Astrological Terminology for Learning Astrology
These days, many people come to astrology through pop astrology: memes, TikToks, Instagram graphics, magazine + online horoscopes, etc. These entry points have been an incredible gateway, connecting people + ideas from all over the world through this fascinating, controversial medium.
Astrology entered pop culture near the start of the 20th century by way of the newspaper horoscope, but before that, it existed for millennia. Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece — humans have long observed the stars + planets, attempting to satisfy their longing to understand the Universe. It is for this reason that astronomy + astrology were once one and the same; they were studied in tandem for many hundreds of years.
Whether or not the planets are physically impacting humans on Earth, they have the power to impact us psychologically, and for some, spiritually, relating us to past generations as we watch the sky + the world around us with wonder. The planets + stars are massive + humbling, and I find them incredible conduits for locating ourselves in the ever-changing Universe.
Astrology is an incredibly dense art that takes years + years to master, and even then, one never quite feels they’ve reached mastery. So many traditions, cultures, and methods of interpretation make astrology a skill that can be studied endlessly. It’s truly impossible to know it all. In my heart I find it beautiful that technology + culture have come together to disseminate this wonderful practice, but we must not ignore the depth + richness that gets lost in translation. Memes are, first and foremost, meant to evoke humor, humanity, and connectedness, but their superficial nature can be misleading for those who are unfamiliar with the technical side of things. For this reason, I’ve written this post to help explain some of the astrological terminology that lies just beyond the meme. I hope this guide can help bring those observing their natal chart closer to the heart of this magnificent tool, which I liken to an inkblot test: What do you see in your inkblot?
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Natal Chart a.k.a. Birth Chart: A snapshot of the planets in the sky around Earth at the exact moment of someone’s birth. A natal chart is circular in shape, and shows the positions of the planets from the person’s perspective based on their location on Earth + the very specific time at which they were born. Even a few minutes can greatly impact the placements in someone’s natal chart, which is why it’s so important to find the correct information on one’s birth certificate.
Planets: I realize it seems silly to include this common word here, but there are some particular ways of speaking about planets in astrology that are worth noting. In astrology, we refer to the Sun + Moon as planets, though they of course are not. This is essentially because of ancient astrology, which came into existence in an era long before we could precisely understand that the Sun is a star, and the Moon is not a planet. Planets, stars, comets, asteroids, and various points in space are collectively referred to as planetary bodies. The Sun + Moon may also be collectively called the Luminaries.
Placements: The sign, house, and aspects of planets and other relative bodies or locations within someone’s natal chart. For example, if someone asks you for your Jupiter placement, you might say, “I have Jupiter in Scorpio in the 4th house.”
Big 3: This term actually exists outside of astrology. It indicates the three most prominent or noteworthy components of a particular sphere or industry. In astrology, the Big 3 refers to the Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign altogether, as these tend to be the most prominent planetary placements in a natal chart.
Sun: In natal astrology, the Sun is the planet of purpose, ego, identity, the self; how we “shine” in life.
Moon: In natal astrology, the Moon is the planet of emotions, the body, daily routine, comfort, impulse, and childhood. As children, we may present as our Moon sign before people recognize the traits of our Sun sign in us. This is because children are very impulsive + reactive, externalizing their inner Moon before they’ve grown into their Sun sign, which develops with the personality.
Ascendant, a.k.a. Rising Sign: The Ascendant is a point in the natal chart that is nearly always found at the 9 o’clock position and represents the horizon, showing which planets + sign were rising on the horizon at the moment of a person’s birth. This point becomes important in the chart because it represents the energy rising up on the horizon as one takes their first breath. The ascendant, also called the Rising sign, represents our persona; our mannerisms, the way we socialize, our outward expression, and how we might energetically introduce ourselves to someone we meet.
