How to Give a Short Natal Chart Interpretation

By Roy George Santos Plazo

If you're interested in astrology and tried to learn through the Internet, then I'm 99% sure Google led you to a "birth chart interpretation tutorial" page. I don't know about you, but this only bored me due to the redundancy of the topic. What I wanted was to deepen my knowledge. I'm not suggesting that natal charts are for "n00bs" and these natal chart tutorials have no use-- remember that this article is about birth charts! But instead of helping you choose which natal chart calculator you should use or which astrological book is the "best," I will share with you my techniques of doing the most difficult thing a beginner in astrology will encounter: organizing and giving a brief birth chart interpretation.

As a beginner in the field of astrology, the best way to practice my skills is to give free delineations to my friends. However, based on my experience, no one likes hearing an unorganized "oracle" about themselves. To smoothen my interpretations, whether done face-to-face or sent through Facebook, I made a checklist of what to look for in a chart.

To guide you through the list, let's suppose Zayn Malik is my good friend and he wants me to give him a brief interpretation of his birth chart.

Start with the planets

Personally, I'd start with their Sun sign, Moon, and their Ascendant (not a planet but I reveal this to people earlier in a reading). What's better than hooking their attention with delineations that resonates the most with them? Try to start with their Sun, mostly because it's what they know the most.

Most of the time, you would be giving adjectives, so try to give around 3 of them.

"Zayn, so you know you're a Capricorn, which means you're career-oriented, practical, and prefers control over things. Your Moon is in Virgo, so you prefer logic, particularly how you organize your environment. Your ascending sign is Pisces, so you may come off to people as dreamy, idealistic, and soulful. Mercury is also in Capricorn (which means Zayn is skeptical towards astrology, hahaha!), along with your Uranus and Neptune, so you think and speak with professionalism, combined with innovation of traditions and idealism with "groundedness".

Mars in Cancer makes your expression of assertiveness considerate to feelings but you're explosive if emotionally triggered. You also have great talents in arts, though most people cannot fully appreciate it immediately because Mars is retrograde.

Venus is in Pisces, which makes you extremely romantic and sensitive to music.

You're a natural diplomat, which makes you good at mediating conflicts, due to Jupiter in Libra. Saturn in Libra gives you anxiety, particularly in a very large group of unknown people (it is known that Zayn experiences/d anxiety)..."

ZAYN MALIK'S PLANETS AND ZODIAC SIGNS

Look for chart patterns

If at first glance you notice a chart configuration (such as grand trines, T-squares, splash, etc.), include it in your interpretation. Also observe if planets populate a certain hemisphere (upper, lower, left, right).

"...You have a stellium in your Capricornian eleventh house, which gives you comfort around friends and people and most of the time overpowers your anxiety from your Saturn..."

Interpret the houses

If you know your querent, start on a house which would interest them the most (tenth house if they're career-oriented, seventh house if they're a natural romantic, etc.); if you don't, I recommend you go in an ascending order, though you could start with the angulars, then with the succedents, and then with the cadents.

"...Your Pisces-ruled first house has your Venus, which explains why you're insanely attractive. You own aesthetic things which suits you much, like your fabulous fashion, because of your Taurean second house. You can express yourself well with words

because of your third house Gemini, but you rarely do and only to your family because Mercury is in the stellium and fourth house is also Gemini. Mars in Cancer plus fifth house tells me you're good in bed; as good as your creativity.You're care much about your daily work and treat it critically, as what your sixth house and its ruler tells me. You're very analytical in partnerships but both Jupiter and Moon in it tells me you treat them with utmost respect, whether romantic or business. Eight house with Scorpio suggests suspiciousness to passed on wealth, so you do a lot of investigation before receiving them. Sagittarian ninth house makes you adventurous, literally and metaphorically-- you like to explore places and philosophies. Sagittarian tenth house means you are benevolent in your career and you want people to see you in different fields of your specialty. You are willing to sacrifice as long as it is practical, according to your twelfth house..."

Connect the details with the aspects

Tie down everything you said about the planets and the houses with the aspects. This will give the querent a clearer picture of why certain parts of their personality go together or produce conflict.

Since you want to give only a short interpretation, only consider the major aspects.

"...Like I've said earlier, with your Sun in conjunct with both of your Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, at the same time in trine with your Moon, these characteristics already paint a colorful personality and a good worker of details. Mars in opposition with your Sun, your will and goals in a group and your creative drive often clash together, though-- this might be the reason why you had problems when you were still in One Direction. But I think if your surroundings and mood overpower this factor, your creative juices would just pour out-- your Moon ties up the previous conflicting opposition with Her harmonious trine with your stellium and a coaxing sextile with Mars. Another thing to add to this peculiar orientation: your Jupiter is squaring both ends at the center, so if your 'business self' is given enough resources and a good challenge, you'd make monumental works (check Zayn's "Mind of Mine"-- it's amazing. I sounds weird at first though because of his creative yet retrograde Mars but it'll help you know him better if you're interested.) Venus in trine with Mars: what you like, you put a ring on it, after taking them to bed. Even though your environment contradicts your desired image you want to show the world, you know how to sacrifice for the sake of business and character, according to Moon square MC, Saturn trine Jupiter, and Saturn sextile MC..."

Finish everything with a summary

After you poured your efforts of interpretation, it would be good if you state your perspective about fate and destiny. This way, your querent would know how you treat your interpretations and in turn, treat these interpretation with how you prefer they should treat it. On the astrologer's side, since you basically have the person's personality blueprint, try analizing what ways you should deliver information to the querent. In Zayn's case, I delivered it along with the astrological jargons to show his skeptical Capricornian Moon that I am serious with my delineations.

I know I did not 100% follow the list since I mentioned several houses and related important aspects at the beginjing of the interpretation, but doing this is perfectly fine. It is still your goal to deliver an organized and cohesive interpretations, and if to do such you'd need to break the rules a little, go ahead. After all, it is still up to you if you'd even try this list.

To end my interpretations of Zayn's chart, I would probably explain that how he manages himself is still one of the greatest factors of a human's journey. Positive traits I have told could become negative; and negative traits, positive. But I won't write it down here since I am not really talking to him and I believe that these interpretation summaries are pretty personal and spur-of-the-moment things.

One last thing before this article ends: if a querent disagrees about a thing you said, whether because they did not like it or just plain misinterpretation, accept it with an open heart. The axiom "learn from mistakes" is still applicable when learning astrology. Take these criticisms so you'd grow into a much better astrologer!

May the heavens be in your favor, everyone!

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Zayn Malik's image source: http://www.newslocker.com/en-uk/person/zayn-malik/zayn-malik-makes-plans-for-rap-career-post-one-direction-stvtv/