In astrology, to be born on a CUSP means you have a birthday on a day when the Sun changes zodiac signs which is super interesting.
How to Cast a Chart without a Birth Time
Author: Alison Price – Updated: March 2025
How to Cast a Chart with No Birth time
The Birth Time
The basis of casting a birth chart for someone is to erect one for the exact time, date and place of their birth. And to be precise, the time you want is the time of the inhalation of the first breath. Not the time the surgeon made the first cut (for C-sections), not the time the head crowned and not the time the cord was cut.
Birth Time
Unless the birth details are written down, like on a birth certificate or in a baby memory book, you never really know. Birth times are categorized into Rodden Ratings after the great astrologer Lois Rodden.
Rodden Ratings
AA = Accurate Accurate: From a birth certificate or a birth record. This time is written down and in hand perhaps in a baby book.
A = Accurate: From memory, family legend or hearsay and is spoken or word-of-mouth typically from an aunt or someone in the family who was there.
B = Biographical: From autobiography or biography. This is secondhand information usually gleaned by an interview.
C = Caution: The data is from conflicting sources.
DD = Dirty Data: Don’t use or rely on this data.
X = No time: Here there is the birthdate only with no birthtime.
XX = Very insecure: No date or year. Very weak.
People will generally know their birthdate, although I did once come across a woman who did not know her year of birth.
Birthtime
If your client does not know their birth time (and they are not interested in rectification) how do you cast their chart and find some information that you can use? This frequently comes up in chart readings. As a professional astrologer, you need to help your client and there are a couple of ways of working with a time unknown chart. Here are some simple steps that I use to overcome the issue.
The Noon Chart
12 Hours Out
It is best to cast your client’s chart for noon on their birthday then you can only be twelve hours out. Clearly this is not an ideal situation, but it is better than being twenty-four hours off the birth placements which would be the case of you set the chart for 12am at the beginning of the day or 11:59pm at the end of the day.
Suspect Data
Experience will tell you that many people’s birth information is suspect at the best of times. You have to constantly be on the lookout for incorrect birth data and the chart results when face-to-face with your client.
The Noon Moon
The Lunar Question
The Moon travels about twelve to fifteen degrees each day and on average about 13° forward. With this movement, halfway through the day (at noon), it will be six to seven and a half degrees out either way and may or may not be of use.
Moon Sign
However, you could ascertain the lunar sign because if the Moon is between seven and a half degrees and twenty-two and a half degrees of a sign at noon, then you know for sure it is in that sign in the birth chart. Because the Moon would still be in the sign for a birth first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Example Moon
In our example chart, the Moon is at 13°49′ Pisces at noon. When you check the 12am chart the Moon starts the day at 06°43′ Pisces. On the 12 midnight chart the Moon has moved to 21°13′ Pisces, so we can be quite confident and say that the Moon was in Pisces in this chart.
Natal Noon Chart
Signs and Aspects
With a “noon chart” the planets in the signs and planetary aspects are correct (except the Moon). You can use the dispositor tree, but check the Moon.
Angles and Houses
Unfortunately, there are no firm angles or house cusps because we do not have a birth time. Therefore, you cannot use the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant or IC or the houses in your chart interpretation. In this case you will not have a chart ruler or a most elevated planet either.
Quality not Quantity
This means of the possible 100% information shown in a normal chart with a noon chart you only have 60% of information. The point is that the 60% you do have is still 100% correct. There is less quantity of information available, but it is still quality information when you interpret a “noon chart”.
Planets on Sign Cusps
0° and 29° Sign Placements
You do need to watch out for inner planets near the cusps of signs and weigh the possibilities of them being in the next sign, or in the previous sign (as we shall see for Venus) for retrograde planets.
Venus
In our example noon chart, you can see that Venus is at 29° 44′ Pisces and is retrograde. We know that Venus can move over 1° each day, so there is the likelihood that it was in another sign earlier in the day, that is before noon.
In the 12am chart, Venus is at 00° 02′ Aries. So, in this noon chart you must realize that Venus could have been in either Aries or Pisces on the day. Early in the morning Venus was in Aries and later in the day, but before noon, Venus had moved into Pisces. You will need to make an assessment of Venus’ sign for your client.
Neptune
Note that Neptune is also in the 29th degree. Because we know that Neptune moves so much slower, around 0°03′ each day, it does not change signs.
Planetary Stations
Less than 0°10′ of the Station
If a planet is stationary on the birthday, you can bet it is in that position dead-on in the natal chart but do always check.
Forecasting with a Noon Chart
Direct and Indirect
Forecasting with transits and solar returns (by planetary sign position not house) can be used as well as secondary progressions and solar arc directions the latter two with care.
Overarch
Your Ability
Your role as an astrologer is to help people. When someone comes to you and says, “I don’t know my birth time. Therefore, can I not have my chart done?” You really need to have an answer for these people, and the answer is that yes, you can cast their noon chart. You don’t need to tell them the techniques you will use, but you certainly can give them an astrology reading to the best of your abilities by casting a noon chart. Of course, you haven’t got all the information, but not everybody knows their birth time.
Helping People
If you truly feel that you are there to help people gain insights into their life through the art of astrology, I think it’s important that you do the best you can. Which is by casting a noon chart where you’ve got 60% of correct data and you can help them that way. There are some astrologers who believe that if the person doesn’t have a birth time, they can’t help that person and they will refuse to do the reading, but I’m not one of those people.
Author Bio
Alison Price: Professional Astrologer
Alison helps you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor. She offers Consultations for everyone and Coaching for Aspiring Astrologers.
If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.
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