Astrology For Dummies. Rae Orion

       Assume you were born at noon. That way, the calculations can’t be more than 12 hours off. Even the moon, which spins through the entire zodiac in a month, can’t be more than about six and a half degrees off. So the planetary positions will be roughly correct. But the house positions won’t be, which means that the Sun isn’t really at the top of your chart (unless, by coincidence, you really were born around noon). It just looks that way.

       Assume you were born at sunrise. Not all astrology websites allow that possibility, but many do. Just choose the sunrise option and proceed. As with noon charts, remember that the Sun probably isn’t in the first house (unless you really were born at dawn), and the house positions are only a guess. (If you were born via C-section but don’t know exactly when, you might want to assume that you were born at 8:00 a.m., which is statistically the most common birth time in the United States, entirely due to C-section deliveries.)

       Use what are known as “natural houses.” With natural houses, Aries always occupies the whole of the first house, Taurus occupies the second, and so on, all the way to Pisces, which encompasses the entire twelfth house. Thus, if you were born under Libra, which is the seventh sign of the zodiac, your Sun will be in the seventh house. Again, since you don’t know when you were born, these house positions are only provisional. But without them, you’d be looking at little more than a list. By using natural houses, you can see how the planets are arranged, what signs they are in, and how they interact with each other — and that’s a wealth of information.

       Astrolabe (https://alabe.com): Astrolabe provides a no-frills birth chart with two or three pages of interpretation. Its resources and services are not as extensive as those of some other websites, and its charts are not as lovely. But if you go to this website, look for “Free Astro Chart” (or words to that effect), enter your birth data, and hit “submit,” your natal chart will instantly wing its way back to you. Astrolabe does not tempt you with too many bells and whistles. (Don’t worry, I tell you in the following bullet points where to satisfy that craving.) But if you want an easy-to-read birth chart with some basic interpretation, you can get it here — fast and free.

       Astro-charts (https://astro-charts.com): The first thing you’ll see here are the words “Welcome to the home of beautiful astrology charts.” That’s an exaggeration, but the charts do look good, and they are accompanied by lists of planetary placements, aspects, and chart patterns. (See Chapter 14 for more on that subject.) They are not, however, accompanied by interpretation. For that, you have to pay. One other caveat: this website requires a birth time. There is neither an “unknown” option nor a sunrise option. If you don’t know the time of your birth, I recommend that you create a noon chart by entering 12:00 p.m. as your time.

       Café Astrology (https://cafeastrology.com): “Where do I begin?” asks the home page. A line or two below you will see the words “How to obtain my natal chart.” Click on that, follow the instructions, and you will obtain an analysis of your chart. The chart itself does not appear until the end of the report. Keep scrolling past the multi-colored introductory tables, past the interpretative paragraphs, almost to the end. It’s a pretty chart, but you’ll have to look carefully for the house cusps, which are indicated with Roman numerals and delicate dashes. Cafe Astrology also offers dozens of articles, daily horoscopes, yearly overviews, all kinds of forecasts you can purchase, and a free yearly horoscope based on the day of your birth. Look for “If Today Is Your Birthday,” even if today is not your birthday. A few extra clicks will bring you where you want to go.

       Astrodienst (www.astro.com): And so we arrive at the oldest, most respected, and most professional astrological website. At Astrodienst, a Swiss site founded in 1980, you can do more than entertain yourself; you can educate yourself. But navigating this site can be a challenge. Here’s how to get your free natal chart:Go to “Free Horoscopes,” visible at the top of the home page on the left. Let the cursor hover over “Free Horoscopes.” A menu will appear. One of the items (on the right-hand side, as of this writing) is “Natal Chart/Ascendant.” Click on that.Now you’re on a page welcoming guest users and registered users. For the moment, count yourself a guest. Click on the words “click here to go to the data entry page.”On the data entry page, tick the box accepting their privacy policy. Then fill in your birth data and click “continue.” Your chart will magically appear. To print it out on a page of its own, sans ads, click on the small circle in the middle.