Rectification of Your Birth Time

The Key to Accuracy in Astrology

by Joelle Steele

When you first consult an astrologer, he or she always asks you for three important pieces of information: your birth date, birth time, and birth place. You will most likely respond with information from your birth certificate. But how accurate is your birth certificate? It may not be as accurate as you think. It’s not hard to get the date and the place correct, but birth times are an entirely different story.

Since doctors and nurses are not usually astrologers, they give little attention to the exact time of birth. For example, they may round off an 8:38 birth time to 8:40 or 8:35. A doctor may fill out the birth certificate later on and use an estimated birth time that could be far earlier or later than the true time of birth, or than the time recorded on the patient records.

Depending on where and when you were born, your birth certificate may not even have a space for the time of birth. Some people have no written birth certificates at all because they were born at home, or during times when birth certificates were not considered necessary, or in countries where birth certificates are or were not issued. Some parts of the United States have other problems with birth certificate times. For example, during certain years in the state of Illinois, War Time, the precursor to our modern Daylight Savings Time, was in effect but was not observed by all hospitals, many of which continued to operate on Standard Time. That means that if you happen to have been born in Illinois during those times, your birth certificate could be off by an entire hour.

Astrology is extremely accurate, but it is only as accurate as your birth time. The exact time of your birth is an absolute necessity for any astrologer to use in calculating your Ascendant (Rising Sign) to the exact degree and minute. That calculation then determines the degrees on the Midheaven and all of the house cusps, along with the planetary positions. All of this information is then used in the interpretation of your personality, determining your career choices, comparing and contrasting your chart with those of other people you know, and forecasting events in your life.

Without an exact birth time, astrology in general, and predictive astrology in particular, are rarely accurate. There may be some general information and interpretations that are correct, but the subtleties and events-oriented aspects will be wrong.

Before you schedule a consultation or order charts and reports from an astrologer, you should obtain a copy of your birth certificate. If you do not have a birth certificate, if the time is not stated on yours, if you suspect your birth certificate is in error, or if you have only an estimated birth time, you can have your chart rectified, a worthwhile process in which a list of events in your life is used to forecast backwards to adjust and/or determine your correct birth time. If you have an approximate birth time or range and a detailed list of dates for events in your life, it will help keep the costs of rectification down considerably.

Rectification can be a very time-consuming process, and so it can be a costly investment. But, it is not a job for an amateur; not even all professional astrologers are up to the task. But, for astrology to work properly, an accurate birth time is essential, and rectification is the best way to determine it.

If you want to get your chart rectified, start by obtaining a copy of your birth certificate and then make a detailed list of all the significant events in your life (e.g., births, deaths, relocations, marriages, divorces, career moves, etc.), asking your friends and family members for help along the way if you can’t remember exact dates, times or places. After you’ve done all of this preparatory work, you can start looking for an astrologer who is experienced in rectification.

Rectification is an important investment for anyone who regularly uses and relies on astrology for guidance in life. Once your exact birth time has been properly determined, you will find that astrological consultations are far more accurate than you ever imagined possible, and the predictive advice you receive will be right on the money.

This article last updated: 11/03/2015.