How to read your birth chart to better understand yourself and others

I’m a what rising?

My mother got my birth chart drawn up when I was born, like literally at the hospital. She’s a very pragmatic person but loves to check our horoscopes in the Sunday papers when we meet for weekly coffee dates. Mum laminated the aforementioned birth chart and read it aloud four years ago, for my 21st birthday speech, before handing it around the room as some kind of fun fact sheet on my life. I remember nobody could believe how bang-on its predictions were. 

My birth chart came with a long-form writeup, sort of forecasting what my life had in store and who I’d be in terms of my career, romantic and non-romantic relationships and emotions. It’s scarily accurate, from pursuing work in ‘words’ to having incredibly strong connections with women, especially my mum (having grown up with just the two of us).

Interested to hear how others navigate the world? Head to our Life section.

I recently got Mum to forward me pictures of the birth chart at a vino with friend and writer, Lauren Payne. Lauren was down from Brisbane for a quick Melbourne stint, and told me about how she’d interpreted a birth chart for a mutual friend the night prior. I was like, “Girl, you have to do mine next!” and it got me thinking about the wild world of astrology. 

The realm of birth charts can seem super elusive and woo-woo. But I think they might be a bit misunderstood. I’ve called on Lauren to teach us what exactly a birth chart is, how it’s read, and what it could offer us on an individual level in making sense of our innate characteristics.

After all, aren’t most of us just flailing around in life, looking for a bit of redirection and reassurance? Whether you’re a full-blown astrologist or a lowkey sceptic, there’s something to be said for exploring self-awareness on a deeper level.

What are the key components or elements of a birth chart and what are they supposed to represent or mean?

The key elements of a birth chart are the signs, houses and planets. The signs of a birth chart represent the 12 signs of the zodiac and despite what you may think, everyone has all 12 signs in their birth chart. Some of those signs just may not be as prevalent in your life because you may not have any planets within them. 

The signs also sit within a house in your birth chart. There are 12 houses which all host a sign within them, but the houses are interesting… because depending on which house system you choose to view your chart in, houses can either host two signs within them (the Placidus house system) or just one (the whole sign system). I prefer to use the whole sign system just because it’s easier for my brain to comprehend, but when you generate your chart online, you can usually switch between house systems and choose which house system works for you. 

Houses generally represent different aspects of your life and show how a particular sign and planet manifest in your daily life. For example, someone with the sign of Virgo in their fourth house may be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to their home and how they choose to maintain it.

Finally, the most important element of the birth chart is the planets! Every planet in our solar system has a place in your birth chart (including little old Pluto!). Some planetary placements will be felt more than others, but the sign and house your planets are in can give you incredible insights into how you process information, how you present yourself to the world and what motivates you in your day-to-day life. No one has the exact same planetary placements and every chart is incredibly unique, so it’s usually the planetary placements that really bring up the most interesting information. 

Why is your birth chart important to you? What has it told you about yourself or pivotal moments of your life?

My birth chart honestly was the gateway for me to really develop a strong sense of self-awareness. I don’t lead my life based on my placements… but my birth chart is important to me because it grounds me. It serves as a reminder that staying true to yourself is always the best option and that everyone’s different, no matter how similar their paths seem to be. 

Learning more about my birth chart helped me discover that yes, 2019 was rough, but that was also the year that I experienced my Jupiter return, which can be extremely difficult depending on how you react to certain situations. In 2019 I was so focused on my career… that my relationship with my partner really fell by the wayside.

I prioritised my career over our relationship and now, after reflecting on my birth chart and what was happening that year, my Jupiter return was really trying to teach me how to nurture that relationship. Once I decided to move to Canberra with him, things just fell into place and instantly get better. My Jupiter is in my seventh house of committed relationships, go figure. 

And how does it help you make sense of other people, if at all?

Knowing someone’s placements really gives you a stronger sense of empathy for them. I’m an empath by nature, so I’ve always been a bit intuitive when it comes to other people but bringing astrology into the mix just has given me so much more insight into how they operate. 

… Just as an example, indecisive people can grind my gears sometimes but if I then know that their Mercury is in the sign of Libra, then it kind of helps me pull back and think, ‘Well, they’re not actually being indecisive, they’re actually weighing up all of their options and trying to decide what’s best for both them and the group. They’re trying to understand both sides of the coin before they make a decision’. Usually, that’s when I just try to accept… instead of just letting myself get frustrated. 

Okay, so we’ve secured the birth chart. Now what? How do you go about interpreting what the chart says?

Read everything! Doing research and reading as many articles and books as possible about your planetary placements is the best way to learn about them. You’ll notice a lot of resources will have slightly different interpretations of each placement; however, they’ll all have a few common threads and it’s those… you should pay attention to. 

If you’ve read 10 articles online about your Taurus moon that sits in the sixth house, you’ll notice the same few points popping up in each article and that’s the true core of the placement. Note those common points down, because that’s what’s most likely to be the truest explanation of that placement. 

I’ve attached my birth chart here for you! What does it tell you about me?

You’re a Cancer sun, which tells me that you’re a very nurturing and caring person. Your sun is also in your sixth house, so these nurturing qualities are really enhanced in your daily work life… [how] you’re of service to other people and your health. As someone who works in PR and really values her relationships in her work life, this makes a lot of sense to me!

You’re an Aquarius rising, which tells me you’re not exactly someone who sticks to the traditional ways of doing things. You’re very innovative and are really good at coming up with new ways to not just help yourself, but help others. You’re actually very motivated by helping others and making sure your community at large is being taken care of. 

Your moon is in Libra and in your ninth house. You’re someone who needs to feel balanced to feel emotionally nourished. You have strong values and beliefs and you may find writing a good avenue for working through your emotions and making sense of the world around you at large. You may not like disappointing people, but sometimes you may have to simply protect yourself and make sure they’re not affecting you negatively… 

Your Mercury is in Leo, and also in your seventh house of committed partnerships. You may prefer to connect with the people you’re committed to one-on-one and nurture those relationships by talking to them or sending them a supportive text. The way you speak is very compelling, and there’s so much charisma there that people can’t help but just want to hear you talk. 

Your Venus and Mars are both in Gemini and in your fifth house. One of the things that brings you great joy is your relationships with other people… speaking of, you may put a lot of energy into creative projects and work with people on these projects, which you find incredibly fun. Because your Jupiter squares your Mars however, you may just need to make sure you’re not putting all of your energy into this area otherwise you may feel a bit burnt out. 

If someone wants to get better at interpreting birth charts, what can they do? 

Absorb as much information as you can! Read the books, listen to the podcasts and be willing to learn about each placement. A few books that really helped me understand birth chart placements better are You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas and The Moon Sign Guide by Annabel Gat.

… Social media can be a bit of a minefield when it comes to astrology… [but] some of my favourite astrologers to follow are Alice Bell, Nadine Jane and Daniela Karpenos, who founded The Cosmic Latte. Also, talk to people about it.

Astrology has become a lot more popular over the last few years and honestly, if Pedro Pascal knows his big three, chances are your friends know theirs too. So talk to them, see how they feel about their placements and compare charts. You may be surprised at how many people actually know their chart information and are willing to share it with you.