Glossary

Agreeableness Psychology: A Big Five trait: empathy, trust and readiness to cooperate with others. A low value means a more competitive, critical stance, which can be an advantage in certain situations.
Ascendant (ASC) Western: The zodiac sign and degree rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of your birth. Tradition links it to the “face” you show the world and your style of self-presentation; it changes sign roughly every two hours, so an exact birth time is needed.
Aspect Western: The angular distance between two planets or points in the chart. The major aspects are conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition.
Attachment style Psychology: A concept based on the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth: the pattern formed in early caregiving relationships (secure, anxious, avoidant) that can influence later relationships. It can change in adulthood too, and a test gives only an approximation.
Ayanamsa Vedic: The angular difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiac caused by precession; today roughly 24 degrees. Several ayanamsa values exist (for example Lahiri), and the choice shifts the sign boundaries slightly.
Barnum effect (Forer effect) General: The tendency to feel that general statements true of many people are specifically about us. Bertram Forer's 1949 experiment made it famous, and it explains much of why astrological and personality descriptions feel so “spot on”.
Bhava (house) Vedic: The twelve houses of the Vedic chart, often calculated by the whole-sign system (the sign of the lagna is the first house). They symbolise areas of life, much like Western houses.
Big Five (five-factor model) Psychology: The five broad dimensions of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (OCEAN). It is the most widely researched model in personality psychology today and measures on continuous scales.
Calendar Round Mayan: The combination of the Tzolkin and the Haab, which repeats every 18,980 days, that is every 52 years. The Maya used it for everyday dating.
Chinese zodiac animals Chinese: The twelve animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig) that are the popular names of the Earthly Branches. The animal of the year is determined by the Chinese lunar new year, which does not coincide with 1 January.
Confirmation bias General: The tendency to notice and remember information that supports what we already believe more than information that refutes it. That is why a prediction can seem to have “come true”.
Conjunction Western: Two planets or points at almost the same position (0 degrees apart). Tradition holds that their themes merge and reinforce each other.
Conscientiousness Psychology: A Big Five trait: organisation, perseverance and self-discipline. Research links it to academic and workplace performance, but a very high value can also lead to rigidity.
Dasha (planetary period) Vedic: The time system of Vedic astrology, which divides life into periods “ruled” by planets. The planet you begin with is determined by the Moon's nakshatra at birth.
Day Master Chinese: The Heavenly Stem of the day pillar, the sign of the day of birth. Tradition regards it as the symbol of the self, and the other characters are read in relation to it.
Day sign Mayan: One of the twenty signs of the Tzolkin (for example Imix, Ik’, Ak’bal, K’an…), each linked to a symbol and theme. The sign belonging to the birthday serves in modern “Maya astrology” as a personality symbol.
Dayun (Great Luck cycle) Chinese: The ten-year life stages of Bazi, which start from the month pillar. Tradition holds that each stage colours life with the element then ruling, but this is a symbolic timetable, not a proven forecast.
Descendant (DSC) Western: The point opposite the Ascendant on the western horizon, the cusp of the seventh house. In tradition it is the theme of partnership and the “other”.
Digit reduction (digital root) Numerology: Repeatedly adding the digits until a single digit remains; its mathematical name is the digital root, which equals the remainder on division by 9 (9 for multiples of 9). In numerology this is the basic operation, with a stop at master numbers.
Dignity Western: It expresses how “at home” a planet is in a given sign: rulership (domicile), exaltation, or their opposites, detriment and fall. Tradition reads the strength and colouring of the planet's expression from it.
DISC model Psychology: A model arranging behavioural styles into four dimensions (dominance, influence, steadiness, conscientiousness), used mainly in workplace training. It describes a behavioural tendency, not a psychological diagnosis, and its scientific basis is weaker.
Double-blind test General: A study in which neither the participants nor the evaluators know who belongs to which group, so their expectations cannot distort the result. In astrology research, Shawn Carlson's 1985 experiment was of this kind.
