Why is my birth time important?

The planets are constantly moving around and switching from aspect to aspect, so the difference of an hour can affect your birth chart, Moon sign and Rising sign -- and in turn, this will affect who you are. You can find your birth time information from your birth certificate or by asking your parents. The closer you can get to your specific birth time, the better. Then you can look up your Essential Birth Chart Report and start exploring yourself further.

What’s a horoscope?

Daily horoscopes are the most commonly recognized form of Astrology in the world. While it’s difficult to write an accurate and detailed horoscope that speaks to every single person’s specific situation, horoscopes can be a wonderful tool for getting the general astrological "lay of the land," and a good daily astrologer is expert at keeping us apprised of general conditions. Meet DailyHoroscope.com's Master Astrologers here and watch their video horoscopes.

What’s a birth chart?

A birth chart, or “natal chart” is your horoscope or astrological chart or graph drawn at the exact time of your birth. In order to get the most accurate birth chart possible, you need to know your time and date of birth, and your location of birth. Your birth chart explains everything Astrological about you, aspects that help define you based on when and where you were born.

What’s a Sun sign?

Your Sun Sign is crucial to your birth chart, and represents your general temperament. It is determined simply by the day and month of your birth.

While it’s is a mistake to think that knowing about your Sun Sign is going to deliver information about how you process things, interact with the world or deal with emotions and relationships, it does represent your basic individuality and forms the foundation for your horoscopes. Going further into your horoscope, more specific aspects of your being are reflected by other heavenly bodies and how they all are "aspected" to each other. Your Sun sign is just the beginning, but it’s a great place to start!

What’s a Moon sign?

Every 2 and 1/3 days, the Moon moves from one sign to the next, taking a total of 28 days to do a complete trip around the zodiac, stopping for a visit in one of each of the twelve signs of the zodiac before starting the same journey all over again. The Moon moves quickly, which speaks to your ever-changing moods and emotions.

If your Rising Sign represents your "external" self, it can be said that your Moon Sign represents your "inner" or "emotional" self, or the way you handle your emotions and the way you truly feel, whether you reveal it or not. To most astrologers, the moon is also about your intuition, your inner vulnerabilities, your fears as well as the things that can stir your heart. As is the case with the Ascendant, your Moon Sign may be entirely different from your Sun Sign, and reading your daily horoscope for your Moon Sign can also provide yet more insight into your personal astrological makeup. Learn about all the different Moon signs and how they shape your inner self.

What is a Rising sign?

Your Rising Sign or "Ascendant" reflects that 1/12th slice of the sky that was ascending on the Eastern horizon the moment you were born, and is located on the cusp of the First House of your astrological chart. Knowing your birth time is a necessary piece of information to determine your Rising Sign.

Your Rising Sign is an important part of your astrological chart, because it represents the way you project yourself outward, the way you're seen and perceived by the rest of the world and the general "impression" that you make on others. It is frequently the case that a person will have a Rising Sign that is entirely different from their Sun Sign, and learning about your Rising Sign, and even reading your daily horoscope for that sign, can provide greater insight into your personal astrological makeup.

What’s the difference between a planetary transit and an aspect/alignment?

A transit refers to the passage of each planet through a particular horoscope sign or house in the birth chart. Planetary aspects, on the other hand, are angles created by the varying positions of the planets in the sky in relation to one another. For example, Neptune may form an aspect to the Sun while it is transiting through Pisces. Learn more about all the different planetary aspects (sextiles, trines, oppositions, conjunctions and more.)

What does it mean if I’m “on the cusp?”

Let’s say you were born very late at night on February 18. The Sun enters Pisces on February 19, so you’d be “on the cusp” between an Aquarius, the sign that comes before Pisces in the zodiac, and a Pisces. You would share a combination of the two signs' personality traits! Lucky you!