How to read a birth chart

You do not need to memorize the whole wheel. Four layers are enough to start: signs, houses, aspects, then patterns.

Signs

The twelve signs are styles. A planet in Aries does the same job as that planet in Cancer, with a different manner. Start with Sun, Moon, and rising (Ascendant) if you have a time. Then the rest of the planets.

Houses

The twelve houses are rooms of life (self, money, siblings, home, and so on). House cusps need a birth time and a place. Unknown time: House 9 uses noon, same as the app. The Moon and the houses can move a lot with an exact clock.

Aspects

Aspects are the angles. Conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition, and quincunx are the ones that matter on this calculator. Orb is how far the angle is allowed to miss exact. A tight orb hits harder than a wide one.

Patterns

When several aspects close into a named shape, you get a stellium, yod, T-square, grand trine, kite, or grand cross. Read those as a group, not as a pile of pairwise aspects. Jones shapes (bundle, splash, and the rest) describe how planets clump around the circle.

Do this next

Cast the free chart. Skim Patterns, then placements, then houses, then the aspect list. If a pattern name is new, open its page.