• 1. Time and Place.

• 2. Is the chart Correct?

• 3. Planetary motion.

• 4. Polarity, Modes and Elements.

• 5. Angular, succedent and cadent houses.

• 6. Planets in signs.

• 7. Aspects.

• 8. Ascendant.

• 9. Inner versus Outer planets.

Please first read Chapter II in Simplified Scientific Astrology:
(at the Rosicrucian.com site)

Now that you have read the principles of Time and Place, answer the following questions:

• What is the time right now at your location?


• Is this time, standard, savings or true local time?


• Do you know how many degrees your birth place was North or South of the Equator?


• Do you know how many degrees your birth place was East or West of Greenwich?


• What is the degree of the Standard Time Zone In which you were born?


• Was your birth place East or West of this Standard Time Zone?


• How many degrees?


• Does the computer program you use, ask for Time Zone in Degrees, or in number of hours away from Greenwich?


• How does your computer program deal with the question of Savings Time?

Telling time by the Sun

Note the next 2 entry boxes and the Radio check boxes for AM or PM. Enter your birth hour and birth minute. Check the AM (morning) or PM (afternoon) Radio checkbox as as appropiate. If your birth time was recorded in the 24 hour format, and you were born in the AM (morning) just enter the hour and minute and check the AM Radio checkbox. If your birth time was recorded in the 24 hour format,and you were born in the afternoon (time greater than 1200) then subtract 12 hours and check the PM Radio checkbox.

The next line asks for the Time Zone of your birth place.
To review the principles of Time Zones, Click here.(Image/offsite)

or entire Chapter II of Simplified Scientific Asgrology (offsite)
In the graphic of the computer program, note the letters in red color to the right of the Time Zone entry box, "TZ Help." Clicking on this box will bring up a box with Time Zone information. A sample of such information follows:

Alaska/Hawaii Daylight Time - AHDT = 9.0 Alaska/Hawaii Standard Time - AHST = 10.0 Australian Eastern Daylight Time - AEDT = -11.0 Australian Eastern Standard Time - AEST = -10.0 Indian Time - IST = - 5.5

You will note that India is listed as -5.5 hours. This is the value that should be entered into the Time Zone entry box. The .5 (half) hour is because the clocks in this zone are set to the meridian of 82 degrees 30 minutes East which is half way between the 'hour' meridians of 75 degrees East (-5 hours) and 90 degrees East (-6 hours). To convert degrees to hours divide degrees by 15. If degrees are East of Zero Greenwich then the value is negative (-).

Note also that Daylight Time, also known as Savings Time, Summer Time, or in the USA as War Time is always 1 hour "smaller" than Standard time.
Alaska Standard Time zone = 10 hours minus 1 hour = 9 hours.
Australian Eastern Standard Time = -10 hours minus 1 hour = -11 hours. (!!)
Changing the Time Zone is how this program deals with the question of Savings Time.
Other programs may expect you adjust the Clock (savings) time back to Standard time. If the program asks for both birth time and Time Zone, which is typical, you may use either method as long as you do not do both. (That is, if you change the zone to reflect that savings time is in use, then do NOT change the clock time. If, however, you change the clock time back to standard time, then do NOT change the zone description.)

If there is any doubt (frequently the case) about the time zone that was in use at the date of your birth, consult a time change book.
Three books that are popular in the USA are:

Time Changes in the USA
Time Changes in Canada and Mexico
Time Changes in the World (Except Canada, Mexico, USA)
Doane's 1981-1985 World Wide Time Change Update

Some computer programs will ask for "Time Zone" in degrees instead of hours. The above table shows the standard time zones in degrees in the first column, the time zone in hours in the second column and some places which use these time zones. You have probably noted that the degrees for the time zone divided by 15 equals the hours. (Zones are 15 degrees wide on an average, although some times zones use boundaries which follow political lines rather than exact mathimatical divisions.)

In a similar manner, birth place Latitude is also asked for.

You may be able to read that 117 degrees 23 minutes West longitude and 33 degrees 12 minutes North latitude has been entered in our example. These coordinates are for Oceanside, California, USA.
Remember, a wrong place of birth entered into the program will give a wrong calculation for the horoscope. It is usually quite good enough for most students to enter the coordinates of the nearest large city or town.

How does one find the longitude and latitude of birth?
Again this program will often supply the answer. You will note the Red colored letters near the top right of the graphic, ACS Atlas. If you have the Atlas installed you may use it. If you do not have it installed you may use a paper atlas or some maps provide longitude and latitude. The Simplified Scientific Tables of Houses available from The Rosicrucian Fellowship also contains a list of major cities in the USA as well as the world.
However, we have not exausted the capabilities of our program. The program input window is much bigger than shown above. Not shown here, but placed to the right of the names input box, is a bar:

Double check the data you have put in the entry boxes to see if you have entered the right name, date, time, time zone, birth longitude and latitude.
If you intend to work with this chart data again, which is likely if it is for your own birth, click the :