A transit is a planet's current position, read against a chart; an aspect is the angle between two planets; and an ingress is the moment a planet enters a new sign. Those three words cover most of the jargon in a horoscope. The rest of the vocabulary, from stations to the void-of-course Moon, builds on them.

Horoscope writers use a compact shorthand, and once you can decode it, a reading becomes much easier to judge. Here's what each term means, with an example of how it shows up in a column.

Transits: where the planets are now

A transit is simply where a planet is at a given moment, as it moves through the zodiac. Astrologers call the moving planet the transiting planet, to tell it apart from the planets frozen in a birth chart.

In a personal reading, a transit is measured against your own chart: "transiting Saturn is crossing your Midheaven" means Saturn today is passing over a point in your birth chart. In a sun-sign column, transits are measured against the sign itself, using houses counted from that sign. So "Mars transits your tenth house" in the Aries column means Mars is in Capricorn, the tenth sign counting from Aries.

Because personal transits need your full chart, a sun-sign column can only approximate them. A transit forecast is the personal version, built from your birth details.

Aspects: the angles between planets

An aspect is an angle between two planets, measured around the 360-degree wheel. The five major ones are:

  • Conjunction (0 degrees): two planets together, blending their themes.
  • Sextile (60 degrees): an easy opening, if you act on it.
  • Square (90 degrees): friction that pushes for a decision.
  • Trine (120 degrees): flow, things coming easily.
  • Opposition (180 degrees): a tug-of-war, often felt through other people.

In a column you'll see these as "the Moon trines Venus" or "Mercury squares Saturn." Two related words: the orb is how far from exact an aspect is allowed to be, and an aspect is applying while the faster planet is still moving toward the exact angle and separating once it has passed. An exact aspect is one at, or within a fraction of a degree of, its precise angle. Our full guide to astrology aspects covers the minor aspects and how to measure them.

Ingresses: when a planet changes sign

An ingress is a planet entering a new sign. "Venus enters Gemini" is an ingress. Columns often mark them because a change of sign is read as a change of style: Venus in steady Taurus and Venus in chatty Gemini are said to express affection differently.

The Sun's ingresses mark the start of each sign's season, and the Sun's ingress into Aries coincides with the March equinox. The Moon's ingresses come every two and a half days or so, which is why daily readings shift so often. The term is also used for a planet moving into a new house.

Stations, retrogrades and the shadow

Seen from Earth, the planets sometimes appear to slow down, stop and move backward against the stars, then stop again and resume. Nothing actually reverses; it's an effect of watching moving planets from a moving Earth.

  • Station: the point where a planet appears to stand still. A planet stations retrograde before its backward phase and stations direct when it resumes forward motion. Astrologers read stations as strong moments, because the planet lingers on one degree.
  • Retrograde: the period of apparent backward motion, often written "Rx." Mercury does this about three times a year, for about three weeks each time.
  • Direct: ordinary forward motion.
  • Shadow: the stretch before and after a retrograde when the planet covers the same degrees. It begins when the planet first reaches the degree where it will later station direct, and ends when it passes the degree where it stationed retrograde.

Our guide to what retrograde means explains the astronomy, and the Mercury retrograde page holds the dates.

Moon words: lunations, eclipses and the void-of-course Moon

  • Lunation: a new Moon or full Moon, in most horoscope writing. The word can also mean the Moon's whole cycle of phases, about 29.5 days.
  • Quarter Moon: the halfway points between new and full, when half the Moon's face is lit. Astrologers often read them as checkpoints.
  • Eclipse: a new or full Moon close to the lunar nodes, where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's. Eclipses come in clusters about every six months, and columns treat them as heightened lunations.
  • Void-of-course Moon: the gap between the Moon's last major aspect in one sign and its entry into the next. Traditionally it's read as a time for routine tasks rather than new starts. Our guide to the void-of-course Moon explains how it's worked out.

Houses, rulers and "your sign"

A column tells you which part of life a planet touches by naming a house: "the Moon in your fourth house" points at home and family. In a sun-sign column these are solar houses, counted from the sign the reading is for. Our guide to reading your daily horoscope includes a quick key to all twelve.

  • Ruler, or ruling planet: the planet traditionally linked with a sign. Venus rules Taurus and Libra; Mars rules Aries. When a column says "your ruler," it usually means the ruler of the sign the column is written for. In a personal chart, the chart ruler is the ruler of your rising sign. Our list of ruling planets has all twelve.
  • "In your sign": a planet in the sign the column is for, so in its first solar house. Columns read this as the planet's themes becoming personal and visible.
  • Angles: the four key points of a chart (Ascendant, Imum Coeli, Descendant, Midheaven), or the houses they begin: the first, fourth, seventh and tenth.

A quick glossary of the rest

  • Natal: belonging to your birth chart. "Natal Venus" is where Venus was when you were born.
  • Dignity: how comfortable a planet is said to be in a sign. A planet is strong in its home sign (domicile) and its exaltation, weaker in its detriment and fall. Mars, for example, is exalted in Capricorn.
  • Combust: a planet very close to the Sun, traditionally within about eight degrees, read as hidden or overpowered.
  • Out-of-sign aspect: an aspect whose degrees qualify but whose signs don't match the usual pattern, such as a square between two signs that aren't three apart.
  • Stellium: three or more planets in one sign or house.

Questions readers ask

What does "the Moon is in your sign" mean?

The Moon is in the sign your column is written for, so in its first solar house. Astrologers read that as a day when your moods and needs are close to the surface and you're more visible. It lasts about two and a half days.

What's the difference between a transit and an aspect?

A transit is a moving planet's position; an aspect is an angle between two planets. A transit can form an aspect: "transiting Mars squares your Sun" means Mars today is at 90 degrees to where the Sun was at your birth.

What does "exact" mean in a horoscope?

It means an aspect, ingress or station happens at that moment, with no orb left. Writers often flag the exact time because the theme is said to peak then and fade as the planets move apart.

Is an ingress good or bad?

Neither. An ingress is a change of sign, so a change of tone. Whether it's welcome depends on the planet and the sign it enters, and on what you're doing at the time.