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Astrology Glossary
Sourced definitions for the terms Astrelle uses across charts, transits, lunar timing, numerology, and Chinese metaphysics.
Applying & Separating
Applying aspect: orb shrinking toward exact, influence building. Separating: orb widening away, influence waning.
Ascendant
The zodiac degree rising over the eastern horizon at birth, describing the body, persona, and instinctive mode of self-expression.
Aspect
An angular relationship between two planets or points in a chart that describes how their energies interact.
BaZi Four Pillars
A Chinese astrology system using the year, month, day, and hour of birth as stem-branch pairs to map destiny, character, and life cycles.
Cazimi
Within 17 arc-minutes of the Sun — the strongest solar condition, placing the planet in the heart of the Sun rather than being burned by it.
Chiron
The Wounded Healer — sign and house reveal where one carries an irreducible wound and becomes a teacher through it.
Combust
A planet is combust when within approximately 8° of the Sun, weakening its independent expression as it is overwhelmed by the Sun's light.
Conjunction
A 0° aspect where two planets occupy the same degree, fusing their energies into a single intensified force.
Descendant
The DSC — opposite the Ascendant on the western horizon — governs partnerships, open enemies, and qualities we project onto others.
Fixed Star
A distant star that adds a mythological layer to any natal planet or angle within 1° of its ecliptic longitude.
Heavenly Stem & Earthly Branch
Ten Stems and twelve Branches — the elemental building blocks of Chinese cosmology, combining into 60 pairs for BaZi.
House
One of twelve sectors of the birth chart wheel, each representing a distinct domain of life experience in which planetary energies play out.
Imum Coeli
The IC — chart's lowest point — governs home, family, ancestry, and the private psychological foundation.
Ingress
The moment a planet enters a new zodiac sign, marking a shift in the quality and domain of that planet's expression.
Karmic Debt Number
One of four compound numbers (13, 14, 16, 19) signaling specific past-life growth patterns requiring conscious resolution.
Lunar Phase
One of eight stages in the Moon's 29.5-day cycle, each with a distinct quality for collective timing and natal character.
Midheaven
The MC — the highest point of the birth chart — governs career, public reputation, and social standing in the world.
Nodes (North Node & South Node)
Lunar nodes mark where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic — North Node toward soul growth, South Node toward what must be released.
Opposition
A 180° aspect between planets in opposite signs, creating polarity, projection, and the invitation to integrate two complementary extremes.
Orb
The degree of tolerance allowed around an exact aspect angle; the closer to exact, the stronger the aspect's influence.
Personal Year
A single-digit cycle (1–9) derived from birth date and current year, describing the overarching theme of your current twelve-month period.
Retrograde
Apparent backward motion of a planet as seen from Earth, signaling review, internalization, and revision for that planet's domain.
Sabian Symbol
One of 360 degree-images channeled by Elsie Wheeler (1925) and reinterpreted by Rudhyar as an archetypal mandala of human experience.
Sextile
A 60° aspect between planets two signs apart, indicating cooperative, supportive energy that benefits from conscious activation.
Shadow Period
Weeks before and after a retrograde when a planet crosses the same degrees three times — foreshadowing, review, then integration.
Solar Return
A chart for the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal degree each year, describing that year's central themes and energy.
Square
A 90° aspect linking planets three signs apart, generating productive friction that demands effort and growth.
Trine
A 120° aspect linking planets of the same element, producing effortless harmony, natural talent, and flowing energy.
Void of Course
The Moon is void of course after its last major aspect before changing signs — Lilly: the matter "performs nothing."