Build the Right Chart for Your Question: A Complete Hermes Walkthrough

HERMES / 02

Same data.
One variable.

Placidus → Whole Sign

When you compare two chart views, can you trace a difference to the setting that caused it? That becomes difficult if the date, time, location, zodiac and house system all change together.

We calculated the same synthetic sample in Hermes using Placidus and Whole Sign. You will compare the cusps, then distinguish the preferences you want to recall from the defaults used by new chart forms.

1. Make the question specific

Choose something you can inspect instead of asking which system is “better.” Here we compare house placements. We will not add a zodiac change, a draconic transformation or another coordinate view to the same experiment.

If you are studying a teacher’s method or a historical text, put that reference at the top of your notes. A tradition’s name alone does not explain every setting. Record the technique and its purpose, in your own study notes.

2. Record the sample data

The following synthetic data was used for the Hermes outputs shown below. It is not a real person’s birth record; it lets you repeat the comparison.

If you use a city search, record the selected coordinates too. A different location match or time-zone interpretation would introduce another variable.

3. Establish the starting view

This is a starting combination for the exercise, not a compulsory tradition profile. Read the chart details or settings summary and note any warning. Check that the method actually used matches your selection before comparing results.

4. Change only the house system

The main house systems guide explains why Placidus and Whole Sign divide the houses differently; this step concentrates on the Hermes workflow.

Inspect the Placidus view first. For this example, we used the pencil icon on the sample record in the client list to edit its main natal settings. We changed House System to Whole Sign and selected “Save Changes and Open Chart.” The date, time, location and other calculation preferences stayed the same.

Inspect the cusps and planetary house placements in both views. Use separate columns for a planet’s zodiac degree and the house it occupies. This helps you avoid describing a house-placement difference as a change in longitude.

In these outputs, the second cusp is 1° Virgo 42′ in Placidus and 0° Virgo 00′ in Whole Sign. The Sun’s zodiac position is unchanged between the two views. We can therefore describe the changed house boundary separately from the planet’s zodiac degree.

A Placidus

B Whole Sign

5. Write down what changed

Describe the measured or visible difference first. Put your interpretation in a separate paragraph and identify its source. The calculation and the meaning you assign to it will then remain easy to distinguish.

6. Save the combination you want to reuse

Return to the settings you want to use again. Save them in one of your personal preset slots. Record its number and settings in your study notes.

Switch to another choice, then recall the preset. Read the controls to see whether the expected values return. This checks more than whether the slot appears to contain a saved preset.

Keep the question, source and observation table in your own research notes. Do not assume that a settings preset automatically stores all those notes.

7. Check new-form defaults separately

If you want this combination to start every new study, use the action that sets the defaults. Then open a new chart form and read its initial values. A temporary comparison view does not have to become your default.

To keep a client chart or dial, use the save action for that context. A personal preset, a new-form default and a saved chart serve different purposes.

Choose the next experiment

Apply the same approach to another question: compare node methods, or examine two ayanamsas in a sidereal study. Keep the other choices fixed in each experiment and record the reference and the preset number.

Finish with more than two chart views. Keep a record of the input, the setting you changed, what you observed and how to recall the same choices. That record makes the next session easier to follow.

Specialist house choices such as Sunshine (Makransky), the Huber Age Point and Octotopos are being prepared for the next Hermes release; the specialist houses guide explains where to find them and what they are for.

Product visuals: Hermes 2.4.2, macOS, 16 October 2026. Charts use synthetic sample data. Menu counts follow the local product inventory dated 16 October.