Skip to content
Astral Atlas
Sign-in, reset and navigation labels are translated. Some surrounding features still use English.
Learn

Astrology wiki

Explore wiki concepts, word origins, evidence and their connections to traditions and tools.

Meaning, evidence and context

Concepts A–Z

512 concepts, each with a definition, word origins, a brief epistemology and source links. Hover or focus a dotted term to preview it. Tap once for the preview, then follow the entry.

Explore the Astrology tree →
Subject

6 terms

B
Catalogue & galactic terms

Bayer designation →

A star identifier using a Greek or Latin letter and constellation name, such as Alpha Tauri; it is not a spiritual ranking.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Eponym plus descriptive noun.

Named for Johann Bayer, whose Uranometria used Greek letters with constellation names. Designation means the assigned identifier.

How we know · epistemology
Astronomical naming convention

Letters and constellation names identify catalogue objects, rather than a measured hierarchy of influence. The identifier should resolve to the intended star; a traditional constellation label does not make that star part of the matching zodiac sign.

F
Catalogue & galactic terms

Fixed star →

Also: fixed stars

A historical term distinguishing background stars from wandering planets; stars still have proper motion and changing apparent coordinates.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Historical descriptive English phrase.

Fixed distinguishes stars' relatively stable mutual patterns from the visibly wandering planets; it was not a claim that stars have zero motion.

How we know · epistemology
Observed stellar position

Star catalogues record positions and motion relative to a specified epoch and frame. Fixed is a historical contrast with wandering planets, not zero motion; astrological contact claims require compatible coordinates and a declared angular tolerance.

G
Catalogue & galactic terms

Galactic Center →

Also: Galactic Centre · Sagittarius A* · Sgr A*

The central region of the Milky Way; this catalogue uses the direction of the compact radio source Sagittarius A*.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Greek-derived astronomical phrase.

Galactic comes from galaxy, ultimately Greek gala, milk, through the Milky Way's name; center specifies that galaxy's central region.

How we know · epistemology
Observed region and reference direction

Astronomy identifies the Milky Way's central region, and this catalogue uses Sagittarius A* as a reference direction. The coordinate is a positional proxy for that region; spiritual meanings assigned to a chart contact are separate claims.

Catalogue & galactic terms

Great Attractor →

An extended concentration of matter associated with large-scale galaxy motions, represented in this catalogue by a selected reference direction.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Modern descriptive astronomical name.

Attractor describes gravitationally inferred attraction and great its scale. The name is an observational label, not a mythological proper name.

How we know · epistemology
Large-scale astronomical structure

The name concerns a broad concentration of matter studied through galaxy motions. A catalogue point is a chosen representative direction, not the complete structure; a narrow astrological orb must not be mistaken for its physical extent.

S
Catalogue & galactic terms

Starseed →

Also: soul-origin overlay

A modern spiritual idea of origins beyond Earth; a computed star contact cannot verify alien ancestry or a past life.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Modern English spiritual compound.

Star plus seed combines celestial origin with a germ-of-life metaphor. The earliest coiner is not established here; it is contemporary spiritual vocabulary.

How we know · epistemology
Modern spiritual belief

First-party practitioners describe this as a spiritual identity or origin narrative. Their accounts document the belief; a star's computed contact with a chart cannot establish extraterrestrial ancestry, a prior incarnation or the factual truth of that narrative.

Catalogue & galactic terms

Supergalactic Center →

A term used by some astrologers for an M87-centered reference; it is not a uniquely defined center of the entire universe.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Modern classical-prefix compound.

Super- means above or beyond, attached to galactic. Center is used within a larger-than-galaxy framing; its referent depends on the author's convention.

How we know · epistemology
Astrological naming applied to astronomy

Some practitioners apply this label to an M87 reference, while astronomy describes M87 as a particular galaxy. The label does not establish a unique cosmic center, and a catalogue coordinate cannot validate meanings attached to that terminology.