Astrology has been around for more than 2,000 years, so pretty much everyone knows at least their Sun sign (what you usually respond with when someone asks, "What's your sign?"). But recently, astrology has been becoming more and more mainstream, and collectively, we are diving deeper into horoscopes and birth charts.
Your birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the *exact* moment of your birth, so to be able to get and read one, you'll need your birth date (duh), but also the exact location and time (as close as possible!) of your birth. Without these, your reading can be off. There's a whole lot involved in a birth chart since there are placements for every planet, as well as several asteroids, but the most important parts are your “big three,”: your Sun, Moon, and Rising sign. Your Sun placement describes your ego, your ability to create, and your sense of self. The Moon represents your emotions and your innermost world. The Rising sign, which is calculated by the exact time of your birth, is the filter through which you experience the world and the world experiences you—it’s often described as the “mask” you wear.
So, you’re probably feeling excited to check out your birth chart, but might not know where to start since the amount of information out there can be overwhelming. Don't fret—I went ahead and helped you out by compiling a list of the four best birth chart sites to help you get and read yours. Whether you’re eager to become a real student of astrology, or you’re just curious and want to poke around, there's something here for everyone. Now without further ado, let's find your new favorite free birth chart generator!
Best Overall: Astrodienst
On Astrodiesnt, all you have to do is make an account, and you can generate hundreds of birth charts for free. Once you generate the birth chart, which will be a circle with different planetary symbols all around, check out the free AstroClick feature and click on any planet, sign, or lines in the chart and the site will give you a fantastic analysis.
Pro tip: There are a few little dropdown menus at the bottom of the page for generating birth charts. Leave those alone! The default settings on the site will create a simple, easy-to-digest birth chart for you.
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Astrology is also a phenomenal tool for describing compatibility between two people. If you have the birth information of your partner, your friend, or even someone you’re beefing with, the site's Partner feature will explain what is or isn’t compatible about your birth charts. It’s very detailed, and completely free!
Best for Deep Dives: Astro-Seek
Astro-Seek has a splendid horoscopes feature that will generate a chart and list out each placement followed by an explanation of what that placement means. While Astro-Seek is a good site to describe a birth chart in layman's terms, this website shines brightest when it comes to the more advanced, nuanced parts of astrology. Maybe you already know about your Big Three, and you’ve already figured out what all of your other planets mean, and you want to dig a little deeper. Astro-seek has tools to calculate transits (important planetary motions that activate your birth chart), Solar and Lunar returns, annual profections, and it even gives you the option of picking the tropical or sidereal zodiac (IYKYKC).
Pro tip: If you only have a casual interest in astrology, the Astro Portrait feature on astro-seek is the perfect tool for you. It can give you a report based off of all your planets, a more “watered down” report based off of your Big Three, and personalized horoscopes every single day.
Best for Beginners: Cafe Astrology
Millions of people in the astrology community will tell you that Cafe Astrology is one of the first sites they used to make their birth chart and learn how to read it. The website, run by Annie Heese, has been around forever, and it has plenty of content for generating birth charts, reading horoscopes, as well as astrological trends happening right now.
Cafe Astrology’s free birth chart reports are long, but digestible, and completely free. Annie has a great way of explaining your birth chart placements without muddying things up with too much technical language. Some places go super deep, but Cafe Astrology cuts out the astro-jargon so that you can get a decent understanding of your birth chart, even if you’re a complete novice.
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Another popular feature of Cafe Astrology is that it generates your birth chart as a table instead of the circular birth chart you see in most other places. Cafeastrology will just say “You have [this planet] in [this sign]” so that it’s easy and simple to figure out. If anything about your birth chart reading piques your interest, Cafeastrology probably has a page going over the basics of it, so you can get a better sense of what it is your birth chart contains.
Best App: Astro-Matrix
Astro-Matrix is a fabulous app for anyone interested in astrology. The log-in process is easy—just put in your name and birth data and then the app takes you to the home page where there are tons and tons of resources to figure out your birth chart! The app contains a wealth of information that anyone, novice or expert, can use.
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Figure out your Big Three, your Mercury through Pluto placements, and then you can take a peek at the horoscope section, which has both daily and monthly horoscopes. It even offers a Solar Return reading, which can tell you what sort of challenges and opportunities you can expect for an entire year. All of these features are totally free!
Now that you know where to look, try looking over your birth chart analysis! Astrology is a fabulous tool that is eerily specific, and once you see just how deep your birth chart can go, I promise you’ll want to keep learning more and more. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Oh, and do not, I repeat, do not use ChatGPT or any other AI chatbots like that to do a birth chart analysis. The likelihood of getting something truly accurate is slim to none, and you’ll get frustrated trying to decipher the word spaghetti it throws at you.
