Welcome to the Tarotsmith Horoscopes Glossary. If you’re new to the cosmic craft, or even if you’ve danced with the stars for years, this page will help you decode the esoteric language that shows up in our readings. Below, you’ll find clear, no-fluff definitions of essential astrology and horoscope terms. Consider this your cosmic Rosetta Stone.
Key Terms & Definitions
Astrology
The symbolic study of how celestial bodies (planets, luminaries, nodes) reflect and influence human life and events. At its core, astrology is a language of archetypes and cycles, offering maps of personality, potential, and timing.
Zodiac
A 360° belt around the ecliptic divided into twelve 30° segments, each named after a constellation: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Your Sun Sign and Rising Sign fall into these segments.
Sun Sign
Your primary zodiac identity. Determined by the Sun’s position at your birth, it represents your core self, ego, creative drive, and life’s overarching theme. When someone says ‘I’m a Scorpio’, they mean their Sun was in Scorpio.
Rising Sign (Ascendant)
The zodiac sign that was ascending on the eastern horizon at the exact moment and place of your birth. It’s the ‘mask’ you wear in the world: your physical presence, first impressions, and immediate style of engagement. Calculated from your precise birth time.
Moon Sign
The position of the Moon in the zodiac at the moment of your birth. It rules emotions, instincts, and subconscious patterns, often controlling your mood swings, deeper needs, and how you process feelings.
Natal Chart (Birth Chart)
A 360° snapshot of the sky at your moment of birth, plotted into twelve houses. It shows where each planet, luminary (Sun, Moon), and node was located in the zodiac, forming the blueprint of your psyche and life path.
Transit
A current planetary position (where a planet is ‘now’) compared to your natal chart or Sun/Rising chart. Transits reveal which areas of life the cosmos is stirring up: relationships, money, career, inner growth, etc.
Transit Chart
A chart drawn for a specific date/time (e.g., every Monday at 00:00 UT) showing the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets. We use weekly transit charts to write horoscopes.
House
One of twelve segments in a natal or transit chart, each corresponding to different life areas (identity, resources, communication, home, creativity, routine, partnerships, shared resources, philosophy, career, friends, and secrets). Houses are numbered 1–12.
Whole Sign Houses
An ancient house system where each zodiac sign = one entire house. If Aries is your Rising Sign, then the entire Aries slice becomes your 1st House, Taurus your 2nd, and so on. Simpler than quadrant-based houses, and especially useful for Sun and Rising horoscopes.
House System
Methods of dividing the sky into twelve ‘houses’. Besides Whole Sign, popular systems include Placidus, Koch, and Equal Houses. Each system slightly shifts which planets fall into which life areas.
Cusp
The dividing line between two houses or two zodiac signs. When a planet is near a cusp, it may blend qualities of both, but for Whole Sign Houses, the cusp always falls at 0° of a sign.
Ascendant (ASC)
Another word for Rising Sign. The zodiac degree on the eastern horizon at birth, defining House 1’s cusp in Whole Sign House charts.
Midheaven (MC)
The point at the top of the chart (10th House cusp in quadrant systems). In Whole Sign Houses, MC falls somewhere within the 10th House sign. It represents career, public reputation, and social status.
Descendant (DSC)
The zodiac point opposite the Ascendant (7th House cusp in quadrant systems). In Whole Sign Houses, it represents partnerships: romantic, business, and close alliances.
Element
One of four fundamental energies: Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) = passion, will, inspiration; Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) = materiality, stability, practicality; Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) = mind, communication, ideas; Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) = emotion, intuition, depth.
Quality (Modality)
One of three modes that describe how a sign engages with its element:
- Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) = initiator, starter energy
- Fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) = stabiliser, maintains the status quo
- Mutable (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) = adapter, changer of forms
Planetary Ruler
Each zodiac sign has one (sometimes two) ruling planets: e.g., Aries → Mars; Taurus → Venus; Gemini → Mercury; Cancer → Moon; Leo → Sun; Virgo → Mercury; Libra → Venus; Scorpio → Pluto (modern) or Mars (traditional); Sagittarius → Jupiter; Capricorn → Saturn; Aquarius → Saturn (traditional) or Uranus (modern); Pisces → Jupiter (traditional) or Neptune (modern).
Degree
Each zodiac sign spans 30 degrees (0°–29°). Planets positioned in degrees define exact aspects and transits—e.g., ‘Mars at 15° Leo’ or ‘Venus at 2° Cancer’.
Aspect
An angular relationship between two planets (or a planet and a sensitive point like the Ascendant) measured in degrees of longitude. Major aspects include:
- Conjunction (0°): Planets merge energies—intense, magnified.
- Opposition (180°): Polarity, tension, ‘us vs. them’ themes.
- Square (90°): Friction, obstacles, challenges requiring action.
- Trine (120°): Harmony, flow, gifts that come easily.
- Sextile (60°): Opportunity, supportive energy that needs activation.
Orb
The ‘allowable wiggle room’ in an aspect. For instance, a square has a 90° angle, but if two planets are 88° or 92° apart, they’re still considered squared (with a 2° orb).
Retrograde
When a planet appears to move backwards against the zodiac backdrop (an optical illusion caused by Earth’s relative motion). Retrogrades prompt internal reflection and revisiting past themes. Mercury retrograde is the most famous, often blamed for communication breakdowns and tech screw-ups.
Lunar Node (True Node)
Two points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic.
- North Node = your soul’s direction, lessons to learn in this lifetime.
- South Node = karmic baggage, past-life patterns you’re coming from.
We mention it in horoscopes when nodal transits stir collective destiny themes.
Chiron
A minor planet/comet known as the ‘wounded healer’. Its placement in your chart points to emotional, physical, or spiritual wounds, and where you can develop healing gifts for yourself and others.
Ephemeris
A table (or digital database) listing planetary positions at given dates/times. Horoscopes depend on up-to-date ephemerides to track weekly transits.
Horoscope
A forecast or astrological reading based on transits to a specific point (Sun Sign, Rising Sign, or natal chart). Our horoscopes analyse current celestial movements through the lens of each Sun and Rising sign.
Arcana / Archetype
Borrowed from tarot and Jungian psychology, these represent universal symbols and energies: e.g., The Fool (beginnings), The Tower (sudden change), The Empress (nurturing). We weave these archetypes into our horoscopes to deepen meaning.
Divination
The practice of seeking insight into questions or situations through symbolic methods: tarot, astrology, numerology, runes, etc. Our horoscopes function as one form of modern divination: reading the sky as a living text.
Karma / Karmic Patterns
Energetic loops from past actions (in this life or previous ones) that influence present circumstances. Nodes, Saturn, and Pluto often highlight karmic lessons in astrology readings.
Chart Ruler
The planetary ruler of your Rising Sign—e.g., if Capricorn is rising, Saturn is chart ruler. This planet’s transits and placement gain extra emphasis, acting as a guide or signature for your life’s path.
Closing: Your Cosmic Reference
This glossary is your starting point for navigating the Tarotsmith Horoscopes universe. Bookmark it. Return whenever you encounter unfamiliar terms. Remember: astrology is a symbolic language, meant to illuminate your path, not confine you.
As you explore our weekly readings, let these definitions be your compass. Embrace the poetic rawness, the archetypal depth, and the subtle guidance of the stars and use them to craft a life that’s truly your own.
Welcome to the dance of the celestial, the mirror of the soul, and the art of radical self-discovery.
— Tarotsmith
