Understanding Astrology > General

1. What can astrology do for me? What are its limits?
   

   This is what astrology can offer you

   • a deeper understanding of yourself, your partner, your child ...
   • clues on your strengths and weaknesses, on challenges and chances in your life ...
   • a closer look at life cycles and topics which are relevant at a certain point in your life ...

   
   Astrology cannot

   • make decisions for you ...
   • tell you whether or not you should get married, are with the right partner or will win the lottery ...
   • know the environment you live or grew up in, the circumstances of your life ...
   • forecast events in the future ...
     
     
2. Why does Astrology use the time of birth instead of the time of conception?
   

   Astrology is pragmatic, it uses what is available. Birth time is an observable and well documented quantity - the government records it in its birth registry offices. By nature, conception happens in secrecy - making love in the dark under the bed covers, and actual fertilization of the egg sometime up to 48 hours later inside the woman's body.
   A more "esoteric" explanation would be: The child 'becomes' a personality of his or her own with the first breath taken in independently from the mother.

3. I was born on a day when the Sun changes signs. How do I know what sign I am?
   
   The Sun does not change signs at midnight on fixed days in your time zone. It changes signs at totally uneven times, and the exact date and time varies from sign to sign and from year to year.
   The 'sun sign lists' published in newspaper horoscopes are just approximate guidelines - you cannot rely on them if you are born on a border day around a sign change. One needs to compute the Sun's position for the particular date, time and location when you were born. This is what we do.
   The same variation happens with all sign changes. You can see the current ingress of the sun into a new sign in the transit list of the Daily Horoscope. The exact time is given for the reference place you have chosen.
   
   
4. Where can I get information on astrological terms?
   
   Please, use the Astro Dictionary. You can find the link in the left column of the Feedback area.
   
   

Understanding Astrology > Celestial Points and Bodies

1. Which Lilith do you use in astrology? There are more than one, aren't there?
   
   The astrological tradition of Lilith/Dark Moon originates primarily in France and has spread over large parts of Europe in the last 25 years from there.
   At least in Europe, Lilith always refers to the second focal point of the Lunar orbit, or to the Lunar apogee, which both are on the same axis and at the same position of the zodiac, from a geocentric viewpoint.
   The terms 'dark moon' and 'black moon' are both used for the same mathematical point. The asteroid Lilith is a real asteroid (#1181), but there is no relevant astrological tradition associated with it. Currently there are about 36'000 numbered asteroids known with precise orbits, in the average you find 100 of them in every degree of the zodiac.
   There is also a theory about a fictitious second Earth Moon. These are not documented by contemporary astronomers, even when a 100 years ago some astronomers have claimed to have seen such invisible objects.
   Please see section 2.6 of the Swiss Ephemeris documentation for our policy as ephemeris authority regarding fictitious objects.
   See also Lilith - The Dark Moon
   
   
2. What can you tell me about asteroids in astrology?
   
   There is no public source on the web covering a large number of asteroids. Schmadel's asteroid enzyclopedia is the best source, but its website is for subscribers only; you need to buy the 150 USD book from Springer to get access.
   Otherwise try www.google.com and enter something like "astrology and asteroids" - there should be some information around.
   
   
3. What do fixed stars mean in astrology?
   
   www.astro.com does not specialise in this field. Please find some book on Fixed Stars, e.g. by Bernadette Brady, who has done some inspired writing on the subject ("Brady's Book of Fixed Stars").
   
   

Understanding Astrology > Precession

1. Is Aries Pisces? Or what about the precession of the equinox?
   
   The signs of the tropical zodiac, which starts at the Vernal Equinox with 0° Aries, are not the same as the fixed star constellations which carry the same names.
   The signs are sections of the ecliptic circle, 30 degrees each. They serve as an abbreviated measurement system for ecliptic longitude relative to the true equinox of date. Instead of saying 'Saturn is at 123 degrees' we say 'Saturn is at 3 degrees of the 5th zodiac section'. Because the 5th zodiac section is named 'Leo', we say Saturn is at 3 Leo. We mean ecliptic longitude relative to the Equinox, so this is NOT the fixed star constellation Leo.
   The fixed star constellations are irregular patches of stars on the sky. 2000 years ago those areas coincided roughly with the zodiac sections, and that is where they got their names from. The fixed star constellations are not used for measuring coordinates of objects on the sky.
   Due to the effect of lunisolar precession, the ecliptic circle has since shifted versus the fixed star background, and continues to shift by 1° every 72 years.
   Astronomers, who often hate astrology, love to confuse people by pretending of not being aware of the difference between fixed star constellations and the reference frame of the tropical ecliptic coordinate system. In fact, astronomy uses the very same ecliptic coordinate system as astrology does. Also astronomers give the position of objects in the ecliptic by measuring the longitude from the Equinox. Some astronomers try to make astrologers look stupid, when in fact all they manage is confusion of the "innocent public".
   For further information, please read Precession and Zodiac or the full documentation of Swiss Ephemeris.
   
   
2. Do astrologers use the sidereal zodiac as well?
   
   In Indian (Hindu / Vedic) astrology, the sidereal zodiac is used. The precession of the equinox is not taken into account there. Western astrology only refers to the sidereal zodiac in connection with the world ages, like the Age of Aquarius or the Age of Pisces.
   
   

Understanding Astrology > Houses

1. Which house system is the best to use?
   
   House systems are a matter of the personal taste of the Astrologer. We cannot give advice on this choice. There is no right or wrong. It's more a matter of experience with different systems.
   
   
2. What is the meaning of empty houses?
   
   The fact that there are no planets in a house just means that the area of life this house stands for is not as eminently important in your life as the ones which have planets in. This doesn't mean that they are non-existent, but they don't play such an important role. You may find out more about your approach to these areas by interpreting the sign at the cusp of these empty houses.
   For more information, please read our short introduction to astrological house systems and houses.
   
   
3. Which charts have intercepted signs?
   
   Whether or not there are intercepted signs in a chart depends on various factors:
   a) the latitude of the birth place: the closer to the poles, the more likely it becomes that there are extremely large houses with intercepted signs.
   b) choice of the house system: almost all house systems calculate houses in relation to the latitude, and have therefore different house sizes, except the equal house system which makes all houses 30 degrees. This makes intercepted signs impossible.
   Whether or not, or how one interprets intercepted signs is a matter of taste and of the choice of the individual astrologer.
   
   
   

Understanding Astrology > Methods

1. What is the difference between synastry and composite horoscopes in their interpretation of relationships?
   
   For the difference between the methods of synastry and composite charts, you can find more information on this page. Please scroll down the page past the chart types we offer for sale.
   
   There is also an article on The Composite Chart by Liz Greene in the "Understanding Astrology" section.
   
   
2. Do you know of any effective method for chart rectification?
   
   No, we don't know of any really reliable methods for rectification, and therefore do not offer such a service.
   For more information we recommend that you read the article on chart rectification by Richard Vetter in our "Understanding Astrology" section.