Draconic Chart Interpretation
Written and reviewed by María Blaquier
Updated September 4, 2026
A draconic chart interpretation starts with one principle: draconic planets express themselves through tropical planets. When a draconic planet touches a tropical one by conjunction or opposition, that contact tells you something about your deeper motivations operating in daily life. Maria Blaquier has spent 25 years developing this methodology and teaches it in a four-class course on draconic astrology.
How to Read a Draconic Chart
Maria Blaquier: "The draconic chart shows behaviors that influence my present day. They are not obvious, they lurk behind the scenes, but they use my tropical planets in order to express themselves. So whenever you see a draconic planet or angle touching a tropical one, that is referring to a prior conditioning, and that draconic planet is going to express itself through the tropical planet."
The orbs are tight: "We use very, very tight degrees, never more than three degrees. And for the time being, we are using conjunctions and oppositions."
Start With the Nodal Axis in the Tropical Chart
Before opening the draconic chart, Maria Blaquier reads the nodal axis in the tropical chart first. "When I do a draconic chart, the first thing I interpret is the nodal axis in the tropical chart. Before looking at the draconic chart, the nodal axis in the tropical chart, we could attend a client just by talking about their nodal axis. It is amazing all the information it gives us."
The nodal axis tells you where the soul is coming from (South Node) and where it is going (North Node). Once that orientation is set, the rest of the chart can be read against it.
What to Look at First in the Draconic Chart: The Ascendant
Maria Blaquier: "Look at where the draconic ascendant, which is our deep, unconscious, aspirational motivation, because the draconic chart is where I want to evolve in life. Seeing where that draconic ascendant overlaps, with which tropic house it overlaps, will give us an idea of what scenario in my daily life my draconic ascendant will choose to express itself."
Where the Draconic Ascendant Falls: Meghan Markle
Both wheels are Meghan Markle's own chart, born August 4, 1981 at 4:46 AM in Canoga Park, California, from a birth certificate (Rodden AA). María read it live on August 31, 2026. Read her full chart
Meghan Markle
Her Sun, Moon and Ascendant as the natal wheel shows them, and where the draconic zodiac moves her Sun.
Planets Stay in the Same Houses
An important detail when overlaying the two charts: "The placements of the planets remain the same, and the aspects are also the same, but the planets are in different degrees. For instance, if in the tropical chart, Mars is in the fourth, in the draconic chart, Mars is also going to be in the fourth. But instead of being in the first degrees of Aquarius, in the draconic chart it is at the end of Libra."
Maria Blaquier shows this with LeBron James: "Mars is on the midheaven in both charts because the placements remain the same. What changes are the signs and the degrees. We have the tropical Mars in Pisces on the midheaven and we have draconic Mars in Capricorn also in the midheaven."
Interpret Draconic Planets as Infused with the Moon
A practical tip from the Argentinian astrologer Néstor Ricciarte, shared by Maria Blaquier: "He told me to interpret the draconic houses and planets as if they were conjunct the Moon. Because a tropical Mars is about defending yourself and action, and the draconic Mars is also about those things. But it is going to be infused with emotions, because it is part of a lunar zodiac."
Conjunction and Opposition Work Differently
Maria Blaquier: "The conjunction, I appropriate that because it has to do with me, they are united. It is like two people living together in the same space. On the other hand, the opposition seems to come through the others or comes from the outside. I do not incorporate it but it is permanently expressed through destiny, through the people that appear in my life."
This distinction matters when reading contacts between the two charts. A draconic-tropical conjunction is something you live from inside. An opposition shows up through the people around you.
How a Draconic Planet Shows Up in Real Life
This is the question María Blaquier gets in every class, and she answered it again in her August 2026 livestream: how does a draconic planet make itself felt? "Above all it does so through the tropical planet or angle. That is why it matters so much to see when a draconic planet touches a tropical planet."
Her example was Ariana Grande, whose draconic Jupiter sits on her tropical ascendant, Uranus and Neptune. "That Jupiter, her inner, subjective sense of expansion, of optimism, of generosity, how does it express itself? Through her ascendant, her way of going out into the world, her Neptune and her Uranus. So after a terrorist attack during one of her concerts, what does she do? She does not hide. She holds another concert, she exposes herself again to raise money for the victims. That inner sense of giving a positive answer, of helping others, of expanding instead of shrinking back, works perfectly through Uranus, Neptune and her ascendant." The full reading is on her chart page.
The draconic contact adds to the tropical planet, and María is explicit that it never replaces it. On a draconic Chiron conjunct a natal Sun: "The draconic level adds. That Chiron does not swap out the tropical Sun. The interpretations are added together, keeping in mind that the draconic one is the more inner, more subjective, and it joins the Sun. Maybe you are a person with empathy and a need to heal the wounded, or maybe you carry a wound in your very identity."
