The Many Uses of Natal Astrology
Introduction
Natal astrology is one of the four major branches of astrology with the others being horary astrology, electional astrology and mundane astrology.
Knowing which type of astrology to use when dealing with various questions is part of the art. Most people’s central concerns are to do with their personal lives with the self being first, closely followed by family members such as spouses or life partners, children and parents. The natal chart can shed light on many of these issues.
Natal astrology puts the focus on the life of the individual in its various aspects – for example, work or career, personality, offspring, relationships, state of health, strengths and weaknesses, personal enemies and friends, financial situation and resources, romance, holidays, travel and pleasurable pursuits, parents, employers and marriage.
Small wonder then that it is the most popular kind of astrology and the most widely used. Sadly, this also makes it the most exploited by the unscrupulous. Few people realise that, astrologically speaking, they are so much more than just their Sun sign.
The Importance of a Natal Chart
A full analysis of a natal chart when done in writing takes a great deal of work and is typically many pages long because there is so much to understand and appreciate about an individual life.
The art and skill of reading a natal chart accurately, as opposed to simply citing some standard cookbook interpretation from the internet or a book, sets the true astrologer apart from those just wanting to make a quick buck. A knowledgeable astrologer reading the chart in a live consultation may see things in the chart that prompt them to ask the client some penetrating questions that may shed more light on the situation. People are not always conscious of the interconnectedness of things.
While an astrologer’s client may come with specific questions about certain life crises or issues they are currently experiencing in one area, the whole chart often tells the full story. For example, trouble with the boss (the tenth house) may be tied up with the native’s secret enemies (twelfth house) or the native’s stubbornness or other personality traits (first house).
Financial problems (second house) may be linked to the native’s unwise decisions regarding ownership of land or a home (fourth house) or a marriage partner (seventh house). The point is that the whole is more than the sum of its parts in natal astrology.
The natal chart is the root for everything that happens, or doesn’t happen, in a person’s life. It can be progressed to the current date to see what aspects of the life the client is presently dealing with, but the progressed chart must always be interpreted with reference to the natal chart. For a natal chart to be accurate, it is essential to know not only the client’s date of birth but also the time and location of birth.
A person born at night on the same day, in the same year and place as a person born in the morning will have a very different personality. The planets will be in different houses and different angles because they move across the sky. This is particularly true of the Sun and the Moon, both of which play a critical role in a natal chart. The rising sign of the chart, in other words, the sign on the ascendant at birth will make one person with the Sun in Leo very different from another person also with the Sun in Leo. Sun signs alone are extreme generalizations and cannot give a very accurate picture of the important details of a life.
The Kinds Of Questions Asked in the Old Days
In ancient times, the advice of astrologers was often sought upon the birth of a royal or otherwise socially important child. What kind of life will they have, what problems will they encounter? Will they survive childhood – a very important question in the days of high infant mortality. Will they make a good ruler or a bad one? What kind of person will they be?
In the days before modern medicine, a person might ask if a woman in their life, whether a wife, daughter or mistress, is pregnant. They might inquire whether they should marry a particular person and whether the marriage will be successful or bring with it a good dowry.
They were preoccupied with inheritances from their parents, relationships with siblings, social status and wealth in general. Would they enjoy the favour of the king or queen or other persons in power? Will they be restored if they have fallen from grace?
They might ask about their servants or workers they have hired or how many children they may have. Carrying on the family line and the family business was important to people. They also wanted to know about the best country or town to live in and whether they would have success in travel.
Though times have changed, the questions that preoccupy most people have not. Relationships, work, money, health and children are universal human concerns in any era. An astrologer must always be kind and humble when trying to assist a client but that doesn’t mean avoiding hard truths.
The Kinds Of Questions That Can Be Answered From The Natal Chart Today
There is an unfortunate tendency these days to sugar coat everything. This does not necessarily help the client and makes the astrologer untrustworthy. A client who is not ready to receive genuine answers to questions because they have already decided what they want to hear poses a distinct professional risk to the astrologer. They are not really seeking answers, just affirmation.
There is no shame in refusing to read a chart where this will benefit neither the client nor the astrologer. There are certain questions that may even be unethical for an astrologer to answer. Frivolous questions, insincere or mocking questions, and idle or purely speculative questions – for instance about length of life or time of death, are examples of questions that many wise astrologers refuse to answer.
A concerned parent may legitimately ask about a child’s education, health or problems at school. For instance, they may ask about prospective career choices for a child who is nearing school leaving age or whether they should encourage him or her in their chosen sport as an alternative. Some answers may be obtained from the parent’s own natal chart, but the child’s natal chart will give a fuller picture. The parent or grandparent of a newborn might be thinking about the new baby’s personality and how best to guide them in life or whether the child will be strong and healthy.
A worried wife might ask if her husband is having an affair and whether she can trust him to answer her questions truthfully. A person might also ask if they should leave their spouse for their lover. Someone who is insecure in their romantic relationship may ask if their current partner will marry them or whether they should just cut their losses and move on. A younger person might want to know if they should focus on their career or their current romantic relationship.
A potential business owner might ask whether they should enter a business relationship they are contemplating and what financial impact this could have on them. Or they might ask whether they should leave their job to start their own business and what their natal chart says about it. They may ask if an employee or business partner is defrauding them and whether the person is trustworthy.
More general questions may be asked about the best career path to follow or a proposal to travel overseas to experience the world. One person may be troubled by a particular recurring dream and seek answers as to what it could mean. A couple could be desperate to have a child and want to know whether they are likely to conceive or should adopt. This could involve looking at a number of aspects of the natal charts of both parties, for example their general state of health, their stress levels due to financial or work pressures, the state of their marriage etc.
An adult may be worried about an elderly parent and ask about their health and prospects of recovery. Or they may have questions about their own state of health and whether they can trust the advice of their doctor regarding treatment.
A question could be about a holiday cruise they are thinking about while worried about leaving an elderly parent alone for too long. Another could be about prospects for promotion in the military or within their current company versus changing their career path altogether.
The answers to these questions are seldom just a simple “yes” or “no”. The answer could be “if you do this then that may be the result – but maybe you need to make a different choice altogether” or “have you considered this or that possibility?”
Some people may want to know on their birthday about what the year ahead holds for them in which case a special version of the natal chart called a solar return chart might be employed. Or a progressed chart based on the natal chart can be used to look at the life issues they will be facing in the new year.
Certain people may only be successful later in life while others are blessed during early adulthood. Some may want to know whether and when they will make a comeback from a particularly horrible time in their lives while others may be wanting to avoid unnecessary risks.
Conclusion
A skilled astrologer will give nuanced answers that take various factors from the client’s unique chart into account. Perhaps the astrologer can draw attention to some aspect the client has not considered or offer a different perspective to someone whose mind is stuck in a rut. Ultimately, it is the client who must make the big decision.
While certain pressing and highly specific questions can be answered using horary astrology, the natal chart can give a broader picture of what is happening in a person’s life. An astrologer may use both horary and natal astrology in some cases, depending on the nature of the question. However, it is amazing just how much information can be obtained from the natal chart alone.
30 December 2023
D Pearmain