Astrology terms, explained fast

Ascendant, aspect, transit, retrograde? Every key term is here — in one sentence, no jargon.

The chart

Natal chart: A snapshot of the sky at the moment you were born — the map everything else is read from.
House: One of twelve life areas in the chart (home, career, relationship …). It shows where something plays out.
Ascendant (Rising): The sign rising on the eastern horizon at your birth. Your first impression — it needs your exact birth time.
Descendant: The point opposite the Ascendant. It stands for partnership and what you seek in others.
Midheaven (MC): The highest point of the chart. It stands for career, reputation and public role.
Cusp: The boundary line where a house begins. The changeover between two signs is also called a cusp.
Lunar Nodes: Two opposite points (North and South Node). The North Node shows your direction of growth, the South Node what’s familiar.

Zodiac sign: One of twelve 30° slices of the zodiac (Aries to Pisces). It describes the "how" of an energy.
Element: Fire, earth, air or water — a sign’s basic nature. Three signs share each element.
Modality (Quality): Cardinal, fixed or mutable — whether a sign starts, sustains or adapts.
Polarity: Active (yang, fire & air) or receptive (yin, earth & water) — a sign’s basic orientation.
Ruler: The planet that governs a sign (e.g. Venus for Libra) and gives it its core tone.
Benefics & malefics: A traditional split of the planets: Venus and Jupiter as "benefics" (easy, kindly), Mars and Saturn as "malefics" (demanding). Not good vs evil — the malefics are teachers, not demons.
Essential dignity: How strong a planet is by sign. Strongest in its own sign (domicile) or its exaltation; weakened in the opposite sign (detriment) or its fall.
Exaltation: The sign where a planet works especially well — almost like a welcome guest. The Sun, for example, is exalted in Aries.
Luminaries: The Sun and Moon — the chart’s most important pair: who you are and how you feel.
The Big Three: Sun, Moon and Rising together — the quickest shorthand for your personality.

Aspect: The angle between two planets. It tells you whether they cooperate or clash.
Conjunction (0°): Two planets at the same point. Their forces merge and amplify each other.
Opposition (180°): Planets exactly across from each other. A tug-of-war asking for balance between two poles.
Trine (120°): An easy, flowing angle. Talents that come to you effortlessly.
Square (90°): A tension angle. Friction that challenges you — and drives growth.
Sextile (60°): A friendly angle full of opportunity — easy if you reach for it.
Orb: The allowed leeway around an exact aspect. The tighter the orb, the stronger the aspect.

Transit: Where a planet is today — and how it touches your natal chart. The basis of a daily horoscope.
Retrograde: When a planet appears to move backward from Earth. A time to revisit, not to launch.
Ingress: The moment a planet moves into a new zodiac sign — often a felt shift in mood. The Sun’s ingresses mark the start of each season.
Lunation: A full lunar cycle from new moon to new moon (about 29.5 days). Loosely, "lunation" often means the new moon itself as the starting point.
Solar Return: The moment the Sun returns to its birth position each year — your "chart for the year ahead".
Moon phase: The cycle from new moon to full moon and back — a natural rhythm for starting and releasing.
Synastry: Comparing two charts to see how well two people fit together.
Ephemeris: The astronomical table of planet positions. We compute with the Swiss Ephemeris — accurate to the second.