Overview
Planet positions are apparent geocentric longitudes on the true ecliptic of date, from the astronomy-engine ephemeris. House cusps use Placidus by default, with whole sign and equal houses as options. When no timezone is given it is looked up from the coordinates, and births from before a region adopted standard time use the birthplace's local mean time.
Live Test Birth Chart Source →
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the rest are its inputs, and the "field" pair says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2, "field", "sunSign")=VERVE.CALL("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2, "field", "sunSign")A2 holds date, B2 holds time, C2 holds lat, D2 holds lon. Arguments go in that order — the same order as the table below.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("birthchart", "1990-06-15", "14:30", 40.7128, -74.006, "field", "sunSign")=VERVE.CALL("birthchart", "1990-06-15", "14:30", 40.7128, -74.006, "field", "sunSign")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
dateRequired | string | argument 2 (A2) | The birth date (YYYY-MM-DD or MM-DD-YYYY), between 1700 and 2200 |
timeRequired | string | argument 3 (B2) | The local birth time in 24-hour HH:mm format |
latRequired | number | argument 4 (C2) | The latitude of the birthplace range -90–90 |
lonRequired | number | argument 5 (D2) | The longitude of the birthplace (east positive) range -180–180 |
timezoneOptional | string | "timezone", value | An IANA timezone name (America/New_York) or a UTC offset (+05:30). Looked up from the coordinates when omitted timezone |
houseSystemOptional | string | "houseSystem", value | The house system to useplaciduswholesignequaldefault placidus |
Passing an option
=VERVE("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2, "timezone", "America/New_York")=VERVE.CALL("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2, "timezone", "America/New_York")What lands in your sheet
The "field" pair is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Drop the "field" pair and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2)=VERVE.CALL("birthchart", A2, B2, C2, D2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the "field" pair accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
birth | object | {…} | The birth moment and place the chart was calculated for |
birth.localTime | string | 1990-06-15T14:30 | The local birth time as given |
birth.utcTime | string | 1990-06-15T18:30:00Z | The birth time converted to UTC (ISO 8601) |
birth.timezone | string | America/New_York | The IANA timezone used, or null when a fixed offset was given |
birth.utcOffset | string | -04:00 | The UTC offset applied, such as -04:00 |
birth.offsetSource | string | location | Where the offset came from: timezone, offset, location or local mean time |
birth.latitude | number | 40.7128 | Latitude of the birthplace |
birth.longitude | number | -74.006 | Longitude of the birthplace |
houseSystem | string | placidus | The house system used |
sunSign | string | Gemini | The zodiac sign of the sun |
moonSign | string | Pisces | The zodiac sign of the moon |
risingSign | string | Libra | The rising sign (the sign of the ascendant) |
ascendant | object | {…} | The ascendant: sign, degree within the sign, ecliptic longitude and a formatted position |
ascendant.sign | string | Libra | Sign of the ascendant |
ascendant.degree | number | 13.7 | Degree within the sign (0-30) |
ascendant.longitude | number | 193.6954 | Ecliptic longitude (0-360) |
ascendant.formatted | string | 13°42' Libra | Position as degrees and minutes, such as 11°39' Cancer |
midheaven | object | {…} | The midheaven (MC), in the same shape as ascendant |
midheaven.sign | string | Cancer | Sign of the midheaven |
midheaven.degree | number | 15.92 | Degree within the sign (0-30) |
midheaven.longitude | number | 105.9221 | Ecliptic longitude (0-360) |
midheaven.formatted | string | 15°55' Cancer | Position as degrees and minutes |
planets | array[11] | The sun, moon, eight planets and the mean north node | |
planets.0.name | string | Sun | Body name |
planets.0.sign | string | Gemini | Zodiac sign |
planets.0.degree | number | 24.39 | Degree within the sign (0-30) |
planets.0.longitude | number | 84.3882 | Tropical ecliptic longitude (0-360) |
planets.0.formatted | string | 24°23' Gemini | Position as degrees and minutes, such as 23°30' Pisces |
planets.0.housePremium | number | 9 | The house (1-12) the body falls in |
planets.0.retrograde | boolean | false | True when the body is in apparent backward motion |
planets.0.speed | number | 0.9551 | Daily motion in degrees of longitude (negative when retrograde) |
housesPremium | array[12] | The 12 house cusps in the chosen house system | |
houses.0.housePremium | number | 1 | House number (1-12) |
houses.0.signPremium | string | Libra | Sign on the cusp |
houses.0.degreePremium | number | 13.7 | Degree of the cusp within the sign |
houses.0.longitudePremium | number | 193.6954 | Ecliptic longitude of the cusp |
houses.0.formattedPremium | string | 13°42' Libra | Cusp position as degrees and minutes |
aspectsPremium | array[22] | Major aspects between bodies, tightest orb first | |
aspects.0.planet1Premium | string | Moon | First body |
aspects.0.planet2Premium | string | Venus | Second body |
aspects.0.aspectPremium | string | sextile | conjunction, opposition, trine, square or sextile |
aspects.0.anglePremium | number | 60 | The exact angle of the aspect |
aspects.0.orbPremium | number | 0.11 | Degrees away from exact |
aspects.0.applyingPremium | boolean | true | True when the aspect is moving toward exact |
elementsPremium | object | {…} | Count of the ten planets in fire, earth, air and water signs |
elements.firePremium | number | 1 | |
elements.earthPremium | number | 4 | |
elements.airPremium | number | 2 | |
elements.waterPremium | number | 3 | |
modalitiesPremium | object | {…} | Count of the ten planets in cardinal, fixed and mutable signs |
modalities.cardinalPremium | number | 5 | |
modalities.fixedPremium | number | 2 | |
modalities.mutablePremium | number | 3 |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 5 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("birthchart", A2:A100, B2:B100, C2:C100, D2:D100, "field", "sunSign")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The "field" pair is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your date values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in birthchart | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Use cases
- Astrology Apps
- Generate a user's natal chart at sign-up from their birth details, and show the sun, moon and rising signs on their profile.
- Compatibility Features
- Calculate two charts and compare planet signs, elements and aspects to power a compatibility or matching feature.
- Personalised Content
- Pick daily content, readings or product recommendations by the user's rising sign, moon sign or dominant element.
- Chart Rendering
- Feed planet longitudes, house cusps and aspects into a chart wheel drawn in your own app.
Other ways to use Birth Chart
Set up Birth Chart on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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