Glossary

A birth chart (or natal chart) is a snapshot of where the sun, moon, and planets were positioned in the sky at the exact moment and place you were born, mapped onto the 360° zodiac wheel. It’s the foundational document in astrology — every reading, transit, and compatibility comparison is computed relative to it.

Xodiac computes charts using the Tropical zodiac and the Placidus house system. The Tropical zodiac is based on the Earth’s relationship to the Sun — 0° Aries marks the spring equinox — rather than the fixed positions of the constellations (as the Sidereal zodiac used in some traditions does). Placidus divides the houses based on the time it takes each part of the ecliptic to rise above the horizon, producing houses of varying size rather than equal 30° segments; it’s the most widely used house system in Western astrology.

Sun Sign

The sign the sun occupied at your birth. Represents your core identity, ego, and sense of vitality — what most people mean by “your sign.”

Moon Sign

The sign the moon occupied at your birth. Represents your emotional inner world, instincts, and what makes you feel secure.

Rising Sign (Ascendant)

The sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at your birth. Represents the “mask” you show the world and your first impression — see The Angles below for the full definition.

Ascendant (Rising Sign)

The exact degree and sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. It sets the orientation of the entire chart — which sign starts the 1st house — and depends on precise birth time and location.

Descendant

The point directly opposite the Ascendant, marking the 7th house cusp. Represents partnerships and what you seek in others — the counterpart to the Ascendant's sense of self.

Midheaven (MC)

The highest point of the chart, marking the 10th house cusp. Represents your public role, career direction, and reputation.

Imum Coeli (IC)

The point directly opposite the Midheaven, marking the 4th house cusp. Represents home, roots, and your private inner foundation — the counterpart to the Midheaven's public face.

The 12 divisions a birth chart is split into, each representing a life arena. A planet’s sign describes how its energy expresses; its house describes where in life that energy plays out.

1st House

Self, identity, appearance, first impressions — ruled by the Ascendant.

2nd House

Money, possessions, personal values, and sense of self-worth.

3rd House

Communication, siblings, learning, and your immediate environment.

4th House

Home, family, roots, and your private inner foundation — ruled by the IC.

5th House

Creativity, romance, pleasure, self-expression, and children.

6th House

Daily routine, health, work, and service to others.

7th House

Partnerships — marriage, close relationships, and open collaborations — ruled by the Descendant.

8th House

Intimacy, shared resources, transformation, and what's hidden beneath the surface.

9th House

Philosophy, travel, higher education, and belief systems.

10th House

Career, public reputation, and life direction — ruled by the Midheaven.

11th House

Community, friendships, group identity, and hopes for the future.

12th House

The unconscious, spirituality, endings, and solitude.

Aspects (Overview)

The angular relationships between two points in a chart (e.g. two planets). The angle between them describes how their energies interact — in harmony, in tension, or blended together.

Conjunction (0°)

Two points sit at nearly the same degree. Their energies blend and intensify each other.

Sextile (60°)

An easy, supportive angle. Represents opportunity and natural cooperation between the two energies.

Square (90°)

A tense, challenging angle. Represents friction between the two energies — often a source of growth through pressure.

Trine (120°)

A harmonious, flowing angle. Represents ease and natural talent where the two energies reinforce each other.

Opposition (180°)

Two points sit directly across the wheel from each other. Represents polarity — a pull between two energies that need to find balance.

How often a planet changes signs affects what it means in a chart: the faster-moving planets shape your personal, day-to-day traits, while the slower outer planets mark broad generational shifts shared by everyone born around the same time.

Sun

Identity, ego, vitality — your core self. Changes signs about once a month.

Moon

Emotions, instincts, inner needs — your emotional world. Changes signs roughly every 2.5 days, the fastest-moving point in a chart.

Mercury

Communication, thought, learning — how you think and express ideas. Changes signs every 2–4 weeks, though retrogrades can slow this.

Venus

Love, beauty, values — how you connect and what you're drawn to. Changes signs roughly every 3–4 weeks, but can linger for months during retrograde.

Mars

Drive, action, desire — how you assert yourself and pursue what you want. Changes signs roughly every 6–7 weeks, longer during retrograde.

Jupiter

Expansion, luck, belief — where you grow and seek meaning. Changes signs about once a year.

Saturn

Structure, discipline, limitation — where you mature through responsibility. Changes signs roughly every 2.5 years.

Uranus

Change, rebellion, innovation — where you break from convention. Changes signs roughly every 7 years.

Neptune

Dreams, intuition, illusion — your spiritual and imaginative side. Changes signs roughly every 14 years.

Pluto

Transformation, power, the unconscious — deep, lasting change. Changes signs anywhere from 12 to 31 years, since its orbit is highly elliptical.

Essential dignity describes how strongly a planet expresses its nature based on the zodiac sign it occupies — some signs bring out a planet’s qualities, others mute or complicate them.

Domicile (Rulership)

A planet is in domicile when it occupies the sign it naturally rules (e.g. Mars in Aries, Moon in Cancer) — its strongest, most comfortable placement.

Detriment

A planet is in detriment when it occupies the sign opposite the one it rules (e.g. Mars in Libra, opposite Aries) — its natural expression is weakened or more challenged here.

Exaltation

A planet is in exaltation when it occupies a sign where its qualities are considered especially elevated (e.g. Sun in Aries) — a more idealized, amplified expression than domicile.

Fall

A planet is in its fall when it occupies the sign opposite its exaltation (e.g. Sun in Libra) — its weakest or most subdued placement.

Reflects the seven classical planets. The modern outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) weren’t part of the original dignity system, though they’re sometimes treated as modern co-rulers of Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio respectively.

None of these is a true planet — the Nodes are mathematical points, and Chiron is a small icy body — but all three are commonly included in a chart alongside the planets above.

North Node

Not a planet or physical body at all — a mathematical point marking where the Moon's orbit crosses the Earth's orbital plane. Represents your life direction and growth path — the themes you're moving toward.

South Node

The point directly opposite the North Node — always exactly 180° away, since both mark the same orbital crossing from either side. Represents past patterns, comfort zones, and what you're releasing.

Chiron

Not a major planet — a small icy body (a “centaur”) orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. Known as the “wounded healer”: it marks a core wound in your chart, and often the area where you're best equipped to help others heal.