Question:
LOL.. I just found you today... spent my time in "Astrology"... LOVED and LEARNED... Question:  How doomed am I by not knowing birth time?  Mom can't remember - I was 5 of 6!!! - and it's not on the official birth certificate.  I feel like I am never going to be able to get an accurate reading... any suggestions?!  THANKS AGAIN for being here.
Kathleen

Answer:
Oh Kathleen.. You poor thing... I'd say you were pretty well doomed... Sorry, just a wee bit of an attempt at a little humor!

I should first of all mention that just because the "certified" copy of a birth certificate you might have in your possession doesn't include the time of birth listed, doesn't always mean that an "original" or a "long form" copy of your birth certificate doesn't have the time of birth listed.

I've found this to be true in the State of Tennessee where I currently live.They generally have a "certified" or "short form" birth certificate that doesn't include a time of birth and a "long form" birth certificate that most often does include a time of birth.

In the US each of the 50 states has its own little differences and quirks. (United States Birth Certificate Policies at the marvelous Astrodatabank)

Kathleen - and everyone else reading this article who doesn't know their birth time - it's always (I'll repeat that) always preferable to have and use a recorded birth time. Through years of experience my clients and I have learned that "Mom's memory" and/or "Uncle Fred's memory" are seldom accurate (unless they happened to be astrology enthusiasts).

Please... go ahead - dig a little deeper and take the extra effort to locate your recorded birth certificate time! It's in your best interest to exhaust all the regular options of locating your recorded birth time, prior to "giving up the ghost."

Possible Alternative - Birth Chart Rectification
You may however have another option... for those folks not knowing their time of birth, there are many astrologers that perform what's called "chart rectification" of the birth time. Through rectification of the chart, these astrologers feel that they are often able to come up with the birth time which is "working" in your life. (Rectification is only for determining time of birth. It cannot determine date of birth. Don't laugh... I've been asked that...)

How Birth Chart Rectification Works
The most common methods of birth chart rectification are based on advanced techniques utilizing transiting, solar arc, and/or progressed planets passing over what are called "chart angles" that are determined by time of birth.

Planets passing over the "chart angles" are most noted for often resulting in "real," physical, time and space events happening in one's life. Basically what the astrologer is doing is working backwards through astrology's predictive techniques. What the astrologer is able to find is a rectified chart. It may or may not be the correct birth time, but as stated above it is the chart that appears to be "working" in your life and can be relied upon for future work.

Provide Your Astrologer With A List of Significant Life Events
To perform a rectification your astrologer will ask for a list of 15 significant live events that are spread out over the course of the person's entire life time... Significant events might include marriage, divorce, other significant relationships, death of a loved one, birth of a child, getting fired, getting a job, going to jail, accidents, travel, achievements, etc. etc. etc.

Again, the life events given must be spread out over a wide period of time. What's optimal? A few dates in childhood, a few more in adolescence, with the frequency of dates increasing in adult life.

Listing more one event within a 6 month year period greatly muddies up the waters of the rectification process. And it's optimal when no 2 events are closer than 2 years of each other.

Include the most exact date with a brief description (no long detailed confessions needed or wanted) of the event. For example: July 16, 1998 moved to Australia.

The More Specific The Date of The Event The Better
Significant events that you can pin down to the exact month, day, and year (or even the hour and minute) are considered primo and tend make your astrologer a happy camper. Knowing only the month and year is acceptable - but lf you only know the month, can you narrow it down? Can you remember if it was the first or second half of the month? Don't be lazy. Being lazy means that you're cheating yourself. Go back and check old records to find exact dates. Dates vaguer than a month and year are not to useful.

One final note: Typical developmental events such as high school graduation are generally not very helpful. Advanced degrees are typically fine.

My Personal Bottom Line As To Birth Chart Rectification
In my experience, it greatly helps in the accuracy of results if the person being rectified has a window of no more than 3 or 4 hours during which time they may have been born.

There are bound to be several good astrologers in the your area who feel qualified to perform rectifications of your birth time... however... I'd definitely shop around... the price of a rectification can be a wee bit expensive and usually varies according to what the local market will stand to pay...

Typical Prices (some astrologers charge more, but few charge less)

When you know the time within:

• 1 hour: 75.00 USD
• 2 hours - 100.00 USD
• 3 hours - 125.00 USD
• 4 hours - 150.00 USD

Final Note:
One more thing... because of the nature of how rectifications are done - I certainly wouldn't suggest having a rectification done for anyone who is less than... say... errr... 30 years old...

Now Available In StarryMart: Dr Z Birth Chart Rectification

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