Reference

Astrology Glossary

60+ terms defined in plain English — sidereal to synastry, Nakshatra to Numerology.

Short definitions, cross-linked to the calculators and blog posts that put each term to work. Every entry is written as reflection, not prediction.

A

Ascendant

The zodiac sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the exact moment of birth. Often called the “rising sign,” it anchors the first house of a Western natal chart and is traditionally associated with first impressions, physical presentation, and how a person meets the world.

Aspect

An angular relationship between two planets measured in degrees of the zodiac. Common aspects include the conjunction (0°), sextile (60°), square (90°), trine (120°), and opposition (180°). Aspects are the grammar of a chart — they describe how two energies speak to each other.

Astrocartography

A map that projects the planetary lines of a birth chart onto Earth. Places where a planet was rising, setting, or overhead at the moment of birth are traditionally said to carry that planet’s flavour for the person. Used as a reflection tool for travel and relocation, not as a directive.

Ayanamsa

The offset in degrees between the tropical zodiac (used in Western astrology) and the sidereal zodiac (used in Vedic astrology). Different schools use different ayanamsa values; Lahiri is the most common in modern Vedic practice and is what CelestKin uses.

B

Bhakoot

One of the eight kutas used in Vedic compatibility matching. It compares the Moon-sign positions of two partners and flags certain pairings traditionally associated with friction. Like all kutas, it’s a pattern to reflect on, not a verdict.

Ba Zi (Chinese Four Pillars)

A Chinese charting system that encodes the year, month, day, and hour of birth as four pairs of heavenly stems and earthly branches. The day pillar’s stem is treated as the self, and the surrounding elements describe the terrain of a life. Also written BaZi or Four Pillars of Destiny.

Barnum Effect

The psychological tendency to read a vague, universal description as an accurate personal insight. Honest astrology writing names this effect and gives you specific enough language that you can agree, disagree, or set it aside — rather than nod along by default.

Biorhythm

A 20th-century model that tracks three cycles — physical (23 days), emotional (28 days), and intellectual (33 days) — counted from the date of birth. It has no classical astrological pedigree, but CelestKin includes it as an optional cyclical lens for self-reflection.

C

Composite Chart

A single chart built from the midpoints of two natal charts. It represents the relationship itself as a third entity, with its own signs, houses, and aspects. Distinct from synastry, which compares the two charts side by side.

Conjunction

An aspect where two planets sit within a few degrees of each other. Traditionally read as the two energies blending and amplifying each other, for better or for worse depending on the planets involved.

Cusp

The dividing line between two houses, or between two zodiac signs. People born within a few days of a sign change are often said to be “on the cusp,” though technically every birth falls in exactly one sign.

D

Dasha

A Vedic planetary timing period. The most widely used system, Vimshottari Dasha, assigns each person a sequence of 120 years divided among nine planets, based on the birth Moon’s Nakshatra. Dashas are used to mark chapters, not to predict fixed events.

Dreamspell (Mayan)

A modern derivative of the Mayan Tzolkin calendar, created in the 1990s. It pairs a day sign (Solar Seal) with a tone (number 1–13) to produce a “Galactic Signature.” Not identical to traditional Mayan counts, but the version most commonly used in English-language practice.

Dhana Yoga

A category of Vedic planetary combinations traditionally associated with the capacity to generate or hold wealth. Modern reflection-framed readings treat it as a description of resourcefulness, not a guarantee of income.

Decan

A 10-degree subdivision of a zodiac sign; each sign has three decans. Decans add fine-grained flavour to Western sign readings — a Leo in the first decan reads differently from a Leo in the third.

E

Ephemeris

A table (or, today, a dataset) listing the positions of planets for every day over a given range of years. Every astrology app, including this one, is powered by an ephemeris under the hood. CelestKin uses the Swiss Ephemeris.

Electional Astrology

The branch that picks auspicious timing for starting something — a wedding, a business, a trip. The Vedic equivalent is Muhurat. A reflection framing treats the chosen time as a frame to commit to, rather than a guarantee of outcome.

F

Four Pillars (Chinese)

The English name for the Chinese Ba Zi charting system. Four “pillars” — year, month, day, and hour — each contain a heavenly stem and an earthly branch, and the interplay of their five elements describes the terrain of a life. See also Ba Zi.

G

Galactic Signature

Your combination of Mayan Solar Seal (one of 20 day signs) and Galactic Tone (a number 1–13) in the Dreamspell system. Gives 260 possible signatures — one Tzolkin cycle.

Graha Maitri

A Vedic compatibility kuta that checks the planetary friendship between the Moon-sign lords of two charts. One of eight factors in the kuta scoring system, weighted for emotional and mental compatibility.

