Astrology
Astrology calculates the positions of the planets at the moment of birth and interprets them. This section has a working zodiac sign calculator, calculators for the ascendant, the Moon sign and Black Moon Lilith, Jyotish calculators (birth chart, dashas, panchang, Kundali Milan), write-ups of all twelve signs, ten planets and twelve houses, and descriptions of the methods: birth chart, transits, synastry, horary and Human Design.
Where to start
With your zodiac sign: the calculator finds it from your date and shows the exact cusps for your year, since they shift by a day.
A logical next step is to read the sign profile and then straight away about the Moon: the Moon sign often describes a person more accurately than the Sun sign. After that comes the ascendant, which needs the time of birth.
If you're interested in the full chart, start with the birth chart page, which explains what you need for it and what it shows.
Methods in this section
Basic concepts. 12 signs, 10 planets, 12 houses: any chart is assembled from these three sets.
A person's chart. The birth chart is the foundation; its key points can be calculated separately: the ascendant, the Moon sign and Black Moon Lilith. The solar return is the chart for the year; the lunar return is a calculator for the chart of a lunar month; secondary progressions is a calculator that forecasts the year using the “a day for a year” rule; transits show the current movement of the planets over the birth chart.
Traditional forecasting. Calculators for profections (the house and lord of the year), firdaria (Persian periods of life) and directions (solar arc and primary directions to the angles) — with dates and an interpretation based on your birth chart.
Relationships. Synastry compares two charts. A simplified version is zodiac compatibility.
Questions and timing. Horary and Electional Astrology: a chart for the moment of a question or for choosing a date.
Place. Astrocartography: a chart laid over a map of the world.
Other traditions. Jyotish is Indian astrology with its 27 nakshatras. Human Design is a modern system with calculators for the chart, compatibility, the Penta and transits, assembled from astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah and the chakras.
Karma and past lives. Past lives by date of birth — a karmic astrology calculator: the lunar nodes, Ketu, Saturn and the 12th house.
Daily. Today's horoscope — and an explanation of how it is actually put together. Built on the same rules: the weekly horoscope, the monthly one and the 2027 horoscope.
What you need for the calculation
For your zodiac sign, just the date. For everything else, the date, exact time and place of birth.
The time is critical: the Ascendant and houses change roughly every two hours, and an error of one hour gives a different chart. If the time is unknown, astrologers cast a "noon chart" and work without houses, which noticeably limits the analysis.
Frequently asked questions
Is astrology a science?
No. Tests of astrological claims, from Shawn Carlson's experiment published in Nature in 1985 to large statistical studies of birth dates, have consistently failed to confirm its predictive power. Astrologers taking part in blind tests could not match charts to psychological profiles any better than by random guessing.
Then why do sign descriptions so often fit?
That's the Barnum effect: general statements that fit almost everyone are perceived as an accurate description. On top of that, we remember the hits and forget the misses.
Then why have this section at all?
Because astrology is a large, internally logical system that part of our culture rests on, and people want to understand it. We describe it accurately and honestly: how it works, where it came from and what is known about it.
Precession has shifted the constellations, so are the signs wrong?
Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which is tied to the vernal equinox point, not to the constellations. The shift of the constellations is no argument against it, unlike Jyotish, which uses the sidereal zodiac and gives different signs.