Horoscopes

hor•o•scope (hôr -sk p , h r -) n.

a. The aspect of the planets and stars at a given moment, such as the moment of a person's birth, used by astrologers.

b. A diagram of the signs of the zodiac based on such an aspect.

c. An astrological forecast, as of a person's future, based on a diagram of the aspect of the planets and stars at a given moment.

In astrology, the most common and recognized kind of horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, 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. It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents and forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology.

The horoscope serves as a stylized map of the heavens over a specific location at a particular moment in time. In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually through a system of Sun sign astrology or based upon calendar significance of an event, as in Chinese astrology. The positions of the actual planets (including Sun and Moon) are placed in the chart, along with calculated factors such as stars, the lunar nodes, the house, and zodiac signs.

Western Astrology refers to bands in the celestial sphere containing 12 sectors around the circle. These 12 sectors are called the houses. Each house is assigned one of the 12 sun signs, which are most familiar set of signs to most people; other rising signs can then be estimated at approximately two hour intervals from there. A cusp is the boundary between two signs. For some the cusp includes a small portion of the two signs or houses under consideration.

In natal astrology, the chart (aka birth chart) is constructed around the exact time, date and place of an individual's birth to gain information about the individual. Because the Sun, Moon, planets, and primary angles in the sky are constantly changing, a new chart is created for every moment at each location. A birth chart is extremely personal and unique; even the birth charts for identical twins are often slightly different because they’re normally born a few minutes apart.

Most charts are geocentric, that is based on the Earth. Some astrologers use Heliocentric - Sun centered - which only require an accurate time of birth since the Sun’s placement does not change.

Having established the relative positions of the signs in the houses, the astrologer positions the sun, moon, and planets at their rightful places.

Once the birth chart has been constructed the process of interpretation can begin. This branch of astrology, known as natal astrology, involves building a complete picture the individual’s personality. The interpretation is based on the placement of the planets, sun moon and possibly stars in the 12 houses.

The solar chart is a natal chart erected when the date of birth is known, but not the time of day. This leads to a fairly accurate picture of their position (with the exception of the moon), as most of the planets do not move much in the course of one day.