini MC? They are eleven to one. Yet – he was.
Did Prince Use Astrology?
On the subject of the MC, we have to ask if Prince used astrology. He was born with the MC in royal Leo. His true role on this planet was to be ‘King’ to a younger generation. That’s typical of the sign of the lion. He was born at exactly 6.17pm on June 7th, 1958 in Minneapolis.
If you have that same kind of precision about your time, place and date of birth then you can figure out your MC too.
Did he randomly choose Prince as a name and make puns about Purple Reign/ Purple Rain or did he have his horoscope done? His Leo MC suggests he was either accidentally psychic or a stargazer gave him some advice.
It’s well-known that musicians like astrology. Bryan Ferry and Sting – even one former member of The Smiths that I happen to know – all take it seriously. That coat of arms you see on old Queen album sleeves? Look carefully and you will see the band’s Sun Signs in the design.
Maybe Prince was a musical stargazer, too.
The MC can be a remarkable guide to your true calling, if your mother was right about your precise time of birth (when the cord was cut). The reason that musicians all have a different MC sign and house, despite being in the same job, is that the MC shows your higher purpose or soul mission, and not necessarily your career. It’s your core achievement.
In next week’s lesson, I’ll review stelliums – your dominant signs, and how they define who you are, what matters most and how you will ultimately live your life.
Extracted from 2020 Astrology: Your Five-Year Horoscope Guide by Jessica Adams. Available on Amazon.com
Images courtesy of Unsplash.
18 Responses
Hi Jessica!
Can you please explain more about what my Midheaven in Libra means then and how this will impact me moving forward? After everything I’ve been through, relationships I could really give or take. Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I also thought that Libra represented beauty and order too? I’d really hate to think my soul’s calling conists of miserable relationships with others!
Cheers x
Libra is not about beauty at all – and it’s not always about order. It can be about a battle or a fight. Your MC or Midheaven is based on a strictly accurate birth time, but if you have it, then your Libra MC or Midheaven is about the quest for a partnership. Perhaps many partnerships. Love and sex. Also, work and career. Duets and duels come with a Libra MC as this sign will fight for what is fair, right or just. That is why it really isn’t about order; it can be quite disordered if the scales are off kilter. Beauty has nothing to do with this sign. I hope that helps!
Hi Jessica. I was browsing through the monthly forecast for October, and read Aquarius, as it’s my Ascendant. I cannot begin to explain how strongly it resonated with me! I had chills, angel bumps, and exhilaration! Soooo spot on. Especially with all the 12th house action. It’s been such a solitary year, (I live alone) with much conscious soul searching and healing, and finally Im getting a glimmer of hope at the end of this seemingly unending dark tunnel. Will I relaunch when Jupiter and Saturn cross my Ascendant? Would love to know your insight.
Thank you so very much, and FYI I immediately re registered for exclusive membership again after an 18 month sabbatical. So very thankful.
Just another quick note: in 2021 I am expanding the Tarot card readings for members, so please make sure you access that next year.
Hi Jessica. I was browsing through the monthly forecast for October, and read Aquarius, as it’s my Ascendant. I cannot begin to explain how strongly it resonated with me! I had chills, angel bumps, and exhilaration! Soooo spot on. Especially with all the 12th house action. It’s been such a solitary year, (I live alone) with much conscious soul searching and healing, and finally Im getting a glimmer of hope at the end of this seemingly unending dark tunnel. Will I relaunch when Jupiter and Saturn cross my Ascendant? Would love to know your insight.
Thank you so very much, and FYI I immediately re registered for exclusive membership again after an 18 month sabbatical. So very thankful. NB premium not exclusive lol
I’m glad this produced those results for you – thank you for letting me know, it’s really kind of you. Your Aquarius Ascendant will be under transit from Jupiter and Saturn, and then Pluto actually (after 2023) so it is a rather long period of being reborn – different look, different title or name, new branding. And thanks so much for taking up membership again; I will have some new offers for you, this Christmas. New presents!
Hi Jessica, I have MC in Virgo 7degrees and wondered what this meant? Does it mean that my highest life achievement/purpose for this lifetime has something to do with mind/body/spirit? Thank you for your time!
Yes, if your MC or Midheaven is in Virgo in the Sixth House of work, housework, health, wellbeing, fitness, service and duty – your calling is to be perfectly fit for the task ahead, which will always involve serving on some level; sticking to the plan or schedule, the routine or chores. Putting others first. Yet, looking after yourself means you can look after them better. That’s the idea.
My MC is in Taurus/Scorpio @ 29. what does it mean? Am virgo sun.
Your MC (Midheaven) can only be in one zodiac sign, so either Taurus or Scorpio. Not both.
Hi Jessica,
An enlightening article. Thanks for sharing.
