Astrological transits originate in the natal chart.
They are a dialogue between the natal chart and the current movements of the celestial bodies.
The Saturn return is just one of many different transits you will experience in your lifetime.
Today, I want to go back to basics and focus on the natal chart as a tool for self-discovery.
These are the topics of this text:
- The Natal Chart According to Alejandro Lodi
- What Information Does the Natal Chart Offer?
- Journaling Prompts About The Natal Chart
The Natal Chart According to Alejandro Lodi
In his book Astrología, conciencia y destino. La carta natal y el despliegue del alma, Argentinian astrologer Alejandro Lodi enumerates several metaphors to describe the natal chart.
Lodi considers that the natal chart could be seen as
- A map
- A sheet of music
- A mirror
- Coin rubbing
- A nautical chart
Let’s analyze each metaphor in detail.
The Natal Chart as a Map
Considering the natal chart as a map means that there’s a definite and concrete territory. The natal chart offers the geography of an established space and the opportunity to go through that space.
The problem with this view is that it can be considered rigid, unchangeable, and even fatalist.
If the territory is already defined, human experiences must adhere to those characteristics.
A way to soften this perspective is to consider the map only as an orientation tool. Under this light, the territory becomes concrete only when the traveler goes over it, not beforehand.
The Natal Chart as a Sheet Music
Even though the music is on the sheet, it doesn’t exist until it’s played.
The sheet guides the musician because they must check it out to produce certain sounds and not others. But those sounds don’t manifest until the musician actually plays them.
Lodi states that your particular music is in your natal chart. However, your conscience plays it out. Or, even better, your conscience is the space where this music can be expressed.
The Natal Chart as a Mirror
According to the third view, the natal chart is a mirror. As such, it reflects you.
If you analyze every detail of this natal chart/mirror, it will start reflecting an image that is different than the one you had about yourself.
At the same time, other parts of your conscience are an absolute mystery. Others are constantly evolving, and some others are hidden now but will emerge in the future.
So, this mirror is not crystal clear. It can also reflect different images in different periods of your life.
In this metaphor, the natal chart is more of a house of mirrors than a mirror in your hallway.
The Natal Chart as Coin Rubbing
In the fourth place, Lodi analyzes the natal chart as coin rubbing. This practice implies using a pencil, a coin, and a piece of paper.
When you place the paper on top of the coin and rub a pencil, an impression of the coin will be transferred.
In this metaphor, the coin symbolizes your soul’s possibilities. The paper is the concrete manifestation of those possibilities. And the pencil is the consciousness that gives meaning to the actual manifestations.
There’s an astrological parallel to this metaphor.
Lodi states that the natal chart is the coin that symbolizes your different life events. But it can only do that once the consciousness, represented by the pencil, captures the meaning of said events. The events themselves are manifested in the paper.
It’s a mouthful, I know.
The gist is that you can’t fully know your natal chart. You can only access it through the concrete manifestations of your life and how you interpret them.
The Natal Chart as a Nautical Chart
Finally, Lodi offers the metaphor he likes the most: the natal chart as a nautical chart.
You, as a human, are a ship. The natal chart is the nautical chart that guides your journey through the vast sea.
The sea is not a safe and predictable territory. Most of the experiences you are going to live aren’t either. So, the natal chart describes the journey without defining it.
The natal chart reveals appropriate orientations without announcing ports of arrival. It opens up meanings and opportunities instead of defining plans and goals.
It’s not a fatalist tool. It doesn’t represent absolute conditioning determining what will happen, who you are, and what you are supposed to do. It’s not a mandate.
The natal chart brings indications, not instructions. It invites you to follow certain paths but doesn’t force you to accomplish a specific mission. It suggests roads without imposing an order.
And the same concept applies to the Saturn return.
This transit is seen as a period of life when difficulties increase. But it doesn’t mean that setbacks are the only experiences you will endure during this time.
To survive your Saturn return, you need to keep your mind open. Even though you can prepare for this transit, there’s always room for the unexpected.
Patience and persistence are the two keys that open the lessons you will receive during your first Saturn return.
What Information Does the Natal Chart Offer?
Considering the natal chart as a nautical chart is beautiful. However, to work with astrology, we also need to have a practical vision.
So, what data does this nautical chart include? How do you interpret it? How can you identify which factors are relevant and which are not crucial?
I’ll offer some preliminary answers to these burning questions.
First, I’ll start with pop astrology.
Everyone knows their sign.
