— ENCYCLOPEDIA —
Look up what the terms used in your birth chart, horoscopes, tarot and numerology actually mean — no jargon, one term at a time.
Tarot
The Fool (0) opens the Major Arcana and symbolizes a new beginning, spontaneity, and a leap into the unknown taken with trust instead of fear.
Astrological houses
The 1st House (the house of the ascendant) describes identity, outward appearance, and how a person steps into new situations.
Astrological houses
The 2nd House describes values, material resources, money, and self-worth — what a person owns and how they build financial security.
Astrological houses
The 3rd House describes communication, everyday learning, siblings, and immediate surroundings — daily relationships and the exchange of information.
Astrological houses
The 4th House (the house of the IC) describes home and family, roots, the relationship with parents, and the inner foundation the rest of life is built on.
Astrological houses
The 5th House describes creativity, romance, pleasure, hobbies and children — the area of spontaneous, joyful self-expression.
Astrological houses
The 6th House describes daily work, health, habits, and service to others — the sphere of routine responsibilities and taking care of the body.
Astrological houses
The 7th House (the house of the descendant) describes partnerships, marriage, and open alliances — close relationships built on mutual give and take.
Astrological houses
The 8th House describes transformation, shared resources (including a partner's finances), intimacy, and themes of death and rebirth.
Astrological houses
The 9th House describes the search for meaning, philosophy, long-distance travel, and higher education — expanding horizons beyond the familiar.
Astrological houses
The 10th House (the house of the MC) describes career, social status, and public image — what a person strives for in the eyes of the world.
Astrological houses
The 11th House describes friendships, groups, communities, and long-term hopes for the future — the place for shared goals and networks.
Astrological houses
The 12th House describes what is hidden, subconscious, and spiritual — solitude, dreams, sacrifice, and areas that resist full conscious grasp.
Runes
Algiz (ᛉ) is rune 15 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are alertness, awareness and self-care.
Numerology
Angel numbers are repeating digit sequences (111, 222, 1111, and so on) that popular numerology and spirituality interpret as symbolic "signs" or nudges noticed in everyday life.
Numerology
Ank Jyotish is the traditional Sanskrit name for Vedic Numerology — an interpretive system based on a birth date, covered in more detail under "Vedic Numerology."
Transits & cycles
Annual profections are a Hellenistic timing technique in which the Ascendant moves forward one whole sign for each year of life, so that every year activates a different house. The domicile ruler of the sign reached that year is called the lord of the year.
Runes
Ansuz (ᚨ) is rune 4 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are word, message and inspiration.
Aspects
An applying aspect is one still moving toward its exact, full angle — the faster planet is still "catching up" to the slower one.
Zodiac signs
Aquarius is the eleventh zodiac sign (fixed air), ruled by Uranus (traditionally also Saturn) — associated with independence, innovation, and thinking about the collective.
General concepts
An archetype is a recurring, universal pattern of character, situation, or energy present in myths, symbols, and stories across cultures — a concept popularized by psychologist Carl Gustav Jung.
Zodiac signs
Aries is the first zodiac sign (cardinal fire), ruled by Mars — associated with initiative, courage, and the drive to go first.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, ASC and DSC lines join the places where, at the moment of your birth, a planet was rising on the eastern horizon (ASC) or setting on the western horizon (DSC).
Points & axes
The ascendant is the zodiac sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the exact moment you were born. It shapes your first, instinctive reaction to the world and how others perceive you at first glance.
Astrocartography
Astrocartography is an astrological technique that projects the birth chart onto a world map: it shows the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, each planet was rising, setting, culminating or standing at its lowest point beneath the horizon.
Relationship astrology
Astrological compatibility is a general term for assessing how well two charts "work together" — most often analyzed through synastry or a composite chart.
Astrological houses
Astrological houses are the twelve segments that divide a birth chart, each governing a different area of life — such as relationships, career, or home.
Astrology basics
Astrology is an interpretive tradition holding that the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets at a given moment carry symbolic meaning and can be read as a description of character, circumstance or tendency.
Numerology
An attitude number is calculated from a person's birth month and day (excluding the year), describing the first impression they give off and their natural way of approaching new situations.
Vedic astrology
The ayanamsa is the angle between the tropical zodiac, which starts at the spring equinox, and the sidereal zodiac, which is tied to the fixed stars; Vedic astrology subtracts it from planetary positions, and AstroSensus uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, now about 24 degrees.
Vedic astrology
Ayanamsha is the angular value (currently about 24 degrees) by which the sidereal zodiac used in Vedic astrology is offset from the tropical zodiac used in Western astrology.
General concepts
BaZi, the Four Pillars of Destiny, is the traditional Chinese way of reading the moment of birth: the year, month, day and hour each form a pillar of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch, eight characters in all.
Runes
Berkano (ᛒ) is rune 18 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are growth, beginning and nurture.
