The Fun of Reading Your Natal Chart as an Event
Embarking on a new adventure in astrology blogging, I considered what a good introductory post would be. Sharing my natal chart was one option, but instead of looking at what that might say about me, I thought it would be more fun and interesting to do what I call reading a natal chart as an event chart.
Let’s set the scene, so we can identify the cast of characters we might see in this chart:
My dad (♐ASC, ♊☽, ♐☉) was a successful businessman in a seaside town. He had been married for ~25 years and had 4 kids by that marriage, but had been estranged from his wife for years.
My mom (♏ASC, ♉☽, ♌☉), a young divorcée with one child, was working for my dad at his convalescent home (my Grandmother and Great Aunt also worked for him back in those days).
At a certain point unknown to us now, my mom and dad’s relationship became romantic.
My mom presumably became pregnant in mid-May 1973. The stigma on babies born out of wedlock was strong at that time, so my father worked quickly to secure a divorce (which was challenging as it was before “irreconcilable differences” laws made exiting a marriage somewhat easier).
My parents wed in August 1973.
I was born as a full-term baby, via C-section delivery, in February 1974.
My Dad, center, pictured with two employees, including my mom’s Aunt Barbara. Photo taken ~6 years before I was born.
The event chart:
Here is my birth chart, for February 10, 1974 with the Ascendant at 29 degrees of Leo. (That is close enough to a house cusp to vet the exact birth time, but I trust my Great Grandmother and Great Aunt, both astrologers eagerly watching for my exact arrival time, got it correct. I do certainly feel more like a Leo rising than a Virgo rising.)
My Natal chart, which we are here considering as an event.
A word on house systems…
You will see that I have cast this with whole sign houses. Having an ascendant at 29+ degrees will cause quadrant versus whole sign house systems to turn up quite different results in a chart!
Notice that here, if one cast this same event time in a system such as Placidus, every planet would move back one house, i.e. the chart ruler, the Sun, would end up in the 6th instead of the 7th. Having lived my astrology for 52+ years, the whole house chart simply feels more correct to me in terms of transit experiences, so that’s why I use it…more on that in future posts.
All that said, no shade on Placidus and other systems: I do use quadrant houses for needs such as horary astrology, etcetera. If you prefer a different house system, cast it and tell me your take on this event—I’d be glad to hear what you see!
Sun Conjunct Jupiter / The Father:
My dad, with his Sagitarrius rising and Sag sun to boot, was a very Jupitarian character, who would regularly envision new plans and improvements for his businesses. As such, I see him in the Jupiter/Sun conjunction in my 7th house. That’s also across the chart from my Mom’s Leo sun sign, reinforcing the idea of seeing him there in the 7th house of partnership.
Venus Retrograde / The Mother:
Traditionally, one looks to see one’s mother represented by the moon, however, looking for for my mother in this chart as an event chart, I see her instead represented by Venus retrograde in the 6th house of work: That was where she met my Dad.
And, interestingly, women born with Venus retrograde in their chart can be more likely to attract negative views about their feminine qualities: this makes perfect sense as many locals at that time viewed my Mom as a seductress, even if that was not her intention.
Here, Venus is also near Black Moon Lilith, which is a calculated point based on the Moon, so we get a connection to women operating outside of bounds, as well as the moon/mother for this event here.
Moon / The Other Mother, i.e. Ex Wife:
When we consider the Libra moon in this event chart, I see it as my Dad’s first ex-wife. Libra is the sign of law and fairness in partnership, and she was, and remained, focused on fairness between her and her ex. This also makes sense as Libra is governing the third house of siblings, and she is the mother of 4 of my half-siblings. Uranus is there in the 3rd too, indicating a surprise for those siblings in terms of me coming along.
We also have Pluto in the 3rd with the moon, and Pluto is a planet of deeply held secrets: my dad’s ex wife turned out to be 9 years old than him, a fact he only learned long after—she had lied about her age when he was freshly back from serving in the Korean war and married my Dad who was only 20 years old.
Lastly, looking at Moon aspects to other planets, we see the moon’s direct opposition with Chiron…eek! (One can imagine my arrival was anything but a healing experience for my Dad’s ex wife.)
Mercury / The Gossips:
Coming to Mercury, we find him in the 8th house, which can signify secretive gossip, as well as its more commonly discussed associations with sex/death/taxes. In this chart, the 8th is is ruled by Pisces—perfect setting for gossip flying in our seaside town: many locals did not approve of my parents' relationship and my arrival meant it could not be ignored. (The gossip was pervasive; people thought of my Mom as a “gold digger” going after my Dad, because, at that time, he had more resources than she did.)
Mars / The Surgeon:
With Mars in Taurus near the midheaven, we can see a surgeon delivering the baby via c-section. This connects the event with the mom-moon idea, as my mother’s moon is in Taurus.
Happy baby me, happy Mom and Dad, happy Grandparents.
In conclusion…
Well, I certainly had an exciting arrival for this lifetime! I could not have asked for better parents; they rose to all the challenges mentioned here and created a lovely family life including all their shared children.
Share your thoughts
Have you ever tried reading your natal chart as an event chart with all the important characters that were present at the time? Do you see more in this chart in terms of the event?
