Astrology Notes

Start with what a planet does, then the house that points to a field of life, and the aspect that describes an interaction; direct and retrograde motion and the timing fill in the rhythm of the passage.

You do not have to match every description, and you do not have to force your life to fit the chart. Notice what resonates first, then ask yourself:

Light and shadow are not two mutually exclusive roads. You can feel strain and learn a new way of expressing yourself at the same time; and when things go well, you can keep seeing the parts of yourself you have not yet understood.

What is a transit?

A transit is the relationship a planet in current motion forms with your natal chart.

The natal chart gives the positions at birth; transits let us watch which life themes may be brought to the foreground in a given period. They can match a change in inner understanding, and they may come with outer experience — they need not take the form of a major event.

What is the active period?

It is the stretch of time during which an aspect falls within the orb this site uses, and it is what sets the time range of the reading.

It is not the start and end of a guaranteed event, and it does not mean your feelings will begin abruptly on the first day and vanish on the last.

What is orb?

Aspects are not counted only at the instant the angle is perfectly exact. Orb is the acceptable margin from the standard aspect angle.

For example, the standard angle of an opposition is 180°; a difference of 1° means it is still 1° away from exact. A different orb produces a different active period.

What is the exact date?

The date on which a transiting planet forms the exact standard aspect angle to a natal planet or angle.

Readings often treat it as a point in time worth watching, to see whether the related theme becomes more visible. It is not necessarily the day a feeling peaks or an event happens, and it is not the day the aspect begins.

Why does one aspect have several exact dates?

A planet may pass the same degrees more than once because of retrograde motion, forming the exact aspect to the same natal point several times.

This can be a clue to how one theme keeps resurfacing and being understood again — but do not force it into “first it happens, then it is tested, then it completes”.

If it leaves the orb in between and comes back, the timeline splits into separate active stretches; the gap does not mean your own process has to stop too.

What are applying and separating?

Separating does not mean it is over; if the planet turns later, it can apply again.

• Applying: the difference from the exact angle is narrowing — a clue for watching a theme come into focus.
• Separating: the difference is widening — a clue for watching what follows and how it is integrated.

These words describe planetary motion as seen from Earth. Retrograde does not mean the planet really reverses along its orbit, and stationary does not mean it stops in space.

The planet moves along the zodiac in its usual direction.

Symbolically, you can notice how you bring this planet’s function into expression, choices and lived experience. Direct motion does not guarantee smooth progress, and it does not mean no inner sorting is going on.

The planet appears to move backwards along the zodiac.

You can take it as an angle for reviewing certain ideas, needs and habits. Going back is not necessarily a step backwards; it can let you notice details you passed over. Retrograde does not mean you will be blocked, and it certainly does not require you to stop acting.

Around the change of direction, the planet’s apparent speed drops close to zero and it lingers near the same degree for longer.

Symbolically, you can notice whether a theme is asking for more patience and recognition. Whether it is particularly relevant to you still depends on where it touches your natal chart — a stationary planet alone is no reason to conclude that life will stall.

• Stationary turning retrograde: notice what may be worth going back over.
• Stationary turning direct: notice how a new understanding can be brought into practice, step by step.

What is the retrograde shadow period?

It is the time before and after a retrograde when the planet moves direct through the same stretch of zodiac degrees.

Here “shadow” is the name of a time range; it is not the psychological “shadow” used elsewhere in these notes, and it is not an unlucky stretch of days.

The descriptions of direct, retrograde and stationary below are symbolic reading angles you may use; they do not mean everyone feels the same thing. The actual theme still depends on house, aspect and life circumstances.

Core

Who do I want to become? What makes me feel I am truly alive?

Light

Confidence, creativity, honest expression, willingness to own your choices.

Shadow

Leaning too hard on approval, rushing to prove yourself, or tying your worth to one role.

Transit rhythm

In this geocentric ecliptic system the Sun does not turn retrograde and has no station. Its transits can be used to watch which areas are getting attention and where you are being asked to take part more consciously.

Core

What do I need in order to feel held, with somewhere to put myself down?

Light

Sensitive, able to care and to be cared for, able to recognise your own needs.