Numerology
Bhagyank is the sum of every digit in a person's full birth date, reduced to a number from 1 to 9, described in Vedic Numerology as a destiny or fate number.
Vedic astrology
Bhava is the Sanskrit term for an astrological house — one of the twelve segments of a Vedic chart, counted from the Lagna.
Numerology
A birthday number is derived solely from the day of the month a person was born, reduced to a single digit (with the master numbers 11 and 22 kept unreduced).
Zodiac signs
Cancer is the fourth zodiac sign (cardinal water), ruled by the Moon — associated with emotion, nurturing, and a strong bond to home and family.
Zodiac signs
Capricorn is the tenth zodiac sign (cardinal earth), ruled by Saturn — associated with ambition, discipline, and building structure for the long haul.
Tarot
The Celtic Cross is one of the best known and most elaborate tarot spreads, usually made up of ten cards laid out in the shape of a cross and a vertical column.
Astrology basics
The chart dominant is the planet (or sign) that carries the most weight in a given chart — through its number of aspects, its placement on a key chart point, or a strong cluster of planets in one sign or element.
Astrology basics
The chart ruler is the planet that rules the sign on the ascendant — for an Aries ascendant, for example, the ruler is Mars.
Planets
Chiron is a small celestial body (a centaur) orbiting between Saturn and Uranus; in astrology it symbolizes a deep, often old wound that, once faced, becomes a source of wisdom and the ability to heal others.
Composite chart
A composite chart is a relationship-astrology technique that creates one, "third" chart from the mathematical midpoints between two people's planetary positions.
Aspects
A conjunction is an astrological aspect where two planets sit at nearly the same degree of the zodiac, so their energies blend and intensify each other.
Tarot
Cups is one of the four Minor Arcana suits, symbolically linked to the element of water — emotion, relationships, intuition, and love.
Runes
Dagaz (ᛞ) is rune 23 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are dawn, breakthrough and clarity.
Forecasting
A daily forecast is an astrological reading covering a single day, based on current fast-planet transits (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) against a chart.
Vedic astrology
Dasha is a system for marking off life periods ruled in turn by each planet — one of the most important forecasting tools in Vedic astrology.
Composite chart
A Davison chart is an alternative relationship chart, calculated not from mathematical averages of planetary positions (as in a composite) but for the actual date, time and place exactly halfway in time and space between the two people's births.
General concepts
The Day Master (Ri Zhu, 日主) is the Heavenly Stem of the day pillar in a BaZi chart. The tradition treats it as the person themself and reads every other sign of the chart in relation to it.
General concepts
Da Yun (大运), the luck pillars, are the ten-year periods of a BaZi chart. The tradition derives them from the month pillar, stepping forwards or backwards through the cycle of sixty, and reads each one as the climate of a decade. The AstroSensus calculator calculates them: ten luck pillars from the month pillar, each with its age and calendar years.
Points & axes
The descendant is the chart point exactly opposite the ascendant, marking the start of the 7th House — the house of partnerships and open alliances.
Numerology
The destiny number (expression number) is calculated from the full name given at birth, by assigning each letter a numeric value and summing them.
Astrology basics
Detriment is the sign opposite a planet's domicile, where it operates under strain — Mars is in detriment in Libra, a sign ruled by Venus, whose character runs opposite to Mars's.
Transits & cycles
A direct station is the moment a retrograde planet stops and resumes its normal, forward motion through the zodiac.
Astrology basics
Domicile is the zodiac sign a given planet rules and where it operates most freely — Mars is in domicile in Aries, for instance, and Venus in Taurus.
Eclipses
An eclipse happens when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align during a new moon (solar eclipse) or full moon (lunar eclipse).
Eclipses
An eclipse season is a period of roughly five to six weeks during which a pair of eclipses (solar and lunar) occurs, as the Sun passes close to the lunar nodes.
Runes
Ehwaz (ᛖ) is rune 19 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are cooperation, trust and movement.
Runes
Eihwaz (ᛇ) is rune 13 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are endurance, transformation and roots.
Runes
The Elder Futhark is the oldest runic alphabet: 24 signs in three groups of eight, used by Germanic peoples roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century.
Astrology basics
In astrology, the twelve zodiac signs are grouped into four elements — fire, earth, air and water — three signs each, describing a sign's basic temperament.
General concepts
Esoteric symbolism is the system of signs, images, and concepts (planets, cards, numbers) to which astrology, tarot, and numerology assign shared, repeatable meanings, building their interpretations from them.
Astrology basics
Exaltation is the sign where a given planet operates exceptionally strongly and positively, without formally ruling it — the Sun is exalted in Aries, for example, and the Moon in Taurus.
Astrology basics
Fall is the sign opposite a planet's exaltation, where it operates at its weakest — the Sun is in fall in Libra, for instance, and the Moon in Scorpio.