Earthly Branches Chinese: The twelve signs (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) that belong to the Chinese zodiac animals, the months and the double-hours. The lower character of every pillar is an Earthly Branch.
Ecliptic General: The Sun's apparent annual path among the stars, the projection onto the sky of the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. The zodiac is the band of sky along it, divided into 360 degrees.
Element (fire, earth, air, water) Western: The twelve signs are divided into four groups of three: fire stands for drive, earth for practicality, air for thought and water for feeling. The distribution of elements in a chart is, in tradition, a symbolic picture of temperament.
Emotional intelligence Psychology: The ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions in ourselves and in others. The concept was introduced by Peter Salovey and John Mayer and popularised by Daniel Goleman; its measurement and exact definition are still debated.
Enneagram Psychology: A system describing nine personality types built on core motivations and fears, assuming connections (wings, arrows) between them. It is often used for self-reflection, but it has little scientific support.
Ephemeris General: An astronomical table or computation model that gives the position of the Sun, Moon and planets for each time. Astrology software calculates the chart from it.
Equinox General: The moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator and day and night are about equal in length; twice a year, in spring and autumn. The tropical zodiac counts from the spring equinox, that is from 0 degrees of Aries.
Expression number (destiny number) Numerology: The number obtained by reducing the numbers assigned to the letters of the full birth name. Tradition holds that it symbolises abilities and the way one expresses oneself in the world.
Extraversion Psychology: A Big Five trait: seeking company, activity and positive emotion. A low value (introversion) does not mean anxiety, but a smaller need for outside stimulation.
Falsifiability General: According to Karl Popper, the mark of a scientific claim is that it could in principle be shown to be wrong. The testability of astrological claims is therefore debated: believers stress their symbolic nature, sceptics their testability.
Four Pillars (Bazi) Chinese: The traditional Chinese system that describes the year, month, day and hour of birth, each with a pair made of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch. The eight characters form a “chart” read through five-element theory.
Gochara (transit) Vedic: The Vedic version of a transit: reading the current positions of the planets relative to the natal Moon or the lagna. Houses are usually counted from the sign of the Moon.
Graha (planet) Vedic: Sanskrit for “seizer”: the nine celestial influences of Vedic astrology: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, plus Rahu and Ketu. The classical system does not use Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
Haab Mayan: The 365 days of the Maya civil (solar) calendar: eighteen months of 20 days and five “unlucky” days. Together with the Tzolkin it forms the 52-year Calendar Round.
Heavenly Stems Chinese: The ten signs of traditional Chinese timekeeping (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui), expressing the yang and yin forms of the five elements. The upper character of every pillar is a Heavenly Stem.
Hidden Stems Chinese: Each Earthly Branch “hides” one to three Heavenly Stems, giving the branch its deeper elemental content. More refined Bazi analyses include them in judging the balance of the elements.
Holland codes (RIASEC) Psychology: John Holland's career-orientation model, which distinguishes six interest types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. The code made from your three strongest types helps you find your way among occupations.
House Western: One of the twelve divisions of the birth chart, symbolising areas of life (identity, money, home, relationships, work and so on). A planet's house position indicates in which area its theme is emphasised.
House cusp Western: The point on the zodiac where a house begins. Its position depends on the chosen house system and on the time and place of birth.
Imum Coeli (IC) Western: The point opposite the MC, the cusp of the fourth house, the “bottom” of the chart. It symbolises home, family roots and inner security.
Introversion Psychology: The low end of the extraversion dimension: a quiet style that seeks less outside stimulation and recharges in solitude. It is not the same as shyness or social anxiety.
Jyotish (Vedic astrology) Vedic: The name of traditional Indian astrology (Sanskrit for “science of light”). It uses the sidereal zodiac, nakshatras and dasha periods, and is traditionally counted among the branches of the Vedic sciences.
Karmic debt number Numerology: The numbers 13, 14, 16 and 19 when they appear as intermediate values in the addition (e.g. 13/4). Numerology reads them as hinting at a past “debt” that shows up as a lesson in this life. This is a symbolic interpretation, not a fact.