It’s pretty common knowing that if you were born between the 20th of March and the 20th of April, you are an Aries. Or you’re a Taurus if you were born between the 20th of April and the 20th of May, and so forth.
Astrology generates curiosity, even among the most skeptical people.
I’m sure that at least once in your life, you have found a horoscope on a magazine, newspaper or Instagram post. Once you found it, you read what it said for your sign.
Well, I have news for you.
Astrology is way more than just a horoscope.
“Your sign” is only your Sun sign, meaning the sign where the Sun was located when you were born. But your natal chart contains many more signs.
Planets in the Natal Chart
As you know, the natal chart is obtained from your date, place, and time of birth. This information allows astrological software to take a cosmic picture of the sky when you were born. Your Sun sign is there, and it is usually the only data we know about astrology.
But a natal chart also reveals the signs of your Ascendant, Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn, just to name a few.
Every planet represents different functions in the system of the natal chart. Planets indicate actions and operations. Grammatically, Lodi considers them as verbs.
(NOTE: Sun, Moon, and Ascendant are not planets. Still, I use that term for the sake of simplification.)
A way of analyzing the planets of the natal chart is by considering them as school subjects. You must study and learn them.
All the planets’ functions, like all school subjects, are different, vital, and can’t be assimilated at the same time.
You may dislike some of these planets/subjects. Others, instead, may be enjoyable or easy for you to engage with.
Working with the natal chart will help you integrate the functions of every planet, even those that are challenging.
Integrating these planets is a lifelong journey with many twists and turns. Still, the spiritual gains exceed the discomfort.
The first Saturn return, then, is like enrolling at a PhD on the planet Saturn.
Related: What Is the Saturn Return in Astrology?
When you are around 30, you have the chance to learn in-depth about the actions and operations of this planet.
But this doesn’t mean the first Saturn return is the only opportunity to integrate these lessons.
You can always learn about a specific planet, no matter your age.
However, engaging in Saturn’s lessons in your late twenties will arm you to handle adulthood more stoically.
Zodiac Signs in the Natal Chart
Besides planets, the natal chart also has signs. Every planet is on a sign.
When reading your horoscopes, you only knew your Sun sign. Now, with your natal chart handy, you can meet all the other planets in their respective signs.
Astrological signs are energetic qualities. In Lodi’s words, they are colors taken by life to animate every object and living being. Grammatically, signs are adjectives.
Related: The Sign of Your Natal Saturn And Your Saturn Return
Besides being in a sign, every planet is also in a house.
Astrological Houses in the Natal Chart
The astrological houses symbolize 12 areas of existence. They are stages in which the different life scenes are played. Some show family life and professional life, others your love life, creativity, finances, etc.
Therefore, every planet manifests its functions in a life sphere.
Saturn is connected with certain themes. But these themes will be expressed in a specific area depending on the Saturnian houses of your natal chart.
Related: Saturn’s Themes and Their Activation During The Saturn Return
Let me give you an example.
One of Saturn’s themes is seriousness. If you have Saturn in the 7th house, you can be serious about the topics of the 7th house. Some of these topics include close relationships, partners, and contracts.
If Saturn is in your 6th house, you can be very strict about your routines, habits, or health regime.
Related: Saturn Through the 12 Houses of the Zodiac: An Introduction
Grammatically, the houses are adverbs of place. They indicate WHERE an action (planet) is manifested and with which characteristics (sign).
Putting the Pieces of the Natal Chart Together
Since language is successive and not simultaneous, it may be perceived that planets, signs, and houses operate separately. But it’s not like that.
When you analyze your natal chart, planets, signs, and houses don’t exist in isolation.
You can describe the planet Saturn and its many functions by itself. But when you engage with the natal chart of a human being, you have to add other layers of meaning. Those layers are provided by signs, houses, and aspects. (We’ll get to aspects in due time, don’t worry.)
As I already mentioned, this is a never-ending journey. Instead of feeling discouraged by the immensity of it all, I invite you to feel curious. The natal chart offers many possibilities.
And if you are interested in engaging with your first Saturn return, this is the right place to do so.
Journaling Prompts About The Natal Chart
Grab your Saturn Return Diary and your natal chart. Ready? Now answer these questions:
- Which metaphor about the natal chart did you like the most? Why?
- Create another metaphor to describe the natal chart. Explain it in detail.
- Which shape do you think the different lines in your natal chart create? Do you like it? What associations can you make by looking at it?
- What lessons do you want to integrate during your first Saturn return?
Thank you for being here, and until next time!
First Saturn Return 
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