Runes
Fehu (ᚠ) is rune 1 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are abundance, exchange and gratitude.
Transits & cycles
The firdaria (singular firdar) are a Persian time-lord technique, described by Abu Ma'shar, that divides a life of 75 years into consecutive periods ruled by the seven visible planets and the two lunar nodes. The order depends on whether the birth chart is a day chart or a night chart, and each planetary period has seven sub-periods.
Moon & phases
The first quarter moon is the phase halfway between the new moon and the full moon, when exactly half the Moon's disc is lit (the Sun and Moon form a square).
General concepts
The Four Transformations (四化, Si Hua) are four labels that Zi Wei Dou Shu attaches to four stars of the chart, chosen by the Heavenly Stem of the birth year: Hua Lu (化祿, abundance), Hua Quan (化權, authority), Hua Ke (化科, recognition) and Hua Ji (化忌, obstruction).
Moon & phases
A full moon is the phase where the Sun and Moon are in opposition — the Moon's disc appears fully lit as seen from Earth.
Runes
Gebo (ᚷ) is rune 7 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are gift, reciprocity and bond.
Zodiac signs
Gemini is the third zodiac sign (mutable air), ruled by Mercury — associated with curiosity, communication, and multi-track thinking.
Vedic astrology
Graha is the Sanskrit term for a planet (literally "that which grasps/influences") — in Vedic astrology it covers nine bodies: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Rahu and Ketu.
Numerology
A graha is a ruling "planet" in Indian tradition (including the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu, which are not physical planets), symbolically assigned in Vedic Numerology to the numbers 1 through 9.
Vedic astrology
Guna milan, or Ashtakoota matching, is the traditional Vedic method of comparing two birth charts for marriage: eight factors (kutas) based on the Moon's nakshatra and Moon sign of each person give up to 36 points, and 18 is the customary minimum.
Runes
Hagalaz (ᚺ) is rune 9 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are change, disruption and release.
General concepts
The ten Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan, 天干) and the twelve Earthly Branches (Di Zhi, 地支) are the two sets of signs of the traditional Chinese calendar. Paired into a cycle of sixty, they name years, months, days and hours and make up the eight characters of a BaZi chart.
Astrology basics
Hellenistic astrology is the astrology written in Greek in the Mediterranean world from about the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE, mostly under the Roman Empire. It reads a chart with the seven visible planets, whole-sign houses, sect, essential dignities, lots and time-lord techniques such as annual profections and zodiacal releasing.
General concepts
Hidden stems (Cang Gan, 藏干) are the Heavenly Stems that the BaZi tradition places inside each of the twelve Earthly Branches: one to three per branch, a main qi and sometimes a middle and a residual qi. They let a chart show phases that its visible signs do not.
General concepts
A horoscope is an astrological interpretation based on planetary positions at a given moment. It can cover a single zodiac sign (a daily or weekly horoscope) or be fully personalized using your natal chart.
Synastry
House overlay is a synastry technique that checks which of one person's houses the other person's planets fall into.
Astrology basics
Reading a birth chart means going through it in a fixed order: first the Sun, Moon and Ascendant, then the balance of elements, the planets in signs and houses, the chart ruler and the aspects — and only at the end putting the repeated themes together.
Tarot
The Magician (I) symbolizes purposeful will, skill, and the ability to turn ideas into concrete action — bringing together all four elements, shown by the tools laid out before him.
Tarot
The High Priestess (II) symbolizes intuition, mystery, and knowledge hidden beneath the surface — what you know without needing a logical explanation for it.
Tarot
The Empress (III) symbolizes abundance, fertility (literal and creative), and nature's nurturing, sensual energy.
Points & axes
The Imum Coeli (IC) is the lowest point of the chart, directly opposite the MC, marking the start of the 4th House — the house of roots, family and private inner life.
Transits & cycles
An ingress is the moment a planet enters a new zodiac sign — the Sun's ingress into Aries, for example, marks the start of the astrological year (the spring equinox).
Runes
Ingwaz (ᛜ) is rune 22 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are ripening, potential and completion.
Synastry
An interaspect is an aspect formed by one person's planet with the other person's planet — the basic unit of analysis in synastry.
Runes
Isa (ᛁ) is rune 11 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are stillness, pause and focus.
Tarot
The Emperor (IV) symbolizes structure, authority, and stability built through discipline and consistent leadership.
Tarot
The Hermit (IX) symbolizes withdrawing into solitude in search of inner wisdom — a deliberate distance from the noise, to see your own path more clearly.
Runes
Jera (ᛃ) is rune 12 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are cycle, patience and harvest.
Planets
In astrology Jupiter symbolizes expansion, optimism, belief and the search for meaning — travel, philosophy, higher education, and a sense of abundance.
