Let me begin this post by stating that, just like other processes such as cooking, drawing, or skinning cats, there is more than one way to delineate a chart. What follows is what I have developed through my own course of study and what works for me.
To delineate a chart, means to describe or portray it in a precise manner. So what I am going to show you is the process by which I describe a person based on their natal chart. First we begin with the chart itself. In order to obtain a natal chart you will need to know the date, time and place of birth for the individual concern. Once you have this information, you can plug the data into a free online program such as astro.com Again, each astrologer has their own preferences, I use the whole house system.
Here is our sample chart before hand.
Diagraming the Chart
Once I have the chart in hand, I start the process of diagramming it, that is, setting up the chart in order to write in all my notes. I usually start in the center of the chart and work my way outwards. You can do this in any order that you like and skip any steps that don't speak to you. I, myself, do not always include each step listed below but am including them here for the beginner.
- Start by coloring in the signs with their corresponding elemental color (red for fire signs, green for earth signs, yellow for air signs, and blue for water signs). This is helpful when interpreting placements (planets in signs and houses)
- Write in the quality for each sign (cardinal, fixed, mutable)
- Draw the symbol for the planetary ruler of each sign next to each sign. This helps you to recognize when a planet is in a sign that it rules, or is in mutual reception.
- Draw a small circle divided into 4 sections in the top right portion of the page. Make a note of how the planets are dispersed in the chart.
- On the lower right side there is a small chart showing the number of planets in the elements and qualities. I usually write the correct number over the planetary symbols and add up the rows and columns. I usually only count the planets and only consider the AC and MC when I need to "break a tie" or shift the balance between plants when they are too even.
- In the column listing the planets and signs, determine the essential dignity of each planet.
- Divide the front of the page into 11 sections as equally as possible. You will want one section across the top of the page, five sections on the left side of the page and another five on the right side of the page. These sections are for writing your notes about the Ascendant and Chart Ruler (top section) and the ten planets in the signs and houses.
- List the planets in the signs and houses in the sections and then write up your initial notes in these spaces. These are just notes and initial impressions that you will expand on when you start to write your delineation.
- Flip the page over and then divide it into six sections: 1) Hemispheres and Quadrants 2) Elements and Qualities 3) Chiron 4) the Angular Houses 5) Tightest Aspects* and 6) the North and South Nodes.
- When you are done, write your notes about these placements in the spaces that you have created.
Other things you will want to take into account include empty houses (look to the sign on the house), the Oriental Planet, the Succedent and Cadent Houses, and the Rulers of the Houses as well. When you are done, your pages should look something like this.
Front View
Rear View
Beginning Your Interpretation
As you write your initial notes your subconscious is already looking for patterns among the data that you are collecting and recording. This information will filter through your subconscious into your consciousness and you will begin to form your own impression about the nature and character of the person who's chart you are interpreting.
The next step, however, is beginning the process of organizing and refining the data that we have collected. To do this, you will want to divide each piece of data into one of seven sections. They are:
- Personality and Character
- Emotions
- Love & Relationships
- Home & Childhood
- Travel & Higher Ideals
- Sex & Sexuality
- Work & Career
You may find it helpful to assign a different color to each of the seven categories and use a highlighter or colored pencil to highlight each individual piece of data with its corresponding color. Then you will group all the data corresponding to each category/color together in one paragraph. Finally, you will edit and refine the information that you have collected and gathered together and blend it into a clear, concise astrological interpretation. This process is called astrological synthesis.
In part two of this subject, I will share with you my final delineation of the chart used in this example.
Carolina Dean
* To help determine the tightest aspect at astro.com, go down to the section titled Display and Calculation Options and set the orb to 10 percent. Record the tightest hard aspect and the tightest soft aspect.
No comments:
Post a Comment