Astrological symbols and the meaning of the symbols.
The planets are usually (but not always) broken down into four common elements: A circle
denoting spirit, a crescent denoting the mind, a cross denoting practical/physical matter and an arrow denoting action or
direction.
| Name | Symbol | Symbol represents | Meaning of symbol |
|---|
| Sun |  | Solar symbol (circled dot) | Divine spirit (circle)
surrounding seed of potential |
| Moon |  | A crescent moon | Mind
or evolving human spirit (crescent) |
| Mercury |  | Mercury's winged helmet and caduceus | Mind (crescent) poised over divine spirit (circle) and matter (cross) |
| Venus |  | Venus's hand mirror. | Divine
spirit (circle) over matter (cross) |
| Earth |  | Earth; also a Solar symbol (sun cross) | Earth — the
cardinal directions |
| Mars |  | Mars's shield and spear. | Drive/aim/force
(arrow) over divine spirit (circle) |
| Jupiter |  | Jupiter's thunderbolt or eagle | Mind
(crescent) rising above the horizon of matter (cross) |
| Saturn |  | Saturn's sickle or scythe | Matter
(cross) taking precedence over mind or human spirit (crescent) |
| Uranus |  | H in symbol taken from discoverer's last name, Herschel | The circle of spirit and a dominant cross of matter, in form of an antenna
that uses matter as a way to insight. |
 | Derived from a combination of the Mars and Sun symbols | Astronomical glyph often used astrologically. Drive/aim/force over a divine spirit (circle)
surrounding seed of potential |
| Neptune |  | Neptune's trident | Mind or human
spirit (crescent) transcending matter (cross) |
| Pluto |  | Modification of Neptune's astrological symbol | Mind (crescent) transcending matter (cross) to reach for divine spirit (circle) |
 | PL monogram for Pluto and Percival Lowell | Astronomical symbol often used astrologically |
[edit] Signs of the zodiac
Unicode: ♈ ♉ ♊ ♋ ♌ ♍ ♎ ♏ ♐
♑ ♒ ♓
| Name | Meaning | Symbol | Symbol Represents |
|---|
| Aries | Ram |  | Face and horns of ram |
| Taurus | Bull |  | Face and horns of bull |
| Gemini | Twins |  | Companion |
| Cancer | Crab |  | Crab's claws |
| Leo | Lion |  | Lion's head and mane |
| Virgo | Virgin |  | Sheaf of barley |
| Libra | Scale |  | Scales |
| Scorpio | Scorpion |  | Stinger of a scorpion |
| Sagittarius | Archer |  | Arrow of the centaur |
| Capricorn[26] | Sea-goat |  | Body and head of a goat with the tail of a fish. |
 |
| Aquarius | Waterbearer |  | Ripples of water; sometimes modernly viewed as bolts of lightning, waves of
aether, or electrically-charged water |
| Pisces | Fish |  | Two fish tied together yet swimming in opposite directions |
[edit] Aspects
| Name | Symbol | Explanation |
|---|
| Conjunction |  | 0° angle/two or more planets in the same sign A circle with a line implying two objects are in the same place (also, the starting point
of an angle) |
| Semisextile |  | 30° angle/One sign apart The
intersecting lines from the inner angles of the upper half of a hexagon (see Sextile) |
| Semi-square |  | 45° angle (also known as the "octile" or "semiquartile")
The bisecting line of a right angle (see Square) |
| Sextile |  | 60° angle/Two signs apart The
intersecting lines from the inner angles of a hexagon |
| Quintile |  | 72° angle |
| Square |  | 90° angle (also known as the "quartile")/Three signs apart/Same
modality A regular quadrilateral that represents the right angle |
| Trine |  | 120° angle/Four signs apart/Same elemental triplicity An equilateral triangle. |
| Sesquiquadrate |  | 135° angle (also known as the "sesquisquare," "square-and-a-half,"
and/or "trioctile") The glyph of the Semi-Square under the glyph of the Square, implying the sum of them both |
| Biquintile |  | 144° angle |
| Quincunx |  | 150° angle (also known as the "inconjunct")/Five signs apart
The intersecting lines from the inner angles of the lower half of
a hexagon (see Sextile) |
| Opposition |  | 180° angle/Six signs apart The
glyph of the Conjunction plus a circle on top of its line, implying two objects are in front (opposed) of each other. |
