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Astral Atlas
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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.

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Subject

5 terms

A
Research & interpretation

Astrology →

A family of historical and contemporary practices that interprets celestial positions, cycles or calendar patterns in relation to earthly affairs and human experience. Traditions differ in their calculations, symbolism and claims.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Greek through Latin and French.

Greek astrologia joins astro-, star, with -logia, discourse or study. The word's historical scope overlapped with astronomy.

How we know · epistemology
Historical practice and testable claims

Historical texts establish what astrologers taught; they do not establish that its predictions work. Astronomical positions can be checked independently, while claims about personality or future events require tests that separate prediction from chance and hindsight.

E
Research & interpretation

Epistemology →

The philosophical study of knowledge, justification and the limits of evidence. Here, a term’s epistemology explains how its claims are supported; etymology instead concerns the origin and history of a word.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Modern scholarly coinage from Greek components.

Epistēmē means knowledge or understanding; -logy marks an account or study. The name designates inquiry into knowledge.

How we know · epistemology
Philosophical inquiry

Epistemology examines knowledge, justification and the limits of evidence through argument and analysis. Philosophers disagree about its answers; here, an epistemology note identifies the basis of a claim and what that basis does or does not establish.

Research & interpretation

Etymology →

Also: word origin

The study or account of a word's history: its earlier forms, meanings, related words and passage between languages.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
English received the word through French and Latin from Greek etymologia.

The Greek formation joins etymon, a word's original or literal sense, with -logia, study or account. Etymon is related to etymos, ‘true’; this historical naming does not make a word origin proof of a belief.

How we know · epistemology
Historical linguistic evidence

An etymology is supported by recorded usage, comparison and linguistic analysis. A word's older meaning does not determine every modern use or establish the truth of an astrological claim; uncertain derivations should remain labelled uncertain.

I
Research & interpretation

Interpretation →

Also: symbolic interpretation

A tradition-specific reading of calculated facts. Accurate astronomical numbers do not by themselves validate a personality claim or prediction.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
Latin-derived English noun.

Related to Latin interpretari, to explain or translate. The term concerns explaining meaning, as distinct from merely reporting a value.

How we know · epistemology
Inference within a named tradition

A reading connects calculated positions to meanings through selected rules. Assessing those claims requires evidence suited to their scope; agreement on coordinates or a personally resonant description does not alone establish predictive accuracy.

P
Research & interpretation

Provenance →

The recorded origin of a claim or result: source, method, version and relevant choices, allowing readers to trace it.

Word origin, evidence & sources
Word origin · etymology
French borrowing with Latin roots.

From French provenir, to originate or come forth, from Latin provenire. The word names where a record or claim comes from.

How we know · epistemology
Traceability of evidence and method

Recording sources, inputs and versions lets others reconstruct where a result came from. Good provenance exposes assumptions and disagreements; it does not make a cited statement correct or transform an interpretation into an established finding.