On orbs she repeated the rule from the section above and added where her eye goes first: "I use only three degrees, only conjunctions and oppositions. I am not saying the rest never works, sometimes I use squares, sextiles, trines, with very small orbs. But where I put my eye is usually the conjunctions."
The Contact on the Wheel: Ariana Grande
Both wheels are Ariana Grande's own chart, born June 26, 1993 at 9:16 PM in Boca Raton, Florida, from a quoted birth time (Rodden A). María read it live on August 31, 2026. Read her full chart
Ariana Grande
Her Sun, Moon and Ascendant as the natal wheel shows them, and where the draconic zodiac moves her Sun.
The Orbs María Uses
| Aspect | Orb | Where her eye goes |
|---|---|---|
| Conjunction | up to 3° | first, always |
| Opposition | up to 3° | second |
| Square, trine, sextile | very small, well under 3° | only when exact |
| Draconic node | no orb | never interpreted, it is always 0° Aries |
From her August 2026 livestream. The draconic contact adds to the tropical planet; it never replaces it.
Placidus for Draconic Charts
On house systems, Maria Blaquier: "The program is preset for whole sign houses, but I could also change it and use Placidus, which is the house system that I usually use when I do draconic charts. As draconic astrology was developed relatively recently, despite the fact that its origins are believed to be from the Babylonian era, we do not have to be using whole sign houses if we do not want to."
Her routine: Placidus for natal and draconic, Regiomontanus for horary.
A Practical Example: LeBron James
Maria Blaquier walks through LeBron James as a case study: "In LeBron James chart, draconic Mars is exactly conjunct tropical sun. So what that means is that the contacted planet, the sun, expresses an inner motivation represented by that planet, by Mars. So LeBron James is going to need to express that inner motivation, Mars, through his sun. His sense of being is going to need to express Mars."
She adds the detail that confirms his profession: "In the draconic chart, Mars on the midheaven is exalted in Capricorn and conjunct the star Phasis, which is associated to Mars and is quite ruthless. So this is typical of people who are soldiers or elite sports people. And usually this Mars conjunct Phasis gives eye trouble."
A Note on Reading Charts the Right Way
One of the best ways to get and interpret your draconic chart is with help from someone expert in astrology. Maria Blaquier has worked in astrology for more than 25 years. She inspired this whole site, and her knowledge helped us put this article together. Thanks to that, we built draconicchart.com so anyone, including you, can get and read a draconic chart without having to learn the way she did, from scratch. Your draconic chart is read alongside your natal chart.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you interpret a draconic chart?
- Maria Blaquier's method starts from one principle: draconic planets express themselves through tropical planets. Whenever a draconic planet or angle touches a tropical one by conjunction or opposition, that contact points to an inner motivation shaping daily life, and she reads it within a tight orb of no more than three degrees, using only conjunctions and oppositions.
- What should I look at first when interpreting a draconic chart?
- Before opening the draconic chart, Maria Blaquier reads the nodal axis in the tropical chart first, since the South Node shows where the soul is coming from and the North Node shows where it is going. Once that axis is set, she looks at the draconic Ascendant, the deep unconscious motivation someone wants to evolve toward in life. Where that draconic Ascendant lands among the tropical houses shows which area of daily life it will use to express itself.
- What does it mean when a draconic planet is conjunct or opposite a tropical planet?
- A draconic-tropical conjunction is something a person appropriates and lives from the inside, like two people sharing the same space. An opposition tends to show up through other people or events rather than being owned directly. Maria Blaquier illustrates this with LeBron James, whose draconic Mars is exactly conjunct his tropical Sun, meaning his sense of self needs to express itself through Mars-ruled drive and action.
- Do planets stay in the same house in a draconic chart interpretation?
- Yes. When you overlay the draconic chart on the tropical one, each planet keeps the same house placement and the same aspects, but its sign and degree change. In the LeBron James example, tropical Mars sits on the midheaven in Pisces, and draconic Mars also sits on the midheaven, but in Capricorn.
- Which house system does draconic chart interpretation use?
- Maria Blaquier uses Placidus for both the natal and the draconic chart rather than whole sign, even though most draconic software defaults to whole sign houses. Since draconic astrology was only formalized relatively recently, she does not feel bound to whole sign and applies the same house system she uses for tropical work.
- Why do draconic planets feel more emotional than tropical planets?
- A tip Maria Blaquier learned from astrologer Nestor Ricciarte is to interpret every draconic house and planet as if it were conjunct the Moon, because the draconic chart is built on a lunar zodiac. So tropical Mars is about self-defense and action, while the same draconic Mars carries those themes infused with emotion rather than expressed as pure will.
Interpretation methodology by Maria Blaquier. Astrologer, educator, author of Astrologia Tradicional.
Updated August 5, 2026