Elements: Each of the 12 signs of the zodiac is assigned an element: fire, earth, air, or water. Elements indicate fundamental natures that we integrate with the archetypal meanings of each sign. There are three signs per element, and each element’s signs will share some of these fundamental natures, thus helping them relate to each other. It is often said that signs of the same element make for good friendships [this is of course subject to many other techniques and circumstances, but it is certainly a helpful rule of thumb].
Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. Fire signs are said to be guided by inspiration, intuition, action, and energy.
Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Earth signs are said to be guided by practicality, stability, patience, and the senses.
Air Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. Air signs are said to be guided by intellect, communication, logic, and sociability.
Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. Water signs are said to be guided by feeling, connection, internalization, and care.
Modalities: Each of the 12 signs of the zodiac is assigned a modality: cardinal, fixed, or mutable. Modalities indicate fundamental natures that we integrate with the archetypal meanings of each sign. There are four signs per modality, and each modality’s signs will share some of these fundamental natures.
Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. Cardinal signs are said to be guided by assertion, independence, action, and energy.
Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. Fixed signs are said to be guided by stability + fixity.
Mutable Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. Mutable signs are said to be guided by changeability, adaptability, and sociability.
Transits: The planets are moving above us right now as we live + breathe, and a snapshot of them can be taken + observed at any time. With software we can even scroll back through time and look at where the planets were on a particular day at a particular time 2,000 years ago, and draw up a chart for it. We could take a snapshot of the planets right here + now as you’re reading this, and then overlay that chart over your natal chart to see where the planets here + now would fall inside your own houses, and how they might interact with your natal planets. Transits infer that time is always moving on, bringing with it changes in life, whether on a world scale or a personal scale. It can be helpful to track the transits day by day or year by year to see how today’s circumstances might impact our core nature. For example, if transiting Venus is passing over your natal Mars, you might look at that and realize that you feel inspired to seek out romantic companionship. Or you might realize there’s an opportunity to seize in front of you that could pay you quite well. There are quite literally thousands of interpretations for each placement in astrology, it’s just a matter of feeling out which is relevant to your life. The transits show changes in life and how we might handle them with awareness.
Psychological Astrology: A particular branch of modern astrology that puts a focus on the psychology of a person using the circumstances of their past + present, as opposed to, for example, making predictions. Psychological astrology uses psychological theory as its guiding principle; which theory is up to the astrologer. For example, many psychological astrologers today use Jungian analysis in their practice. In my readings, I tend to blend Jungian analysis with a branch of psychotherapy called ACT [Acceptance and commitment therapy].
Traditional Astrology: A particular branch of astrology developed prior to the 19th century. It umbrellas many commonly practiced branches of astrology, such as Hellenistic + Medieval. It is guided by fate + circumstances, and typically includes a level of prediction.
Predictive Astrology: The utilization of astrology in such a way that aims to see the future. Not all astrologers use prediction in their practice. Some put a focus on it. Others may use it occasionally.
Mundane Astrology: A particular branch of astrology that uses the transits [the planets here + now, or the sky at any particular moment in history or the future] to describe or predict global, national, or generally locational events. This technique is often used when discussing politics, global affairs, culture, groups of people, prominent figures as they relate to the public, etc.
Horary Astrology: A particular branch of astrology where a person asks the astrologer a question, and a chart is cast for the transits [the planets here + now] at that very moment. This chart is then interpreted in such a way that gives the person an answer to their question.
Electional Astrology: A particular branch of astrology where a person asks an astrologer to help them find the ideal time, and sometimes location, for an upcoming event or enterprise.
Retrograde: When a planet ‘goes retrograde’, such as Mercury retrograde, this indicates that a planet’s path as seen from Earth suddenly makes that planet appear to be moving backwards in the sky. This is essentially an optical illusion, but because astrology is rooted in interpretation, it is still an important event in the sky to note. Retrograde simply adds an extra layer of interpretation to that planet’s placement at that time. Retrograde is a common occurrence for most, but not all, planets.
