How it's made

The engine

Positions come from the site's own engine, built on astronomy-engine, an open-source (MIT) astronomy library. The zodiac is tropical, so signs are measured from the March equinox, not from the constellations. Positions are geocentric apparent ecliptic longitudes of date.

The engine was checked against NASA JPL Horizons on four dates. Largest error per body:

Sun

0.95″

Moon

3.21″

Mercury

2.25″

Venus

13.61″

Mars

0.77″

Jupiter

3.79″

Saturn

10.65″

Uranus

4.82″

Neptune

12.14″

Pluto

2.98″

One arcsecond (″) is 1/3600 of a degree. Moon phase times (new, first quarter, full, last quarter) agree with Horizons to within 10 seconds on the five phases checked. They are shown rounded to the nearest minute, as the U.S. Naval Observatory publishes them, so a phase that falls within seconds of the half-minute can differ from another source by one minute. Other events (sign changes, stations, void-of-course times) are shown with the seconds dropped. Retrograde stations agree within 1 to 13 minutes. A station is the moment a planet appears to stand still, so its exact minute is soft by nature.

The engine also computes Chiron (from a JPL Horizons table for 1900–2100), the mean and true lunar nodes and Black Moon Lilith (the mean lunar apogee). The site doesn't show them yet. Asteroids such as Ceres aren't covered.

Houses

Moon pages use whole-sign houses counted from your rising sign. The sign on the Ascendant is your 1st house, the next sign your 2nd, and so on. Sign horoscopes, when they launch, will count the same way from your Sun sign. The birth chart calculator will also offer Placidus. Placidus can't be calculated above the polar circles (about 66.5° latitude), so for births there it will show whole-sign houses and say so. Ascendant, Midheaven and Placidus cusps match Swiss Ephemeris to within 0.1″.

Times and time zones

Every event is stored in UTC and shown for Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time, with daylight saving applied for that date from the IANA time zone database. Events near midnight can fall on different dates in different zones. Venus, for example, turns direct on November 13, 2026 in all four US zones but on November 14 in UTC, which is why some European sites give a different day.

The birth calculators look up your birth place in a list of about 34,000 cities with a population of 15,000 or more from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Each city carries its coordinates and IANA time zone, so the offset and daylight saving rule in force on your birth date are applied. The calculation runs in your browser; birth data isn't sent anywhere.

Definitions

Plain meanings of the terms the pages use. Links across the site point here.

Retrograde (℞, Rx)

Seen from Earth, a retrograde planet appears to move backward through the zodiac. Astrologers read it as a time to review, not launch.

Station

The moment a planet appears to stand still before it turns backward (stations retrograde) or forward again (stations direct).

Retrograde shadow (pre- and post-shadow)

The weeks before and after a retrograde when the planet crosses the same degrees it covers while retrograde.Computed from when the planet first reaches the degree where it will station direct, until it passes the degree where it stationed retrograde.

Void of course

The stretch from the Moon's last major aspect in a sign until it enters the next one. Read as quiet: finish things, don't start them.

Illumination (% lit)

How much of the Moon's face we see lit by the Sun: 0% at new moon, 100% at full moon.

Waxing

From new moon to full moon the Moon is waxing: the lit part grows a little each night.

Waning

From full moon to new moon the Moon is waning: the lit part shrinks a little each night.

Crescent

A Moon less than half lit: a thin sliver just after new moon (waxing) or just before it (waning).

First and last quarter

Half of the Moon's face is lit. First quarter comes about a week after new moon, last quarter about a week after full moon.

Gibbous

A Moon more than half lit but not yet full, in the days just before or just after full moon.

New moon

The Moon sits beside the Sun and is dark. Astrologers read it as a start: set intentions and begin quietly.

Full moon

The Moon is opposite the Sun and fully lit. Astrologers read it as a peak: results show and feelings run high.

Supermoon

A new or full moon when the Moon is near its closest point to Earth. A full supermoon looks a little bigger and brighter.Counted when the Moon is at least 90% of the way from apogee to perigee (Richard Nolle's rule). Some sites use a fixed distance and list fewer.

Element

Each sign belongs to one of four elements: fire, earth, air or water. Signs of the same element share a temperament.

Modality (mode)

Each sign has one of three modes: cardinal signs start things, fixed signs hold steady, mutable signs adapt and change.

Aspect

An angle between two planets, measured along the zodiac. The five main ones are 0°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 180°.

Conjunction (0°)

Two planets at about the same degree. Their themes blend and act together.