Transits & cycles
The Jupiter cycle is the path of transiting Jupiter from the place it held at your birth, through the squares, trines and the opposition, back to the same degree — on average in 11.86 years.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Jupiter line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Jupiter was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Jupiter retrograde happens once a year and lasts about four months — as a slow planet, Jupiter spends a good chunk of every yearly cycle retrograde.
Transits & cycles
A Jupiter return is the moment transiting Jupiter comes back to the degree of the zodiac it held at your birth — on average every 11.86 years, sometimes with three exact passes.
Numerology
Karmic numbers, most often 13, 14, 16 and 19, are numbers in Western numerology believed to carry a lesson arising from earlier challenges, neglect or mistakes, and in some schools from past lives.
Runes
Kenaz (ᚲ) is rune 6 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are torch, knowledge and creativity.
Vedic astrology
In Vedic astrology (Jyotish), Ketu is the shadow planet corresponding to the Moon's South Node, always exactly opposite Rahu, associated with detachment, spirituality, intuition and what has already been learned and lived through.
Numerology
Ketu is the lunar node assigned in Vedic Numerology to the number 7, treated as the second of two "shadow" grahas alongside Rahu.
Vedic astrology
A kundli (janam kundali) is the Vedic birth chart: a map of the sky for the exact moment and place of birth, calculated in the sidereal zodiac, showing the Lagna, the twelve houses and the positions of the nine grahas.
Vedic astrology
Lagna is the Vedic equivalent of the ascendant — the sidereal sign rising on the horizon at the moment of birth, marking the 1st House (Bhava) in a Vedic chart.
Runes
Laguz (ᛚ) is rune 21 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are water, intuition and flow.
Moon & phases
The last quarter moon is the phase halfway between the full moon and the next new moon, when exactly half the Moon's disc is lit (the Sun and Moon form a square again).
Zodiac signs
Leo is the fifth zodiac sign (fixed fire), ruled by the Sun — associated with self-expression, creativity, and the need to be seen.
Zodiac signs
Libra is the seventh zodiac sign (cardinal air), ruled by Venus — associated with balance, relationships, and a sense of aesthetics.
General concepts
Li Chun (立春), the Start of Spring, is the solar term at which the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude, around 4 February. In BaZi it opens the year and the Tiger month, so the year pillar changes at Li Chun, not at the lunar New Year.
Numerology
The life path number is the central figure in numerology, calculated from your full birth date by reducing its digits to a single number (except for the master numbers 11, 22, and 33).
Numerology
Life path year resonance is a symbolic relationship between a person's constant life path number and the character of a given universal year, calculated by summing and reducing the two numbers' roots.
Points & axes
Lilith (the Black Moon) is a chart point marking the Moon orbit's second, "empty" focus — symbolically linked to what is suppressed, wild, or socially inconvenient.
Points & axes
A lot (Greek kleros, Arabic part) is a sensitive point of the chart found by adding to the Ascendant the arc between two other points, usually two planets. The best known are the Lot of Fortune, which the tradition links with the body and circumstances, and the Lot of Spirit, linked with the mind and actions, together with five more Hermetic lots.
Eclipses
A lunar eclipse happens when, during a full moon, Earth passes directly between the Sun and Moon, casting a shadow across the Moon's disc.
Lunar nodes
The lunar nodes are two mathematical points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path) — the North Node and, directly opposite it, the South Node.
Forecasting
A lunar return is a forecasting technique based on the chart calculated for the moment the Moon — roughly once a month — returns to its natal position.
Tarot
The Major Arcana are the 22 tarot cards — from the Fool to the World — representing core archetypes and stages of a person's spiritual journey.
Vedic astrology
Manglik, or Mangal dosha, is the Vedic name for a chart in which Mars occupies the first, second, fourth, seventh, eighth or twelfth house; tradition considers it mainly when two charts are compared for marriage and knows many conditions that cancel or soften it.
Runes
Mannaz (ᛗ) is rune 20 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are humanity, community and self-awareness.
Planets
In astrology Mars symbolizes action, drive, assertiveness and how anger gets expressed — how a person pursues goals and defends their boundaries.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Mars line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Mars was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Mars retrograde happens roughly every two years and lasts about two to three months — one of the longer, more noticeable retrogrades.
Numerology
Master numbers — 11, 22, and 33 — are the numerology exception to reducing digits down to a single number.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, MC and IC lines are the meridians where, at the moment of your birth, a planet was culminating overhead (MC) or standing directly beneath your feet at its lowest point below the horizon (IC).
Planets
In astrology Mercury symbolizes communication, thinking, and how information gets processed — speech, writing, learning, negotiation.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Mercury line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Mercury was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Mercury retrograde is the best known and most frequent planetary retrograde — it happens three to four times a year and lasts about three weeks.
Points & axes
The Midheaven (MC) is the highest point of the chart, marking the start of the 10th House — the house of career, public status and reputation.
Tarot
The Minor Arcana are the 56 tarot cards split into four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles), fourteen cards each — from Ace to King.
