The challenge of time-keeping in astrology

Working with exact times is both a conundrum and a commanding edge of an astrologer. While we are able to precisely time events and activities to influence a particular result, the accuracy of our judgments in a natal chart also depends on having a correct time of birth. With some predictive techniques or chart configurations, a difference of five minutes in a birth time could result in vast analytical discrepancies. Here are some of my thoughts in dealing with this age-old issue of birth times.

Checking your birth time for natal chart readings

Whenever a new client books a birth chart reading, I usually take some time to discuss the source of the birth time, if known. Was it your mother’s memory? Is it written down somewhere? Does it appear to have been rounded off to the hour or half hour? Was the written source from a birth certificate or baby book or hospital sign? Are there any relatives that can confirm the time? Then, when I input the chart details into my Solar Fire program, I look for how close the Ascendant is to the end or beginning of a sign. If the Ascendant happens to be at 29 degrees of Leo, then a discrepancy of three or four minutes of time could mean the Ascendant crossing over into the next sign of Virgo, which would dramatically alter the results.The fast-moving moon also needs to be assessed. If, say, she is also at the end of a sign, she could quite possibly be in the next sign within a few minutes. These are just some of the considerations that are going through my head, and that’s before I even start looking at the chart.

And for some people, a birth time is not known at all. So, how do we deal with this? Before we head into this subject, let’s consider what an astrologer from ancient times might have had to deal with. In fact, unless you were royalty or of a high social standing, it was very likely that you didn’t have a time of birth. Having access to time, let alone a record of your birth time, was somewhat a privilege.

How the ancients recorded times for birth charts

In Deborah Houlding’s, The Houses: Temples of the Sky (2006), she reproduces Al Biruni’s, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, 1029 AD, translated y R. Ramsay Wright. In Chapter 524, a procedure for recording a nativity is outlined, which I’ll quickly summarise this.

The most straightforward way of capturing the right chart back in antiquity was to head outside when a child was born to get the altitude of the Sun which would enable a correct ascendant to be recorded. If it was night time, then the same method would apply but to a fixed star instead of the Sun.

However, other environmental factors such as heavy cloud cover could easily sabotage this exercise. If this was the case, one would have to set up a water clock at sunrise or sunset, whichever was closer, on the day of the labour. Failing this method, then the water clock must be started at the moment of birth and observed until the altitude of the Sun (by day) or fixed star (by night) could be recorded. This should then provide sufficient data to register the correct time by counting back the number of hours shown by the clock.

Finally, if no clock was available, the time keeper would have a cup which they filled with water and emptied it into a pitcher over and over again until the Sun became visible to record the altitude. At this point, a mark would be made on the pitcher to indicate the volume of water. The time keeper would continue to fill another pitcher using this same method, until the same volume of water was collected, at which point the Sun’s altitude would be recorded again. This would provide sufficient data to deduce a time of birth, after extracting this fraction of time from the time when the Sun first became visible.

All I can say is, thank God for giving us Google time when I birthed my three children!

The practice of Horary charts

This is why the art of Horary astrology was commonplace in antiquity. Horary, meaning ‘of the hour’ is an astrological divination technique, where a question posed by a client would be recorded by an astrologer who would cast a chart at the moment that they understood the question. The answer to the question would be found in the Horary chart.

Personally, I’ve found Horary charts to be quite extraordinary to work with. They can  provide practical clues to common questions like lost objects, as well as in-depth details about relationships, job prospects and virtually any question related to one’s life. The key element is that the question needs to be genuine and important to the client. Yes/No questions tend to be more suitable although the judgement would be more descriptive.

The use of Horary charts is a great supplement to a natal consultations because in reality, many clients have questions they need answered, even if they are not always upfront about this initially. In addition, the act of defining the question alone is sometimes a great exercise in processing the issue at hand which can be a beneficial client outcome.

The practice of Consultation charts

Another practice that I’ve often employed is the use of Consultation charts during a session. A consultation chart is a chart that is cast at the commencement of a session. Similar to a Horary chart, the Consultation chart is a great divinatory tool for making judgments of specific questions that come up during a session.

Sometimes, especially for ‘cold’ reading sessions where no preparation time is possible, a Consultation chart is what I would predominantly use. This eliminates any doubts I have about an accurate time of birth because all I am basing my judgments on are the symbols of the Consultation chart of the meeting.

What to do if you don’t know your time of birth

The first approach to finding your time of birth is to seek any type of records you may have access to. Birth certificates, baby books, notations on hospital papers, diaries, etc may contain a time of birth. Talking to parents, close relatives and friends may indicate a time frame in which you were born. Some clients have reported success in contacting the hospital in which they were born to request their times of births. It’s a good option to try if you have nothing else to go by.

Even if you could decipher a birth being in the morning, afternoon or night would be helpful to a degree as the astrologer could calculate the rising signs within that time window and undertake some rectification work to determine an Ascendant.

If all else fails, then a Horary chart is a great tool available to seek astrological guidance. In fact, most people in antiquity only used Horary charts when consulting an astrologer.

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