What Is Rectification? What Happens If the Birth Time Is Unknown?

To draw up a birth chart, we need three basic pieces of information:

Date of birth, place of birth, and time of birth.

You might wonder, “Why does the place of birth matter so much?”

Because the sky doesn’t look the same from every part of the world. For example, if a child is born in London at 9:00 AM, the phone call that reaches their grandmother in Turkey at that exact moment lands at 11:00 AM Turkish time.

So why does the time of birth matter so much?

Because the house system in a birth chart is calculated according to the time of birth. The houses show us what we experience in which areas of life. So even a small change in the birth time can shift important parts of the chart.

But as it turns out, not everyone knows their birth time.

What happens if I don’t know my birth time?

Some people may have been born at home, and their birth time may never have been recorded at all.

Others think they know their birth time, but really, their mother says “I think it was toward morning,” while their father says “No, no, it was in the late afternoon.” 😄

And if the parents are no longer alive, or the person lost them at a young age, finding out this information can become even harder.

In cases like this, we can make use of the method we call rectification.

What is rectification?

Rectification is the process of trying to determine, as accurately as possible, the birth time of a person whose birth time is unknown or unreliable, by working backward from the important events in their life.

So we don’t just say, “We can’t draw up your chart, sorry about that,” simply because we don’t have a birth time.

Life leaves us other clues.

It’s much easier for us, especially when the birth date itself is known for certain.

And if the person can at least say “I was born during the day” or “I was born at night,” that’s even more of a treat to work with.

But of course, that alone isn’t enough.

What’s needed for rectification?

First of all, I’d like to see a photo of the person.

Why?

Because in astrology, the rising sign is also associated with the first impression a person gives to the outside world, and with their physical appearance. So a person’s image can be one of the important clues for checking the possible rising signs.

But a photo alone won’t determine the birth time.

What really matters are the important turning points in a person’s life.

And here, I ask for as much data as possible.

I think at least 8 important life events are needed

For example:

•          Having a child, or giving birth

•          The death of a mother, father, or another very close loved one

•          A major move

•          Marriage

•          Divorce or separation

•          Starting a job

•          Leaving or being let go from a job

•          Founding a company

•          A major surgery

•          A serious accident

•          Other important, life-changing events

We need to know the dates of these as precisely as possible.

Even just the month and year help.

But if you know the day, that’s even better.

And if you know the hour too, it’s the icing on the cake. 😄

Because the more data we have, and the more precise it is, the more material we have to test the birth time against.

How is rectification done?

Here, we’re really doing a bit of detective work.

We evaluate the possible birth times, look at how the chart changes according to different hours, and compare it against the important events that actually happened in the person’s life.

For example, we look for the chart’s counterpart to events that truly changed the direction of the person’s life — a wedding date, a move, the loss of a parent, a major surgery, or starting a job.

We check, across the chart’s different possible hours, which of these events lines up more meaningfully.

Then, by layering all this data together, we try to find the closest possible birth time.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say, “We found the exact birth time with a magic formula.”

Rectification is a process of research and comparison. The more accurate and abundant the data, the more reliable the result. Even so, we’re generally talking about a margin of around +/- 8 minutes.

Why does knowing the birth time matter?

Because a birth chart isn’t just about which signs the planets are in.

The houses are essential for understanding what we experience in which area of life.

The placements of life areas like relationships, money, career, family, children, health, education and social circle in the chart are determined by the birth time.

That’s why the more accurate the birth time, the more reliable the interpretation of the chart, especially through the houses.

If you don’t know your birth time, that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from astrology. Uranian Astrology, for instance, allows for more reliable insight in situations like this.

We can work with the information we have, and trace the birth time backward through the footprints of your life.

Sometimes even a person’s own mother doesn’t remember the hour they were born.

But the major events of their life may have left behind the clues we need to find that hour.

We look a little at the sky, a little at the past, and a little at detective work. 😄

Cheers

Selin Burat