Day Chart and Night Charts in Astrology - Why Does it Matter?

Patricia Rogers, Astrologer • January 30, 2022

Discover the Difference of Having a Day or a Night Chart!

If there is one thing people should want to know about their natal astrology chart besides what Sun Sign they were born under, it is whether they have a Day Chart or Night Chart. Why? Because that will determine whether you are a Sun Child or Moon Child – so to speak.


Perhaps it is more accurate to say that if you were born during the Day – the Sun takes the lead for you, and if you were born during the Night, the Moon becomes your leader amongst all the other planets in your chart.


As you can imagine, it is easy to determine if you have a Day or Night chart. If you were born between sunrise and sunset, you have a Day Chart, also known as Diurnal Chart. If you were born after sunset and before sunrise, you have a Night or Nocturnal Chart. 


Before you say “Duh – I could have told you that”…it is important for those born close to the time of the daily sunrise or sunset to ask an astrologer to prepare a precise natal chart, based on your time and location of birth, and then give you a definite answer. Just having the time of birth being “off” by a few minutes can make a big difference as to what planets take the lead role in your life and which ones take something of a “backseat”. In other words – if you are not sure if you were born at 6:05 a.m. vs. 6:15 a.m. – and the sunrise on your birthday was 6:07 a.m. – you definitely want to get your exact time of birth to get your correct answer.


The concept and the use of Day and Night Charts was all but lost until fairly recently, when in 1993 newly discovered ancient texts were translated by some of the most prominent names in Modern Astrology, including Robert Schmidt, Robert Hand, and Chris Brennan. Their work of translation (called Project Hindsight) has brought astounding insight into natal astrology chart interpretations – using the techniques and terminology of Day and Night Charts referred to as Sect.


Simply put – If you are born with a Day Chart – your major planetary influences are your Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn.  If you are born with a Night Chart – your major planetary influences are your Moon, Venus, and Mars.


These groupings of the planets are referred to as a “Team” – also known as a Sect. For purposes of relating to your Day or Night planets, let’s use the word Team – as it has a warm, fuzzy reference that we can relate to how they help us and influence much of how we think, feel and operate.

As stated, the Day Chart has the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn as a strong team for you to tap into their strengths and energies. Likewise, the Moon, Venus, and Mars work as a strong team in the Night Chart to offer guidance and positive energies. This is good to know!


The Planet Mercury has not been mentioned yet – because he is on BOTH TEAMS! Mercury in your chart represents your mind and how you process information to form perceptions and communicate what you “know”. So, Mercury is on your team regardless of you having a Day or Night chart. Since Mercury is always close to the Sun – he often performs better in a Day chart – but not necessarily. Nuances and contradictions are always likely in astrology chart interpretations. Just know that Mercury is always on your team – Day or Night – supporting you as best he can. 


The difference of how Mercury functions In a Night Chart (vs. a Day Chart) is likely to be more intuitive and introspective because of the Moon’s “light” that is a feminine and receptive energy that affects Mercury’s mental nature. Conversely, the bright light of the Sun in a Day Chart provides masculine and outgoing forces that affects Mercury to be more logical and precise than in a Night Chart. It might be accurate to say that in a Night Chart, Mercury is more “right brain” by being more of a creative and intuitive thinker, and in a Day Chart, more of a “left brain” individual who is analytical and objective.


Now that you know you have either a Day or Night Chart – no doubt you want to know how to make best use of the information. One place to start is to get a an in-person or software interpretation from a reliable source. The software I use is Janus and Solar Fire – that have great reviews for descriptions that provide insight into your emotional, mental and spiritual qualities. The astrology software reports available on the internet usually give detail about the planetary placements by sign and house, but don’t usually identify the natal charts as being a Day or Night report – but it’s easy to figure out.


In both the Day and Night Charts, it is the placement of the Sun by HOUSE that determines whether it is a Day or Night Chart. For the Day Chart, the Sun is placed in one of the 7th through 12th Houses. All Night Charts have the Sun placed in the 1st through 6th House. 


As you look at your natal astrology chart – notice whether the Sun is “above or below the horizon”, and whether your Sun is placed in one of the first 6 Houses (which makes it a Day Chart), or in one of the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th or 12, Houses (which makes it a Night Chart).


The horizon is the line that divides the chart from the upper hemisphere and lower hemisphere, also known as the Ascendant-Descendant Axis. That line is the Sunrise (your Ascendant) and Sunset (Descendant) of your Natal Astrology Chart.



If there is one thing people want to know about their natal astrology chart besides what Sun Sign they were born under, it is whether they have a Day Chart or Night Chart. Why? Because that will determine whether you are a Sun Child or Moon Child – so to speak.

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that if you were born during the Day – the Sun takes the lead for you, and if you were born during the Night, the Moon becomes your leader amongst all the other planets in your chart.

Night Chart – with Sun below horizon (in either 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th House)

Night Chart Team: Moon, Venus, and Mars (and Mercury)


When the Sun is placed below the horizon in one of the 1st through 6th Houses, the Moon takes the lead and its Team includes Venus, Mars and Mercury. The Moon represents our inner world of emotions, dreams and introspective nature, and will express the qualities of the zodiac sign it was positioned at time of birth. Venus blends naturally with the Moon’s feminine energy and represents our desires for beauty and love. Mars is softened in the Night Chart to bring its passions and desires to achieve goals that support the energies of the sign it is placed at time of birth.  Mercury gathers knowledge and communicates for the Team, based largely on placements of the planets by sign and house. By no means are these attributes represent all that the Night Chart “team” offers those born with the Nocturnal chart.


The main purpose of this article is to help you become aware of the difference of having a Day or Night Chart and where to look next for major influences in your Natal Astrology Horoscope. Now that you know your Team of Planets that support you – you will want to know where they are in your natal chart by sign and by house. If you already have an idea of where your Day Chart Team (Sun, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury) and your Night Chart team (Moon, Venus, Mars and Mercury) are placed, you are well on your way to gaining a new insight into how your energies are focused, and how and why the transits of the Sun and Moon and other planets on your team are likely to be activated from time to time.



Dear Reader – Having your own Natal Astrology Chart interpretation is fun, insightful, and easy to get!


I offer an amazing 20+ page report (Bundle #1) that includes two versions of your chart and 20+ page report of all 10 Planets, 12 Houses, major aspects, and more.


Click here for more information and sample Natal Astrology Chart report (Bundle #1)!

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