Shadow

Pulled by habitual reactions, over-attached, or caring for others until you overlook yourself.

Transit rhythm

In this geocentric ecliptic system the Moon does not turn retrograde and has no station. It moves quickly, so it works as a clue to short-term feeling and daily rhythm — it should not be taken on its own as the main trend of a whole period.

Core

How do I make sense of experience, and how do I put it into words?

Light

Curious, flexible, willing to listen, able to exchange information clearly.

Shadow

Over-analysing, rushing to conclusions, or using explanation to avoid feeling.

Direct

Notice how thinking takes shape through conversation, learning and testing things in practice.

Retrograde

A time to re-check your understanding, your wording and your information, and see which conclusions need updating.

Stationary

Leave a little room for questions that are not yet clear; the answer does not have to be settled right away.

Core

What do I cherish? What kind of exchange and closeness feels good to me?

Light

Appreciative, mutual, accepting of your own tastes, able to keep your values inside a relationship.

Shadow

Pleasing, comparing, or confirming yourself through being liked, owning and spending.

Direct

Notice how you bring what you like and value into relationships, creative work and choices about resources.

Retrograde

A time to ask again: do I really like this, or am I used to going along and hoping to be liked?

Stationary

Give attraction, distance and hesitation a little more watching time; do not settle what a feeling means too quickly.

Core

What do I want? How do I go after it, say no, and protect myself?

Light

Courage, initiative, healthy competition, stating boundaries directly and respectfully.

Shadow

Impulsiveness, confrontation, forcing things, or swallowing resentment until you are exhausted.

Direct

Notice how you turn intention into action and get feedback by trying.

Retrograde

A time to look at motives, at how you apply force, and at anger left unspoken — and to adjust where your energy goes.

Stationary

Between rushing to act and not wanting to move at all, first work out what you actually want.

Core

What do I believe? What is worth travelling further for?

Light

Trust, generosity, openness to learning, an eye for possibility in experience.

Shadow

Over-optimism, promising too much, or assuming your beliefs apply to everyone.

Direct

Notice how exploring, learning and taking part widen the understanding you already have.

Retrograde

A time to review your definitions of success, growth and meaning, and check whether the expectations are still your own.

Stationary

Before committing more, tell apart what genuinely has value from what merely looks bigger.

Core

What am I willing to carry? How do I give what matters a steady support?

Light

Patience, reliability, clear boundaries, building capability and structure step by step.

Shadow

Harshness, self-denial, fear of getting it wrong, or shouldering everything yourself.

Direct

Notice how commitments become arrangements and actions you can keep up.

Retrograde

A time to examine your inner standards, your view of authority and how responsibility is shared — and to separate your own choices from expectations you have taken on.

Stationary

A time to reassess load and limits; seeing no progress for now does not mean what you built before was meaningless.

Core

Which established ways no longer fit me? Can I allow a different possibility?

Light

Independent, inventive, true to yourself, willing to loosen a frame that no longer fits.

Shadow

Objecting for its own sake, cutting ties abruptly, or using constant change to avoid commitment.

Direct

Notice how real experiments make space for a new way of living.

Retrograde

A time to understand your need for freedom again: what do I want to move towards, and what do I want to escape?

Stationary

When the wish for change is especially loud, first identify the part that needs renewing — you do not have to overturn everything.

Core

How do I connect with inspiration, with the unknown, and with meaning beyond the personal?

Light

Empathy, imagination, spiritual feeling, softness that still discerns.

Shadow

Idealising, escaping, blurred boundaries, or taking hope and intuition as established fact.

Direct

Notice how inspiration, compassion and imagination find a form you can practise.

Retrograde

A time to tell ideals from projections, and to see whether you have made one person or one vision the only answer.

Stationary

When a feeling is hard to put into words, you can allow the unknown while keeping verification, boundaries and everyday care.

Core

Where am I holding on tightly? Which ways of surviving now need to change?

Light

Facing deep motives honestly, taking back your own choices, and respecting other people’s autonomy.

Shadow

Control, fixation, power struggles, or believing only a total overthrow counts as change.

