How to Read a General Horoscope for Your Chart

Most people don’t realize that when they read a general horoscope on a website or in a magazine that the horoscopes are actually written for your Rising sign, not your Sun sign. Como what? See, horoscopes are written based on the movement of the planets through the houses. In astrology, there are 12 houses, each ruling a different part of your life and personality. As the planets move, they travel through different houses, and impact different areas of your life. Your Rising sign (also called your Ascendant), is the sign on your 1st house cusp (the cusp of a house is the very beginning of that house), and the rest of the houses follow in order. A general horoscope is written so that your Sun sign is used as the Rising sign, or the sign on the 1st house. But there are 12 signs, so there’s only a 1 in 12 chance that when you read your Sun sign horoscope, you’re reading the correct Rising sign, which is why many people think horoscopes don’t work for them. You’re just usually reading the wrong sign!

To find your Rising sign, you need to create a natal chart. A natal chart is a snapshot of the exact moment you were born, showing where the ten planets (minus Earth, including the Sun and Moon) and 12 houses were located when you were born, and from the location you were born at. There are lots of free natal chart generators online, so just do a quick search and you’ll find one. Once you know your Rising, you should read that sign first when you read your horoscope. This will be most accurate for the planetary movement through the houses, and the timing of events should be more in sync. If you have a late Rising (between 20 – 29 degrees), your best bet is to read the sign AFTER your Rising (so say your Rising is 24 degrees Sagittarius, then you should read Capricorn). Once you know all of your houses, you’ll be able to know when a certain aspect applies to you.

When you know the date a planet enters your house, you’ll know when the aspect being referred to in the horoscope will be in effect for you. To know when a planet will enter a house, you’ll need your natal chart and an ephemeris. An ephemeris shows where the planets are in the Zodiac each day. When a planet reaches the same position as one of your house cusps, it enters that house, and that’s when you feel the energy of that planet in that house. You can find an ephemeris for free online with a quick search.

You can still read your Sun sign horoscope in addition to the Rising sign horoscope, but with the Sun sign, you want to pay attention to only the aspects being made to your Sun (so if you read anything in a horoscope saying a certain planet is at a certain angle or making a certain aspect to your Sun, that still applies to you). It’s also recommended that you read your Moon sign horoscope for the same reason (except the aspects to the Sun written about in the horoscope will instead be aspects to your Moon). It takes a little work, but once you gain a little astrology understanding, your horoscopes become much more accurate.

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