Because natal astrology has eclipsed the other branches of astrology and taken total precedence, I see many people posting their natal charts looking for answers to specific, time-sensitive questions.

These are some of the specific questions I see posted most often:

Life sucks. When will life get better?

I’ve been looking for a job, when will I get it?

When will love come?

Should my husband and I start this business?

What career should I choose?

Should I move to this location?

As opposed to questions that are intrinsic to the natal chart, like…

Can someone tell me what this means?

Roast me.

Any insight is appreciated.

Tell me about myself.

Tell me about my love life.

Why does my life suck?

Why does my love life suck?

What career should I choose?

Notice that the questions in the first group are “when” questions. This group of questions fall into the category of Horary Astrology, and can best be answered using a chart for the time that the question presses most strongly on your mind. You would then create a chart for the date, present time of the question and your current location. The sole function of the horary chart is to describe your situation and answer your question. What I generally see is people trying to apply upcoming transits to the question at hand, but horary can address timing in a much more specific manner.

The “whys” and the “wherefores” of the second category fall under natal readings, as they are asking about recurring patterns and cycles which the planets in the natal chart may indicate.

Notice also that “What career should I choose?” can be answered by either horary or natal chart (so can the love question), but of course the natal is preferred. This means, however, if you are wondering which career you would choose and you don’t have your birth time, you could create a horary chart for the time of the question and that chart would be able to answer the question just as accurately.

I used to live in Thailand, and I would spend a month a year on the islands in the south on astrological work-cation. People wanted readings, but very few had access to their birth times. This is when I discovered how incredibly, powerfully specific horary astrology was and became a devotee of the practice.

For those new to astrology, this distinction between specific, time-related questions and natal readings will give you more options for how to use astrology and more opportunity to witness its power. Of course, provided there are astrologers versed in horary.