Nodes a.k.a. Nodal Axis a.k.a. North Node + South Node: When looking at a natal chart, you might notice two symbols that somewhat resemble a pair of headphones; one symbol will show ‘upright headphones’, and one will show ‘upside-down headphones.’ All planets have nodes, but in your average birth chart, these are specifically the Moon’s nodes. The nodes are not physical planetary bodies, but rather the intersection of two planets’ orbital paths. The Moon’s nodes, for example, indicate the location of the intersection of the Moon’s orbital path + the Sun’s orbital path. They are merely points in space. Because of the nature of the physics of two orbital planes intersecting, nodes will always be exactly opposite each other in a chart; for this reason, we refer to them as a nodal axis. Interpretation of the Nodes is very complicated in the astrology community. Some believe they represent past lives + karma, some believe they represent fate, psychological astrologers might view them as inherent behavioral traits and behavioral traits you might intend to grow into. There are many conflicting opinions about how to use them.
Aspect: The aspects are quite simply the geometric relationships between planetary bodies on the 360° wheel of a chart. For example, Mercury might be exactly opposite Saturn, making them 180° apart, which in astrology is called an Opposition. These aspects form relationships or conversations between planets, and those relationships are given interpretations, giving further complexity to how we might interpret a planet in someone’s natal chart. When you look at a chart drawn up using software, you’ll see a web of crazy lines in the center of the chart. These are simply there to illustrate the aspects between the planets they connect. The five most common aspects in astrology are as follows: Conjunction [0° apart, appearing to be right on top of each other], Square [90° apart], Opposition [180° apart], Trine [120° apart], Sextile [60° apart.]
Stellium: A cluster of three or more conjunct planets [planets that are roughly 0° apart and appear on top of each other], forming a connected group. A stellium in a chart shows a mass of energy related to the sign that they share + the house they occupy. The specific planets involved will give context to this mass of energy.
Houses: Every chart is divided into 12 numbered slices [if you’ve had a reading with me I’ve probably called them pizza slices, as that’s what they kind of look like] and these slices are called the houses. The 1st house always begins at the 9 o’clock position with the Rising sign, the 2nd house comes after it going counterclockwise, and so on, all the way up through the 12th house, which borders the 1st house. The houses represent external areas of life that impact all people. For example, the 1st house shows the body, the 4th house shows the family, the 10th house shows career, etc. These are just rudimentary examples. Having a planet in a particular house, such as Venus in the 9th, will give context to how you might navigate that area of life, and/or how important that area of life might be for you. It’s not bad to have an empty house! There are only 10 planetary bodies, and there are 12 houses, so naturally, some houses will be empty. It is neither good nor bad to have an empty house or a full house.
Cusps: The lines bordering each house; the edges of the pizza slices, if you will. The cusps show where a house begins + ends and how they line up with the 12 signs of the zodiac. You may also hear this word used when someone was born on a day where the Sun was at the tail end of a sign, or the very beginning of a sign. People will say they are an “Aquarius-Pisces cusp” for example. Some astrologers do utilize this idea, but many do not believe cusps to be useful [I don’t]. This is because a planet can only ever be in one sign at a time. It can never be in two signs at once, thus if you have the exact time of your birth, it should be fairly straight forward what a planet’s sign is.
