Astrology has a lot of specific terms/concepts that can feel quite confusing to wrap your head around. Below I’ve outlined some key terms and concepts that will hopefully make things clearer for you.
Quick caveat: I use the whole sign house system, and have been certified in Hellenistic Astrology specifically, so this majorly influences my particular approach to astrology.
Basic concepts:
The native: The person whose birth chart is being referred to
The natal chart: Also known as the birth chart, this is the chart which is a snapshot of the sky at the moment you were born.
Whole sign houses: The type of house system used by astrologers such as Chani Nicholas and Chris Brennan that divides the chart up into houses that are all 30 degrees in size, and aligns them exactly with the signs of the zodiac. There are other kinds of house systems out there, but this is the one I use and I find it helps to keep things visually simple.
Zodiac signs: There are 12 zodiac signs in a birth chart, and each sign has a unique style and way of expressing itself.
Houses: There are 12 houses in a birth chart, each indicating a different area of life.
Planetary placements:
Domicile: This is when a planet is in a sign that it rules, so it’s ‘at home’ in this sign.
Detriment: This is when a planet is in a sign that is opposite the sign(s) it rules, so it’s very much ‘out of its element’/ uncomfortable here
Exaltation: This is when a planet is in a sign that it doesn’t rule, but would be considered an ‘honoured guest’ in. Though it doesn’t rule this sign, the quality of this sign feels very aligned with this planet
Fall: This is when a planet is in a sign that is opposite a sign it’s exalted in, so the quality of the sign opposite its place of exaltation means that it’s ‘dishonoured’ or ‘undervalued’ there. For example, the Moon is exalted in Taurus, and so it’s fallen in Scorpio (which sits opposite Taurus).
Retrograde: When a planet appears to be moving backwards in the sky from the vantage point of earth. The planet that retrogrades most often is Mercury – which is why we hear about it quite often.
Aspects – the relationships the planets have with each other
These aspects specifically apply when using the Whole sign house system
Sextile: when two planets are spaced apart with one house between them. This is Venus’s aspect, a mild but positive aspect.
Trine: when two planets are spaced apart with three houses between them. This is Jupiter’s aspect, a very positive aspect.
Square: when two planets are spaced apart with two houses between them. This is Mars’s aspect, a frictional aspect.
Opposition: when two planets are opposite each other and in opposite houses. This is Saturns aspect, a challenging aspect.
Conjunction: when two planets are in the same house/sign. This is Mercury’s aspect, and tends to mean these planets blend their qualities. When we use this term to describe transits, it often means they meet up at the exact same degree.
Stellium: When three or more planets/celestial bodies occupy the same sign/house.
Cazimi: when a planet is conjunct the sun, or ‘in the heart of the sun’ aka at the exact same degree.
Houses
Ascendant/rising sign: This is the sign in your chart that was rising up over the horizon at the moment you were born, and is always in your first house.
Midheaven/ MC: This is the highest/most visible point in your chart, and signifies career and your public profile. It’s typically, but not always in the 10th house.
Descendent/ DC: This is the point opposite your ascendant/ rising sign. Where your rising sign represents you, the descendent represents the ‘other’ or ‘opposite’ and is symbolic of key relationships in your life.
Immum Coeli/ IC: This is the lowest/ least visible point in your chart, and is opposite your MC. It signifies family, roots and ancestry, and is typically, but not always in the 4th house.
Chart ruler: The planet that rules your rising sign. I use traditional rulerships, which exclude the modern planets Uranus, Neptune & Pluto. The traditional rulers are: Sun: Leo, Moon: Cancer, Mars: Aries and Scorpio, Mercury: Virgo and Gemini, Venus: Taurus and Libra, Jupiter: Pisces and Sagittarius, Saturn: Aquarius and Capricorn.
Timing techniques
Transits: After your birth, the planets continue to move, and this movement means they will eventually transit or move over other parts of your chart in a variety of ways that can be positive, negative, or a mixture of both. You may have no planets in a house in your chart but that doesn’t stop a planet from transiting through that part of your chart at a specific point in time.
Eclipse: There are solar and lunar eclipses. Astronomically, a solar eclipse is when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, causing the moon to cast a shadow on the earth by blocking the Sun during the day. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth is between the Sun and Moon which are opposite each other, and the Earth casts a shadow across the Moon, blocking/staining the Moon’s light during the night.
Astrologically, a lunar eclipse is when a Full moon would occur (but it’s light is disrupted) and a solar eclipse is when a New moon would occur. However eclipses are not lunar cycles as usual. The ancients in a pre electrical light age recognised eclipse seasons as periods of instability and unpredictability. Due to the fact that the natural light of the Moon and Sun get disrupted during eclipses, these seasons are still considered “chaotic neutral” at best by astrologers today.
Solar return: A fancy way of saying birthday, when the sun returns to the point in your chart where it was when you were born.
Annual profections: A timing technique that applies the theory that at each birthday we progress into a different house in our charts, which then switches on the themes of that house in our lives for that year of our life.
Zodiacal releasing: A timing technique that divides the natives life into sections that indicate periods of build up, peak periods and cool down periods.
Additional concepts
Modality: This is a way to categorise the styles of different zodiac signs. The signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are all of Cardinal modality, as the solar seasons they occur in are at the beginning of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They are all strongest at initiating, taking action, and beginning things.
The signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are all of the Fixed modality as their solar seasons coincide with the middle of the natural seasons. They are all strongest at stability, endurance and perseverance
The signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are all of the Mutable modality as their solar seasons coincide with the end of the natural seasons. Therefore, they are all strongest at adaptability, flexibility and change.
Nodes: the points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the Sun’s orbit, and this is where eclipses occur.