Direct

Notice how deep understanding becomes real change in boundaries, resources and the way you relate.

Retrograde

A time to watch fear, defence and the habit of control, and understand what they once tried to protect.

Stationary

Notice what is especially hard to let go of; allow change to take time, and do not force yourself to complete a transformation at once.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have long retrograde periods, so many people go through them at the same time. Whether they form a personally significant theme still depends on how they connect to your own natal chart.

A house is a field of life; it does not require you to hold a particular status. Without formal work you can still explore the direction and standing of the tenth house; without a partner you still meet the seventh house’s negotiation, mutuality and boundaries.

Every house holds both inner experience and outer life.

Core

How do I enter the world, meet the moment, and exist in my own way?

Light

Genuine, self-directed, willing to begin, and in touch with your body and your limits.

Shadow

Over-defended, rushing to prove yourself, or losing your own stance in order to fit in.

In everyday life

Self-expression, bodily experience, outward image, starting something new.

Core

What do I cherish? How do I use the abilities and resources I already have to support my life?

Light

Knowing what has value to you, and able to cherish, manage and use resources.

Shadow

Scarcity anxiety, holding on tightly, or measuring all your worth by income and possessions.

In everyday life

Money arrangements, pricing your skills, choices about belongings, building a sense of stability.

Core

How do I learn, exchange information and make sense of the world around me?

Light

Curious, clear in expression, willing to hear a different view.

Shadow

Information overload, endless comparing, or taking your own reading as the only fact.

In everyday life

Writing, learning, conversation, siblings and neighbours, short journeys.

Core

What gives me the feeling of home? Without an outer role, how do I settle myself?

Light

Building inner safety, understanding where you come from, and allowing yourself to need care.

Shadow

Bound by old patterns, or suppressing your own needs to keep a sense of belonging.

In everyday life

Family relationships, where and how you live, private space, emotional foundations.

Core

What makes me want to create, to play, and to share my own aliveness?

Light

Warmth, playfulness, creativity, able to enjoy expressing rather than only chasing a result.

Shadow

Tying your expression to applause, or not daring to start for fear it will not be good.

In everyday life

Creative work, romance, hobbies, play, time with children.

Core

How do I arrange each day so that body, capacity and responsibility can work together?

Light

Practical adjustment, developing skill, building sustainable ways of working and caring.

Shadow

Perfectionism, over-serving, or treating productivity as the condition for being valued.

In everyday life

Routines, workflow, practising skills, caring for your body, caring for animals.

Core

How do I meet another person who has needs of their own?

Light

Mutual, respectful of difference, able to keep boundaries inside connection.

Shadow

Over-accommodating, handing the choice to the other person, or blaming them for everything.

In everyday life

Partnership, collaboration, contracts, consultation, face-to-face negotiation.

Core

What happens when I connect deeply with another, share resources, or face change I cannot control?

Light

Honesty, trust, respect for consent, willingness to face vulnerability and change.

Shadow

Trading control for safety, high alert against loss, or letting resources and feelings become entangled.

In everyday life

Intimacy, shared money, debt, loss, power and dependence in relationship.

Core

How do I make sense of the larger world? What makes my experience meaningful?

Light

Open to exploration, willing to let new experience revise an existing belief.

Shadow

Treating a belief as the only truth, or using grand answers to avoid the life in front of you.

In everyday life

Higher study, travel, cross-cultural experience, philosophy, faith and publishing.

Core

What position do I want to build? How do I define achievement, responsibility and my own contribution?

Light

Choosing a direction you are willing to carry, letting ability and responsibility become visible results.

Shadow

Pulled by status, judgement or standards of success, or not daring to choose for fear of failing.

In everyday life

Finding your standing, public involvement, career development, professional identity, dealing with authority.

Core

Who do I want to walk with? What do we hope to create together?

Light

Connecting as equals, working together, letting individuality and a shared vision support each other.

Shadow

Suppressing difference in order to fit in, or staying with the ideal while drifting from actual people.

In everyday life

Friends, community, group projects, support networks, long-term hopes.

Core

When I stop controlling, performing or busily defining myself, what do I see?

