How to Begin Reading Your Birth Chart: Astrology 101

Introduction

I'm very sure you've come across the term Vedic astrology and you're familiar with the signs. They're popularly discussed in newspapers: Sagittarius, Pisces, Cancer, Libra, etc. But how do you begin? That's the purpose of this article.

Begin with the rising sign and house rulers, then narrow personality, career and partner questions through Richard Branson's selected chart. This is a first pass, not a complete reading.

The rising sign

Ascendant

You begin by identifying the sign in the first house. I'm taking this example. In his case, you find the first house in the fourth sign. The number there represents the rising sign. It's also known as the Ascendant.

That's how you start. Here, number 4 represents Cancer. By doing so, you assign a role to different planets.

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The personality question

Personality

What do I mean by that? If you're trying to assess this person's personality, you have to study the ruler of the first house, which would be the ruler of the sign of Cancer, which is the Moon.

The Moon is only the starting point for the personality question.

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The career question

Career

If you'd like to ask which career this person might be in, then you have to study first the rulers of the 10th, the 6th and the 11th house. If the first house falls in the sign of Cancer, the 10th house falls in the first sign, the sign of Aries ruled by Mars. The 6th house will fall in the sign of Sagittarius ruled by Jupiter.

The 11th house, used here for income, gains and networks, will fall in the sign of Taurus ruled by Venus. To begin analysing this person's career, study the position of Mars, Jupiter and Venus. You narrow down your analysis. You're not looking at the entire chart. That might help you begin.

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The partner question

Partner

If you're trying to understand this person's partner, then you have to study first the ruler of the house of marriage, the 7th house. If the first house falls in the sign of Cancer, the 7th house naturally falls in the 10th sign, Capricorn, ruled by Saturn.

So Saturn's position in this chart is the first point to study for the partner question, not the whole outcome.

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The ruler lookup

Table

In the table used in the lesson, I have done this exercise for you. You don't have to do it. You don't have to identify signs and their rulers while following that source table. If you are a Sagittarius Ascendant and you're trying to identify a career, begin with the positions of Mercury and Venus.

If you are a Libra Ascendant and you want to know more about your partner, you have to study first the position of Mars. So it narrows down your analysis. These are source lookup examples, not a current personalised website table or complete reading.

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Extending the first pass

Layers

What you can do at this stage is extend your analysis. If you'd like to understand your personality more minutely, you can also take into account the position of the Sun and Moon. Also take into account your rising Nakshatra and the Atmakaraka, the planet holding the highest eligible degree in the method used here. In your career identification analysis, please take into account the position of the Sun.

Whilst analysing who your partner might be, please take into account the Darakaraka too, the planet holding the lowest eligible degree in your chart outside of Rahu and Ketu in the method described here. Traditions differ; these layers extend the first pass.

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The Richard Branson example

Branson

So how do we apply this knowledge? Let's try to identify the career for this person. From a career point of view, we have to study the position of Mars, Jupiter and Venus. So Mars is in the third, in the sign of Virgo and, more importantly, in the Nakshatra of Chitra, in the selected chart. You'll find the meaning of Mars in the third, in the sign of Virgo, and the meaning of Mars in Chitra in the linked reading.

If you combine it, you'll come to the conclusion that this person can be an entrepreneur and can be an innovator, in my reading. If you study the position of Jupiter in his chart in the 8th house, in Aquarius and in the Nakshatra of Shatabhisha, you'd find his work to be highly research-driven, technology-driven and can be linked to the field of networking, as that's directly linked to Shatabhisha in this interpretation. This is where your knowledge of the Nakshatra becomes very critical.

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The business themes

Business

And if we study the position of Venus, its position in the 12th in Gemini and Mrigashira Nakshatra signifies somehow his work to be linked to mass media, and also somehow creative in nature, in my reading. The Sun is in the first, in Cancer and Punarvasu Nakshatra, which indicates somehow his work to be linked to the hospitality industry in this interpretation.

This is the birth chart of Richard Branson. He's an entrepreneur. His early Virgin business began with mail-order records and developed into Virgin Records, which I link to the position of Venus. Jupiter in the 8th in Shatabhisha is linked to networking and the Virgin brand's later expansion into telecommunications and media. And the Sun in Punarvasu, in my view, is behind his interest in hospitality; Virgin Atlantic, launched in 1984, is the intended travel business. These are brand examples, not current ownership claims.

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The starting method

Character

If you try to assess his personality, his rising Nakshatra in the selected chart is Ashlesha, and the Moon is in Magha. If you combine the two, you'll know why he possesses this magnetic personality, in my view. In many ways, I think Magha's ancestral theme is associated with his success on a material plane in this interpretation.

Let me again now take you back to the starting point. Please identify your rising sign. That's how you begin. It's also known as the Ascendant. Don't get confused. And once you've done that, you can start analysing who you are, what the chart is saying and which planets to examine first for career and partner questions. There are articles linked below which describe how to read the chart in detail. If you combine the information, I think you can conduct a more comprehensive analysis of your birth chart.