Astrology basics
Modalities (qualities) split the twelve zodiac signs into three groups of four — cardinal, fixed and mutable — describing how a sign tends to act.
Forecasting
A monthly forecast is an astrological reading covering a one-month period, factoring in planetary ingresses and the new and full moons that fall within it.
Planets
In astrology the Moon symbolizes emotion, instinct, and what makes someone feel secure — the inner, often unconscious layer of how a person reacts.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Moon line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, the Moon was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Moon & phases
A moon phase is a stage of the synodic lunar cycle, from new moon through full moon and back, set by the angle between the Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth.
Astrology basics
Your moon sign is the zodiac sign the Moon occupied at the moment you were born — it describes emotions, needs, and what makes you feel secure.
Numerology
Mulank is the reduced birth day-of-month (a number from 1 to 9) in Vedic Numerology, treated as the root number and the system's most important indicator.
Vedic astrology
A nakshatra is one of the 27 "lunar mansions" — segments Vedic astrology divides the zodiac belt into, each spanning 13°20′, with its own symbolism and ruling planet.
Astrology basics
A natal chart (birth chart) is a map of the sky at the exact moment and place of your birth, showing the positions of the planets, signs, and astrological houses.
Runes
Nauthiz (ᚾ) is rune 10 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are need, constraint and resourcefulness.
Vedic astrology
Navamsa (the D9 chart) is one of Vedic astrology's so-called divisional charts, dividing every zodiac sign into nine parts — traditionally examined mainly for marriage and relationships.
Planets
In astrology Neptune symbolizes imagination, spirituality, illusion and dissolving boundaries — dreams, art, intuition, but also fog, delusion, and addiction.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Neptune line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Neptune was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Neptune retrograde happens once a year and lasts about five to six months — it touches themes of imagination, spirituality, and illusion.
Moon & phases
A new moon is the phase where the Sun and Moon are in conjunction — the Moon is essentially invisible from Earth.
Numerology
The nine-year numerology cycle is the idea that personal years 1 through 9 form a repeating sequence, after which the cycle starts over.
Relationship astrology
Nodes in synastry are contacts between one person's North or South Node and the other's planets, traditionally read as a sign of a relationship with a strong sense of "fate" to it.
Lunar nodes
The North Node is a chart point symbolically linked to a direction for growth — an area that feels less natural to a person, but brings the most development.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a North Node line marks the places where, at the moment of your birth, the North Node — Rahu in Vedic astrology — stood on one of the four angles; the lines of the South Node, Ketu, lie on the opposite angles.
Numerology
Numerology is an interpretive tradition that gives symbolic meaning to numbers derived from a birth date or a full name, using them to describe character, the rhythm of a life and recurring themes.
Numerology
Numerology challenges are four numbers (0 through 8 — 0 is just as meaningful a result as any other, signaling little friction rather than a missing value), calculated from differences between the birth month, day, and year.
Numerology
Numerology pinnacles are four major life-cycle phases derived from a person's birth month, day, and year, each carrying its own number and age range.
Numerology
A numerology portal is a popular term for a date with an especially symmetrical or repeating numeric pattern (2/2/22, or 22/02/2022), treated in popular numerology as a day of amplified energy.
Aspects
An opposition forms when two planets sit almost exactly across from each other in the sky, about 180 degrees apart.
Aspects
Orb is the allowed tolerance around an aspect's exact angle — a conjunction "with a 6-degree orb," for instance, covers planets anywhere from 0 to 6 degrees apart.
Runes
Othala (ᛟ) is rune 24 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are heritage, home and values.
Points & axes
The Part of Fortune is a mathematically calculated chart point (derived from the Sun, Moon and ascendant), traditionally linked to an area of life that brings a natural sense of satisfaction and good fortune.
Tarot
Pentacles is one of the four Minor Arcana suits, symbolically linked to the element of earth — money, work, health, and material matters.
Numerology
A personal day is a number (1 through 9) describing the "climate" of a specific day, calculated by adding the personal month number to the current day's number.
Numerology
The personality number is calculated from just the consonants in a person's full birth name.
Numerology
A personal month is a number (1 through 9) describing the "climate" of a given calendar month, calculated by adding the personal year number to the current month's number.
Forecasting
Personal transits are planetary transits measured against a specific, individual birth chart — as opposed to general transits, which apply to everyone.
Numerology
A personal year is a number (1 through 9) describing the overall "climate" of a given calendar year in a specific person's life, calculated from their birth day and month plus the current year.
Runes
Perthro (ᛈ) is rune 14 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are mystery, chance and the unknown.
Zodiac signs
Pisces is the twelfth and final zodiac sign (mutable water), ruled by Neptune (traditionally also Jupiter) — associated with sensitivity, imagination, and blurring the line between self and other.
Transits & cycles
A planetary cycle is the time a planet takes to come back to the same position — in the zodiac, or relative to another planet or to its own place in the birth chart.
