As any casual horoscope reader knows, astrology makes a big deal out of your birth. You need to know your birthday to find your sun sign, which then determines which horoscope you should read. Then, your birth time and place are required to have your birth chart drawn up. If this is as far as you've gotten in your astrological education, you might think that the only thing that matters about your life is that it started — and everything that comes after it isn't worth charting.
Of course, that is not the case. Another type of astrological chart, known as an inception chart, is specifically meant to help you understand the importance of developments in your life that have nothing to do with your birthday.
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An inception chart is actually very similar to a birth chart. But, instead of your birth date, time, and place, it uses the date, time, and place of another life event, most likely one that kicked off a new chapter in your life (you might have an inception chart drawn up for your wedding date or the day you accepted a new job offer, for example). With this info, a professional astrologer can create an inception chart that shows you where the planets were placed in relation to the Wheel of the Zodiac at the moment of this auspicious event.
But, unlike a birth chart, the takeaway isn't that your wedding (or whatever event you're charting) has a Taurus moon. Rather, it's that the moon was in Taurus when you were married, which could foretell a romantic, even sentimental undercurrent in your union. An inception chart is less about bestowing an astrological identity unto a moment in your life and more about showing you the role that the planets may play in the outcome of that event. Or, as astrologer Robert Hand wrote, astrology can help us understand the significance of a new beginning — and inception charts are the perfect tool for that.
So, the planetary placements you observe in an inception chart for the day that you bought your first apartment, for example, can indicate how that decision (and the apartment itself) will fit into your life overall. Since this chart marks an important development in your domestic life, you may want to look for placements in Cancer and the fourth house, both of which are commonly associated with the home and hearth. If you find that Venus is in Cancer, that could suggest you'll find a true sense of comfort and safety in this apartment — and you may live there for a long time.
(Not sure what a "fourth house" is or how exactly planets factor in? Again, you'll most likely need to consult a professional astrologer if you want to draw up an inception chart.)
Of course, no astrological chart will give you a crystal-clear snapshot of the future — but inception charts can give you a better idea of what lies ahead than a general horoscope can. Whether you're looking at your anniversary or the day you got your dog, you're bound to come away from an inception chart reading with a deeper understanding of your life's trajectory.