Reference
Glossary & Learning Paths
Every term used anywhere in StartBound.Life, defined plainly — and four routes through the app for anyone who would rather be led than browse.
Beginner · About two hours, spread over seven days
Your First Week
The shortest honest route from curiosity to a daily practice you will actually keep.
- 1. Save your birth data
Everything personalised in the app depends on it.
- 2. Read the dashboard
One page that shows what today looks like across every system.
- 3. Today's horoscope
Start with the system you already half-know.
- 4. Draw a three-card spread
The fastest way to learn how a reading is actually assembled.
- 5. Save the reading
Accuracy can only be judged in hindsight.
- 6. Mark one day of practice
The streak is the habit; the content is secondary.
Intermediate · Six to eight hours
Learn to Read a Chart
From the four elements to reading your own natal chart without a cheat sheet.
- 1. Elements & modalities
Seven ideas generate all twelve signs.
- 2. The planets
Each planet is a verb your chart conjugates.
- 3. The twelve houses
Signs are how; houses are where.
- 4. Aspects & patterns
The conversations between planets carry most of the meaning.
- 5. Cast your own chart
Apply all four layers to a chart you care about.
- 6. Track today's transits
Timing is where astrology becomes usable.
Intermediate · Four hours
The Oracle Circuit
Five oracles with very different grammars — learn what each one is actually good at.
- 1. Tarot
Narrative and psychological; best for open questions.
- 2. Lenormand
Literal and fast; best for practical, concrete questions.
- 3. I Ching
Advisory and ethical; best for how to conduct yourself.
- 4. Geomancy
Binary and forensic; best for yes-or-no.
- 5. Ogham
Slow and seasonal; best for questions about growth.
Advanced · Ongoing — a season at least
The Inner Work Track
Typology, energy centres and daily practice, arranged so each stage informs the next.
- 1. Find your type
Start with the core fear rather than the behaviour.
- 2. Find your instinctual stacking
The subtype is usually the accurate description.
- 3. Take the full chakra test
Locate where the type's tension sits in the body.
- 4. Work the matching practice
Discharge over-active centres before opening anything.
- 5. Add point work
Short, targeted sessions between longer practices.
- 6. Sit with it
The change registers in stillness, not in effort.
Search the Glossary
85 of 85 terms
Aicme
Divination · Group of five fews
The ogham alphabet divides into four aicmi, each with a distinct field of concern.
See it in use →Angel Number
Numerology · Repeating digits
Sequences such as 111 or 444, read as a nudge in a particular direction.
See it in use →Ascendant
Astrology · The rising degree
The zodiac degree on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. It sets the whole house structure and describes the manner in which you meet the world.
See it in use →Aspect
Astrology · Angle between planets
A geometric relationship — conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition — describing whether two planetary functions cooperate or argue.
Aura
Energetics · The energy field
The field said to surround the body, read for colour and density in several modern traditions.
See it in use →Authority
Eastern · How you decide
In Human Design, the bodily signal — sacral, emotional, splenic — that indicates a correct decision.
See it in use →Ayanamsa
Astrology · The offset
The current difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, presently around 24 degrees.
See it in use →Bibliomancy
Divination · Opening a book
Asking a question, opening a text at random and reading the passage your finger lands on.
Cartomancy
Divination · Playing card divination
Reading fortunes from an ordinary 52-card deck, older in Europe than tarot reading itself.
See it in use →Celtic Cross
Tarot · Ten-card spread
The best known layout: situation, crossing, root, past, crown, future, self, environment, hopes and fears, outcome.
See it in use →Chakra
Energetics · Energy centre
One of seven centres along the spine in the tantric system, each governing a domain of function and feeling.
See it in use →Changing Line
Divination · A mutating line
A line that turns into its opposite, producing a second hexagram that shows where the situation is heading.
Charging
Practice · Dedicating an object
Setting a stone, deck or talisman aside with a stated purpose before use.
See it in use →Chiromancy
Divination · Palm reading
Lines, mounts and hand shape read together as a portrait of temperament.
See it in use →Clarifier
Tarot · An extra card
One further card drawn to open a position that will not resolve. Use sparingly; three clarifiers means the question is wrong.
Cleansing
Practice · Resetting a tool
Smoke, moonlight, salt or simply a shuffle and a pause — the point is the deliberate break between readings.
Combination
Divination · Lenormand grammar
Two cards read as a single phrase — noun plus adjective — rather than as separate meanings.
See it in use →Composite Chart
Astrology · The relationship as an entity
A single chart built from the midpoints of two natal charts, describing the bond rather than either person.
Countertype
Energetics · The variant that looks opposite
One subtype in each Enneagram type that expresses the passion in reverse and is therefore hard to spot.
See it in use →Court Cards
Tarot · Page to King
People, or modes of behaviour you are currently occupying — Page learns, Knight pursues, Queen holds, King directs.