Gochara (transit)

The Vedic term for planetary transits — the ongoing movement of planets across the sky read against a natal chart. Where dashas describe your inner clock, gochara describes the weather outside.

H

House (astrological)

One of 12 divisions of the chart, each associated with a life-area — self, resources, siblings, home, creativity, work, partnership, shared assets, beliefs, career, community, and inner life. Several house systems exist (Placidus, Whole Sign, Koch, Equal); different traditions prefer different systems.

Human Design

A late-20th-century system that combines Western astrology, the I Ching, the chakras, and the Tree of Life into a single bodygraph. It produces a type (Generator, Projector, Manifestor, Reflector, Manifesting Generator) and a strategy for decision-making. Not a classical tradition, but widely used as a reflection tool.

Horary Astrology

A branch of Western astrology where a chart is cast for the moment a specific question is asked. Traditionally used for lost-object and decision questions. CelestKin does not offer horary readings.

I

Inner planets

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars — the fast-moving bodies that shape day-to-day experience in a chart. Contrast with the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), which move slowly and describe generational and long-arc themes.

J

Jyotish

The traditional name for Vedic astrology; literally “the science of light.” Uses the sidereal zodiac, Nakshatras, and planetary dashas for timing. CelestKin’s Vedic module is based on Jyotish.

Jupiter return

The moment Jupiter comes back to the position it held at your birth — roughly every 12 years. Traditionally read as a period of expansion, fresh intake, and renewed optimism. Traditionally associated with growth, not guaranteed to bring it.

K

Kin (Mayan)

A number from 1 to 260 identifying your position in the Tzolkin cycle. Each kin combines one of 20 day signs with one of 13 tones. Often reported alongside the name of the day sign, e.g. “Kin 156 — Yellow Cosmic Warrior.”

KP System

Krishnamurti Paddhati — a 20th-century Vedic school that refines Nakshatra-based timing down to sub-lords and sub-sub- lords for finer resolution on event timing. Known for its use in horary-style Vedic questions.

Kuta (Vedic compatibility)

A scored compatibility factor in Vedic matching. Eight kutas together form the Ashtakuta system used in traditional match reports — covering temperament, mental fit, health, physical chemistry, and more.

L

Lagna

The Vedic term for the Ascendant — the rising sign at the moment of birth. Drives the layout of house lords in a Vedic chart and is one of the three anchor points (alongside the Moon and the Sun).

Life Path Number

In Pythagorean numerology, the single-digit (or master-number) total derived from your full date of birth. Traditionally read as the overall “plotline” of a life, alongside the Expression, Soul Urge, and Personality numbers drawn from your name.

M

Mahadasha

A “major period” within the Vedic Vimshottari Dasha system. Each planet gets a different length — Venus 20 years, Saturn 19, Jupiter 16, and so on — and the current mahadasha colours the whole chapter you’re in.

Mangal (Mars)

Mars in Vedic astrology. A chart with Mars in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th house is sometimes called “Mangalik” — a pattern traditionally discussed in marriage matching. Modern reflection-framed readings treat it as a conversation to have, not a disqualification.

Mayan Tzolkin

The 260-day sacred calendar of Mesoamerica, formed by combining 20 day signs with 13 numbers. Each person’s birth corresponds to one kin inside the cycle.

Midheaven (MC)

The highest point of the Sun’s path at your moment of birth — the top of the 10th house in a Western chart. Traditionally associated with public role, vocation, and how you show up in the world’s view.

Muhurat

The Vedic equivalent of electional astrology. A specific auspicious window picked for starting something — a wedding, a business, a journey — based on the alignment of the day’s Nakshatra, tithi, and planetary hour.

N

Nakshatra

One of the 27 lunar mansions in Vedic astrology. Each Nakshatra is about 13°20’ of the zodiac. Your birth Moon’s Nakshatra is considered one of the most important markers in Jyotish and drives the Vimshottari Dasha timing system.

Navamsa

A divisional chart (D9) in Vedic astrology, built by dividing each sign into nine sections. Traditionally consulted for marriage, inner strength, and the second half of life. CelestKin’s Vedic engine computes it automatically.

Numerology

A symbolic system that reduces names, birth dates, and events to single-digit or master numbers and reads the resulting patterns as reflection cues. The Pythagorean system is the one CelestKin uses.

Natal Chart

The snapshot of the sky at the moment and place of a person’s birth. Every reading in every tradition starts from some form of this — a frozen frame you can read against later events.

O

Opposition

A 180° aspect between two planets. Traditionally read as tension, mirroring, or two sides of the same question pulling against each other. Not “bad” — just a prompt to integrate.

