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Horoscopic astrology

From AstrologyNotes

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Horoscopic astrology is a very specific and advanced type of astrology that developed in the Mediterranean region and especially Hellenistic Egypt sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE¹ that deals largely with astrological charts cast for specific moments in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets at a moment in time. One of the defining characteristics of this form of astrology that makes it distinct from other traditions is the computation of the degree of the Eastern horizon rising against the backdrop of the ecliptic at the specific moment under examination, otherwise known as the ascendant.

In ancient Hellenistic astrology the rising sign or ascendant demarcated the first celestial house of a chart, and the word for the ascendant in Greek was horoskopos. This is the word that the term "horoscope" derives from, which in modern times has come to denote the birth chart of an individual as a whole.

Horoscopic astrology can essentially be summed up as the practice of casting astrological charts that reflect the apparent positions of a variety of celestial bodies and points from the perspective of the individual at any given moment in time. The idea is that the placement of the planets at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment and especially anything which is born then, and this can be analyzed using the chart and a variety of rules for interpreting the 'language' or symbols therein. The most prevalent application of horoscopic astrology is to use it to analyze the birth charts of individuals in order to read character, psychological traits, and to some extent destiny.

As a general rule, any astrology that does not utilize the ascendant does not fall under the category of horoscopic astrology, although there are some exceptions.