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Astrology 101: Terminology

Elements:

Astrology is broken up into four elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. Fire signs include Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Earth signs include Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. Air signs include Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. Water signs include Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Each element carries different personality traits and presents themselves different. Fire is all about passion and determination. Earth is about being realistic and grounded. Air is all about intellect and socialization. Water is all about emotional depth and expression of emotions.


Modalities:

Astrology is broken down into three modalities, each containing one fire sign, one earth sign, one air sign, and one water sign. The modalities are broken down into: Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable. Cardinal modalities include Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Fixed modalities include Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Mutable modalities include Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. Cardinal modality is all about leading, they are the signs that represent the start of each season (Aries = spring and leads with passion, Cancer = summer and leads with emotion, Libra = autumn and leads with fairness, Capricorn = winter and leads with perseverance). Fixed modality is all about sticking to your ground and being fixed on something (Taurus = fixed on physical luxuries, Leo = fixed on pride, Scorpio = fixed on an emotion, Aquarius = fixed on an idea). Mutable modality is all about adaptation through different means (Gemini = adapting through socialising, Virgo = adapting through knowledge, Sagittarius = adapting through physical environment, Pisces = adapting through emotion).


Birth/Natal Chart

Your birth/natal chart (terms are used interchangeably) is a screenshot of your life and the potentials that your life can lead. The natal chart contains all of your axis points, planetary placements, houses, and aspects each planet makes to one another. You are able to find your birth chart on Astro.com or through another program.


Axis Points

The axis points in astrology split your chart into four pieces. These aspects are called your Ascendant (or rising) and Descendant axis and your Midheaven and Nadir axis. When you look at your natal wheel, they will be represented by AC/DC (ascendant and descendant), and MC/IC (midheaven and nadir). Your Ascendant is how you come across to people and rules over your first house. Your Descendant is directly opposite to your Ascendant which represents what you look for in a partner and rules over your seventh house of marriage and marriage contracts. Your Midheaven is the highest point in your chart and shows how you appear to the public along with your potential career, this can be located in either the ninth house, tenth house, or eleventh house. Your Nadir (or Imum Coeli) is the lowest point of your chart and directly opposite of your Midheaven and shows what your life is like behind closed doors along with how your upbringing was which can be located in either the third house, fourth house, or fifth house.


Houses

The houses in astrology show areas of life within your chart. There are a total of 12 houses and each house is ruled by one sign in your chart (sometimes two if there’s an interception, which I will make a later post about). Each house is traditionally ruled by a sign. Please see the list below:


1H: House of appearance, AC is found here, this is how you present yourself to others and how you physically look. Traditionally ruled by Aries.


2H: House of finance and self-worth. This is an indication of how you make money and your views on money/yourself worth based on material objects. Traditionally ruled by Taurus.


3H: House of siblings, lower education, and communication. This is typically where you see how you communicate and your relationship with your siblings as well as your learning style growing up. Traditionally ruled by Gemini.


4H: House of family dynamics and childhood foundations. This is typically where you would see how you grew up and your upbringing as well as the IC being typically located at the cusp of this house. Traditionally ruled by Cancer.


5H: House of creativity, pleasure, and children. This is typically where you will find your child like spirit or creativity from as well as it ruling outward pleasures and can indicate placements your future children may have or exhibit. Traditionally ruled by Leo.


6H: House of community, work, physical health, and co-workers. This is typically where you will find your work ethic and your views on the community as well as how you handle physical health and co-worker conflict. Traditionally ruled by Virgo.


7H: House of marriage, business, and marriage contracts. This is where your DC is located and is a typical indicator of the types of partners you attract for the long term on top of how you handle business affairs. Traditionally ruled by Libra.


8H: House of shared finances, the occult, and death. This is the house that rules over your shared finances with others, your views on spiritual practices/the psyche, and death in the context of rebirth and transformation. Traditionally ruled by Scorpio.


9H: House of higher education, law, and spiritual practices. This house typically shows your spiritual views along with your learning style in higher education and how you handle conflicts pertaining to the law in some cases. Traditionally ruled by Sagittarius.


10H: House of public image and career. Your MC is typically located here and can be an indication of what career path you might lean towards as well as how the public in general views you and your accomplishments. Traditionally ruled by Capricorn


11H: House of interpersonal relationships, friendships, and connections. This is typically where you find connections within your workplace as well as how you interact with your friends. Traditionally ruled by Aquarius.


