Astrological nomenclature (shorthand when typing)
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 5:18 pm
Reinhold Ebertin created a shorthand for writing astrological symbols that I consider universally useful. I have mostly used it for the last 40+ years, but have never explained it here. I thought I would type it out and encourage everyone to use it. (At the very least, it will allow me to start using it without modification or repeated explanations). Most of these are intended to render astrological glyphs into something usable on a typewriter and otherwise to provide a shared shorthand. Planets and signs are obvious enough; the items at the bottom are perhaps the most important to note, as showing transactions between points.
Mo Moon
Su Sun (German SO for sonne)
Me Mercury
Ve Venus
Ma Mars
Ju Jupiter
Sa Saturn
Ur Uranus
Ne Neptune
Pl Pluto
Dr or NN Dragon's Head or North [Lunar] Node
MC or M Midheaven (Medium Caeli)
As or A Ascendant
IC or I Antemeridian (Immum Caeli)
Ds or D Descendant
Ta Taurus
Ge Gemini
Cn Cancer
Le Leo
Vi Virgo
Li Libra
Sc Scorpio
Sg Sagittarius
Cp Capricorn
Aq Aquarius
Pi Pisces
Ar Aries
Hyphen or slash: Two points separated by a hyphen (-) signifies an aspect. Two points separated by a slash (/) signifies their midpoint. Thus, Me-Ju means a Mercury-Jupiter aspect; Me/Ju means the Mercury/Jupiter midpoint. A hyphen for aspect means any allowed aspect. If you want to specify the aspect, place the arc value between two hyphens, thus: Ma-90-Ne for a Mars-Neptune square (where Ma-Ne would mean any recognized Mars-Neptune aspect), or Ve-120-Ju for a Venus-Jupiter trine.
When an alternate form is needed, the = sign is another way of showing an aspect, or, rather, that there is a contact (some sort of aspect) between the factors on opposite sides of =. Most commonly, Mo = Su/Pl means Moon at (or aspecting) the Sun/Pluto midpoint, but also t Pl = r Ma to show transiting Pluto aspecting radical Mars. NB: Thus, though Mo = Su/Pl is the usual way of writing a planet at/aspecting a midpoint, it is equally correct to write it as Mo-Su/Pl.
If you wish an abbreviation for a an aspect name, the following are standard:
co - conjunction
op - opposition
sq - square
tr - trine
sx - sextile
oc - octile; or specify ssq = semi-square, sqq = sesqui-square
ssx - semi-sextile
qnx - quincunx
Other useful abbreviations:
r Radical (Natal)
t Transiting
s Solar (i.e., Solar Return position, a modern innovation)
d Directed (i.e., Solar Arc)
These can be modified by convention if clarity is needed. Thus, p always means Secondary Progressions unless it is clearly specified, and can be varied as p2, p3, etc. to distinguish secondaries, tertiaries, etc.
Mo Moon
Su Sun (German SO for sonne)
Me Mercury
Ve Venus
Ma Mars
Ju Jupiter
Sa Saturn
Ur Uranus
Ne Neptune
Pl Pluto
Dr or NN Dragon's Head or North [Lunar] Node
MC or M Midheaven (Medium Caeli)
As or A Ascendant
IC or I Antemeridian (Immum Caeli)
Ds or D Descendant
Ta Taurus
Ge Gemini
Cn Cancer
Le Leo
Vi Virgo
Li Libra
Sc Scorpio
Sg Sagittarius
Cp Capricorn
Aq Aquarius
Pi Pisces
Ar Aries
Hyphen or slash: Two points separated by a hyphen (-) signifies an aspect. Two points separated by a slash (/) signifies their midpoint. Thus, Me-Ju means a Mercury-Jupiter aspect; Me/Ju means the Mercury/Jupiter midpoint. A hyphen for aspect means any allowed aspect. If you want to specify the aspect, place the arc value between two hyphens, thus: Ma-90-Ne for a Mars-Neptune square (where Ma-Ne would mean any recognized Mars-Neptune aspect), or Ve-120-Ju for a Venus-Jupiter trine.
When an alternate form is needed, the = sign is another way of showing an aspect, or, rather, that there is a contact (some sort of aspect) between the factors on opposite sides of =. Most commonly, Mo = Su/Pl means Moon at (or aspecting) the Sun/Pluto midpoint, but also t Pl = r Ma to show transiting Pluto aspecting radical Mars. NB: Thus, though Mo = Su/Pl is the usual way of writing a planet at/aspecting a midpoint, it is equally correct to write it as Mo-Su/Pl.
If you wish an abbreviation for a an aspect name, the following are standard:
co - conjunction
op - opposition
sq - square
tr - trine
sx - sextile
oc - octile; or specify ssq = semi-square, sqq = sesqui-square
ssx - semi-sextile
qnx - quincunx
Other useful abbreviations:
r Radical (Natal)
t Transiting
s Solar (i.e., Solar Return position, a modern innovation)
d Directed (i.e., Solar Arc)
These can be modified by convention if clarity is needed. Thus, p always means Secondary Progressions unless it is clearly specified, and can be varied as p2, p3, etc. to distinguish secondaries, tertiaries, etc.