1. Introduction - The Overall Picture

2. The Four Components of Every Chart

3. Label the Four Points of the Cross

4. Name the Ascending Sign (Ascendant)

5. Number the Houses

6. Identify The Planets

Locate the Planets: Now we are ready to read the planets using the table in the center of our sample chart as a guide. In Jane Sample's chart I have circled Neptune, Venus and the Sun.

Planets in Signs: Just like the Ascendant is in a sign (in Libra), so is each planet. Most easily we recognize the Sun, here it is in Taurus. This is Jane Sample's Sun Sign. Jane "is a Taurus" because her Sun was in the section of the zodiac that is Taurus when she was born. Jane also has Venus in Aries and Neptune in Scorpio, as can be seen from her chart. Make a list of your ten planets and what sign they are in.

Add the Houses: The final step is to add the houses. You do this by adding a column to your list of planets in signs. Jane's Sun then reads as being in Taurus and in the 7th house. Do this for your chart.