House Systems: It is important to note that there are several different ‘house systems’ for calculating a chart. Each house system uses a different mathematical method of dividing the space around Earth to calculate the house cusps. Because the Earth is a sphere, it is actually quite complicated to decide on a particular way to divide up the space around Earth. It’s similar to the map or globe dilemma, where some countries may not appear true to size. Nothing’s perfect! An astrologer will typically choose the house system they prefer and stick with it. Different astrologers prefer different house systems. The most common is called Placidus, the next most common is called Whole Sign. I personally use a house system called Campanus. All of this is important to note because if you draw up your natal chart twice in two different systems, you might see that some of your planets change houses, thus changing the way we interpret the chart! This is totally okay. You may feel like one house system makes total sense for you + your life, and the other system doesn’t. For example, if you have your Sun in the 7th in a Placidus chart, but it’s in the 9th in a Campanus chart, you might have to ask yourself if love + partnership [7th house] or philosophy + education [9th house] are more thematic in your life. Then go with the one that makes more sense. This is just a rudimentary example. Astrologers have been debating for centuries which house system to use. In my opinion, the key is to do a little research and decide which method feels best for you. Some astrologers have been known to change which system they use throughout time, sometimes even after 40 years of using the same one!
Degrees: When looking at a chart you might notice that each planet has a numeric degree assigned to it, such as the Sun at 14°. A chart is always a 360° wheel. Each of the 12 signs occupy an equal piece of the wheel, so using basic math, each sign is allotted 30° of the chart. This means you’ll never see a planet at 31° of Taurus, for example, because the sign of Taurus can never have more than 30° of space to use. When a planet travels on its orbital path, it will enter + leave signs throughout time, in order of the 12 signs of the zodiac. A degree in a chart shows how “deep” that planet is into a sign at that moment. For example, if Mars is at 1° of Sagittarius, it means Mars just entered that sign recently. If Mars is at 29° degrees of Sagittarius, it means it is about to leave that sign + enter the next sign, which is Capricorn. Essentially the degrees help show us at what point a planet is in its journey of a particular sign. Degrees also help show us which planets aspect each other, but I don’t want to get too confusing here.
Midheaven a.k.a. Medium Coeli a.k.a. M.C.: A point in every chart that is commonly at or near the cusp of the 10th house, found at roughly the 12 o’clock position. It is roughly the point in space directly overhead at the moment of a person’s birth. The zodiac sign of this point gives interpretational depth to one’s career, their footprint on the world, what they are known for, and/or the traits of that sign that the person wishes to possess + externalize.
Imum Coeli a.k.a. I.C.: A point in every chart that is the cusp of the 4th house, found at roughly the 6 o’clock position. It is the point in space on the other side of Earth from a person at their moment of birth. The zodiac sign of this point gives interpretational depth to one’s family, personal history, lineage, home life, and the unconscious traits that they might possess at their core; their Id beneath the Ego.
Rulership: Each sign of the zodiac is assigned a planetary ruler. For example, Gemini is ruled by Mercury + Leo is ruled by the Sun. A planet might feel more ‘comfortable’ expressing itself in a particular sign, such as the one[s] that it rules. Additionally, each house cusp has a zodiac sign over it, which then shows which planet has rulership over that house. For example, Mars rules Aries, so if your 3rd house cusp has the sign of Aries over it, then Mars rules your 3rd house. Then we can find Mars in your chart to see how it’s operating + assess its placement, which then gives more information about 3rd house themes in your life. It gets more complex from here, but these are the basics that may come up when getting into astrology.
Solar Return Chart: This isn’t necessarily a common technique in pop astrology, but I’m including it because it’s a type of reading that I offer at my practice. As I mentioned above in the definition for Degrees, each planet in a chart is assigned a degree based on its location + journey through a particular sign. For example, someone may be born with their Sun at 4° of Cancer. It takes a year for the Sun to travel through all 12 signs of the zodiac, which means that once a year, the transiting Sun will return to 4° of Cancer. That annual return to one’s natal Sun sign + degree usually aligns with their birthday [sometimes it’s the day before or after], thus the Solar Return chart could also be called the Birthday chart. We can draw up a chart annually when the Sun returns to that natal point, and then use that chart to outline themes for the year ahead. The only planet in a Solar Return chart that perfectly aligns with your natal chart is the Sun, so that means that each year, your Solar Return chart will be different from the last, thus giving individual themes for each year of life. This can be a helpful tool for planning + setting goals for yourself in the coming year.