Everyone Should Get a Birth Chart Reading at Least Once—Here’s What It’s Like

Gone are the days of simple what's-your-sign astrology. The growing interest in birth charts—a snapshot of the sky at the time, date, and place of your birth—is occurring as individuals turn inward for alternative forms of self-acceptance and personal guidance.

Hosted by Well+Good senior producer Taylor Camille, the latest episode of The Well+Good Podcast explores all things astrology with That's So Retrograde co-hosts Elizabeth Kott and Stephanie Simbari, psychotherapist Caroline Hexdall, PhD, and astrologer Kirah Tabourn.

"Astrology is a really fun tool and opportunity for a roadmap and a lens into what's happening," says Kott, noting that everyone should get a birth chart reading at least once. "To have someone explain your specific transits, it informs so much and it can really help move through stuckness, or how to plot a plan, or whatever you're working on. It's really a huge asset." A natal chart reading can point to all sorts of attributes that make you who you are, and certain astrological placements can even shed light on your past life.

"When I saw my birth chart for the first time, it was like, oh, sh*t...this is my chart, my special blueprint that's just mine," says Tabourn. "It felt very much like I was being seen and witnessed by the universe, but also given permission to be myself." Tabourn's chart made her feel more at peace with parts of her personality, she adds. "It's like, ‘Oh, yeah, no wonder I'm so sensitive and so emotional. I'm a Scorpio sun, Pisces rising. Nothing is wrong with me, it's just who I am.’"

"When I'm giving readings, I usually have an intake form that will ask: What do you want to focus on? What are some topics that you're interested in exploring?" explains Tabourn. For Camille's first-ever birth chart reading, Tabourn focused on what's to come in the year ahead; Camille described the session as eye-opening, leaving her with a lot to digest and interpret.

"It's human nature to want to analyze ourselves, and what we get from astrology feels like a clean window to look through," says Camille. "There's some sort of safety we can get from our stars with no judgment."

After a birth chart reading, you should plan to meet with a therapist to unpack what you've learned and why the information is important to you, says Dr. Hexdall. "What does it mean to you and how do you want to use it to guide what's next in your life," says Dr. Hexdall of what a birth chart reading might reveal. "And then the therapist can provide tools for really making that happen, so that it doesn't just live in a horoscope or doesn't just live in a reading, but it really becomes activated in that individual's life."

Tune in to The Well+Good Podcast to learn more about what you might glean from a birth chart reading.

Listen above, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.