Once the signs have been written in, the planets can be placed in their relevant sign and house. Referring to the ephemeris for the day of birth, the planets can be read from left to right starting with the Sun.
However, because ephemerides are based upon the position of the planets at noon (or midnight), some adjustments to the personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) may need to be made according to the time of birth, unless it was within an hour of noon.
The Sun moves one degree per day (30 minutes every 12 hours, 15 minutes every six hours, and so on) and needs to be adjusted only if the degree changes; for example, someone born at 11:30 p.m. with the Sun at noon positioned at 28 degrees 50 minutes will have the Sun positioned at approximately 29 degrees 19 minutes (an adjustment of 29 minutes for the addition of 11 hours and 30 minutes from noon). The minutes would need to be deducted for an a.m. birth.
The Moon moves approximately one degree every two hours and usually needs adjusting from the noon position. Someone born at 6:00am with the Moon at 22 degrees at noon would, therefore, require an adjustment of minus six hours which equals three degrees of Moon movement, thereby giving a Moon position at birth of 19 degrees.
Mercury, Venus, and Mars move more erratically and will often need no adjustment, but when moving very fast they need to be checked for minor adjustments.
Reading across the ephemeris from left to right, and ignoring the column marked between the Sun and Moon (the Moon's north node), all the planets from the Sun to Pluto should be entered in the birthchart in their relevant position. Remember that each house contains 30 degrees and unless the Ascendant and corresponding house cusps are at exactly 0 degrees they will always run from one sign to the next (for example, 18 degrees of one sign to 18 degrees of the next sign.
Retrograde Planets
An "R" placed beside a planetary degree in the ephemeris stands for retrograde and means that the planet has changed its orbital direction from a forward to a backward motion as viewed from the Earth.
Stationary Planets
An "S" alongside the planetary degree stands for the word stationary and will occur only when the planet is slowing down and has virtually stopped moving.
Direct Planets
A "D," alongside the planetary degree stands for direct. This indicates that the planet is in direct motion and is written in when a planet changes from a backward direction (retrograde) to a forward direction (direct).
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