What the diagram shows
The bodygraph is a human silhouette with nine geometric shapes — the centers — joined by 36 channels. At the ends of the channels sit 64 numbered gates. Beside the diagram are two columns of planets: red on the left (Design) and black on the right (Personality).
- Black (Personality) — the planets at the moment of birth. This is what you consciously know about yourself.
- Red (Design) — the planets about 88 days before birth. This is unconscious and bodily: others often see it in you more clearly than you do.
- Striped gates and channels are activated from both sides at once.
Step 1. Type and strategy
Start with your type. It defines how you exchange energy with people and gives you the main rule — your strategy. If the Sacral center (the square at the bottom middle) is coloured in, you are a Generator or a Manifesting Generator. If the Sacral is white and a motor connects to the Throat, you are a Manifestor. If the Sacral is white and there is no such connection, a Projector. If every center is white, a Reflector.
Step 2. Authority
Your authority is what you make decisions with. It follows a hierarchy: if the Emotional center (the triangle on the right) is defined, your authority is emotional and decisions shouldn't be rushed. If not, look at the Sacral, then the Spleen, and so on. Type and authority together give about 80% of the practical value of a chart.
Step 3. Profile
Your profile is two numbers such as 2/4. The first is the line of the black Sun, the second of the red. The profile describes the role you play through life: investigator, hermit, martyr, opportunist, heretic or role model.
Step 4. Defined and undefined centers
See which centers are coloured in. A defined center is your consistent energy that you can rely on. A white center is where you take in others' energy and often try to be who you are not. Most inner conflicts live in the undefined centers — and so does the greatest wisdom, once you stop identifying with them.
Step 5. Definition
Definition shows whether all the coloured centers connect into one block. Single definition — you are self-contained in your processes. Split — there are two separate blocks, and you are drawn to people who bridge the gap. Triple and quadruple — you need more time and a variety of people around you.
Step 6. Channels and gates
Now you can read the channels — your consistent talents and themes, always at work. Single gates without their pair (hanging gates) are traits that look for completion in other people. Every gate has six lines that refine how its theme shows up.
Step 7. Incarnation Cross and Variables
The Incarnation Cross is made of the Sun and Earth gates on both sides and describes your life theme. The Variables — the arrows by the head — are the finest level: diet, environment, perspective and motivation. These two are the most sensitive to the accuracy of the birth time, so study them last.
Don't try to take in the whole chart in one evening. Live with your type, strategy and authority for a week or two — and only then go deeper.
Common beginner mistakes
- Reading the chart as a personality description and bending yourself to fit it.
- Treating white centers as weakness. They are no worse than defined ones, just different.
- Ignoring authority and carrying on deciding everything with the head.
- Comparing charts to find out who is “better”. No type is better.
- Calculating with an approximate time and trusting the fine details. More on that in “Why an exact birth time matters”.