HOROSCOPES - a view into past, present and future

In astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth.




It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents and forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology.




However, no studies have shown any scientific support for the accuracy of horoscopes, and the methods used to make interpretations are, at best, pseudo-scientific.




In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually through a system of Sun sign astrology or based on calendar significance of an event, as in Chinese astrology.




In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry predictive columns based on celestial influences in relation to the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the day of a person's birth, identifying the individual's Sun sign or "star sign" based on a conventional zodiac (which is not the celestial one).




While this modern usage is perhaps the most popular in the colloquial lexicon, this article will focus primarily on the traditional concept.




There are four primary angles in the horoscope (though the cusps of the houses are often included as important angles by some astrologers).




The ascendant is the eastern point where the ecliptic and horizon intersect; the ascendant is generally considered the most important and personalized angle (along with the midheaven) in the horoscope by the vast majority of astrologers and the placement of its ruler, called the chart ruler is considered to be greatly important.




Its opposite point in the west is the descendant. In creating a horoscope the ascendant is traditionally placed as the left-hand side point of the chart.




He provides us with the term rising sign, which is the sign of the zodiac that was rising in the point on the ecliptic that is furthest above the plane of the horizon (not to be confused with zenith, which is normal to the horizon and so directly above the horoscope location).