12H: House of the unknown, subconscious, and psychic awareness. This is typically the things that are hidden and how you handle subconscious patterns of thinking on top of your own psychic awareness. Traditionally ruled by Pisces.



Planetary Dignities (Domicile, Exaltation, Detriment/Debilitation, Fallen)

Planetary dignities signify how comfortable or uncomfortable a planet is in within a birth chart. Domicile means that the planet is in its home sign, it holds all the power in this sign. Exaltation means the planet feels like it’s in a 5-star resort and is also powerful within a certain sign. Detriment/Debilitation means that the planet feels like it’s in a foreign country and is not necessarily weak but is not powerful. Planets in their Detriment/Debilitation are the sign opposite of planets in their Domicile. Fallen means that the planet feels like it’s on a deserted island and is the place where it is most week. Planets in their Fall are the sign opposite of the planet in their Exaltation. Please see the list below.


Sun

Domicile: Leo

Exalted: Aries

Detriment: Aquarius

Fallen: Libra


Moon

Domicile: Cancer

Exalted: Taurus

Detriment: Capricorn

Fallen: Scorpio

Mercury

Domicile: Gemini/Virgo

Exalted: Virgo

Detriment: Sagittarius/Pisces

Fallen: Pisces

Venus

Domicile: Taurus/Libra

Exalted: Pisces

Detriment: Scorpio/Aries

Fallen: Virgo

Mars

Domicile: Aries/Scorpio

Exalted: Capricorn

Detriment: Libra/Taurus

Fallen: Cancer

Jupiter

Domicile: Sagittarius/Pisces

Exalted: Cancer

Detriment: Gemini/Virgo

Fallen: Capricorn

Saturn

Domicile: Capricorn/Aquarius

Exalted: Libra

Detriment: Cancer/Leo

Fallen: Aries

Uranus

Domicile: Aquarius

Exalted: Scorpio

Detriment: Leo

Fallen: Taurus

Neptune

Domicile: Pisces

Exalted: Leo

Detriment: Virgo

Fallen: Aquarius

Pluto

Domicile: Scorpio

Exalted: Aries

Detriment: Taurus

Fallen: Libra



Aspects:

Aspects are how each planet interacts with another planet. Aspects are categorised in two ways: major and minor. The major aspects are Conjunction, Opposition, Square, Trine, and Sextile. The minor aspects are Semi-Sextile, Quincunx, Quintile, Bi-Quintile, and Semi-Square. I will rarely use minor aspects in blog posts since they are harder to explain, but I do occasionally use them when I am doing an in depth reading if the add on is purchased. For this post, I will only be going over the major aspects and will go more in depth with them in later posts. I also want to note that the tighter the orb, the more powerful the aspect will present itself in a chart. (i.e., Moon in Libra at 5º conjunct Venus in Libra at 6º has a 1º orb and is tighter. Sun in Capricorn at 9º square Saturn in Aries at 15º is a 6º orb and is looser.)


Conjunction: Two planets are located in the same sign or same house (sometimes they can be out of sign/house conjunctions) and are 1-10º apart from one another. This can be seen as both a harmonious and disharmonious aspect simply because it is the most powerful aspect and one that combines the planetary power of one another.

Sextile: Two planets are 60º apart and two signs away from each other. This is seen as a harmonious aspect since it means the two planets are in compatible elements (fire and air, earth and water).

Square: Two planets are 90º apart, in the same modality, and three signs away from each other. This is seen as a disharmonious aspect since it puts two signs in conflict with one another. Each modality forms a square with one another and within that square there are two oppositions. I will be making a visual portion to this aspect in a different blog post.


Aries squares: Cancer, Capricorn

Taurus squares: Leo, Aquarius

Gemini squares: Virgo, Pisces

Cancer squares: Aries, Libra

Leo squares: Taurus, Scorpio

Virgo squares: Gemini, Sagittarius

Libra squares: Capricorn, Cancer

Scorpio squares: Leo, Aquarius

Sagittarius squares: Virgo, Pisces

Capricorn squares: Aries, Libra

Aquarius squares: Taurus, Scorpio

Pisces squares: Gemini, Sagittarius


Trine: Two planets are 120º apart from one another, within the same element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) and are five planets away from one another. This is a harmonious aspect since the aspect shows that the planets are in the same element and doesn’t put them against one another. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius form a fire trine. Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn form an earth trine. Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius form an air trine. Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces form a water trine.

