Diurnal (Daily) Charts

Diurnal are daily charts calculated for your birth time and birth location, but for a specific day.  When calculating these charts you need to make sure that the time zone is the same one as your birth time zone so if you are born during Daylight Saving then the diurnal must always be calculated for Daylight Saving time – even in winter.   Alternatively you can calculate your diurnals for GMT but use your birth location, this resolves any daylight saving or time zone dilemma.

For example, Barrack Obama was born in Hawaii at 7.24 pm on the 4th August 1961.  The time zone was +10.00 so we need to add 10 hours to his birth time to get his GMT time.  This is 5.24 am the next day,  the 5th August 1961.

You can see that I have calculated this chart for GMT, but for the location at  birth.  This produces exactly the same angles as calculating the chart for the time zone.  Using the GMT chart makes working with diurnals so much easier as it saves all kinds of time zone adjustments.

Notice that the angles are exactly the same as those calculated for 7.24 pm, 4th August 1961 in Hawaii.  The angles must be the same or you have made a mistake in transferring the time zone of the birth place to GMT.

If you are born later in the evening and have an event during the morning or afternoon, then you use the diurnal of the day before as the diurnal of that day doesn’t click in until your actual time of birth.

Diurnal charts are a wonderful tool in many ways.

First of all, you can see how accurate your birth time is because a diurnal planet on a diurnal angle, or a diurnal angle on a natal planet, will always produce an event of the nature of the planet and angle.

As these are daily charts you are not looking for earth shaking events, they usually just describe normal daily living.   For example, each of my children invariably contacts me when my diurnal angle is conjunct one of their natal planets.  I tend to have them all ring or turn up when the diurnal nodal axis is activated by a diurnal angle.

You will notice you tend to meet people who fit the description of a diurnal activation;  i.e. if you have diurnal Jupiter on your diurnal MC, then that day you are likely to meet a Sagittarius or Jupiter person who assists you in achieving a goal.

For this reason these charts are good for rectification as you can easily see if you time is out by four or eight minutes by daily events.  E.g. Diurnal Venus conjunct diurnal Ascendant will tend to give a day of beauty treatments or buying clothes or jewelery that suits you.  People will compliment you on your appearance and generally matters work quite harmoniously.  Diurnal Mars on Diurnal Ascendant will tend to describe a very active day where you tend to be a bit more combative than usual… and so on.

Exact diurnal aspects to diurnal and natal angles work just as accurately.

Diurnal angles activate the whole zodiac each year.

The other thing I love about these charts is that you get to experience every sign and degree of the zodiac during the year. You can have a month where diurnal Libra is on the Ascendant and you will find you tend to be charming and tactful,  the following month diurnal Scorpio is on the Ascendant and you will find this month you tend to be intense,  and then diurnal Sagittarius, where you tend to be restless and exploratory .. and so on.  The sign and house placement of the ruler of the diurnal Ascendant will show where you will place your energy for that period of time.   Likewise the diurnal zodiac sign and degree on the MC and the sign and house of its ruler will show where you place your career emphasis for that period of time.

These angles will also stimulate your natal houses and bring the matters connected to these houses to the fore.  The day the diurnal Ascendant, MC or Vertex activates a house cusp is often quite a busy day in matters to do with that house.

You can see just how you respond to a natal planet, because when a diurnal angle conjoins this planet you will experience an ordinary event that describes how you use that energy.  As a result you can develop ways to improve your response to that planet.

It is also quite a handy tool to check out which house system is your major resonance as that systems house cusps will often respond to diurnal activation just as the angles do.

Relocation in Diurnal charts:

This is a point of some controversy.  Many astrologers prefer to just use the natal place of birth, but some have noticed that the relocated diurnal will work well for that locality.  This is particularly the case if you have lived in that locality for a long time, or an event of great importance happened there.  I leave it for you to experiment and decide for yourself.  I use both.

It is important to remember that diurnals are daily charts and describe daily events, but they can be good timers for larger events that are shown by major transits, progressions, directions and profections and will often trigger these charts just as well as the natal.

Barrack Obama Diurnal

To illustrate lets look at a very important day in the life of Barrack Obama:  The day he was elected to be President of the United States on the 4th November 2008.

Above is his natal diurnal for the date of the election.   Gemini rising indicates he is in a month of considerable communication. Note that the ruler of the Ascendant, Mercury, is conjunct the Vertex,   indicating  a day of personal destiny. It is in the 5th house, suggesting that would be a fortunate day, perhaps involving love, pleasure or children.  It is in Libra, indicating that relationships would be emphasized in some way.  The conjunction is making a semisextile to his natal MC, suggesting perhaps a new emphasis beginning for his career.

