Astrology · Houses
Finding your way around the chart wheel
A natal chart guide for beginners. Locate the zodiac, houses and aspect lines, then practise finding a table entry on the chart wheel.
Editorial illustration.
Find the legend
Before reading lines, check the legend and direction of counting. In a typical Western chart, signs and houses run counterclockwise, but the drawing’s starting orientation may differ.
Constructed example. It does not belong to a real person. The houses start at the Ascendant degree; their boundaries do not match the sign boundaries.
- Sun
- 10° Aries · house 10
- Mercury
- 16° Aries · house 11
- Moon
- 12° Cancer · house 1
These three sample placements are listed beside the geometry; the wheel itself shows the sign and house divisions.
Connect the table with the wheel
Choose the Moon in the table, read its sign and degree, then locate that sign on the wheel. Only then check the house. Signs and houses are separate divisions whose boundaries need not coincide.
Follow one line
Find the other end of one aspect and read both longitudes. Calculate the shorter distance and compare it with 0°, 60°, 90°, 120° or 180°. The drawing becomes a checkable record before interpretation is added.
Astrology · Houses