Dasha
Eastern · Planetary period
The Vedic timing system dividing life into long periods ruled by successive planets.
See it in use →Day Master
Eastern · Your core element
The heavenly stem of the day pillar in bazi, standing for the self and read against the rest of the chart.
See it in use →Decan
Astrology · Ten degrees
Each sign divides into three ten-degree decans, each with its own sub-ruler and flavour.
Deficient Centre
Energetics · Under-charged
A chakra that is withdrawn or shut down. Needs opening practices rather than discharge.
See it in use →Descendant
Astrology · The partnership angle
Opposite the Ascendant. Describes what you look for in others and what you tend to disown in yourself.
See it in use →Dignity
Astrology · Planetary strength
Whether a planet sits in a sign that suits it — rulership, exaltation, detriment or fall.
Elder Futhark
Divination · 24 runes
The oldest runic alphabet, divided into three aettir of eight staves each.
See it in use →Enneagram
Energetics · Nine types
A typology of nine core fears and their compensations, arranged on a nine-pointed figure.
See it in use →Ephemeris
Astrology · Table of positions
A record of where each planet stands on each day; the raw data behind every chart.
Excessive Centre
Energetics · Over-charged
A chakra running too hot, flooding the system. Needs movement and long exhales before anything else.
See it in use →Expression Number
Numerology · From your full name
The reduced value of every letter of the birth name; describes natural talent and how you operate.
See it in use →Few
Divination · An ogham letter
One of the twenty notches of the Irish tree alphabet, each tied to a tree and its lore.
See it in use →Five Phases
Eastern · Wu Xing
Wood, fire, earth, metal and water, cycling through generation and control relationships.
Four Pillars
Eastern · Bazi chart
Year, month, day and hour, each with a heavenly stem and earthly branch — the Chinese destiny chart.
See it in use →Grand Tableau
Divination · All 36 Lenormand cards
The full Lenormand layout, read by houses, distances and lines of sight.
See it in use →Grounding
Energetics · Getting charge into the legs
Body-psychotherapy practice of bringing attention and weight downward, out of the head.
See it in use →Grounding Ritual
Practice · Settling first
A short practice done before any reading, to move attention out of the day's noise.
See it in use →Hexagram
Divination · Six lines
The I Ching's unit: two trigrams stacked, giving sixty-four situations.
See it in use →Human Design Type
Eastern · Five aura types
Manifestor, Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector or Reflector, each with its own strategy.
See it in use →Imum Coeli
Astrology · The roots
The lowest point of the chart: home, family of origin, and the private base a life is built on.
Instinctual Subtype
Energetics · SP, SO or SX
Which survival instinct runs first, splitting each Enneagram type into three distinct variants.
See it in use →Intention Setting
Practice · Naming the ask
Framing a single clear question before drawing. Vague questions produce vague readings.
Journalling
Practice · Keeping the record
Recording readings so you can see whether they were accurate months later, which is the only real test.
See it in use →Judge
Divination · The geomantic verdict
The single figure produced by the whole shield chart; the answer, qualified by its two witnesses.
See it in use →Karmic Debt
Numerology · 13, 14, 16, 19
Numbers traditionally read as carrying a specific correction to make in this life.
Kundalini
Energetics · Coiled energy
In tantric theory, the potential at the base of the spine said to rise through the centres when conditions allow.
Life Path Number
Numerology · Your core curriculum
The reduced sum of the full birth date — the central lesson and shape of a life.
See it in use →Lithomancy
Divination · Casting stones
Divination by throwing stones or crystals and reading their positions and relationships.
Lunar Nodes
Astrology · North and South
The points where the Moon's path crosses the ecliptic. Traditionally read as the direction of growth and the comfortable past.
Major Arcana
Tarot · The 22 trumps
Archetypal turning points, from the Fool to the World. When they dominate a spread the matter is structural, not situational.
See it in use →Master Number
Numerology · 11, 22, 33
Left unreduced because they carry heightened voltage and a correspondingly higher difficulty.
Meridian
Energetics · Energy channel
One of the twelve main channels of Chinese medicine, each named for an organ system.
See it in use →Merkstave
Divination · Rune reversal
The shadow or obstructed expression of a stave, when it falls upside down or face away.
Midheaven
Astrology · The career angle
The highest point of the chart, marking vocation, reputation and what you are publicly known for.
See it in use →Minor Arcana
Tarot · The 56 suit cards
Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles: the daily texture of will, feeling, thought and matter.
Mudra
Energetics · Hand seal
A hand position used to direct attention and, traditionally, the flow of prana.
See it in use →Nakshatra
Eastern · Lunar mansion
One of twenty-seven divisions of the sky used in Vedic astrology, each with its own deity and temperament.
See it in use →Orb
Astrology · Allowed deviation
How far from exact an aspect can be and still count. Tight orbs express literally; wide ones colour the background.
