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Astrology Essentials
Glossary
A starter glossary with common astrology terms. Please add to this list as you find terms you don't know! The search bar will search the term and the definition, returning anything that matches.
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Term
Definition
Ascendant
the degree of the zodiac rising over the eastern horizon at the moment of birth.
Aspects
One planet is in aspect to another when there is a specific number of degrees between them, measured around the circumference of the birth chart. When they are 90° apart, for instance, they are said to be in square aspect. Other aspects include the trine (120°), the sextile (60°), the opposition (180°), the semi-square (45°), the sesquiquadrate (135°), the semi-sextile (30°), and the quincunx (150°). Planets are in conjunction when they occupy the same, or almost the same, degree.
Astrology
The study of the influence of the other bodies in the solar system on life on Earth.
Astronomy
The science of measuring the movements of planets and stars and investigating their physical nature
Birth Chart
a diagram showing the precise position of all the planets ate the time of birth. The mother of the new child, looking up at the sky at such a moment, could use the birth chart as a map to show where each planet is— apart, of course, from those below the horizon which are also shown. The traditional word for the birth chart is the horoscope.
Birth time
the precise time of birth, accurate to the minute.
Cusp
the cusp of an astrological sign or house is the line dividing it from its neighbor. The cusp of the first house is marked by the ascendant. the others follow around the circle of the birth chart, reading counter clockwise. Similarly, the cusp of Aries is marked by the first degree of that sign.
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