Astrology has become somewhat of a phenomenon in pop culture recently. According to Google Trends, in August 2019 the search term “astrology” reached a 94 point interest level out of 100 points. The term is also projected to reach a 100 point interest level in September 2019.

As with most trends, astrology has won my attention. I have become increasingly interested in reading about the signs and how compatible I may be with mine. In order to take a deeper dive into astrology, I decided to fill out a natal chart. 

A natal chart is an astrological tool that uses birthdates, birth times and birth locations to help people better understand their personalities and how they interact with the rest of the world. In order to understand its main components I met with Laurie, owner of Silver & Scents in downtown Kent, to discuss my results. 

An Analysis of My Own Natal Chart

After having a general understanding of what makes up a natal chart, I downloaded the app Co-Star to fill one out. There, I was prompted to give my birthdate, birth time and place of birth, then my natal chart was generated. 

I was born September 16 so my sun is in Virgo. This means Virgo characteristics represent my core identity. According to my Co-Star results, I am said to be smart, self-sacrificing and easily bogged down by day-to-day details. Laurie emphasized these traits when she said that suns in Virgo represent an inner nature of being “an analyzer.”

No wonder my easily bogged-down self has no social life. I will blame it on that.

My moon is in Pisces. According to Co-Star, this means my inner emotions and moods are most similar to Pisces. This makes sense to me, because I am often sensitive and get lost in my own thoughts and I feel like I relate most to having the inner tornado of emotions similar to Pisces.

My ascendant is in Aquarius. This means I am often seen by others as exuding characteristics related to Aquarius. According to Co-Star, I can be seen by others as having the Aquarius characteristics of originality and refusal to outwardly express emotions. 

I feel like this is spot on, because my biggest fights with my boyfriend always seem to involve me not communicating my feelings. If only I could explain what is wrong instead of forcing him to guess; I guess that would be too easy.

My Mercury is in Virgo, in the seventh house. This means I am most likely to exhibit “Virgo-like” responses in matters of the seventh house such as one-on-one relationships. I understand this in relation to myself, because I exhibit the Virgo trait of constantly analyzing whether whom I surround myself with is helping me grow as a person.

Laurie backed my belief in Mercury being in Virgo when she said those people are “extremely sensitive and analytical” when it comes to relationships. 

Sometimes, the truth hurts. But of course it hurts to me; my mercury is in Virgo!

My Jupiter is in Aquarius, in the twelfth house. This means that I am likely to exhibit characteristics of Aquarius in matters of the twelfth house like inner peace. According to Co-Star, I am said to find success in privacy and introspection. I understand this connection, because I definitely find value in being humble.  Laurie also described people with Jupiter in Aquarius as “inventive geniuses” who are often times lucky. 

I hope that Jupiter in Aquarius luck rubs off on me soon.

My Saturn is in Aries, in the second house. This means that I may exhibit characteristics of Aries in matters of the second house such as self-reliance. According to Co-Star, I am said to have difficulties with money and material possessions. I find this to be accurate, as I often find it hard to save money. However, Laurie gave me hope when she said that people with Saturn in Aries are “impulsive, which can be good in business.” 

Maybe one day when I run a business, my impulsive personality will pay off.

After filling out a natal chart, I feel like the astrology universe knows me. Even the planets I didn’t mention seemed to make sense in my life in some way.

Is it a coincidence? Probably. Am I still intrigued? Absolutely.

I may have only discovered the natal chart due to astrology’s increasing popularity in pop culture, but at the end of the day, I’m glad I allowed the trend to suck me in. Excuse me, while I go take a look at my daily horoscope. Shout out to my fellow Virgos!

Morgan Smith is a web writer for A Magazine. Contact her at msmit288kent.edu. 

This story was originally published on A Magazine’s website.

Sidebars:

The Signs

Signs represent the characteristics of the sky at birth. According to The Labyrinthos, the signs are said to reveal a person’s characteristics and are assigned according to birthdate. 