In discovering many stelliums in my chart, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 11th houses, I am wondering how this beautiful design of defining myself can be seen? Also have 0°Aquarius ascendant. I wonder if my MC is Libra or Scorpio. Feeling similar to above soul who commented. If it the MC is Libra, how can I work with this to best rise to fulfillment of my true calling in this life?
Appreciate any words of wisdom and thanks for expanding my astrology awareness.
Warm regards
Tara
Tara, you will be shown how to work, why to work, and where best to work – from just after Christmas 2020. In fact, by 2021 you will either have the role and goal you always needed, or find yourself in a new position. You will reshape your lifestyle and make it fit you, so you are ‘fit for purpose’ because what you are working on, trying to perfect for others who need you, also requires that you are in tip-top condition and good physical and mental shape. So there will be a new way of eating, exercising or looking after yourself in 2021. Your Sixth House and Virgo define your chart in 2021. As for your MC (Midheaven) it depends on a strictly accurate birth time. If you have that, then please use the guides that come with membership to read more about it. Thank you.
Hi, Jessica.
I have questions regarding Sagittarius/9th house. I am living in a foregin country. When I read about Sagittarius/9th house, say in your monthly horoscope or natal chart, the place where I am now is also included in the Sagittarius/9th house? How about my original country? Do I read it in Cancer/4th house?
According to some other astrologers, Pisces/12th house is also about creativity (artistic expression included) and marketing. Do you agree with that?
p.s. it seems younger generation’s voting number is incredibly high compared to 2016 in some places. Doesn’t necessarily they are not voting for Trump but I think they are voting for democrats as you repeatedly said in here. I also like to read more predictions about China and Russia. We solely rely on news to confirm your prediction but I know that many things are not reported. It seems authoritarian behavior by governments are increasing around the world, even in Japan. I really want to see them fail and people make progress.
Thank you for your predictions which is helping me not to be too stressed.
The Ninth House is who or what seems foreign to you. For some people, Melbourne feels foreign, because they are from Sydney. In other cases, you can be Japanese and living in New York, but find Tokyo more foreign to you than Manhattan. It is personal. Yes, your original country is the Fourth House and Cancer. I disagree that the Twelfth House is about creativity, art and marketing. It never was and never will be. The Twelfth House, going right back to the Middle Ages, has always been about religion, solitude, spirituality. In fact, it has always been about God. As for the world – we are moving into this New Age of Aquarius at Christmas. Equality, diversity and community will be the watchwords between that point and 2044, and that generation of teenagers coming of age to vote, will become the Aquarian-style leaders of tomorrow. They do not understand sexism, racism, ageism or class differences, and will never vote for it. So if we are seeing first-time young voters in America now, they will be the crest of a very blue wave; I don’t see the Republicans with a black woman Vice-President nominee.
Hey Jessica,
I LOVE being a member of your site, learning so much through your sun sign astrology! Wow. I am just learning the natural system (was taught whole signs) and ran my chart through your site: 28-Sep-1984, 05:05 (40.8928771,-73.9726381). I have AC in Virgo at 13 degrees with my MC in Gemini at 11 degrees. Interestingly, a stellium in Scorpio with Venus (03 degrees) , Saturn (14 degrees) , Pluto (01 degrees) , Moon (20 degrees), and the South Node (28 degrees) in my third house. Can you help me understand what this might mean?
Thank you so much, I will pass that on to Alicia, Alyas, James, Jodi, Justin and Kerry. Looking at your chart using the Natural House System, Mars, Uranus, Neptune and your Immum Coeli (IC) are all in Sagittarius in the Ninth House. This is a stellium, or more than three factors in one zodiac sign and house. A stellium reveals where you express yourself, through all life’s highs and lows, and become who you are meant to be. So, you are a student, teacher, writer, traveller. You might also be an academic, publisher, worldwide web author or migrant. At various times in your life you will be tempted to try everything on that list, even into old age. This Ninth House stellium matters more now, in 2021 and until January 2022, as the South Node of karma is going through Sagittarius. There will be some oddly familiar situations which pull in people, places or organisations from your past. There may also be past life debts and credits involved. So, for example, you may decide to go back to part-time study at home, learning a foreign language, or dealing with people from another country, where you lived centuries ago. If you want to start working with your chart, work with the Sagittarius stellium, the Ninth House and the transit of the South Node.
Thank you for reply.
I found your past post about Neptune cycle until 2026. And about Pisces/12th house. It is amazingly fit with my timing and my constant fight within myself, trying to let myself indulge being Pisces but the other me definitely warning me to be realistic as Virgo. I even fear to be focused to do almost anything as if I fear I cannot come back from the focus (but where?) I have this fear since when I was teenager, I think. Now I know where it is coming from.
This website is really really helpful and resourceful. Please have good security for this contents for us and be accessible!!!!! I don’t want it to disappear. Thank you so much.
Best,
Thank you. Yes, Pisces-Virgo is just like that.