inarticulate signs : Aries, Taurus, Leo and Capricorn, signs pictured as animals that have voices but lack the power of speech, symbolizing an inability to communicate.

inconjunct : A minor hard aspect, 150°, synonymous with quincunx. See quincunx.

increasing light : Term applied to the waxing Moon as it moves from the position of new Moon to full Moon and the visible portion grows larger.

individual houses : Houses one, five and nine, all ruled by natural fire signs. The common function of these houses is oriented toward the self. As a group, they form the Trinity of Life.

inferior planets : Venus and Mercury, so called because their orbits are smaller (closer to the Sun) than Earth's.

infortunes : Another term for malefics. See malefic.

ingress signs : The equinoctial (Aries and Libra) and solsticial signs (Cancer and Capricorn), the cardinal signs that coincide with the beginning of the seasons each year. These signs symbolize beginnings and initiatory action in a horoscope. See also cardinal signs.

inharmonious aspects : Aspects in which planetary energies do not combine smoothly, mainly the semi-square, square, sesquiquadrate, quincunx, and opposition; also called difficult aspects. See also hard aspects.

inner planets : The Sun and those planets whose orbits lie between the Sun and Asteroid Belt, namely Mercury, Venus, Moon and Mars. Alternatively termed minor planets.

intercepted sign : A sign that does not appear on a house cusp but is wholly contained within a house.

J

Juno : The third asteroid discovered in the early 1800s named after the Roman goddess, Juno, wife of Jupiter; associated with marriage.


K

karma : The end result of the law of cause and effect in relation to the totality of one's actions in one of the successive states of existence, viewed as a preparatory phase for the next state.

Kepler, Johannes : One of the founders of modern astronomy who discovered the three basic laws of planetary motion, among them that planetary orbits are elliptical. He introduced several minor aspects including the bi-quintile (144°), tredecile (108°), quintile (fifth harmonic, 72°), decile or semi-quintile (36°), quindecile (24°), and the semidecile or vigintile (18°).

Koch, Dr. Walter : The German astrologer who developed the Koch or Birthplace system of houses.

Kronos : The fourth symbolic planet used in Uranian astrology. See also Uranian astrology.

L

latitude, celestial : Angular distance measured north or south of the plane of the ecliptic.

latitude, geographic : Angular distance measured on Earth north or south of the equator.

Leo, Alan (Allen, William Frederick) (1860-1917) : Known professionally as Alan Leo, a dedicated English astrologer and prolific writer who is credited as the father of modern astrology.

light collection : A term used in horary astrology to describe developments when two planets not in aspect (strangers) both apply to a third, slower planet that "collects their light" (unites their energies), symbolically establishing a relationship between the two.

lights : An old term for the Sun and Moon; the Sun is the Greater Light, the Moon the Lesser Light.

Lilith : Believed to be Earth's second satellite, the dark Moon, Lilith symbolizes the mysterious, seductive, sinister side of woman's nature in contrast to the nurturing, caring, sensitive feminine qualities associated with the Moon. Although actual sightings have not taken place, observers claim that Lilith's shadow can be noted at six-month intervals, and ephemerides for this satellite have been constructed. Its mean daily motion is 3°2'; its position on January 1, 1980 was listed as 20°33' Capricorn.

Local Mean Time : The actual time in a given location based upon the Sun's position at the Midheaven (noon) of the place. Abbreviated LMT; also called True Local Time (TLT).

locational astrology : The practice of casting a horoscope for the place in which a person resides, or would like to reside, rather than the place of birth. This system is often used to determine the location likely to prove most congenial to a particular individual.

Locomotive : One of the seven shaping arrangements identified by Marc Edmund Jones consisting of all ten planets placed within the space of two consecutive trines (240°). The planet that leads the group clockwise symbolizes motivation; the house that it occupies shows direction of motivation.

logarithm : From the Latin logarithmus, literally mathematical proportion or ratio. First devised in 1614 by the Scottish mathematician John Napier who reduced complicated multiplication and division of numbers to the simpler operations of adding or subtracting their exponents (logarithms, abbreviated logs). Diurnal proportional logs, used in astrological calculations, are based upon the ration between hours or degrees and minutes (1/60) and can be adapted to problems involving minutes and seconds of time or arc because the same ratio exists between the two smaller units as between the larger units (hours to minutes of time or degrees to minutes of arc display the same ratio as minutes to seconds or arc or minutes to seconds of time).

long ascension : A term applied to Cancer, leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius because they take longer to rise over the horizon than do the other six signs due to Earth's tilt relative to the ecliptic. See also short ascension.

longitude, celestial : The distance in degrees (arc) from 0° Aries eastward to any given point that intersects the ecliptic. Celestial longitude is measured from 0° to 360°. For example, 10° Taurus is expressed astronomically as longitude 40°.

longitude, geographical : or terrestrial The distance in arc a given point on Earth lies east or west of the prime meridian, which passes through Greenwich, England (0° longitude). Geographical longitude is measured from 0° to 180°.

longitude, zodiacal : The position of a given point along the ecliptic expressed in terms of the zodiac.

lord : An antiquated term synonymous with planetary ruler.

lower octave planets : Mercury, whose higher octave is Uranus; Venus, whose higher octave is Neptune; and Mars, whose higher octave is Pluto. Lower octave planets are associated with a lower or physical level or expression; higher octave planets symbolize a higher or spiritual level of expression. See also higher octave planets.

luminary : The Sun or Moon, called lights traditionally. See also lights.

lunar : From the Latin, luna, the Moon; descriptive of or relating to the Moon.

lunation : New Moon; Moon conjunct Sun.

Lunar Mansions : From Hindu astrology, a twenty-eight-fold division of a horoscope (twenty-eight mansions or houses) based upon the Moon's average daily motion. Critical degrees are derived from a similar division of the zodiac. See also critical degrees.

lunar period : The time it takes the Moon to return to a particular point in the zodiac; the Moon's zodiacal period, a little less than twenty-seven days, eight hours. Also called a sidereal month and periodical lunation.

lunar return chart : A chart cast for the time the Moon returns to the exact degree, minute, and second it occupied at the moment of an individual's birth.

Lunation cycle : The Moon's phases relative to the Sun as it moves from one new Moon (Moon/sun conjunction) to the next; the time interval between two successive lunations (new Moons), approximately twenty-nine and one-half days, a lunar month.