What if I don’t know the time of birth or event?
An optimal chart includes an accurate birth time, therefore we recommend creating a chart with a time.
Luckily, today it is common practice for most countries to register an official time of birth on birth certificates. If you do not have a copy of your birth certificate on-hand you can contact the local office of vital statistics or the registry office where birth records are maintained in your country or region. Alternately you can sometimes get official birth information by contacting the hospital in which you were born as they do, in many instances, keep birth records on hand. Be sure to specify time of birth in your requests as some versions of documents omit that information even when it may be recorded and available on a different version of the record. For additional links that might help retrieve birth time in your region visit our Resources Page.
In the event this doesn't work, you can always try asking parents or relatives for information. They may have a good memory of the event or may be able to provide some clues that can significantly narrow down the window of time. If you have an estimated time (sometime around 7pm, for example) you can try entering a range of times into the chart generator to see if the results appear with any significant differences. In most cases, there will not be a notable difference in chart details if the window of time being searched is narrow enough. If you are unsure of the results, consider consulting with an astrologer specifically about whether or not there are significant chart differences throughout a specific window of time. After some sleuthing and experimentation you might be comfortable going forward with creating a chart.
In any event, please make sure you are fully satisfied with the information you enter before placing your order. Because your chart is customized and printed specifically for you, we cannot issue refunds for instances of incorrect information (see Returns Policy).
How does selecting "I don't know the exact time" affect my chart?
Selecting the "I don't know the exact time" option does not change the accuracy of your chart. All of the planets are still positioned accurately. This option does omit certain information that is available on charts with specific times. The 12 houses and the points of the AC and MC are necessarily omitted from charts with unknown times. Also, the chart is automatically oriented so that the Aries zodiac sign is positioned at the 9 o'clock position.
I'm having trouble finding a location...
The Planetary Portraits Chart Generator utilizes Google Maps API to provide a comprehensive list of cities for you to choose from. Simply enter the name of the city you’d like (be sure to double check the country location) and select it from the dropdown menu. The city provided will suffice for creating an accurate chart and so exact addresses should not be necessary.
You can also enter the exact GPS coordinates for your place of birth or event location. Enter them by switching on the “Select exact GPS coordinates” button on the chart generator page and entering your exact coordinates in the spaces provided.
Sites such as https://www.maps.ie/coordinates.html or https://www.gps-coordinates.net/ can assist you in finding exact coordinates of specified locations, or can allow you to cross-check the GPS details of the city selected in the drop down menu.
What is the difference between a Simple and Detailed chart?
Simple charts feature only the chart circle and title information.
In addition to the chart circle and title information, detailed charts contain two extra features: a Planet Position Key on the bottom left corner lists the exact degree of each planet and object. An Elements and Modality Table on the bottom right corner categorizes the planets based on the characteristics of the zodiac signs in which they are found. Element categories are fire, air, water and earth, and modality categories are cardinal, fixed and mutable.
The Planetary Portraits book Understanding your Astrology Chart gives more detail about elements and modalities, and is free to download here