Pisces – February 19 – March 20

Compassionate, sensitive, romantic and intuitive, but also escapist, submissive and self-pitying.

Aries – March 21 – April 19

Head-strong, fearless, driven and enthusiastic, but also pushy, hot-headed and selfish.

Taurus – April 20 – May 20

Solid, patient, trustworthy and tasteful, but also stubborn, possessive and indulgent.

Gemini – May 21 – June 20

Intelligent, communicative, connected and adaptable, but also deceptive, inconsistent and cunning.

Cancer – June 21 – July 22

Nurturing, supportive, compassionate and loving, but also moody, indirect and dependent.

Leo – July 23 – August 22

Playful, generous, fun and charismatic but also dominating, self-centered and stubborn.

Virgo – August 23 – September 22

Humble, logical, responsible and organized, but also obsessive, over-critical and perfectionist.

Libra – September 23 – October 22

Charming, diplomatic, easy-going and polished, but also indecisive, hypocritical and superficial.

Scorpio – October 23 – November 21

Passionate, driven, emotional and sacrificing, but also destructive, jealous and possessive.

Sagittarius – November 22 – December 21

Ambitious, moral, optimistic and enthusiastic, but also lazy, irresponsible and restless.

Capricorn – December 22 – January 19

Strategic, reliable, persistent and disciplined, but also greedy, fearful and miserly

Aquarius – January 20 – February 18

Intelligent, friendly, inventive and altruistic, but also emotionally detached, scatterbrained and rebels without a cause 

The Houses

The houses form the skeletal structure of the natal chart. Regardless of one’s birth date, birth time and birth location, the houses are always found in the same location on the chart. 

There are 12 houses, which start with the first house rising on the horizon on the left (East). Then they move counterclockwise all the way to the twelfth house. 

The houses each specialize in different matters relating to the inner self. People are said to tackle matters of a particular house how the sign that falls into them would.

1st house: matters relating to self-awareness.

2nd house: matters relating to self-reliance and working with the world.

3rd house: matters relating to rational mind and communicating with others.

4th house: matters relating to feelings and caring for others.

5th house: matters relating to self-expression and passion.

6th house: matters relating to improvement of self and others.

7th house: matters relating to justice and one-on-one relationships.

8th house: matters relating to transparency and healing.

9th house: matters relating to exploration of life and life’s purpose.

10th house: matters relating to legacy and life’s work.

11th house: matters relating to groups and causes.

12th house: matters relating to inner peace and connectedness.

The Planets

The planets indicate how strong a characteristic of a particular sign is reflected. The closer the planet is to the sun, the more apparent the personality characteristics of the sign it is aligned with in the natal chart are. 

Astrology of the Ancients explains that the planets are separated into three separate categories: personal, social and collective.

The sun, moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars are considered personal planets because they move the fastest through the solar system. They affect more day-to-day emotions. 

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are collective planets and move slower around the solar system. They affect everyone in this generation the same.

Jupiter and Saturn are considered social planets. These planets act as a way of connecting the personal planets that reveal our inner selves to the collective planets that unite generations.

The Sun

The sun represents the outwardly focused, expressive side of one’s personality. According to Cafe Astrology, the sun can be seen as a person’s personality boss. The sign that is in the sun is the leader of the personality.

The Ascendant

The ascendant, or rising sign, is the zodiac sign that was on the horizon at the exact time of birth. Always Astrology explains that the ascendant sign acts like the “mask” people wear in public, or the first impression people give off. The website also states that with age, personality becomes less characterized by the ascendant sign as one grows into their true and natural self: the sun sign.

The Moon

The moon represents the inwardly focused, reflective side of one’s personality. It describes emotional thinking and internal concern. According to Astrology of the Ancients, moon personalities are not shown to others right away like the sun and ascendant signs and are often only visible to close friends.