AstraIA · Reference
Birth chart glossary
The pieces a birth chart is read with, in plain language. All the texts on this website are original.
Planets and points
- Sun
- Represents identity and life purpose. Keywords: essence, will, vitality.
- Moon
- Represents emotional world and need for security. Keywords: emotions, habits, refuge.
- Mercury
- Represents way of thinking and communicating. Keywords: mind, word, learning.
- Venus
- Represents way of loving and enjoying. Keywords: affection, beauty, values.
- Mars
- Represents energy for action and desire. Keywords: drive, courage, conquest.
- Jupiter
- Represents capacity to grow and trust. Keywords: expansion, faith, opportunity.
- Saturn
- Represents sense of responsibility and limits. Keywords: structure, discipline, maturity.
- Uranus
- Represents need for freedom and change. Keywords: originality, rupture, awakening.
- Neptune
- Represents sensitivity, imagination and spiritual longing. Keywords: intuition, compassion, ideal.
- Pluto
- Represents power of deep transformation. Keywords: intensity, truth, regeneration.
- North Node
- Represents direction of growth. Keywords: path, destiny, learning.
- South Node
- Represents talents already known. Keywords: memory, habit, origin.
- Chiron
- Represents wound that becomes wisdom. Keywords: vulnerability, healing, mastery.
- Lilith
- Represents instinctive side that accepts no submission. Keywords: instinct, autonomy, shadow.
Signs
- ♈ Aries · fire, cardinal
- Style: direct, fast and brave. Gift: initiative and the courage to begin. Shadow: impatience and sudden anger.
- ♉ Taurus · earth, fixed
- Style: serene, steady and sensory. Gift: patience and the enjoyment of simple things. Shadow: stubbornness and fear of change.
- ♊ Gemini · air, mutable
- Style: curious, agile and communicative. Gift: versatility and the living word. Shadow: inconstancy and nervousness.
- ♋ Cancer · water, cardinal
- Style: protective, intuitive and full of memory. Gift: tenderness and the ability to care. Shadow: touchiness and attachment to the past.
- ♌ Leo · fire, fixed
- Style: warm, expressive and generous. Gift: nobility and the joy of creating. Shadow: pride and dependence on applause.
- ♍ Virgo · earth, mutable
- Style: analytical, discreet and helpful. Gift: precision and practical sense. Shadow: self-criticism and constant worry.
- ♎ Libra · air, cardinal
- Style: diplomatic, aesthetic and balanced. Gift: harmony and a fair eye. Shadow: indecision and dependence on approval.
- ♏ Scorpio · water, fixed
- Style: intense, deep and reserved. Gift: loyalty and the power to transform yourself. Shadow: jealousy and control.
- ♐ Sagittarius · fire, mutable
- Style: optimistic, expansive and sincere. Gift: broad vision and enthusiasm. Shadow: exaggeration and lack of tact.
- ♑ Capricorn · earth, cardinal
- Style: responsible, ambitious and contained. Gift: perseverance and a sense of duty. Shadow: harshness with yourself and pessimism.
- ♒ Aquarius · air, fixed
- Style: independent, original and mental. Gift: vision of the future and friendship. Shadow: coldness and rebellion without a cause.
- ♓ Pisces · water, mutable
- Style: sensitive, imaginative and compassionate. Gift: empathy and inspiration. Shadow: confusion and escape from reality.
The twelve houses
- House 1
- Identity and the way you present yourself.
- House 2
- Resources, money and your own worth.
- House 3
- Communication, learning and your close surroundings.
- House 4
- Home, family and roots.
- House 5
- Creativity, pleasure and children.
- House 6
- Daily work, health and service.
- House 7
- Partnership, agreements and one-to-one bonds.
- House 8
- Crises, intimacy and what is shared.
- House 9
- Travel, higher studies and the meaning of life.
- House 10
- Vocation, reputation and public life.
- House 11
- Friendships, groups and projects for the future.
- House 12
- The inner world, retreat and the unconscious.
Aspects
- ☌ Conjunction (0°, orb 8°)
- The two energies merge and act at the same time.
- ⚹ Sextile (60°, orb 4°)
- Harmonious aspect: the two energies collaborate naturally.
- □ Square (90°, orb 7°)
- Tense aspect: the two energies make demands on each other and make you grow.
- △ Trine (120°, orb 7°)
- Harmonious aspect: the two energies collaborate naturally.
- ☍ Opposition (180°, orb 8°)
- Tense aspect: the two energies make demands on each other and make you grow.
Other concepts
- Ascendant (ASC)
- The sign rising over the horizon at birth; cusp of the 1st house and the way of presenting oneself to the world.
- Midheaven (MC)
- The highest point of the chart; vocation and public image.
- Retrograde
- A planet appears to move backwards as seen from Earth; its energy is lived inwardly.
- Transit
- The current position of a planet in relation to the birth chart; the basis of forecasts.
- Solar return
- The chart of the moment the Sun returns each year to its natal degree: the chart of the year.
- Secondary progressions
- A technique in which each day after birth equals one year of life.
- Synastry
- Comparison of two birth charts through their cross aspects.
- Composite chart
- The chart of a relationship, made from the midpoints of two charts.