FAQ

Yes, the local time displayed on the site updates every 30 seconds without requiring you to refresh the page.

Yes. If your device goes offline, the clock automatically switches to your device’s local time.

Yes, with one limitation: place lookup by name needs internet. When offline, enter coordinates in the format (lat)xx.xxx,(lon)yy.yyy — e.g., 40.713,-74.006. This works completely offline.

Yes. Your birth data (date, time, and location) is saved locally in your browser using localStorage.

Local: use for modern birth times (timezone/DST applied).

UTC: only if your input time is already UTC/UT.

LMT: for historical births using local mean time by longitude.

Swiss Ephemeris is used by default for maximum precision — the same high‑accuracy astronomical engine used in professional astrology software. If Swiss Ephemeris fails to load, the site uses a "Local mode" fallback, which is still accurate but slightly less precise than the full ephemeris files.

After Swiss Ephemeris is downloaded once, it is stored offline by your browser’s cache and service worker. This means it does not re-download on page reloads, and it continues working fully offline. Swiss Ephemeris will only be downloaded again if you manually clear your browser storage. Learn more on Swiss Ephemeris (precision & WASM).

Tropical, Sidereal (KP/Lahiri), and True Sidereal — MTZ (with Ophiuchus). Switch in Settings → Zodiac system. See Zodiac Systems.

Tropical: tied to seasons and the March equinox;

Sidereal: anchored to star constellations. The difference (ayanamsa) is ~24° in recent years — subtract ~24° from tropical positions to approximate sidereal.

Deep dive: Tropical vs Sidereal.

The angular difference between tropical and sidereal zodiacs caused by precession. The value increases by about ~50″/year (~1° per 72 years); full cycle ≈ 25,920 years.

True Sidereal uses constellation midpoints to define sign boundaries (non‑uniform widths). Because the ecliptic crosses Ophiuchus, it is included as a genuine segment. Learn more: True Sidereal (MTZ midpoint).

In astrology, the 12 houses represent different areas of life (self, money, relationships, work, etc.). A house system is simply the method used to draw the borders of those houses in your chart. Different house systems can place the same planet into different houses.

Whole Sign: each sign is a full house.

Equal (from Asc degree): 30° houses from the Ascendant degree.

Placidus: time‑based, unequal houses; common in Western astrology (requires the Swiss Ephemeris engine to be loaded).

Anomalistic: ~27.55 days relative to distance from Earth (perigee/apogee; Supermoons/Micromoons).

Sidereal: ~27.3 days relative to fixed stars (14-day ascending/descending arcs).

Synodic: ~29.5 days from new moon to new moon (eight distinct phases).

Strong: energy flows constructively; virtues are accessible.

Weak: energy is blocked/distorted; may express as compensatory extremes while seeking balance.

Apparent backward motion; energy turns inward/reflective. Re‑entries across sign boundaries are logged as new entry dates (you may see multiple entries/exits across a single transit).

Direct + strong: outward, constructive.

Retrograde + strong: constructive but inward (self‑analysis).

Direct + weak: compensatory/imbalanced.

Retrograde + weak: doubly blocked; inner conflict/overcompensation.

These are the five major (Ptolemaic) aspects in astrology:

• ☌ Conjunction (0°) — neutral amplifier. The two planets fuse and intensify each other.
  • Supportive: Sun–Jupiter, Venus–Jupiter, Moon–Venus, Sun–Venus
  • Mixed: Sun–Mercury, Moon–Mercury, Venus–Mars
  • Challenging: Sun–Saturn, Mars–Saturn, Moon–Pluto, Mars–Pluto
• ⚹ Sextile (60°) — harmonic / opportunity.
• △ Trine (120°) — harmonic / flowing.
• □ Square (90°) — hard / friction.
• ☍ Opposition (180°) — hard / polarizing.

The number in parentheses is the orb — how far the aspect is from exact. Smaller orb = stronger.

The arrow reveals the direction:

• ↑ applying (orb decreasing; aspect strengthening).
• ↓ separating (orb increasing; aspect fading).

▶ Planetary Aspects 101 ▶ Orbs Basics & How to Set Orbs

The Score shows how supportive or challenging a planetary influence is. The color helps you quickly understand the intensity:

• ≤ –7 (dark red): Critical – high conflict potential and strong tension.
• –6 to –3 (red): Difficult – requires effort; obstacles likely.
• –2 to –1 (orange): Friction – patience, awareness, and balance needed.
• 0 (grey): Neutral – neither supportive nor challenging.
• +1 to +3 (light green): Positive – helpful influence, mild opportunities.
• ≥ +4 (dark green): Very positive – strong opportunities and beneficial energy.

▶ Verify Your Planet Scores

Natal: dignity/retrograde/natal aspects → baseline.

Current Transits: transiting influences + your baseline.

Zeitgeist: aggregate of transit‑to‑transit aspects for the collective climate.

They reference the same active Transit→Natal aspects but apply different weights.

Money risk penalizes confusion/impulsiveness/retrogrades more (costly mistakes).

Life risk emphasizes timing and action tolerance.

The initial download includes the Swiss Ephemeris engine (WebAssembly) and data files. Afterwards, they’re cached and won’t download again unless you clear storage.

Make sure you use a comma with no spaces, and use negative signs for South and West (e.g., -33.868,151.209).

All personal chart inputs stay in your browser (localStorage). AstroClock does not upload your birth data or chart settings to a server.