What Is Horoscope?

∟What Is Horoscope?

This section provides an overview of horoscope.

The term "horoscope" is well defined on Wikipedia as:

A horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word "horoscope" is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or "marker(s) of the hour.") Other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel, or simply chart, among others.

Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology which uses a horoscope for a specific moment in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets at that moment. The idea is that the placement of the planets at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment and especially anything which is born then, and this can be analyzed using the chart and a variety of rules for interpreting the 'language' or symbols therein.

A natal chart is a horoscope chart drawn for the exact time of an individual's birth at a particular place on Earth for the purposes of gaining information about the individual. Commonly used alternate names for the natal chart include birth chart, natus, and nativity, among others.

Here is an example of natal chart, or horoscope chart of a person's birth date, time, and place:

Common elements used in a horoscope chart:

Native - The reference point for the place and time of the event (individual's birth) to be charted.
Rising Sign, Ascendant - The zodiac sign (zodiac constellation) that is rising on the east horizon at the time and the place of the event.
Descendant - The zodiac sign (zodiac constellation) that is descending on the west horizon at the time and the place of the event.
Sun Sign - The zodiac sign (zodiac constellation) where the sun is located at the time of the event.
Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto Signs - The zodiac sign (zodiac constellation) where the planets are located at the time of the event.
North Node and South Node - The intersection points of the moon's orbit and the ecliptic.
House - 12 divisions of the ecliptic as seen from the earth at the time and place of the event.
Aspects - Relative angles between pairs of planets.

The term "horoscope" is also used to refer to daily astrology forecasts on newspapers or Websites.

Other sections of this chapter provide some details of horoscope elements by constructing a simple version a birth horoscope chart.

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About This Book

Quick Introduction to Astrology

Basics of Astrology and Astronomy