Astrology basics
Planetary dignities are a traditional grading system for how "comfortable" a planet is in the sign it occupies — from domicile (its strongest placement) to fall (its weakest).
Transits & cycles
Planetary hours are an ancient scheme in which the period from sunrise to sunset and the period from sunset to the next sunrise are each divided into twelve hours, and each hour is assigned to one of the seven planets in the Chaldean order. The first hour after sunrise belongs to the planet of the weekday.
Transits & cycles
A planetary station is the moment a planet, seen from Earth, appears to stop in the sky before changing direction — from direct to retrograde (a retrograde station) or back again (a direct station).
Planets
In astrology Pluto symbolizes transformation, power and what lies hidden — deep, often forced change, obsession, and the cycle of death and rebirth.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Pluto line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Pluto was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Pluto retrograde is the period of about five months a year when Pluto appears to move backwards through the zodiac as seen from Earth, a recurring phase astrologers link with inner transformation and quiet review of power and control.
Astrology basics
Polarities split the twelve signs into two alternating groups — masculine (positive) and feminine (negative) — describing the general direction a sign's energy tends to move.
Retrogrades
The post-shadow is the period after a retrograde ends, when the planet crosses the same stretch of the zodiac again before moving past the point where it first turned retrograde.
Retrogrades
The pre-shadow is the period when a planet first crosses the stretch of the zodiac it will later return to during its retrograde.
Forecasting
Progression is a forecasting technique that symbolically moves a chart's post-birth planetary positions forward in time, typically at a rate of "one day after birth equals one year of life" (secondary progressions).
Aspects
A quincunx (inconjunct) is an aspect between planets about 150 degrees apart, linking signs that share neither element nor modality.
Vedic astrology
In Vedic astrology (Jyotish), Rahu is the shadow planet corresponding to the Moon's North Node, the point where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic, associated with ambition, hunger for the new and the urge to cross boundaries.
Numerology
Rahu is the lunar node assigned in Vedic Numerology to the number 4, treated as one of two "shadow" grahas alongside Ketu.
Runes
Raidho (ᚱ) is rune 5 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are journey, rhythm and direction.
Vedic astrology
Rashi is the Vedic equivalent of a zodiac sign — one of the twelve segments of the sidereal zodiac a given planet passes through at any moment.
Astrocartography
A relocation chart is a birth chart calculated for the same moment of birth but for a different place on Earth: the planets keep their signs and degrees, while the angles and houses change with the new coordinates.
Retrogrades
Retrograde is the apparent backward motion of a planet across the sky as seen from Earth, caused by the difference in orbital speeds between planets.
Retrogrades
The retrograde shadow is the period before and after an actual retrograde, when a planet moves direct but through the same stretch of the zodiac it will later (or earlier) cross again backward.
Transits & cycles
A retrograde station is the moment a planet stops and begins its apparent backward motion (retrograde) through the zodiac.
Tarot
A reversed card is one that appears upside down in a spread.
Vedic astrology
Sade Sati is the period of about seven and a half years during which Saturn, in the sidereal zodiac, passes through the sign before the natal Moon sign, the Moon sign itself and the sign after it; Vedic tradition reads it as a time of maturing, responsibility and slow restructuring.
Zodiac signs
Sagittarius is the ninth zodiac sign (mutable fire), ruled by Jupiter — associated with the search for meaning, travel, and a wide-angle perspective.
General concepts
Saju (사주), "four pillars", is the Korean name and practice of the Four Pillars method, the same calculation as Chinese BaZi: the year, month, day and hour of birth each form a pillar of one stem and one branch, eight characters in all (Saju Palja, 사주팔자).
Planets
In astrology Saturn symbolizes structure, discipline, responsibility and limitation — the areas of life that demand patient, long-term work.
Relationship astrology
Saturn in synastry is one of the classic comparison themes — one person's Saturn contacting the other's planets points to durability, commitment, and a "serious" character in the relationship.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Saturn line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Saturn was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Saturn retrograde happens once a year and lasts about four to five months — it touches themes of responsibility, structure, and long-term commitments.
Transits & cycles
A Saturn return is the moment transiting Saturn comes back to the degree it held at your birth — first around age 29 to 30, then around 59 and 88.
Zodiac signs
Scorpio is the eighth zodiac sign (fixed water), ruled by Pluto (traditionally also Mars) — associated with intensity, emotional depth, and the theme of transformation.
Astrology basics
Sect (Greek hairesis) is the traditional division of every chart into a day chart, with the Sun above the horizon at birth, and a night chart, with the Sun below it. The tradition assigns the planets to the day or the night party and, from that, picks the luminary, the benefic and the malefic of the sect.
Aspects
A sextile is an aspect between planets about 60 degrees apart, considered mild and favorable — easier to overlook than a trine, but only needs a little initiative to activate.