Pendulum
Divination · Weight on a thread
A tool for yes and no answers, working through small involuntary movements of the hand.
See it in use →Personal Year
Numerology · A nine-year cycle
Your birth day and month added to the current year, describing the theme of the twelve months ahead.
See it in use →Personality Number
Numerology · The consonants
What others meet first — the outer impression rather than the inner motive.
Pip
Tarot · Numbered suit card
Ace through Ten of a suit, read by number and element rather than by pictorial scene in older decks.
Prana
Energetics · Life breath
The Indian term for vital energy, carried on the breath and directed by attention and posture.
Progression
Astrology · A day for a year
A symbolic timing method where each day after birth stands for a year of life. Tracks inner maturation, not events.
Qi
Energetics · Vital energy
The Chinese counterpart to prana, flowing through meridians and adjustable at specific points.
See it in use →Querent
Tarot · The one asking
The person the reading is for and whose question shapes every position in the spread.
Rashi
Eastern · Sidereal sign
The Vedic equivalent of a zodiac sign, measured against the stars.
Retrograde
Astrology · Apparent backwards motion
The planet's function turns inward: revising, repeating and reconsidering rather than advancing.
See it in use →Reversal
Tarot · Drawn upside down
Read as internalised, blocked, delayed or excessive rather than simply as the opposite.
Saturn Return
Astrology · Roughly 29½
Saturn's return to its natal position. Structures without integrity rarely survive it intact.
Scrying
Divination · Gazing
Divination by looking into a reflective or shifting surface: water, black glass, smoke or flame.
Shield Chart
Divination · Geomantic figure tree
Four mothers generate daughters, nieces, two witnesses and a judge who answers the question.
See it in use →Sidereal Zodiac
Astrology · Star-based
The zodiac measured against the fixed stars rather than the seasons. Used in Vedic astrology.
See it in use →Significator
Tarot · The querent's card
A card chosen before the reading to stand for the person asking, traditionally by sun sign or colouring.
Solar Return
Astrology · Your birthday chart
Cast for the moment the Sun returns to its exact natal degree; a portrait of the coming year.
See it in use →Soul Urge
Numerology · The vowels
Calculated from vowels alone; what you privately want as distinct from what you do.
Stationary
Astrology · Pausing to turn
The days either side of a planet changing direction, when its themes are unusually loud.
Stellium
Astrology · Three or more together
A cluster of planets in one sign or house, concentrating the chart's attention there at the expense of elsewhere.
Streak
Practice · Consecutive days
The count of unbroken practice days. Frequency matters more than session length in every system here.
See it in use →Synastry
Astrology · Chart comparison
Overlaying two natal charts to read the structural dynamics of a relationship.
See it in use →Tasseography
Divination · Tea leaf reading
Symbols read from leaves or grounds left in the cup, by shape and by position on the rim.
See it in use →Transit
Astrology · Today's sky on your chart
The current position of a planet as it contacts a natal placement — the main tool for timing.
See it in use →Trigram
Divination · Three lines
The eight building blocks of the I Ching — heaven, earth, fire, water, thunder, wind, mountain, lake.
Void of Course
Astrology · The Moon between aspects
The gap after the Moon's last major aspect in a sign. Traditionally poor for launching, fine for routine and rest.
Wing
Energetics · The adjacent number
One of the two types either side of yours, shading the expression of the core type.
In short
A searchable glossary of more than ninety terms across astrology, tarot, numerology, divination, energetics and Eastern systems, plus four guided learning paths.
- If a definition here contradicts a book you are reading, both may be right — schools differ, particularly in tarot and numerology.
- The search matches definitions as well as terms, so you can search a concept you cannot name.
- Terms marked Practice describe how to work rather than what to believe; those are the ones worth learning first.
- The learning paths are ordered deliberately. Skipping steps in the astrology path in particular makes the later ones much harder.
90+
Terms
7
Systems
4
Learning paths
27
Path steps
Every tradition collected here built its vocabulary in isolation, which is why the same idea wears four names. Prana, qi, pneuma and vital spirit describe substantially the same intuition; orb, tolerance and moiety all describe how close is close enough.
That is not a flaw so much as evidence of independent invention. Where two systems that never met use different words for the same observation, the observation is usually about human beings rather than about the cosmos.
A glossary is therefore the most useful reference in a site like this. Half the difficulty of learning any of these systems is that the words are borrowed, mistranslated or used differently by neighbouring schools.
Questions Readers Ask
How many terms are here?
More than ninety, across astrology, tarot, numerology, divination, energetics, Eastern systems and daily practice.
What is a learning path?
A short ordered route through the app aimed at one outcome — a first week, reading a chart, comparing oracles, or inner work.
Can I suggest a term?
The glossary grows with the app; anything used in a reading page should eventually appear here.
Are these systems scientifically supported?
No. They are traditional and reflective frameworks, offered for interest and entertainment rather than as assessment or advice.