Sextile (60°)

Two planets 60° apart, two signs away. An easy opening between their themes, if you take it.

Square (90°)

Two planets 90° apart, three signs away. Friction between their themes that pushes for action.

Trine (120°)

Two planets 120° apart, four signs away. Smooth flow and support between their themes.

Opposition (180°)

Two planets on opposite sides of the zodiac. A pull between their themes that asks for balance.

Quincunx (150°)

Two planets or signs 150° apart, five signs away. A minor aspect: no shared element or mode, so astrologers read it as needing adjustment.

Semi-sextile (30°)

Two planets or signs 30° apart, next-door signs. A minor aspect: neighbors with little in common.

Solar eclipse

A new moon when the Moon hides part or all of the Sun from part of Earth. Tradition reads it as a stronger new moon.

Lunar eclipse

A full moon that passes through Earth's shadow. Tradition reads it as a stronger full moon: endings and turning points stand out.

Total eclipse

The Moon covers the Sun completely along a narrow path (solar), or the whole Moon sits in Earth's darkest shadow (lunar).

Annular eclipse

A solar eclipse when the Moon is too far from Earth to cover the Sun fully, so a bright ring of Sun stays visible.

Penumbral eclipse

A lunar eclipse when the Moon passes only through the faint outer part of Earth's shadow. The dimming is subtle and easy to miss.

Exalted (exaltation)

A sign where tradition gives a planet honor, like a guest of honor, second only to its own sign. The Sun is exalted in Aries.

Detriment

The sign opposite one a planet rules, where tradition says it works against the grain. Venus rules Libra, so it is in detriment in Aries.

Fall

The sign opposite a planet's exaltation, where tradition says it is weakest. The Sun is exalted in Aries, so it falls in Libra.

Decan

One third of a sign, 10° wide. Each decan takes a coloring from a sign of the same element.

Ascendant (rising sign)

The zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment and place of birth. It starts the 1st house.

Midheaven (MC)

The zodiac degree crossing the meridian (due south from the US) at birth. Astrologers link it to career and public standing.

Whole-sign houses

Each house is one whole sign: the 1st house is the rising sign (horoscopes here use your Sun sign instead), the next sign the 2nd.

Lunar nodes

The two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's yearly path. Eclipses happen only when a new or full moon falls near one.

Element (Chinese zodiac)

Each Chinese year has one of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal or water. Each element lasts two years, yang then yin.

Yin and yang

The two sides of each Chinese element. Yang years are read as outgoing and active, yin years as quieter and inward; they alternate every year.

Solunar periods

John Alden Knight's theory that fish and game are more active when the Moon is overhead or underfoot. A major period lasts about two hours.

Universal year

The calendar year's digits added down to one digit. Numerology reads it as the background theme everyone shares that year.

Compound number (12/3)

The total before the last step, written before the slash: 12/3 means the digits first added up to 12, then 1 + 2 = 3.

Placidus houses

A house system that divides the sky by time, so houses differ in size. It can't be calculated above the polar circles.

Full moon names: the traditional names as The Old Farmer's Almanac and the Maine Farmers' Almanac list them: Wolf (January), Snow, Worm, Pink, Flower, Strawberry, Buck, Sturgeon, Corn (September), Hunter's (October), Beaver and Cold (December), by the month in Eastern time. Two names follow the equinox, not the month: the Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the September equinox, so in some years it falls in October and September's moon is the Corn Moon; the Hunter's Moon is the full moon after it, sometimes in November. A Blue Moon is the second full moon in one calendar month; the older seasonal rule, also shown, calls the third of four full moons in one season (from an equinox to a solstice or back) a Blue Moon. The engine works these out from the computed full moons and equinoxes, and a test checks them against the almanacs' and timeanddate.com's dates for 2017 to 2029. See the moon calendar.

Chinese New Year: the day of the second new moon after the December solstice, counted by the calendar date in China Standard Time (UTC+8). The rule matches the Hong Kong Observatory's published dates for every year from 1924 to 2031. See Chinese New Year 2027.

Planting by the Moon: the almanac rule as the Farmers' Almanac prints it. The Moon's sign decides whether to plant: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are fruitful (best days), Taurus, Capricorn and Libra semi-fruitful (good), the other six barren (weeding and harvest, no planting). The fruitful and barren core follows Lilly (1647); the middle tier is the almanac convention. The phase decides what, as in The Old Farmer's Almanac: from the day of the new moon to the day of the full moon for crops that bear above ground, from the day after the full moon to the day before the new moon for root crops, bulbs and perennials. Each day is read at noon Eastern time. A test checks the rule against a week of the Farmers' Almanac calendar; it differs only on full moon days, which the Farmers' Almanac can count for root crops, and it folds that almanac's “poor” days into barren. See planting by the Moon.

