Quick answer
This astrology glossary defines 60 common terms in plain English, grouped into six themes: chart basics, planets, angles and houses, signs and rulerships, aspects, and timing and relationships. Each definition is one or two sentences and assumes you only know your Sun sign. Use it as a lookup while you read your chart or any astrology article.
Key takeaways
- Most astrology jargon falls into six groups: chart basics, planets, angles and houses, signs, aspects and timing.
- Planets are what acts, signs are how, houses are where, and aspects show how planets relate.
- Terms like Ascendant, houses and cusp depend on an accurate birth time.
- Learning ten core terms first makes the other fifty much easier to remember.
Astrology has a lot of words. Some are ancient, some are Latin, and some mean something slightly different from what they mean in everyday English. That makes a simple chart reading feel harder than it is.
This glossary covers 60 of the terms you will see most often, each in one or two plain sentences. They are grouped by theme, so related words sit together. Use it as a lookup whenever a reading or article loses you.
How should you use this glossary?
Learn the core ten first, then look up the rest as you need them. The core ten are:
- Birth chart, sign, planet, house and aspect
- Ascendant, Midheaven, element, modality and orb
With those, you can follow almost any chart reading. Everything else adds detail. If you would rather learn in order, how to read your birth chart walks through a full reading step by step.
What are the basic chart terms?
These ten terms describe the chart itself and how it is calculated.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Birth chart | A map of where the Sun, Moon and planets were at the exact time and place you were born. Also called a natal chart. |
| Zodiac | The band of sky the Sun, Moon and planets travel through, divided into twelve signs. |
| Sign | One of the twelve 30 degree sections of the zodiac, Aries through Pisces. |
| Tropical zodiac | The zodiac used in most Western astrology. It starts Aries at the March equinox, so the signs follow the seasons. |
| Sidereal zodiac | The zodiac used in Vedic astrology. It lines the signs up with the background stars and currently sits about 24 degrees from tropical. |
| Precession | The slow wobble of Earth's axis that moves the two zodiacs apart by about 1 degree every 72 years. |
| Ephemeris | A table or program that gives the positions of the planets for any date and time. |
| Degree | One of the 30 units inside each sign, or 360 around the whole zodiac. "Venus at 12 degrees Leo" pinpoints where Venus sat. |
| Arcminute | One sixtieth of a degree. Chart positions are often given to the arcminute, as in 12°34'. |
| Glyph | The small symbol used for a planet or sign on a chart wheel, such as ♀ for Venus. |
For the full background on how these fit, see what a birth chart is.
What do the planet terms mean?
These ten terms describe the planets and the special points that behave like them.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Luminaries | The Sun and Moon. Astrology calls them planets and treats them as the most important points in a chart. |
| Personal planets | The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. They move quickly, so they describe individual personality. |
| Social planets | Jupiter and Saturn. They describe growth, responsibility and how you meet the wider world. |
| Outer planets | Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They move so slowly that their signs describe whole generations. |
| Retrograde | When a planet looks like it is moving backward from Earth. It is an optical effect, often marked Rx. |
| Direct | Normal forward motion through the zodiac, the opposite of retrograde. |
| Station | The point where a planet appears to stop before turning retrograde or direct. Astrologers read it as a strong moment for that planet. |
| North Node | The point where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path heading north. Read as your direction of growth. |
| South Node | The point directly opposite the North Node. Read as your comfortable, familiar habits. |
| Chart ruler | The planet that rules your rising sign. With Scorpio rising, for example, your chart ruler is Pluto in modern astrology, or Mars in traditional astrology. |
What are the angles and houses?
These twelve terms depend on your birth time and place, because they come from the Earth's daily rotation.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Ascendant | The degree of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon at your birth. Its sign is your rising sign, the style you show at first meeting. |
| Descendant | The point opposite the Ascendant. It starts the 7th house and is linked to the partners you are drawn to. |
| Midheaven | The highest point of the ecliptic in your chart, marked MC. It is linked to career and public reputation. |
| Imum Coeli | The point opposite the Midheaven, marked IC. It is linked to home, roots and private life. |
| House | One of twelve sections of the chart, each tied to an area of life such as money, home or partnership. |
| Cusp | The starting line of a house. The sign on a cusp colors your approach to that area. |
| Angular houses | The 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses. Planets here are traditionally strong and visible. |
| Succedent houses | The 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th houses. They cover resources, pleasure, intimacy and community. |
| Cadent houses | The 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th houses. They cover learning, routines, belief and retreat. |
| House system | The rule used to divide the chart into houses. Placidus and Whole Sign are the most common. |
| Stellium | Three or more planets in one sign or house. It marks a strong theme in the chart. |
| Intercepted sign | A sign that sits wholly inside one house without touching any cusp. It can happen in unequal systems like Placidus, never in Whole Sign. |
For a closer look at each house, read the 12 houses explained simply.
What do sign terms like element and rulership mean?