Opposition: Two planets are 180º apart from one another, within the same modality, compatible elements (earth and water, fire and air), and are six signs away from each other. Much like conjunctions, this can be either a harmonious or disharmonious aspect because it shows the polarity of each planet. Aries opposes Libra. Taurus opposes Scorpio. Cancer opposes Capricorn. Gemini opposes Sagittarius. Leo opposes Aquarius. Virgo opposes Pisces.


Degrees:

Degrees signify how far along a planet has moved within a specific sign. Degrees can only be from 0º-29º and each degree is ruled by a different planet. Astrologers commonly utilise the degrees to see the orbs of aspects as well as the potential personality traits that can be presented for each planet. You will see a lot of people utilise degree theory created by astrologer Nikola Stojanovic to determine personality traits as well as fame indicators and critical degrees. The critical degrees which signify challenges and turning points in a chart. Stojanovic separates critical degrees by modalities. The critical degrees for Cardinal placements are 0º, 13º, and 26º. The critical degrees for Fixed placements are 8-9º, and 21-22º. The critical degrees for Mutable placements are 4º and 17º. Some astrologers also like to note that 0º of any sign is considered a critical degree because it means the planet is at its “purest” state and 29º of any sign meaning it’s at its most “mature” state and signifies an ending to the cycle for that placement. See the list below.

Aries

1º, 13º, 25º


Taurus

2º, 14º, 26º

Gemini

3º, 15º, 27º


Cancer

4º, 16º, 28º


Leo

5º, 17º, 29º


Virgo

6º, 18º

Libra

7º, 19º

Scorpio

8º, 20º

Sagittarius

9º, 21º

Capricorn

10º, 22º

Aquarius

11º, 23º

Pisces

0º. 12º, 24º


Transit

A transit defined by Stephen Forrest is the actual, physical motion of a planet around the sun as observed from the perspective of the Earth. This can be found on Page 25 of his book “The Changing Sky.”





New Moon

A new moon in astrological terms happens when the sun and moon are in the same sign and forming a conjunction. New moons occur usually at the end of the month and days after the sun transits into the next sign. Moon cycles last around two days, so a new moon will usually last that long. A new moon in spiritual terms represents new beginnings and a new cycle in your life depending on what house it transits in.


Full Moon

A full moon in astrological terms happens when the sun and moon are in opposite signs and forms an opposition. Full moons occur usually at the beginning or middle of the month weeks after the sun transits into the next sign. Moon cycles last around two days, so a full moon will usually last that long. A full moon in spiritual terms represents the ending of a chapter and represents endings of cycles in your life depending on what house it transits in.


Eclipse

An eclipse in astrological terms happens when the Moon transits into the same sign as the North Node and forms a conjunction. Eclipse season happens twice a year and signifies a two year period with themes aligning with the sign the North and South Node are in. An eclipse in spiritual terms represents a new period of learning and growing that lasts two years depending on what house it transits in.



Pre Shadow-Retrograde

Pre Shadow-Retrograde is the first phase within the retrogradation period for a planet. About two to three weeks prior to a retrogradation, the planet from the view of earth appears to slow down so it can orbit in a backwards motion. Once a planet is in the pre shadow retrograde period, themes for the upcoming retrograde start to slightly pop up and it’s almost a taste as to what is coming.


Retrograde

Retrograde means that a planet appears to be moving backwards from the view of earth. When a planet stations retrograde (it can’t be in retrograde because something can’t be in backwards), the themes the retrograding planet controls seems to move backwards. For instance, Mercury Retrograde can sometimes manifest as technology not working or miscommunications with others since Mercury rules over communication and technology. This is the second stage of the retrogradation period.



Direct

When astrologers say a planet is stationing direct, it just means that the planet is no longer appearing to move in a backward direction (aka retrogradation) and appears to be moving forward as it should be. This is the third stage of the retrogradation period. This period, however, is not where things go back to normal.





Post Shadow-Retrograde

Post Shadow-Retrograde is the fourth final stage of the retrogradation period. Much like the pre shadow retrograde, this happens two to three weeks after the planet has stationed direct. This is when a planet is appearing to move in the forward direction it should be moving in, however, themes from the retrogradation period are slowly fading away and life will typically move in a normal way.


Cazimi

A Cazimi is Latin transliteration from an Arabic term meaning “as of the heart.” A Cazimi happens when planets are in a 0º conjunction of the sun and 17 minutes away from the sun (represented by 0º x sign 17’). This is rare to see in a birth chart and differs from a combustion which is when a planet is too close to the sun (usually a 0º x sign 18’ -1º conjunction). This is representative of extreme luck and almost fortune within a birth chart or within a transit.




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