What is a natal chart?

A natal (birth) chart is a map of the sky for the exact date, time, and place of your birth. It shows where the Sun, Moon, planets, and key points sat across the twelve zodiac signs and houses, and the angles (aspects) between them — the basis of a western astrology reading.

What is western astrology?

Western (tropical) astrology interprets the positions of the planets relative to the seasons, using the tropical zodiac anchored to the equinoxes. Ocean Gull calculates these positions with the Swiss Ephemeris for professional accuracy.

Yes — Ocean Gull has a free plan that includes natal charts and core features. Paid plans add advanced points, higher transit quotas, and more.

What ephemeris does Ocean Gull use?

Ocean Gull uses the Swiss Ephemeris for chart and transit calculations, the same engine professional astrologers rely on for precision.

Fixed stars

The 26 curated stars below — including the 4 Royal Stars of Persia — are the set read on the chart's Fixed Stars tab. Each star carries a nature (one or two planetary qualities); when a natal point sits within ~1° of a star, that point takes on the star's meaning. Select a star to read more.

Star	Bayer	Constellation	Position (~2026)	Nature	Mag.
Regulus★	α Leonis	Leo	~29° Leo	Mars, Jupiter	1.36
Aldebaran★	α Tauri	Taurus	~9° Gemini	Mars	0.87
Antares★	α Scorpii	Scorpius	~9° Sagittarius	Mars, Jupiter	1.06
Fomalhaut★	α Piscis Austrini	Piscis Austrinus	~3° Pisces	Venus, Mercury	1.17
Sirius	α Canis Majoris	Canis Major	~14° Cancer	Jupiter, Mars	-1.46
Spica	α Virginis	Virgo	~23° Libra	Venus, Mars	0.98
Vega	α Lyrae	Lyra	~15° Capricorn	Venus, Mercury	0.03
Algol	β Persei	Perseus	~26° Taurus	Saturn, Jupiter	2.09
Arcturus	α Boötis	Bootes	~24° Libra	Mars, Jupiter	-0.05
Betelgeuse	α Orionis	Orion	~28° Gemini	Mars, Mercury	0.45
Polaris	α Ursae Minoris	Ursa Minor	~28° Aries	Saturn, Venus	1.97
Capella	α Aurigae	Auriga	~21° Gemini	Mars, Mercury	0.08
Rigel	β Orionis	Orion	~16° Gemini	Jupiter, Saturn	0.18
Procyon	α Canis Minoris	Canis Minor	~25° Cancer	Mercury, Mars	0.40
Achernar	α Eridani	Eridanus	~15° Pisces	Jupiter	0.45
Canopus	α Carinae	Carina	~14° Cancer	Saturn, Jupiter	-0.62
Deneb	α Cygni	Cygnus	~15° Aquarius	Venus, Mercury	1.25
Altair	α Aquilae	Aquila	~1° Aquarius	Mars, Jupiter	0.76
Castor	α Geminorum	Gemini	~20° Cancer	Mercury	1.58
Pollux	β Geminorum	Gemini	~23° Cancer	Mars	1.16
Vindemiatrix	ε Virginis	Virgo	~9° Libra	Saturn, Mercury	2.83
Alcyone	η Tauri	Taurus	~0° Gemini	Moon, Mars	2.85
Schedar	α Cassiopeiae	Cassiopeia	~7° Aries	Saturn, Venus	2.24
Mirach	β Andromedae	Andromeda	~0° Taurus	Venus	2.07
Hamal	α Arietis	Aries	~7° Taurus	Mars, Saturn	2.01
Dubhe	α Ursae Majoris	Ursa Major	~15° Leo	Mars	1.79

What are fixed stars?

Stars belong to constellations whose patterns the ancients projected onto the sky. Each star carries a nature — a blend of one or two planetary qualities (e.g. Aldebaran has the nature of Mars; Regulus, of Mars–Jupiter). When a planet or angle in a natal chart sits within ~1° of a fixed star, the star "activates" that point and lends its mythology to it.

Why only conjunctions?

Traditional astrology reads stars by parans (mundane angular relationships) and by ecliptic conjunction — when the star and a natal point share the same zodiacal longitude. Modern practical chart-reading mostly uses the ecliptic-conjunction technique with a tight orb (often 1° or less). That is what powers the Fixed Stars tab in a chart.