The big 3

Ascendant

Your ascendant sign—or “rising sign”—is the zodiac sign that was ascending the eastern horizon at the time you were born. The ascendant establishes your first house, sets the order for the remaining houses, and identifies your planetary chart ruler. The first house in the birth chart represents you, your health, your personality, vitality, and your appearance. It’s how you show up, your surface-level personality and how the world perceives you.

Sun

In astrology, the Sun sign represents your core identity, your ego and the energy that fuels your life. Depending on its specific sign and house placement, the Sun reveals where you shine the most, highlights your natural talents and gifts, and promotes personal growth and success. The Sun's energy helps you express your true self with a conscious mind, allowing you to move through life with a sense of purpose, confidence and alignment.

Moon

The Moon sign in your natal chart represents your intuition, emotional world and your subconcious mind. By examining the Moon’s placement, you can uncover how to express your feelings, where you turn for security, and the emotional cycles that influence how you connect with others on a deep level. This positon reveals how you respond to situations, your fears and the nurturing you need and give.

“Welcome to the world of AstroReference. A simple to follow guide to help you understand and interpret your own chart to live your best life. ”

understanding your birth chart

When you first start learning astrology the three most personal placements in your chart, and the best starting point for any beginner, are those of your sun sign, moon sign and rising sign. After that you need to see in what areas of life these signs are placed. These 12 areas of life are called houses. Then you need to locate the planets and identify in which house and sign each planet falls in. Once you know the basics, the aspects will tell you how the planets, houses and signs interact with each other.

 

The Planets (The “What”)

Each planet governs a different part of your life. 

 

The Signs (The “How”)

The zodiac sign a planet sits in tells you how that energy is expressed.

 

The Houses (The “Where”)

The 12 houses represent different areas of life (money, career, home, relationships).

Asteroids

Asteroids are modern astrological tools. While some astrologers incorporate them into their readings, their emphasis on Chiron —often called "the wounded healer"— usually stems from its unique position as a "bridge" between the inner and outer planets, symbolizing where we face our deepest vulnerabilities. This is an important placement in a person's natal chart and serves as the primary focus of this website. Other significant asteroids, such as Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Eros, and Hygeia, will be explored in upcoming blog posts.
Chiron

Astrology Symbols and glyphs

In astrology there is a long list of frequently used symbols which include signs of the zodiac, planets, asteroids and other celestial bodies. They all have their own unique symbol to be easily spotted in the natal chart. It is a must to get familiar with the symbols as, for a person new to Astrology, it is common to mistake one symbol for another, which can lead to misinterpretations. Other frequently seen symbols are the ones for modalities, elements, nodes of the moon and other points such as Lilith or Part of Fortune, planet in retrograde, aspects and the moon phases.

How to read your birth chart

Reading a birth chart can feel overwhelming at first — there’s a lot going on. Here’s a simple order to follow when you’re just getting started:

  1. Generate your chart using your birth date, time, and place on a free site like Astro.com or Astro-Charts.com.
  2. Find your big three: sun, moon, and rising sign. Read about each one individually before combining them.
  3. Notice which houses your sun, moon, and rising fall in. This shows which life areas they most influence.
  4. Look at where the other planets sit — especially Venus (love and beauty) and Mars (drive and desire).
  5. Over time, and with the help of AstroReference, you will learn to interpret your own birth chart.