Birth chart symbols and glyphs

A birth chart uses a separate glyph for each planet, sign and aspect. These marks sit in a wheel, where their positions show how the chart is arranged. A planet glyph appears in a sign and may form an aspect with another planet. The symbols are a compact way to read these relationships, not a set of predictions or proof. Their meaning is interpreted within astrology as a symbolic language for reflection.

Four labels divide the wheel into key points: AC means Ascendant, DC means Descendant, MC means Midheaven, and IC means Imum Coeli. They mark the chart's main angles and help orient the placements around the wheel. Each axis is associated with a different area of experience in an astrological reading. Read the label as a chart reference first, then consider its symbolic meaning alongside the nearby placements.

A planet may have a small R with a tail beside its glyph. This is the retrograde mark. It indicates that the planet appears to move backwards when viewed from Earth. In astrology, retrograde motion can be read as a reason to give a planet's themes a more inward or revisiting quality. The mark describes apparent motion in the chart; it does not say that a planet has physically reversed its orbit.

The appearance of a glyph can change with the font or chart software. Its lines may be thicker, more curved or slightly arranged differently, while the symbol still refers to the same chart element. If a mark is unfamiliar, compare its overall shape with the tables for planets, signs and aspects. Then return to the wheel and check where it appears and what it connects. This keeps the glyph tied to its chart context.