Lagna (Vedic ascendant) Vedic: The sign rising on the eastern horizon at birth, calculated in the sidereal zodiac. It is the starting point of the Vedic chart, and the numbering of the houses begins from it.
Life path number Numerology: The number obtained by reducing the digits of the full birth date (1–9, or 11, 22, 33). In numerology it symbolises the main theme of life and is considered the most important number.
Likert scale Psychology: The response format in which agreement with a statement is given in steps (for example 1–5: not at all like me … very much like me). Most personality questionnaires use it.
Local mean time and time zone General: To calculate a chart from a birth time, the local time must be converted to universal time (UT), which requires knowing the time zone and daylight saving rules in force at the time. For older dates these rules differed by country and year, which is one of the main pitfalls for accuracy.
Long Count Mayan: The linear Maya day count, reckoning days from a mythical starting point (in baktuns, katuns, tuns, uinals, kins). The “2012 date” marked the end of a 13-baktun period, not an end of the world.
Lunar Node (North Node) Western: One of the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's apparent path (the ecliptic); the two lie opposite each other and are geometric points, not bodies. Western tradition associates the North Node with a direction of growth and the South Node with familiar patterns.
Master numbers Numerology: 11, 22 and (in some schools) 33, which are not reduced further to a single digit when adding. Tradition attributes greater potential, but also greater challenge, to them.
MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) Psychology: A test that yields 16 types from four dichotomies (E–I, S–N, T–F, J–P), developed from Carl Jung's theory of types. It is popular and a good conversation starter, but research finds that many people get a different type on retesting, and its predictive power is limited.
Midheaven (MC, Medium Coeli) Western: The point of the zodiac that stands highest on the local meridian at the moment of birth. Tradition links it to vocation, public role and aims.
Modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) Western: The other threefold division of the signs: cardinal initiates, fixed maintains and persists, mutable adapts and handles transitions. Each sign belongs to one element and one modality.
Moon sign Western: The sign in which the Moon stood at birth. Tradition associates it with emotional needs, habits and a sense of security.
Nakshatra (lunar mansion) Vedic: One of the 27 equal segments, each 13°20′ wide, into which the zodiac is divided; the Vedic tradition ties their names and symbols to star groups and deities. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is especially important.
Natal chart (radix) Western: A depiction of the sky calculated for the moment and place of birth: the signs, houses and aspects of the planets together. Tradition takes it as the starting point of an individual reading.
Navamsha (D9) Vedic: The ninth division of the zodiac: each sign is divided into nine parts, producing the “supplementary chart”. Tradition uses it to refine readings of relationships and inner maturity.
Neuroticism (emotional instability) Psychology: A Big Five trait: the tendency to experience negative emotions (anxiety, irritability) and sensitivity to stress. It is not an illness but a dimension of normal variation; its opposite is emotional stability.
Openness to experience Psychology: A Big Five trait: curiosity, imagination and receptiveness to new experiences and ideas. A high score indicates a love of variety, a low one a preference for the familiar and practical.
Opposition Western: Two planets 180 degrees apart, on opposite sides of the chart. Tradition reads it as polarity, a search for balance and seeing yourself reflected in another person.
Orb Western: The permitted angular deviation within which two planets are still considered to form an aspect. A tighter orb means a stronger aspect; the accepted value differs between schools.
Panchanga Vedic: The “five limbs” of the Vedic calendar: tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and weekday (vara). It is used for timing, for example to determine a festival or an auspicious start date.
Personal year Numerology: The number obtained by reducing the digits of the birth day and month with the current year, which numerology takes to symbolise the theme of that year. It is a cycle that repeats every nine years.
Personality number Numerology: The number calculated from the consonants of the full name. Tradition says it shows how others see you on first meeting.
Precession General: The slow wobble of Earth's rotation axis over about 26,000 years, which gradually shifts the spring point against the background stars. It is what causes the difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiac.
