Glossary
The words of the sky.
Plain definitions of the astrology terms that matter, each one computed from real astronomy across NovaOracles, not guessed from a printed table.
The chart
8- Natal chartA map of the sky at the exact moment and place you were born.
- ZodiacThe band of twelve signs, Aries through Pisces, that the Sun, Moon and planets appear to move along through the year.
- Sun signThe zodiac sign the Sun was in when you were born, the one you get from a birthday.
- Moon signThe sign the Moon was in at your birth.
- HouseOne of twelve divisions of the chart, each an area of life, from the self and money to relationships and career.
- Big ThreeYour Sun, Moon and rising sign together.
- ElementOne of four temperaments, fire, earth, air or water, shared by three signs each.
- ModalityOne of three modes, cardinal, fixed or mutable, shared by four signs each.
Points and angles
3Aspects
7- AspectThe angle between two planets, measured around the zodiac.
- ConjunctionTwo planets at the same degree, zero degrees apart.
- OppositionTwo planets 180 degrees apart, facing off across the chart.
- TrineTwo planets 120 degrees apart, an easy, flowing angle.
- SquareTwo planets 90 degrees apart, a friction angle.
- SextileTwo planets 60 degrees apart, a gentle opportunity.
- OrbHow far from exact an aspect can be and still count.
The moving sky
5- TransitWhere a planet is in the sky right now, and the aspect it makes to your natal chart.
- RetrogradeWhen a planet appears to move backward through the zodiac from Earth's viewpoint.
- StationThe moment a planet appears to stop before turning retrograde or direct.
- IngressWhen a planet crosses from one zodiac sign into the next.
- EclipticThe apparent yearly path of the Sun across the sky, the centre line of the zodiac band that planets stay close to..
The Moon
5- Moon phaseHow much of the Moon is lit as it orbits, from new to full and back over about 29 and a half days.
- New moonWhen the Moon sits between Earth and Sun and shows no lit face.
- Full moonWhen the Moon is opposite the Sun and fully lit.
- Void of course MoonThe stretch after the Moon's last aspect in a sign until it enters the next.
- EclipseA new or full moon that falls close to a lunar node, so the Sun, Moon and Earth line up.
Chart patterns
4Techniques
3- EphemerisA table of where the planets are over time.
- Solar returnThe chart cast for the moment the Sun comes back to its exact birth position each year, read as a snapshot of the year ahead..
- ProgressionA symbolic technique, most often a day of sky after birth read as a year of life, that shows the chart slowly maturing over time..