These ten terms describe how signs are grouped and how planets fare in each sign.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Element | One of four groups of signs: fire (active), earth (practical), air (mental and social) and water (emotional). |
| Modality | One of three groups of signs by how they handle change: cardinal, fixed or mutable. |
| Cardinal | Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Signs that start things and take the lead. |
| Fixed | Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Signs that hold steady and finish what they start. |
| Mutable | Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. Signs that adapt, adjust and connect. |
| Rulership | The link between a sign and the planet said to govern it. Venus rules Taurus and Libra, for example. |
| Domicile | A planet in a sign it rules, where it is said to act most naturally. Mars in Aries is in domicile. |
| Exaltation | A sign where a planet is traditionally said to be especially strong, such as Venus in Pisces. |
| Detriment | A planet in the sign opposite its home sign, where it is said to work less easily. Venus in Scorpio is one example. |
| Fall | A planet in the sign opposite its exaltation. Traditional astrology reads it as a harder fit, modern astrology as a different style. |
What are the aspect terms?
These ten terms describe the angles between planets.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Aspect | A meaningful angle between two planets that shows how those two drives relate. |
| Orb | How far an aspect is from exact, in degrees. Smaller orbs read as stronger. |
| Conjunction | Two planets at about 0 degrees apart. Their energies fuse. |
| Sextile | About 60 degrees apart. An easy, cooperative link that works best when used. |
| Square | About 90 degrees apart. Friction that pushes you to act. |
| Trine | About 120 degrees apart. Natural flow and talent. |
| Opposition | About 180 degrees apart. A tug of war that needs balance, often felt through other people. |
| Quincunx | About 150 degrees apart. A minor aspect read as an awkward fit that needs constant small adjustments. |
| Applying aspect | An aspect where the faster planet is still moving toward exact. Read as building. |
| Separating aspect | An aspect where the faster planet has passed exact and is moving away. Read as settling. |
The aspects guide explains how to read each one.
What do timing and relationship terms mean?
These eight terms come up in forecasts and compatibility readings.
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Transit | A planet's current position in the sky, compared with your birth chart. Read as a theme for a period of time. |
| Saturn return | When Saturn comes back to where it was at your birth, around ages 29, 58 and 88. Often read as a time of taking stock. |
| Solar return | A chart cast for the moment the Sun returns to its exact birth position each year, near your birthday. |
| Progressions | A timing method that moves the chart forward symbolically, most often one day after birth for each year of life. |
| Eclipse | When the Sun, Moon and Earth line up near the lunar nodes. Eclipses come in seasons about every six months. |
| Void-of-course Moon | The stretch after the Moon makes its last major aspect in a sign and before it enters the next one. |
| Synastry | Comparing two birth charts to see how one person's planets aspect the other's. |
| Composite chart | A single chart made from the midpoints of two people's planets, read as the relationship itself. |
For more on timing, see what transits are. For compatibility, see synastry explained.
What should you do with these terms?
Put them to work on your own chart. Three steps:
- Find your core ten in your chart. Locate your Sun sign, Ascendant, Midheaven, the element of your Moon and your tightest aspect with its orb.
- Write one sentence using five terms. For example: "My Venus is in a fixed water sign in my 7th house, trine my Moon." If you can explain that sentence, you have the basics.
- Read a real report with the glossary open. Get your free reveal and look up any term it uses. Venara lists the placements behind each section, which makes it a good practice text.
One last honest note: these terms describe a symbolic system laid over real astronomy. The positions are measurable. The meanings are tradition, and astrology has not held up in controlled tests of personality prediction. Knowing the vocabulary helps you use it thoughtfully.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important astrology terms to learn first?
Start with ten: birth chart, sign, planet, house, aspect, Ascendant, Midheaven, element, modality and orb. With those, you can read the basic structure of any chart. Retrograde, transit and synastry come next, since they appear in most horoscopes and compatibility readings.
What does it mean when astrologers say a planet is in a sign?
It means that at the moment in question, the planet sat in the 30 degree stretch of the zodiac named after that sign. For example, Venus in Libra means Venus was somewhere between 0 and 30 degrees of Libra. The sign describes the style in which that planet's drive is expressed.
What is the difference between a sign and a house?
Signs come from where a planet sits along the zodiac, which depends on the date. Houses come from how the zodiac was turning above your birthplace, which depends on the exact time and location. Signs describe how a planet acts, and houses describe the area of life where it acts.
What does Rx mean in astrology?
Rx means retrograde. A planet marked Rx looked like it was moving backward through the zodiac from Earth's point of view at that moment. The planet never really reverses; it is an effect of Earth and the planet moving at different speeds. Astrologers read retrograde planets as working in a more inward or reflective way.
Sources
- Marion D. March and Joan McEvers, The Only Way to Learn Astrology, Vol. 1
- Robert Hand, Planets in Transit (1976)
- Time and Date: Astronomy
About this article
Written and checked by the Venara editorial team against the sources listed and Venara's chart engine. Astrology here is a tool for reflection, not a prediction or professional advice. How we write and check articles.
For entertainment and self-reflection. Not a substitute for professional advice.