Astrology glossary: the terms in plain English

This is an introduction to ZodiacFolk’s reflective approach to modern Western astrology, which measures the zodiac from the March equinox (the “tropical” zodiac). Other traditions, including predictive ones, work differently.

Astrology has a lot of small words that sound harder than they are. Here they are, alphabetical, with one plain sentence each. I’m Sage, and I’ve kept it short.

A

• Ascendant: the sign that was rising over the eastern horizon where and when you were born. Another name for your rising sign. See the Big Three.
• Aspect: the angle between two planets, used to describe how they relate. The five main ones are conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition. See aspects.

B

• Big Three: your Sun sign, Moon sign and rising sign, the three placements most people start with.
• Birth chart (natal chart): a map of where the planets were, as calculated for the moment you were born, with the angles and houses worked out from your birthplace.

C

• Conjunction: two planets in nearly the same spot, so their themes blend.
• Cusp: the line between two signs or two houses. If you were born near one, the exact time and place decide which side you’re on.

D

• Direct: when a planet is moving forward through the zodiac as seen from Earth; also the term for when it turns forward again after a retrograde stretch.

E

• Element: one of four groups of signs: fire, earth, air and water. Each has three signs. See the 12 signs.

H

• House: one of 12 sections of the chart, each standing for an area of life, like home, work or friends. Houses depend on your birth time and place. See houses.

M

• Midheaven (MC): a point in your chart that astrologers link to public life and reputation. It’s calculated from your birth time and place. (Technically, it’s where the zodiac crosses the north-south line overhead at your birthplace.)
• Mode: one of three groups of signs: cardinal, fixed and mutable. Each has four signs.
• Moon sign: the sign the Moon was in when you were born. It’s associated with what helps you feel at ease.

N

• Natal: “at birth.” A natal planet is where that planet was when you were born.

O

• Opposition: two planets across the chart from each other, 180 degrees apart, like two sides of a question.
• Orb: the few degrees of wiggle room allowed around an exact angle. Different astrologers use different orbs.

P

• Planet: in astrology, any of the Sun, Moon and the planets from Mercury to Pluto. Each stands for a part of life. See the planets.

R

• Retrograde: when a planet appears to move backward across the sky as seen from Earth. It’s an optical effect, and astrologers tie it to revisiting things. See transits.
• Rising sign: see ascendant.

S

• Sextile: two planets 60 degrees apart, usually described as a helpful angle.
• Sidereal zodiac: the other main way of drawing the signs, common in Vedic astrology. It starts the signs from a different point than the tropical zodiac, so a planet can land in a different sign. (The shift is called an ayanamsa.)
• Sign: one of 12 equal 30-degree slices of the zodiac. Signs describe style.
• Square: two planets 90 degrees apart, usually described as a tense angle.
• Stellium: often three or more planets in the same sign or house; astrologers differ on the exact rule.
• Sun sign: the sign the Sun was in on the day you were born.

T

• Transit: where a planet is right now, compared with your birth chart. See transits.
• Trine: two planets 120 degrees apart, usually described as an easy angle.
• Tropical zodiac: the system most Western astrologers use. It starts the signs at the March equinox.

Try this

Pick three words from the list that you’ve heard before but never quite understood. Say each one aloud in your own words, then check against the definition. Teach one to a friend over lunch; if you can explain it simply, you’ve got it.

Next: make a star map of the real sky above any place and moment.