How Do I Get A Simplified Birth Chart For An Unknown Birth Time?

For the most complete results with astrology, you need your exact date, time, and place of birth.

The best source for this information is your  birth certificate or other credible document (such as a family baby book, birth announcement, or letter). Even without these documents, most people can know with certainty the date and place of their birth; in some cases, obtaining the time of birth may present a challenge.

When You Don't Know Your Birth Time: Get A "Simplified Birth Chart"

If you are unable to obtain your birth time, you still can benefit greatly from astrology.

In this case, you still would use the birth chart service on our website, but you will create a simplified chart. Please note that, with this type of chart, any astrological interpretation must be more general, and some astrological analysis tools and methods will not be available.

To get a simplified birth chart for an unknown birth time, follow these steps:

1. Go to the free birth chart service.
2. At the very bottom of the list of reports, you'll see "Chart Wheel." Click the button that says "Click here for Wheel."
3. On the page that comes up, choose your country from the dropdown menu (or, if you live in the United States, choose your state).
4. Type in the first 8 letters of your city of birth.
5. Click "Continue."
6. Enter your name.
7. Enter your date of birth using the dropdown menus.
8. In Step 4 of the Free Chart Wheel service, select your town or city of birth.
9. In Step 5, enter your email address.
10. Go back to Step 3, and, for the time of birth, do not use the checkbox for a birth time that is a guess or estimate or is unknown. Instead:

• If you have no information at all and nothing that can help you narrow down which part of day you were born, then create a "noon chart" by entering "12" for the hour and entering "00" for the minutes. A noon chart is halfway through the day, so it represents a daily average for all the planetary positions and will give you plenty of useful data.
• If you have some information, such as "You were born in the morning after breakfast," then figure out the earliest possible time that "after breakfast" could have been as well as the latest possible time you could have been born. Then use the calculator to create two charts: one for the earliest possible time and another for the latest possible time. Until you can narrow down an exact birth time, you will use both charts for reference; much of the data will be very similar, but if the time frame you're working with is large, you will see a difference in the Moon's position and in which houses the planets occupy. (If the Moon was close to changing signs, the two charts might show the Moon in different signs, depending on how large your possible birth time frame is.)

If you were born within two days of the start date of an astrological sign, it's important to confirm which sign the Sun occupied when you were born. (See the article What Zodiac Sign Am I? to check if your birth date comes within that two-day range and, if so, learn how to confirm your sign.)

You Still May Be Able To Figure Out Your Sign, Even Without Birth Time

Even without an exact birth time, you still may be able to find out for certain which sign the Sun occupied. Follow these steps:

1. Use the birth chart calculator to create two charts for your date of birth, one for midnight ("00" for the hour and "00" for the minutes) and one for 11:59 p.m. ("23" for the hour and "59" for the minutes). For both these charts, be sure to enter your correct date and place of birth.
2. Then you use the Zodiac Signs and Planet Symbols charts in the "Find Your Zodiac Sign" section of the Free Birth Chart page to see the Sun's sign in the charts you just calculated. The Sun's symbol is a circle with a dot in it; look to see which sign it's in on each chart. If the sign is the same for both charts, then you know that the Sun did not change signs that day, and that sign is your Sun sign.
3. If the signs for the Sun differ between the two charts, then you know the Sun changed signs on the day you were born. Without the exact time of your birth, it is not possible to confirm your Sun sign. If in the future you are able to narrow down your possible time of birth to a portion of the day, then you may be able to identify your Sun sign by calculating a chart for the beginning of that portion of the day and calculating a second chart for the end of that portion of the day; if the Sun is in the same sign for those two charts, then you will know for sure that that sign is your "Sun sign."

Astrology Can Help You, With Or Without Your Birth Time

Keep in mind that, even if you cannot obtain your birth time, you still can benefit greatly from astrology. It can give you a wealth of information about yourself to help you understand who you are and why you’re here. It also can help you understand other people much better so you can enjoy happy relationships.

Get Your Birth Chart Now

You can get your birth chart now with our free, instant birth chart calculator.