Most of us will be able to tell of our date of birth with minimal effort – after all, it is the only day of the year that you can enjoy the undivided attention of your loved ones, not to mention being a regular part of the forms, documentation, and regulations of our daily lives.
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When it comes to the time we were born, however, this can be a slightly trickier topic.
Unless you are a big fan of astrology, or there is a funny story behind your birth, knowing exactly what time you were born is likely to be a slightly less common fact.
Why Does Knowing Your Birth Time Matter?
If you are interested in astrology, your birth time is one of the most important pieces of information you can access, and this is for one important reason: it is a fact that helps to make you completely unique.
In the simplest terms, having access to just your date of birth will only allow you to build an astrological cosmogram, rather than a complete natal chart.
The main difference here is complexity – most cosmograms are vague, inaccurate, and offer little more information than one may glean from a newspaper horoscope.
This is due to the fact that there are likely thousands, if not millions, of individuals who share the same birthday as you all across the globe.
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Within this group, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who were born in the same half of the day as you – that is, morning, evening, or during the night.
When it comes to building an accurate natal chart, minutes count.
According to experts, the Ascendant changes around once every four minutes, and this means that ultimately, no personal horoscope can ever be truly accurate unless you have the time of birth – usually to within a 1- to 2-minute window.
How Can You Find Your Time of Birth?
If your time of birth is so important, then just how do you go about finding it with accuracy? There are a few avenues you can explore, but most will require a few specific essentials:
- A copy of your birth certificate – this can usually be purchased for between $10 and $25 if you do not have a copy
- Information about the names of both parents
- The name of the hospital where you were born
- A current, legally valid form of ID
Once you have these documents to hand, you will be in a position to begin your search. Some of the most common options for your research include:
Search For Birth Records
Depending on your location, you may be able to locate your time of birth using your birth records.
This is not always recorded – for example, in countries such as the UK, Canada, or Australia, only multiple births have the time included.
In the US, however, there are two types of birth certificates – a “full” version, and a shorter version. If you were born in the USA, you will be able to find your time of birth on the full version of your birth certificate.
In some cases, it can be tricky to track down a physical copy of your birth certificate, and you may have to do a little more research.
Contact the local town hall in the location of your birth, and see if they have any documents you can take a look at for more information.
If you were baptized, you may consider tracking down the church of your baptism, and ask if there is anyone you can contact to discuss their records.
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Alternatively, if you have a good knowledge of the hospital where you were born, you could begin the journey to access their records or find the doctor who delivered you, and contact their office to see if they hold any relevant records.
In some cases, you may also have the option to request a copy of your birth certificate from the government, but this can be a lengthy process.
Depending on your state, you could also contact the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or the National Center for Health Statistics, and request a copy of your birth record – you may have to put your request in writing.
There are also a number of online resources which can help you with your search; the rise of ancestry searches has increased the number of records being digitized and stored online, and many of these will be free to access up to a certain point.
Some of the most popular options include “Birth Records Finder” for US citizens, or “Find My Past” if you were born or lived in the UK.
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Contact Family Members
Depending on your family situation, you may be in a fortunate enough position to ask your relatives for details of your time of birth.
In an ideal world, your parents will be your first port of call—they were, after all, present at the main event, and the birth of your child is a fairly memorable event!
In some cases, however, this option is not available—you may not be in touch with your parents for whatever reason, they may be absent, or they may simply not remember the details of your birth clearly enough.
If this is the case, you can try and ask other family members, such as siblings, grandparents, godparents, aunts, or uncles—they may have received a record of your birth, or simply have excellent memories!
Family archives can also be a useful source of information—raid the attics of family members for birth announcements in newspapers, scrapbooks, and gift books, and even old diaries or journals—you never know what you may uncover.
What If I Cannot Find My Birth Time?
In some cases, the answer to the question will be a clear dead end. If this is the case, all is not lost – there are a number of alternative astrological tools you can use:
- Karmic horoscope – this focuses on the positions of the Sun and Moon and is based on the moon’s position at noon, at the place you were born.
- Sun sign chart – this is great for the analysis of personality characteristics, as well as helping to figure out aspects, and unique psychological traits
- Cosmogram – this refers to the position of the stars, planets, and Zodiac signs at the estimated time you were born.
Final Thoughts
Discovering the exact time of your birth can be the gateway to unlocking the most accurate astrological reading available to you, and is well worth the short-term effort it may take to uncover, in order to enjoy long-term benefits.
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