And then there are those who turn their backs on science and devote themselves to spirituality, claiming the Path is clearer there. No harm in that. But wouldn’t it be nicer if we learned not to favor any one extreme over the other, and instead tried to integrate both into our lives? But, really now, how exactly do we stay spiritual and reclaim our innate psychic gifts in these postmodern times?

We don’t really have to discuss the weighty subject of post modernism. Of course, spirituality, too, is a heavyweight subject itself, but this doesn’t mean “postmodern spirituality” is a hopelessly unmanageable concept.

Look at it this way. Post modernism is about embracing everything in our way, and even those out of our reach. It’s about being open to the infinite possibilities and multiplicities of life.

There is a parable in a book by Tom Robbins, about a five-foot depression in the summit of a mountain. Catholics claim it as St. Thomas’ footprint, the Buddhists claim it is Buddha’s, the Hindus claim it is Shiva’s, while Moslem’s say it is Adam’s. Geologists meanwhile, say it is simply the result of ancient volcanic action.

The thing is, everyone of them is right. In post modernism, there is No single Truth; everyone has a claim to truth. Science is true, Buddhism is true, Christianity is true, Free trade is true, Spirituality is true, Anything is true. It’s just a matter of what truth or truths you choose to work for you.

Being post modernly spiritual doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to abandon all your other firmly-held notions about the world: the lessons taught to us in school, the commercials we see on late-night TV, the music we hear on our headphones. Spirituality is about not canceling any of those and living an enclosed life, but learning how to harmoniously accord one’s self with the diversity of the world. When we heighten our awareness about ourselves, when we open up and harness our innate psychic abilities, we realize more clearly our connections with everyone and everything else.

We don’t just have to live in a world with just taller buildings and wider freeways. Rather, a world with spacious minds, all-embracing hearts, and freer souls more accepting of our psychic nature.

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The Author used to write for Universal Psychic Guild the online psychics and astrology sites which offer psychic readings, online psychics, psychic advice and more.

If you look at the words ‘natal chart’ you could read them another way ‘birth map’ - this may help you understand what is being talked about. Basically, the natal chart is a map of the sky including the positions of the planets for the time that you were born. Where you are born has an impact on what is seen in the sky, e.g., if two people were born on the same day and at the same time but in a different city and country, what is seen overhead would be different. This would mean that their natal charts showing planetary placements would be different from each other.

So, the first step in using astrology is to draw a map of the sky for the moment a person is born. This map includes all the planets, plus a few other points of interest such as the horizon and the middle of the sky directly over the birthplace. The time of birth is important for detailed work because it affects the position of the various parts of the chart, in particular the zodiac sign on the eastern horizon (this gives the Rising Sign/Ascendant) and position of the point over the birthplace (this gives the position of the Mid heaven).

If the time of birth is unknown it can be worked out through major life events by an experienced astrologer who specializes in this branch of astrology: this is known as rectification. To do this you would need to give the astrologer as many major life events as possible such as: marriage; birth of children; major moves; divorce; death; new business ventures or jobs; and/or any other significant changes to your life.

Another way of finding out what time you were born is to contact the hospital you were born in. In the majority of cases they have this information recorded on the mother’s file. I know this is the case in Australia but I’m not sure about other countries but it is still worth a try!

Natal Chart Interpretations

Once the natal chart has been prepared, the positions of the planets in different zodiac signs (ie, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc) can be ‘interpreted’. This is an area that people interested in astrology usually become a little skeptical about the validity of astrology because the interpretations can vary greatly from one astrologer to another. One way to understand these differences in interpretation is to understand that the planets and other points in the natal chart are used as symbols: as such, they have quite a broad ability to represent different qualities depending on the age, sex, marital status, belief system, etc of the person whose natal chart is being interpreted.

Interpretation is also affected by the particular areas of interest of the individual astrologer. For example, some of the areas of specialization include psychological, past-life, medical, child-based, and the list goes on!

The type of information gained from the natal chart includes understanding the early home life, relationship with parents and how these affect adult relationships. There are many others areas that can be looked at in quite a comprehensive way such as how you are perceived by the people around you, emotional needs, how you express love and affection, etc.

The information found in the natal chart can also provide an insight into what talents a person may possess that have not yet been realized or used to full potential.

Natal charts offer the benefit of self-understanding which may give a person a whole new perception of themselves, direction in life and open up possibilities for new directions in life; both in the physical and psychological sense.