What is a horoscope?

A horoscope is a stylized picture of the heavens, drawn for a particular time and place. It is a geocentric or Earth-centered model—a view of the sky that puts the observer in the center of the wheel with the heavens arranged around them, above and below the horizon. It is thus a person-centered view of the cosmos that acknowledges a meaningful link between the two.

In this picture will be found the 12 signs of the zodiac as the bounding wheel of the horoscope, plus at least the Sun, Moon, and the planets from Mercury out to Saturn (and often Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, too), plus any other celestial bodies that the astrologer drawing the chart would like to include, arranged around the wheel according to their position in the sky.

The word “horoscope,” meaning “watcher of the hour,” originally referred to a very particular point in the birth chart—the rising sign (that is, the zodiac sign that is rising on the eastern horizon at the time of birth). Later, the word came to signify the whole birth chart, and this is the meaning it still has today. A horoscope can also be called a birth chart or natal chart.

What your horoscope tells you?

The birth chart is a holistic image of you. Its symbols describe both inner and outer circumstances and all levels of your personal history and experience, from the physical to the psychological. Everything you are and do is somehow contained within its dynamic picture.

Your chart is thus a reflection of your unique character. It acknowledges and validates your deepest feelings, concerns, and desires, showing what is meaningful to you and how you can find ways to shine.