Interestingly, the Mercury-Vertex conjunction is square the 3rd and 9th Koch house cusps, perhaps suggesting the enormous amount of communication involved that day.

The diurnal MC is in Aquarius, suggesting that matters of social consciousness would be emphasized that month.  6 days earlier it was conjunct his natal Ascendant, indicating a day of personal effort to achieve his goals.

Uranus, the modern ruler of the MC, is in the diurnal 10th house, again putting considerable emphasis on career matters during this period of time.  The close opposition to Saturn indicates battles with conservative, established people to achieve his aims.

Obama natal and diurnal 4th November 2008

When we put this diurnal around the outside of his natal chart we find that the diurnal IC is conjunct natal Uranus, the ruler of his natal Ascendant.  This indicates some unexpected changes or unusual events connected to home and/or career.  We can easily see it is a day of change.

In addition diurnal Uranus is quincunx natal Descendant and diurnal Saturn is quincunx natal Ascendant.  The quincunx aspect also indicates changes that involves a number of adjustments.  Saturn and Uranus are both rulers of his Ascendant, indicating personal adjustments.

Obama relocated to Washington

Now lets look at the very same diurnal for his relocation to Washington DC.  Remember I am sticking to the GMT time zone to avoid confusion with time zones.  I know he was in Denver, Colorado on the day of the election, but have chosen Washington because this is the place of the focus of the election and the place of  the White House.

Isn’t it interesting that the relocated Ascendant is the same as the natal diurnal Ascendant on the date of the election.  It is even more interesting to note that 7Gemini21 is Obama’s Part of Kings and Sultans (Ascendant + Mars – Moon or the position of Mars in the Moon equilibrium chart – see article on Arabic parts).  Obama would do well at any time an angle or house cusp activated this point.  It is particularly serendipitous that it is on the Ascendant in his Washington relocation chart and the natal diurnal chart for the day of the election.

The relocated diurnal chart has Leo rising, indicating a time of prominence – being up front and center stage!  The ruler of the Ascendant, the Sun, is in the third house – again indicating a period of communication for that month.   Taurus is on the MC, suggesting a steady, practical approach to career matters; its ruler Venus, is in Sagittarius in the 4th house indicating a period of travel or long distance contact connected to career, as well as matters to do with home and country being important.

The Midheaven trines the Moon that day from the diurnal 5th house, suggesting the public love him.

Its interesting that the IC is in applying conjunction to Mars and square to Neptune.  By the end of the day, when the election was over, this conjunction was exact.  Mars is the traditional ruler of Obama’s Scorpio MC so one would expect to see it active in a diurnal for such an important day.  Neptune is very frequently involved in diurnal charts involving global matters or very big events of a social-economic kind.

Obama natal and diurnal for Washington

Here is the relocated diurnal placed around the Washington relocated natal chart.  Diurnal Ascendant is conjunct natal Uranus, ruler of natal Ascendant and diurnal MC, indicating an unexpected event or sudden change on that day.  This diurnal reinforces the natal diurnal IC conjunct Uranus.    The diurnal IC is also just separating from the quincunx to Saturn, perhaps suggesting the enormous effort he had made.

Diurnal MC is conjunct natal Ceres. This interests me a great deal as Ceres seems to feature quite a bit in similar events.  It can have a ‘rulership’ connotation as well has a public touch.

Obama natal and diurnal for Denver, Colorado

And last but not least, here is the relocated natal and diurnal charts  for Denver, Colorado.  The relocated  MC is 18Capricorn05, with transiting Saturn opposite Uranus clicking right into it via Saturn, the ruler of the MC, in trine to the MC and Uranus sextile.

And, of course, diurnal Jupiter is conjunct diurnal MC, indicating a fortunate and successful day.

Taurus is rising in Denver and the diurnal chart has the ruler of Taurus, Venus, conjunct the Vertex – indicating a day of destiny.

The Part of Kings and Sultans for this location is 21Leo21; diurnal Neptune is opposite that part and diurnal Mars square.

Remember that diurnal charts map daily, ordinary events in your life.  Huge events like being elected the President of the United States would show with other methods of prediction, but the little diurnals have proved that they can be good timers for the day of these events and will often also trigger progressed and directed charts.  For example , the natal diurnal Vertex anti-Vertex axis was in the same degree and sign as the Solar Arc Vertex -antiVertex axis, indicating a powerful day of destiny.

Copyright (c) Alice Portman May 2010

Comments are closed.