Pythagorean system Numerology: The most common letter-to-number assignment in Western numerology: A=1, B=2 … I=9, then J=1 and so on. Values computed from names rest on it; the Chaldean system uses a different assignment.
Rahu and Ketu Vedic: The North and South Nodes of the Moon's orbit, treated in the Vedic tradition as “shadow planets”. Rahu symbolises desire and worldly striving, Ketu release and inner seeking.
Rashi (sign) Vedic: The 12 zodiac signs of Vedic astrology, calculated in the sidereal zodiac. The “Moon sign” (janma rashi) is the rashi of the Moon at birth, which in the Vedic tradition is often considered more important than the Sun sign.
Retrograde motion Western: A period when a planet appears, as seen from Earth, to move backwards against the stars. It is an optical illusion caused by the difference in orbital speed between Earth and the planet.
Ruling planet Western: The planet that tradition names the “lord” of a sign, for example Mars rules Aries. In a chart the ruler of a sign colours that sign's theme.
Sextile Western: Two planets 60 degrees apart. Tradition regards it as a mildly supportive aspect offering opportunity, though it takes some initiative.
Sidereal zodiac General: The zodiac fixed to the background stars, used by Vedic astrology. It differs from the tropical zodiac by the value of the ayanamsa, today about 24 degrees.
Solar return Western: The moment each year when the Sun returns to its exact position at birth; the chart cast for that moment is the “yearly horoscope”. Tradition reads the themes of the year from it.
Soul urge number Numerology: The number calculated from the vowels of the full name. According to numerology it symbolises inner motivation and deeper desires.
Square Western: Two planets 90 degrees apart. Tradition sees in it tension, challenge and a friction that spurs action.
Stellium Western: A cluster of three or more planets in one sign or house. Tradition holds that the theme of that sign or area of life is strongly emphasised in the chart.
Sun sign Western: The sign in which the Sun stood at birth; newspaper horoscopes are based on it. It is only one element of the chart, and research has found no reliable link between it and personality traits.
Synastry Western: The comparison of two people's birth charts, for example through the aspects between their planets. Studies have not shown that agreement between charts predicts the success of a relationship.
Ten Gods (relationship categories) Chinese: Ten categories in Bazi for the other characters in relation to the Day Master, naming the relationships between elements (for example resource, authority, wealth, expression). Tradition reads areas of life from them.
Tithi (lunar day) Vedic: A lunar day defined by every 12-degree advance of the angle between the Moon and the Sun; there are 30 in a lunar month. It is one of the main elements of the Vedic calendar (panchanga) and also plays a role in timing religious festivals.
Tone (galactic number) Mayan: The numbers 1 to 13 of the Tzolkin that, besides the day sign, mark the rhythm of the cycle. In present-day practice each is given a meaning (for example “initiation”, “completion”).
Transit Western: The current position of a planet in the sky, compared with the points of your birth chart. Traditional astrology sees temporary shifts of emphasis in them, but they cannot reliably predict future events.
Trine Western: Two planets 120 degrees apart, usually in signs of the same element. Tradition regards it as easy, natural cooperation that can also make one complacent.
Tropical zodiac General: The 12 signs aligned with the spring point, i.e. with the seasons, used in Western astrology. Because of precession, the constellations slowly drift away from the signs, which stay tied to the seasons.
Tzolkin Mayan: The 260-day cycle of the Maya sacred calendar: a combination of 20 day signs and 13 tones. It was used for ritual timekeeping and naming; today's “Maya horoscope” is built on it.
Vimshottari dasha Vedic: The most common dasha system: a cycle of nine planets over 120 years in periods of differing length (Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17 years).
Wuxing (five elements) Chinese: The five “phases” of Chinese thought: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, connected in generating and overcoming cycles. Bazi interpretation rests on the balance of the elements in the chart.
Yin and yang Chinese: The two complementary poles of Chinese thought (passive/active, cool/warm, receptive/initiating). Every element and Heavenly Stem occurs in a yin or yang form.