Some birth charts have a small table below the wheel called an aspect grid. It arranges the connections between pairs of chart positions in cells. You can start with just one pair.
Find two names
Look for the names or symbols along the edges of the table. For a practice example, choose the Sun on one edge and the Moon on the other. We are only choosing labels here, not describing an actual birth chart.
Follow them to one cell
Follow the Sun’s row and the Moon’s column to the cell where they meet. That cell belongs to the Sun–Moon pair. If the table is arranged differently, use its labels to find the same pair. Some grids have a stepped or triangular shape.
Check the key
If the cell contains an aspect symbol, look it up in the chart’s key. You have now found the pair and the name of its listed connection. You can leave interpretation for later; one cell cannot describe a whole person or tell you their future.
A few common questions
Does a blank cell mean a planet is missing?
No. It means no symbol is shown in that cell. Check the chart’s list of bodies to see which ones it includes.
Sources & further reading
Astrology sources describe their own traditions and methods; they do not establish predictive accuracy. The writing exercises are original Lodestar editorial material.