General concepts
Shichū Suimei (四柱推命), "reading destiny from four pillars", is the Japanese name and practice of the Four Pillars method, the same calculation as Chinese BaZi: the year, month, day and hour of birth each form a pillar of one stem and one branch, eight characters in all.
Forecasting
Solar arc is a forecasting technique where every planet in a chart is advanced by the same amount that the progressed Sun has moved (on average, about 1 degree per year of life).
Eclipses
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon, during a new moon, passes directly between the Sun and Earth, partially or fully blocking the Sun's disc.
Forecasting
A solar return is a forecasting technique based on the chart calculated for the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal position each year — your "astrological birthday".
Numerology
The soul urge number (heart's desire number) is calculated from just the vowels in a person's full birth name.
Lunar nodes
The South Node is a chart point symbolically linked to a comfort zone — traits and patterns that come naturally, but are easy to over-rely on.
Runes
Sowilo (ᛊ) is rune 16 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are sun, clarity and energy.
Aspects
A square is an aspect between planets about 90 degrees apart, considered one of the most dynamic and challenging.
Planets
In astrology the Sun symbolizes the core of identity, vitality and will — it's what determines your zodiac sign in everyday usage.
Synastry
Contacts between one person's Sun and the other's Moon are one of the classic markers of emotional fit and a sense of "natural understanding" in relationship astrology.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Sun line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, the Sun stood on one of the four angles — culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Astrology basics
Your sun sign is the zodiac sign the Sun occupied at the moment you were born — it is the basis of popular daily horoscopes.
Moon & phases
A supermoon is a new or full moon that occurs when the Moon is near perigee (the closest point of its orbit to Earth), making it look noticeably larger and brighter than usual.
Tarot
Swords is one of the four Minor Arcana suits, symbolically linked to the element of air — thinking, communication, conflict, and truth.
Synastry
Synastry is the technique of comparing two charts to describe the dynamic between two people — looking at aspects between both people's planets and at how their houses overlap.
Tarot
Tarot is a deck of 78 cards used for reflection and symbolic divination, made up of 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards, whose images and positions in a spread are read as a story about a question.
Tarot
A tarot spread is a specific layout in which cards are laid out during a reading — for example, three cards for past, present, and future.
Zodiac signs
Taurus is the second zodiac sign (fixed earth), ruled by Venus — associated with stability, sensuality, and a preference for what lasts.
General concepts
The Ten Gods (Shi Shen, 十神) are the ten relationships BaZi draws between the Day Master and every other stem of a chart, derived from the five phases and from yin and yang.
General concepts
The twelve palaces (十二宮) are the twelve houses of a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart: Life, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends, Career, Property, Fortune and Parents. Each is a field of life that the tradition associates with it, and the Body palace (身宮) is marked on one of them.
Tarot
The three-card spread is one of the simplest and most popular tarot spreads: three cards laid in a row, most often read as past, present and future, or as past, present and next step.
Runes
Thurisaz (ᚦ) is rune 3 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are threshold, prudence and resistance.
Runes
Tiwaz (ᛏ) is rune 17 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are courage, justice and commitment.
General concepts
The Tong Shu (通書, "book of all things"), also called Tung Shing in Cantonese or Huang Li, the "yellow calendar", is the traditional Chinese almanac: a day-by-day calendar that gives each date its stem and branch, its Day Officer, the animal it clashes with and lists of activities the tradition considers suitable or best avoided.
Transits & cycles
A transit is a planet's current position in the sky and the aspect it forms to the planets in your natal chart.
Aspects
A trine is a harmonious aspect between planets about 120 degrees apart. It represents an easy, natural flow of energy.
General concepts
The twelve Day Officers (建除十二神, Jian Chu Shi Er Shen) are a cycle of twelve labels the Chinese almanac gives to the days, from Jian, "Establish", to Bi, "Close". The officer of a day follows from the branch of the solar month and the branch of the day, and the tradition reads each officer as more or less suited to activities such as a wedding, a move or a journey.
Numerology
The universal year is a number from 1 to 9, with 11 and 22 kept as compound labels, that describes the shared collective climate of a calendar year. It is found by adding the digits of the year and reducing the sum.
Numerology
Upcoming year resonance is an extra interpretive layer shown in a year's last quarter (October-December) that, alongside the current universal and personal year, previews the symbolic character of the year about to begin.
Planets
In astrology Uranus symbolizes change, rebellion, independence and flashes of genius — sudden, liberating events and the urge to break out of a pattern.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Uranus line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Uranus was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Uranus retrograde happens once a year and lasts about five months — as a transpersonal planet, its retrograde is felt more subtly and individually.
Runes
Uruz (ᚢ) is rune 2 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are strength, endurance and vitality.
Tarot
The Hierophant (V) symbolizes tradition, formal education, and institutions that pass on tested, collective rules and values.