Light

Rest, compassion, accepting the unknown, giving space to feelings that have not taken shape yet.

Shadow

Escaping, isolating, boundaries dissolving, or habitually sacrificing yourself without asking for help.

In everyday life

Solitude, dreams, spiritual practice, behind-the-scenes work, endings and recovery.

An aspect is an angular relationship between planets or angles. In a reading it shows how different functions blend, cooperate, pull at each other or need adjusting.

An aspect is not good or bad in itself: a force that flows easily can also be overlooked, and a force under tension can bring about understanding and action.

Two functions meet at nearly the same place and have to be understood together. How that shows depends on the planets involved; it should not be read across the board as doubling or amplifying.

Light

Concentrated commitment, forces integrated into a vivid expression.

Shadow

Identifying too much with one of the needs, so it is hard to tell them apart or give either room.

Worth watching

Which two needs are tied together right now? Is each of them being heard?

There is room for cooperation between different functions, and it usually needs you to take part actively.

Light

Willing to try, exchange and learn, letting a possibility take shape.

Shadow

Seeing the opportunity but waiting indefinitely, or staying with what is easy and familiar.

Worth watching

What small action would let this possibility actually enter your life?

Different needs pull on each other, and the way you have been handling it may need to change.

Light

Facing the contradiction, developing capacity, finding a more flexible approach.

Shadow

Forcing things, confrontation, self-blame, or long-term avoidance.

Worth watching

Which conflicting needs am I trying to satisfy at once?

Different functions fit together more easily; this may match familiar abilities, resources and ways of expressing yourself.

Light

Trusting what you already have, using the support, letting things unfold.

Shadow

Taking it for granted, not putting anything in, or letting a familiar habit run on.

Worth watching

What is already supporting me that I have not really made use of?

Two needs each have their own position, and a relationship or an outer situation often shows you the other end.

Light

Holding difference, negotiating boundaries, developing a fuller understanding.

Shadow

All-or-nothing, swinging back and forth, or putting what you will not own onto someone else.

Worth watching

Am I standing only at one end? What is worth understanding at the other?

Two functions do not easily understand each other, and it often takes repeated adjustment in details, habits or expectations.

Light

Accepting the difference and gradually finding a way of fitting that suits you.

Shadow

Over-accommodating, staying uncomfortable, without being clear about what actually needs to change.

Worth watching

Am I forcing two different needs to be met in the same way?

Natal planets and transiting planets

So “transiting Venus opposite natal Sun” means Venus in current motion forming an opposition to the Sun’s position in your birth chart.

• Natal planet: the position recorded in the chart at your birth.
• Transiting planet: the position of a planet moving at the time you are looking at.

Planets in a house, house rulers and the chart ruler

They may be the same planet or different ones. A house with no planet in it does not mean that area does not exist or does not matter.

• Planet in a house: a planet located inside that house.
• House ruler: the ruler of the sign on that house cusp.
• Chart ruler: the ruler of the rising sign.

The Ascendant and the Midheaven

They are calculated angles, not planets.

• Ascendant: where the eastern horizon met the ecliptic at your birth. It stands for how you enter the world, present yourself and begin experience.
• Midheaven: where the upper meridian met the ecliptic at your birth. It stands for public direction, visible role and the position you want to build.

What do signs do in a reading?

A sign describes how a function is expressed. Expressing an opinion, for instance, can lean towards the direct, the careful, the feeling-led or the conceptual.

A sign is not a fixed personality label, and no single sign can define you.

What is an aspect pattern?

When several required aspects hold at the same time, a pattern such as a grand trine or a T-square can form. A reading looks at how they make up one theme together, rather than simply adding the meanings of the separate aspects.

• Grand trine: three points each forming a trine with the others. It can stand for natural fit and a circulation of resources, and it can also incline you to settle into what is familiar.
• T-square: both ends of an opposition each forming a square to a third point. It can stand for tension that needs coordinating and a concentrated direction for action, and it can also lead to putting all the pressure on one outlet.

For a pattern involving transits, the time range is calculated from the stretch in which the required aspects hold simultaneously. The pattern no longer being complete does not mean every individual aspect ends at the same moment.