Glossary - Astrological Concepts and Ideas to Ignite Your Inner Ether
Astrology introduces a world of new concepts and terms to elucidate the sky clock and our connections to it and on Earth. Expanding vocabulary helps in Reframing, a well known psychology trick to increase "happiness" in life.
Having concepts that help you reframe means we can take a situation, however awful, and look at it from various angles to shift their perspective. The events and the facts don’t change, but the meaning ascribed to them can. This is the power of astrology, awakening us to our journey in life.
affirmation
a positive statement designed to produce a result.
alchemy
the process of transforming one substance into another.
air
one of the four elements in astrology, it is associated with mental activity and communication.
angles
sensitive points in an astrological chart; the term is generally used in connection with the most important angles—the ascendant, descendant, midheaven, and imum colei—that partition the chart into quadrants.
ascendant
an important angle in an astrological chart; the sign and degree of the zodiac that was rising on the eastern horizon at the moment and the place of birth; the beginning of the first house in a chart.
aspect
an angular relationship that produces an energetic connection between two or more planets or points in an astrological chart, so that they influence each other; the most significant aspects are the conjunction, sextile, square, trine, and opposition.
birth / natal chart
an astrological chart calculated for the birth of a person, business, town, or other entity. It is based on the time, date, and place of birth and shows the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and other astronomical factors.
cardinal
a mode by which astrological signs express themselves; the cardinal signs are initiators: Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn.
earth
one of the four elements, it is associated with the material realm and physical objects.
element
a fundamental force in the universe; the four elements are air, earth, fire, and water.
ephemeris
tables showing the movements of the heavenly bodies and other astronomical data.
etheric body
subtle energy field that surrounds and connects to the
physical body, sometimes called the aura.
feng shui
the Chinese art of placement, whereby buildings, rooms, and plots of land are divided into sections called gua that relate to different areas of life.
fire
one of the four elements, it is associated with creativity, inspiration, and vitality.
fixed
a mode by which astrological signs express themselves; the fixed signs are steady: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.
glyph
a symbol or sign.
luminary
the sun or moon (also called a light).
Moon
Luminary that represents your inner world of emotions and subjective mind; reveals the subconscious beliefs back to even how you were raised and your relationship with your mother (and motherhood). Like the Moon itself, this quality is ephemeral and appears in close relationships and private spaces.
mudra
a ritual movement or gesture.
mutable
a mode by which astrological signs express themselves; the mutable signs go with the flow: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.
numerology
the study of the symbolic, mystical meanings within numbers.
opposition
an astrological aspect between two or more planets or points positioned approximately 173 to 187 degrees apart in a chart.
Sun
Luminary that represents your conscious goals and identity; shows the ego drive. Like the Sun itself, this quality evolves through time
transit
the motion of a celestial body through the heavens.
trine
an astrological aspect between two or more planets or points
positioned approximately 113 to 127 degrees apart in a chart.
void of course
the period after the moon or a planet makes its last aspect to another heavenly body while it is in a particular zodiacal sign until it enters the next sign; usually considered an unproductive or inactive
period.
waning moon
the two-week period between the full moon and the new
moon, when the moon appears to be diminishing in size.
waxing moon
the two-week period between the new moon and the full moon, when the moon appears to be increasing in size
water
one of the four astrological elements, associated with the emotions and intuition.