Best days to cut hair: the Farmers' Almanac rule with the planting sign groups. Cut to encourage growth when the Moon is waxing in Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces; cut to slow growth when it is waning in Aries, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Sagittarius or Aquarius; every other day has no traditional preference. Unlike the planting page, the full moon day counts as waning (that almanac lists it for slowing growth) and the new moon day gets no verdict. Each day is read at noon Eastern time. A test checks the rule against two free windows of the Farmers' Almanac haircut lists (Oct 25–31 and Nov 2–7, 2026). The first matches; in the second it lists Nov 2, 6 and 7 for slowing growth, where the rule gives Nov 2–4, so the rule is an approximation. Neither window had growth days and the rest is behind its paywall, so the growth half rests on the almanac's stated phase rule more than on its dates. The Old Farmer's Almanac also weighs planetary positions it does not publish and other signs (it slows growth on Taurus and Libra days), so its lists differ on many days. See best days to cut hair.

Best fishing days: the Old Farmer's Almanac phase rule, counted in Eastern calendar days: Best on the new and full moon days, Good within three days of them and on the quarter moon days, Fair within two days of a quarter, Poor otherwise. A test checks it against two months of that almanac's fishing calendar (October and November 2026, every day matches). The Moon's sign does not change the rating; water-sign days are marked because the Farmers' Almanac says it weighs the sign, without publishing how. Solunar major periods (John Alden Knight's convention, about two hours centered on the Moon's upper and lower transit) are computed for New York, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles, with a correction of about 4 minutes per degree of longitude for the rest of each zone (up to about an hour near its edges; Arizona keeps standard time). A reader can instead enter a ZIP code (Census ZCTA centroids, rounded to about a kilometer) or share the browser's location: the page then computes, in the browser, major and minor periods (moonrise and moonset) and sunrise and sunset for that point. One day was checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory to the minute. Moonrise and moonset (the minor periods) are left out because they shift with latitude as well as longitude. See best fishing days.

Where the meanings come from

Interpretations come from one structured base, not from a fresh guess on every page. Sign descriptions are drawn from Alan Leo's Astrology for All (1899) and house topics from William Lilly's Christian Astrology (1647); both books are in the public domain. Quotes are checked word for word against the source text. Short notes on modern practice (retrogrades, the outer planets, eclipses) are written for the site in the same base. Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces carry their modern rulers (Pluto, Uranus, Neptune) next to the traditional ones. Essential dignities (exaltation, detriment, fall) follow Lilly; decans follow the triplicity method Leo uses (each 10° colored by a sign of the same element), not Lilly's Chaldean faces. Sign dates are the Sun's calculated ingresses: a day counts for the sign that holds the Sun for most of it, US Eastern time. Leo describes the Moon in each sign as part of a birth chart; the short “Moon in …” readings on Moon today paraphrase those traits as the mood of the two and a half days the Moon spends in the sign, so they are adaptations, not quotes.

Tarot pages use the Rider–Waite–Smith deck as Pamela Colman Smith drew it in 1909 (scans from Wikimedia Commons, public domain) and the divinatory meanings from A. E. Waite's The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), quoted verbatim from the public-domain text (Project Gutenberg). Planet, sign and decan attributions follow the Golden Dawn. Keywords and the yes/no lean of each card are the site's own short summary of Waite's meanings.

How the texts are written

The texts are written by AI. The model gets the calculated data for the page and the interpretation base, and its job is to explain that data. Before anything is published it goes through automated checks:

Facts

Every sign, house, date, time and degree in the text is compared with the calculated data for that page.

Repetition

The text is compared with itself and with every other page of the same kind, so pages don't repeat each other.

Style

A list of filler phrases and stock AI wording is checked and rewritten.

Second model

A separate AI model from a different AI company reads the page against the data and the interpretation base, and scores whether it is useful to a reader.

A page gets up to three attempts to pass. If it still fails, it isn't published. The first page of every new page type is read and approved by Dima Tretyak before more pages of that type go live. After that there is no human proofreader for each page, which is why the checks exist.

If you find a mistake, please report it.

Updated November 6, 2026