[edit] Lunar phases
| Name | Symbol[27][28] | Explanation |
|---|
| New moon |  | Denotes the new moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 0°-45°. |
| Crescent moon |  | Denotes a waxing crescent moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 45°-90°. |
| First quarter moon |  | Denotes a first quarter moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 90°-135°. |
| Gibbous moon |  | Denotes a waxing gibbous moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 135°-180°. |
| Full moon |  | Denotes a full moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 180°-225°. |
| Disseminating moon |  | Denotes a waning gibbous moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 225°-270°. |
| Last quarter moon |  | Denotes a last quarter moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 270°-315°. |
| Balsamic moon |  | Denotes a waning crescent moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 315°-360°. |
[edit] Miscellaneous symbols
| Name | Symbol | Symbol represents | Explanation |
|---|
| Ascendant |  | Angle | The ascendant (also known as the "ascensum coeli") is the
rising intersection of the ecliptic with the celestial horizon at a particular moment in time; it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart |
| Midheaven |  | Angle | The midheaven
(also known as the "medium coeli") is the point where the ecliptic crosses the local meridian; it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart |
| Ascending Node |  | Lunar node | Not all astrologers use the lunar nodes; however, their usage
is very important in Vedic astrology. They are alternately known as the "Dragon's Head" (Rahu, Caput Draconis, or Anabibazon) and the "Dragon's Tail" (Ketu, Cauda Draconis, or Catabibazon). The two nodes together are most commonly referred to simply as the
nodal axis, the lunar nodes, or the Moon's nodes. |
| Descending Node |  | Lunar node |
| Black Moon Lilith |  | Lunar apogee | The traditional Black Moon Lilith is the position of the mean lunar apogee as measured from the geocenter; variants of the Black Moon include replacing the mean orbit with a "true"
osculating orbit or with an interpolated orbit; charting the empty focus of the Moon's orbit instead of the apogee; and measuring
the desired point's barycentric or topocentric position instead of its geocentric position.[29] |
| Retrograde motion |  | Apparent retrograde motion | Symbol
represents the apparent retrograde motion of a planet in an astrological chart |
| Comet |  | Comet | Different
comets often use different symbols, but the use of comets is not widespread in mainstream astrology |
| Ceres |  | Asteroid | Scythe (handle down), emblematic of Ceres as goddess of grain. A stylized sickle, a crescent of receptivity resting on a cross
of matter. |
| 2 Pallas |  | Asteroid | A
spear (variant has triangle on top)
Alchemical symbol for sulfur (both variants) see also Asteroids in astrology) |
| 10 Hygiea |  | Asteroid | A
serpent coiled around Asclepius' rod |
 | Two serpents coiled around the rod. (Alternative astrological symbol) |
| 3 Juno |  | Asteroid | The
scepter (of a queen, Juno is the Roman equivalent of Greek Hear) topped with a star |
| 4 Vesta |  | Asteroid | The
fire on the hearth or altar (Roman equivalent of Greek Hestia) |
| 2060 Chiron |  | Centaur | Stylized body of a centaur (the circle is the horse part, the K-like glyph
is the human part) |
| Lot
of fortune |  | Lot | Glyph for planet Earth rotated 45 degrees. |
| Eris |  | Dwarf planet | An Eye of Providence; proposed by astrologer Zane B. Stein[30] |
 | The Hand of Eris; also used non-astrologically by Discordians[30] |
 | In use by astrologers in Poland and by the astrology software Urania[30][31] |
 | Based on the symbols for Pluto, Mars, and Venus; proposed by Henry Seltzer
and used in Time Passages[30][32] |
[edit] Unicode encodings
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