3 Eye-Opening Elements of the Birth Chart for Self-Discovery
The Natal Chart: A comprehensive road map of your soul in this lifetime that is as unique to yourself as your fingerprint.
Why should you research your birth chart?
Last year, I found myself lost in wonder as I started diving deeper into my natal chart and the natal charts of my friends and relatives. What began as a way to balance (or find an explanation for) the darker parts of myself led me to a much greater appreciation for myself and my life path. By studying my natal chart, I was able to move beyond the frustration of the tougher parts of my personality and discover why I was born with these traits and what traits I should integrate to evolve some of the tougher parts of my personality in a loving and self-accepting way.
In this blog post I am sharing three components of the natal chart that lead to a much greater understanding of my purposes in this lifetime:
Updated December 30th, 2021
The Ascendant and Descendant Sign
The Ascendant and Descendant sign within our natal chart describes "the environment of our life" (Chimenti, 00:00:40-00:00:41). The rising sign or Ascendant is the sign that was on the horizon the moment you were born. The rising sign holds information on the type of experiences that life will deal you to develop the qualities associated with that sign. Conversely, 180 degrees away lies the descendant sign which describes the qualities that "you were born with, in fact, because it's showing where you are coming from" (Chimenti, 00:02:45-00:02:52). The Ascendant sign reveals who we are to become in this lifetime, the Descendant sign reveals who we were in our past life.
Oppositional Aspects
The planets expressing themselves through the twelve signs are only one part of understanding the natal chart. There is a more in-depth conversation found in how the planets of each sign were communicating with each other at the time you were born. This conversation expresses itself through you! These communications are called aspects. Learning about the aspects called oppositions is a massive key to self-discovery? Why? "With the opposition, often the provocation comes from "out there" - in relationships, ordeals, and obstacles. Many oppositions are often linked to interactions with others. This is a way that internal conflicts are externalized -- we meet them in the "Other." (Hall, Astrology: The Opposition Aspect)". This "other" represents energy in a "tug of war" with another energy that you possess; The key is harmonizing the two energies. Oppositions usually take the form of expressing an outer experience until the inner experience has harmonized these two opposing energies.
Chiron, the Wounded Healer
We all have specific triggers that are not the easiest to roll off one's back, no matter how many times we come up with a game plan to not be affected by it. Chiron, "represents something we all carry in our subconscious mind. He is that which will kill us if we don't heal it—our deepest wounds, our fatal flaws" (Robinson, "Lessons and Blessings from the Wounded Healer)'. Researching the sign and house that Chiron falls in your birth chart can provide insight into any triggering emotions and situations that have stayed present through various stages of our lives.
Should I seek a full birth chart reading?
Yes!
When we are in search of relevant information to harness a certain quality, we can turn to our natal chart for our own unique recipe on how to integrate that energy into our being. The absence, presence, and communication of all twelve signs in all twelve houses hold so much information for our souls. By studying my natal chart and consciously choosing to integrate the energies that will keep my soul expanding, I have silenced the comparisons I make to my experiences and the lives around me. The trials of my life are unique to my experience: We are not competing against other people in life, we are fighting against ourselves. Your birth chart can give you valuable tools to become a better person than the person each day you are committed to evolving.
Works Cited
Mastering the Zodiac with Athen Chimenti. “The Angles in Astrology - Ascendant (AS), Descendant (DS), Midheaven (MC), & Imum Coeli (IC).” YouTube, uploaded by Chimenti, Athen, 27 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRMU8NHlRbg&app=desktop.
Hall, Molly. “What Is an Opposition (Aspect) in Astrology?” LiveAbout, 8 May 2028, www.liveabout.com/the-opposition-aspect-206531#:%7E:text=The%20opposition%20is%20when%20planets,They’re%20polar%20opposites.
Robinson, James. “Lessons & Blessings from Chiron, the Wounded Healer.” Elephant Journal, 2016, www.elephantjournal.com/2016/03/lessons-blessings-from-chiron-the-wounded-healer/.