Orb

The allowed margin of error for an aspect to still count. Different astrologers use different orbs — a Western practitioner might allow 8° for a conjunction to the Sun, while a Vedic practitioner might use tighter orbs.

P

Panchang

The five-limbed Vedic almanac: tithi (lunar day), vara (weekday), Nakshatra, yoga, and karana. Used to choose auspicious timing (Muhurat) and to read the quality of any given day.

Progression

A Western technique that advances the natal chart symbolically — most commonly one day for each year of life (secondary progressions) — to describe internal development over time.

Pluto return

The return of Pluto to its natal position, which takes about 248 years — so individual people do not experience a Pluto return, but countries and institutions can. Traditionally associated with structural reinvention.

Q

Quincunx

A 150° aspect between two planets, sometimes called the inconjunct. Traditionally read as awkward, hard-to-integrate energy — two planets that don’t naturally speak the same language.

R

Rashi

The Vedic term for a zodiac sign. A Vedic chart is often described in terms of the Rashi (Moon sign) and the Nakshatra together — the Moon’s Rashi answers “what sign,” the Nakshatra answers “what flavour.”

Retrograde

An apparent backward motion of a planet as seen from Earth, not an actual reversal. Traditionally read as an invitation to re-do, re-view, or re-consider the affairs the planet governs. Mercury retrograde is the most talked-about example.

Rising Sign

Another name for the Ascendant — the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at birth. Requires an accurate birth time; without one, the rising sign cannot be computed.

S

Sade Sati

A roughly 7.5-year Vedic period during which Saturn transits the sign before, of, and after your birth Moon. Traditionally associated with pressure and slow restructuring. A reflection framing treats it as a season to adapt to, not a sentence.

Saturn Return

The moment Saturn returns to its natal position, around ages 29–30 and again around 58–60. A period traditionally associated with maturation, commitments, and the end of borrowed structures.

Sextile

A 60° aspect. Traditionally read as easy, supportive, and opportunity-shaped — a line of communication between two planets that has to be picked up rather than forced open.

Sidereal Zodiac

The zodiac as measured against the fixed stars. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, it has drifted about 24° from the tropical zodiac. Used by Vedic astrology and by Western sidereal practitioners.

Synastry

The Western technique of laying two natal charts on top of each other and reading the aspects between them — his Venus to her Mars, her Moon to his Saturn, and so on. A structural language for relationship reflection.

Square

A 90° aspect. Traditionally read as friction between two planets that forces growth — not a disaster, but a knot you have to work to untie.

T

Tithi

A lunar day in the Vedic calendar — the span of time the Moon takes to move 12° away from the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, each traditionally considered more or less favourable for different activities.

Transits

The ongoing, real-time positions of planets read against a natal chart. Transits are the main tool for describing the current “weather” around a life. See also Gochara, the Vedic term.

Tropical Zodiac

The zodiac anchored to the seasons — 0° Aries is the spring equinox regardless of where the constellations sit today. Used by mainstream Western astrology.

Trine

A 120° aspect between two planets in the same element. Traditionally read as flowing, harmonious, and creatively generous — though trines can also describe patterns so easy they’re taken for granted.

U

Uttara Phalguni (Nakshatra example)

One of the 27 Nakshatras, spanning from 26°40’ Leo to 10° Virgo. Listed here as a representative Nakshatra entry; every one of the 27 has its own ruler, symbol, and traditional associations.

V

Vedic Astrology

The Indian astrological tradition. Uses the sidereal zodiac, Nakshatras, and Vimshottari Dasha timing. Also called Jyotish. Distinct from Western astrology in zodiac, house emphasis, and planetary timing method.

Vimshottari Dasha

The dominant Vedic planetary timing system. Assigns each person a 120-year sequence of planetary periods seeded from the birth Moon’s Nakshatra. Each mahadasha is sub-divided into antardashas (and those into pratyantar dashas) for fine-grained timing.

W

Wavespell (Mayan)

A 13-day cycle in the Dreamspell Mayan system, each day carrying one of the 13 galactic tones. Twenty wavespells make up a full 260-day Tzolkin cycle.

Y

Yoga (Vedic, not the exercise)

In Vedic astrology, a “yoga” is a specific combination of planetary positions that carries a traditional interpretation — Raj Yoga, Dhana Yoga, Gajakesari Yoga, and many others. Nothing to do with the physical practice of the same name.

Z

Zodiac

The 360° band of sky through which the Sun, Moon, and planets appear to travel, divided into 12 signs of 30° each. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, tied to the seasons; Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, tied to the fixed stars.