Glossary

There’s a lot of obscure jargon in astrology, and in my efforts to make it accessible without dumbing it down, I offer these alternatives. Let me know which you think good or bad in the comments or with an email to apisastrology@protonmail.com

My guideline is that terms should make their subjects instantly clear and be as evocative as possible. Obviously any technical glossary should remain as stable as possible so as to keep us from falling into a Babel of whim and half-hearted trysts with fad language, but there’s no excuse for using a Latin transliteration of an Arabic term which literally means “in the heart of the Sun” instead of just saying “in the heart of the Sun” (this is cazimi).

[04/07/20: Now updated with Notation]

Template:

  • [Term]: [Meaning], or
  • [Standard Term]//[Revised Term]: [Meaning]

Dignities:

  1. Domicile // Enthroned: Gemini, for instance, being one of Mercury’s Thrones. Conveys instantly the association with Rulership. (As far as I know, this has precedent in Hugo of Santalla’s designation of this Dignity by the Latin regnum.)
  2. Exalted: Next best after Enthronement, though lacking the perks of actual Rulership.
  3. Triplicity // Element: “In its element”; also Triplicities are divided by Element in the first place and the distinction to my knowledge adds nothing.
  4. Term // Lodge: A small, comfortable place one can stay.
  5. Face // Shelter: Little better than the homelessness of being Peregrine.
  6. Peregrine // Wandering: Etymologically equivalent. Un-Dignified – so it hasn’t been cast out, but it hasn’t got a home either.
  7. Fall: The term is serviceable, only I say “Fallen” instead of “in (its) Fall” – eg. “Jupiter is Fallen in Capricorn.”
  8. Detriment // Exiled: It is in the Sign of its opposite counterpart (Mars//Venus, Mercury//Jupiter, Sun+Moon//Saturn), far from its Throne, very uncomfortable. In practical terms, it may be close to its Throne (if Venus or Mars), but the image works well.

Aspects & Conjunction:

  1. Conjunction // Bond: Signifies the involvement of two Planets, typically by their occupation of the same Sign or a nearby degree (Bound by Sign or Degree, respectively). Traditionally refers to Planets 2, 3, 4 or 6 Signs apart as well (Bound by Sextile, Square, Trine or Opposition.) [Also: Conjunct//Bound; Aspect (noun)//Bond]
  2. Aspect (verb) // Behold: Etymologically equivalent. Referring to individual aspects (noun), one would still say “Bound by Trine,” etc. But rather than saying “X aspects Y”, we would say “X beholds Y”.
  3. Hard and Soft Aspects: Hard aspects are the Square and Opposition, Soft are the Sextile & Trine.

For more on Aspects, see here: Introduction to Aspects

Rulers/Dispositors

  1. Dispositor//Lord: The Planet Ruling a given Sign-House. Shorthand is: Lord of the 1st House = Lord 1 or L1, and so on. See “Notation” below for more.
  2. I think the term Final Dispositor can be abandoned entirely because the sense of its importance derives naturally from its Lord being Enthroned (in its own Sign), where he (or she) can be said to run the affairs of his own kingdom for their own sake (figuratively – in practical terms, the person feels the domain of life governed by the House as an end in itself). Also, there seems to be nothing particularly special about a Planet which is the only one on the chart in its own Sign – nothing not derived from what we already know.

Accidental Dignities

  1. Cazimi // In the Sun’s Heart: Literal translation, only a syllable extra. Refers to a Planet no more than 17’ away from the Sun. Mainly relevant in Horary Astrology.
  2. Combust // Burning: In a very bad way. Within 8º30’ of the Sun.
  3. Under the Beams // Charred: Burnt but less so. Within 17º of the Sun but not Burning (up to twice as far away as that, 17º being twice 8º30’).
  4. Retrograde // Backwards: Basically equivalent, also “backwards” conveys the colloquial sense of “doesn’t know what it’s doing”, “must be set straight”, which I find is how Planets behave when Backwards.
  5. Void of Course: If a Planet Beholds no other Planets before it leaves its Sign, it’s Void of Course. Typically used with reference to the Moon. Cannot think of a better term.

Fields of Astrology

  1. Horary Astrology // Divination (by Astrology): Answering questions by examining the chart of the time and place the question’s received by the diviner.
  2. Mundane Astrology // Global Astrology: Etymologically equivalent. Concerns the global effects of the Planets in the sky at any given moment. In this domain, Houses and Signs are rendered indistinct.

Points on the Chart

  1. Cusp : The point at which a House starts, as distinct from that of a Sign if you’re not using Whole-Sign Houses (I don’t in divination because other House systems allow for more nuance by splitting House from Sign – allows more to be said for reasons which should be obvious).
  2. House: Understood to mean a Whole-Sign House, simpler than typing Sign-House every time you meant to say it. For more on Whole-Sign Houses, see here: Robert Hand – Whole-Sign Houses
  3. Sign: A Zodiac Sign, eg. Aries, Pisces, etc.

==Notation:

Aspects: Reasoning is: Opposition is half a chart a way, Trine a third, and so on.

  1. Conjunction: “on”
  2. Opposition: 1/2
  3. Trine: 1/3
  4. Square: 1/4
  5. Sextile: 1/6

So “Mars sextile Jupiter” becomes “Mars 1/6 Jupiter”. Mercury conjunct Venus becomes “Mercury on Venus”.

Essential Dignity: I do not use Triplicity, Term or Face natally – thus:

  1. Enthroned: ++
  2. Exalted: +
  3. Disgraced: –
  4. Exiled: – –

So Mars Enthroned = Mars++. If you want one for Horary, notate with the old points system: Enthroned = +5, Exalted = +4, Triplicity = +3, Term = +2, Face = +1 – but frankly I see no use in the points system because the Dignities strike me as qualitatively different.

Houses, Cusps & Rulers: Houses are H#, Cusps are C#, Rulers are L# – so the Ascendant Lord = L1, the 10th House = H10, we would hence record “Ascendant Lord in the 10th House” as “L1 in H10.” If L1 is Enthroned and in the 10th House, we say “L1++ in H10”. L1 Exalted = L1+

Nuance: Say we’ve got a chart with Scorpio Rising. Mars is the Ascendant Lord. If we want to refer to it in its capacity as the Ascendant Lord, we call it “L1” or “L1 (Mars)”; if we want to refer to it in its capacity as Mars – say, as Natural Ruler of disease and conflict, or fire, or as someone’s assertiveness – call it “Mars”.

Cusps are only of use in Horary. Lord of the 10th on the 7th Cusp: “L10 on C7.”

“L” can be “Lady” for Moon and Venus.