Vedic astrology
Vedic astrology (Jyotish) is an astrological tradition originating in India, based on the sidereal zodiac (which accounts for Earth's precession), unlike the tropical zodiac used in Western astrology.
Numerology
Vedic Numerology, or Ank Jyotish, is an interpretive system inspired by Indian tradition that works only from the date of birth. Its two main numbers, Mulank and Bhagyank, are each linked to one of nine grahas.
Planets
In astrology Venus symbolizes love, pleasure, aesthetics and values — what draws us in and what a person considers beautiful or worth having.
Synastry
Contacts between one person's Venus and the other's Mars are one of the classic markers of romantic and sexual attraction in relationship astrology.
Astrocartography
In astrocartography, a Venus line marks the places on Earth where, at the moment of your birth, Venus was culminating (MC), beneath your feet (IC), rising (ASC) or setting (DSC).
Retrogrades
Venus retrograde happens roughly every 18 months and lasts about six weeks — it touches themes of love, values, and money.
Points & axes
The Vertex is a lesser-known, supplementary chart point, often associated with encounters and events that feel "fated" or unusually memorable.
Tarot
The Lovers (VI) symbolize a deep choice, relationships built on mutuality, and alignment between values and attraction.
Tarot
The Chariot (VII) symbolizes victory achieved through strong will and control over conflicting forces — holding a direction despite opposition.
Tarot
Strength (VIII) symbolizes inner power built on gentleness and patience rather than force — taming raw instinct through compassion.
Vedic astrology
Vimshottari Dasha is the most commonly used dasha system, dividing life into periods totaling 120 years, ruled in turn by nine planets (including Rahu and Ketu), each with a different number of years.
Zodiac signs
Virgo is the sixth zodiac sign (mutable earth), ruled by Mercury — associated with analysis, practicality, and a drive to refine the details.
Tarot
Wands is one of the four Minor Arcana suits, symbolically linked to the element of fire — action, energy, ambition, and passion.
Forecasting
A weekly forecast is an astrological reading covering a seven-day period, factoring in fast- and medium-speed planet transits across that span.
Runes
Wunjo (ᚹ) is rune 8 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are joy, belonging and harmony.
General concepts
Wu Xing (五行) are the five phases of Chinese thought, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, linked by a creating cycle (Sheng) and a controlling cycle (Ke). They describe stages of change rather than substances, and BaZi reads every sign of a chart through them.
Tarot
The Wheel of Fortune (X) symbolizes the cyclical nature of fate, change, and moments we don't fully control — ups and downs as a natural part of life.
Tarot
Justice (XI) symbolizes balance, fairness, and consequences that follow directly from earlier choices and actions.
Tarot
The Hanged Man (XII) symbolizes a deliberate pause in action and a shift in perspective — surrendering to a situation instead of fighting it.
Tarot
Death (XIII) symbolizes the definitive end of one stage and the necessary move into the next — it is almost never read literally as physical death.
Tarot
Temperance (XIV) symbolizes balance, patiently blending opposites, and a gradual, harmonious path toward a goal.
Tarot
The Sun card (XIX) symbolizes joy, clarity, and success achieved without hiding anything — full, authentic vitality.
Tarot
The Devil (XV) symbolizes addiction, self-imposed limitation, and attachment to what is harmful but familiar.
Tarot
The Tower (XVI) symbolizes the sudden, violent collapse of a structure built on false assumptions — a shock that is painful but ultimately clarifying.
Tarot
The Star (XVII) symbolizes hope, healing after a crisis, and renewed faith in the future — the calm that follows the storm of the Tower.
Tarot
The Moon card (XVIII) symbolizes uncertainty, fears surfacing from the subconscious, and situations where nothing is quite what it seems.
Tarot
Judgement (XX) symbolizes a call to reckon with the past, rebirth, and making a decision after deep, honest self-reflection.
Tarot
The World (XXI) closes the Major Arcana and symbolizes a full completion of the cycle, fulfillment, and integrating everything a person has learned.
Forecasting
A yearly forecast is an astrological reading covering a one-year period, based on slow-planet transits, planetary returns, and techniques like the solar return.
Vedic astrology
A yoga, in Vedic astrology, is a specific planetary configuration (in particular houses, or in particular relationships to each other) considered to produce a defined, often powerful effect in a person's life.
General concepts
Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗數), "Purple Star Astrology" or "Emperor Star Astrology", is a Chinese tradition that places stars in twelve palaces of a square chart, calculated from the lunar date and the hour of birth. It is a symbolic system and a cultural tradition, not a science.
Transits & cycles
Zodiacal releasing is a Hellenistic timing technique described by Vettius Valens in Book IV of his Anthology. Starting from a lot, usually the Lot of Fortune or the Lot of Spirit, it divides life into periods that follow the signs of the zodiac, each sign lasting a fixed number of years, with sub-periods inside each one.