If your birth chart looks off in the CHANI app or on our website's free birth chart tool, there are a few possible reasons:
- My houses look off, or planets are in different houses than I'm used to
- My sign is wrong in the app
- My houses are not aligned with my reading
- I have empty houses in my chart
- The aspect in my chart appears to be wrong
- I don’t see the aspects between my Sun and Moon placements
- My nodes are in a different location than I’m used to seeing
My Houses Look Off, or Planets are in Different Houses Than I'm Used To
The CHANI app uses Whole Sign Houses - however you might be used to your chart being read in Placidus or another house system, which alters the houses that certain planets are in. Whole Sign Houses is an ancient technique that takes the view that one sign = one house. No house system is wrong or more accurate than the others; They are just different systems of thought. If you would like to learn more about this, I recommend reading our article, What Whole Sign Houses Are and Why We Use Them.
To confirm that this is why your chart looks a bit off, please confirm if your rising sign and degree is the same on both charts. You can also visit the free chart tool on our website, re-enter your birth information, and select "Placidus" (or the house system of your choice) under house system to view your chart using that system. If your chart is still off, please email us at info@chani.com and include your time, date, and location of birth. We will work with you to rectify this as soon as possible.
My Sign is Wrong in the CHANI app
We intentionally provide you with rising sign content because it's your rising sign that determines the areas of your life that the astrology is impacting. In other words, it is the primary content. Your sun is secondary, and your moon is tertiary. However, we've heard from a number of you that access to sun sign content would be welcome, and we are working on adding this in future versions of the app. If your rising sign is incorrect, please email us at info@chani.com and include your time, date, and location of birth. We will work with you to rectify this as soon as possible.
My Houses are not Aligned with my Reading
What Chani refers to in your readings is the planetary transits happening now in relationship to your houses, not the location of the fixed planets and points within your natal chart. Your natal chart is a snapshot of the sky at the moment of your birth. It is fixed in time, and the planetary aspects and placements within your chart are your life’s blueprint — that never changes. That is why your Mars, Sun, Moon, and rising sign (i.e., the keys to your chart) are yours for life.
However, as time goes on, the planets travel throughout the signs of the zodiac and activate different parts of your birth chart. These are known as transits — which is astrology’s way of tracking what themes will become activated based on their relationship to your birth chart placements. Transits are one of many timing techniques. By following transits, astrology derives meaning, times events, and forecasts upcoming themes. Continue to track how the planets in the sky right now are impacting you by dipping into the Transits tab on the CHANI app (available to premium subscribers).
I Have Empty Houses in my Chart
Empty houses are not to be feared! It’s very common to have houses that do not contain any planets. Every house does, however, have a planetary ruler — one who is responsible for the affairs in that house and sign. For example, if your 10th house of public roles falls in the sign of Leo, then the Sun — as ruler of that sign — is the planet that rules all things career-related and will want to make sure you sparkle and shine.
Check out where the planetary ruler is located by sign and house within your birth chart. What are the particular gifts or challenges of that planet? Does it have a major aspect (conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition) to that house so it can keep an eye on what goes on there? You can dive deeper into the planet that rules a house on the CHANI app.
The Aspect in my Chart Appears to Be Wrong
CHANI app uses whole sign aspects rather than degree-based aspects for natal placements.This is because the CHANI app practices traditional (Hellenistic) astrology, which considers two planets to “behold” or “witness” each other from anywhere within two signs that form a traditional aspect. CHANI app only uses the 5 traditional (Ptolemaic) aspects: conjunction, sextile, square, trine, and opposition.
I Don’t See the Aspects Between my Sun and Moon Placements
The aspect between your natal Sun and Moon is actually what determines the lunar phase you were born under. When the Moon is opposite the Sun (180° away), we get a Full Moon, for example. To find your lunar phase — and thus the aspect between your Moon and Sun — go to the Chart tab of the app. Under The Keys to Your Chart, click on your Moon. Scroll down until you reach the description for your Natal Moon Phase. Our interpretation for the aspect between your Moon and Sun is woven into this section.
Learn more about what aspects the CHANI app uses here.
My Nodes Are in a Different Location Than I’m Used to Seeing
The lunar nodes always move backward around the chart, but their real movements tend to wobble between retrograde and direct motion. The mean calculation smooths out these minor wobbles by producing a mathematical average of the total movement. The true calculation reflects the accurate location of the nodes at a given moment, rather than the mathematical average. There can be discrepancies between true and mean calculations of up to 1°45’. For a smattering of people, that’s enough for the nodes to change sign and house, depending on which calculation you use.
The CHANI app uses the true calculation for the lunar nodes. If you’re used to seeing your chart from an astrologer or astrology software that uses the mean calculation, it could mean your nodes change sign. While the true calculation represents the most mathematically accurate location, astrology is a field that tends to make space for less materialist modes of knowing. Just like choosing a house system, many astrologers will decide at the beginning of their practice whether to work with the true or mean nodes.
*If none of the above account for the discrepancy you are seeing in your chart, we anticipate that this is the result of our software not recognizing daylight savings time (DST) in your town the year you were born. Usually, adjusting your birth time forward one hour rectifies this, but please email us at info@chani.com and include your time, date, and location of birth. We will work with you to rectify this as soon as possible.