Astrology Symbols: Complete Guide to Glyphs, Planets and Signs

The Grammar of Astrological Glyphs

Astrological glyphs are not arbitrary pictograms. Each one is constructed from a small set of geometric elements whose symbolic meanings combine to describe the planet or sign's essential nature. Demetra George, in Astrology and the Authentic Self (2008), articulates this symbolic grammar most clearly: all astrological glyphs are built from three fundamental elements.

The circle represents spirit, wholeness, eternity, and the divine. It has no beginning and no end, representing the infinite and the total. When a planet's glyph is primarily or wholly circular, spirit and wholeness are central to its archetype.

The crescent represents the soul, receptivity, and the capacity to receive and reflect. The crescent opens, suggesting receptivity to what comes from above or outside. When a glyph includes a crescent, the planet carries soul-level, receptive, or reflective qualities.

The cross represents matter, the physical world, manifestation, and the four dimensions of material existence (the four cardinal directions, the four elements). When a glyph includes a cross, the planet carries a connection to material reality, earthly existence, and practical manifestation.

With these three elements in mind, every planetary glyph becomes readable rather than requiring pure memorization. The Sun's glyph (circle with dot) is pure spirit with an individuated center. The Earth's glyph (circle with cross) is spirit perfectly embodied in matter. Venus's glyph (circle with cross below) shows spirit descending into matter. Mars's glyph (circle with arrow pointing outward) shows spirit reaching outward into action and engagement with the world.

Bernadette Brady, in Brady's Book of Fixed Stars (1998) and in her broader teaching work, extends this approach to emphasize that astrological symbols carry the accumulated weight of thousands of years of human observation, meaning, and projection. They are living symbols that continue to accrue meaning as each generation of practitioners works with them, rather than fixed codes with singular, final definitions.

Planetary Glyphs: The Ten Planets

Modern Western astrology works with ten primary celestial bodies: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Each has a distinctive glyph.

Sun: A circle with a dot at the center. The outer circle is spirit-wholeness; the inner dot is the individuated self, the specific expression of universal spirit in a particular being. The Sun represents consciousness, ego identity, vitality, creative force, and the core self around which the rest of the chart orbits.

Moon: A crescent, usually depicted as a leftward or rightward crescent depending on convention. Pure soul, pure receptivity and reflection. The Moon receives the Sun's light and reflects it. In astrology, the Moon governs emotional life, instinctual responses, memory, mother figures, and the habits formed in early life.

Mercury: The most compositionally complex of the classical planet glyphs: a crescent sitting atop a circle, with a cross below. Soul (crescent) above spirit (circle) above matter (cross). Mercury mediates between all three levels of reality, translating between spirit, soul, and matter. Mercury governs mind, communication, commerce, movement, trickery, and the capacity to connect disparate things.

Venus: A circle (spirit) with a cross below (matter). Spirit descending into matter, or the presence of spiritual love within material reality. Venus governs love, beauty, pleasure, desire, relationship, and the capacity to appreciate and be appreciated. The traditional symbol for the female, also known as the hand mirror.

Mars: A circle with an arrow pointing diagonally outward and upward. Spirit reaching outward and upward into directed action. Mars governs physical energy, desire, assertion, courage, conflict, sexuality as drive, and the will to act. The traditional symbol for the male.

Jupiter: A stylized number 4 or, in its most traditional form, a crescent on top of a cross. Soul rising above matter, or the capacity to find transcendent meaning within material existence. Jupiter governs expansion, wisdom, philosophy, luck, abundance, long-distance travel, and the search for higher meaning.

Saturn: An h-like glyph or a crescent below a cross, though the exact interpretation varies by tradition. Matter weighing down soul, or soul constrained by material reality. Saturn governs structure, discipline, karma, time, authority, limitation, and the lessons learned through sustained effort and the acceptance of reality's constraints.

Uranus: An H with a circle at the center and small horns or circles at the ends of the H-bars. Multiple traditions of composition. Uranus governs sudden change, innovation, rebellion, technology, collective awakening, the breaking of convention, and the future.

Neptune: A trident (the three-pronged staff of Poseidon/Neptune, god of the sea). Governs imagination, mysticism, dissolution, illusion, spiritual longing, addiction, compassion, and the dissolving of ego boundaries.

Pluto: Two primary glyphs exist. The more astronomical glyph combines the letters P and L (for Pluto and Percival Lowell who predicted its discovery). The occult glyph is a circle above a crescent above a cross: the full threefold composition of spirit-soul-matter in ascending order. Pluto governs death, rebirth, power, depth, the unconscious, transformation through crisis, and the shedding of what no longer serves.

Zodiac Sign Glyphs: All 12 Signs

Each of the 12 zodiac signs has a glyph that typically depicts or abstractly represents the sign's symbol or essential quality.

Aries (The Ram): Two curved lines arcing outward and upward from a central point, representing the horns of the ram or the exuberant burst of spring energy. Aries governs new beginnings, initiative, courage, and the raw force of self-assertion.

Taurus (The Bull): A circle (the bull's head) with an open crescent on top representing the horns. The combination of spirit-circle and soul-crescent reflects Taurus's grounded, receptive, and beauty-oriented nature. Taurus governs material security, sensory pleasure, patience, and the earth's fertility.

Gemini (The Twins): The Roman numeral II, representing duality, the two pillars, and the twins Castor and Pollux. Gemini governs communication, duality, curiosity, and the capacity to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously.

Cancer (The Crab): Two curved interlocking spirals or two 6-like shapes facing each other, representing the crab's claws or the flowing curves of the crescent Moon, Cancer's ruler. Cancer governs emotional nurturing, home, family, memory, and the protective instinct.

Leo (The Lion): A curved line sweeping into a small circle at the end, representing the lion's tail or the Sun's corona. Leo governs creative self-expression, leadership, generosity, and the desire to be recognized and loved.

Virgo (The Maiden): An M-like shape with a loop at the bottom right. Interpretations include the maiden with a sheaf of grain (the loop representing the grain), or the first letters of Maria Virgo in an archaic ligature. Virgo governs discernment, analysis, service, health, and the refinement of skill.

Libra (The Scales): A stylized omega or a horizontal line with a small half-circle bulge above it, representing a set of scales or the setting Sun on the horizon. Libra governs balance, justice, beauty, partnership, and the capacity to see all sides of a question.

Scorpio (The Scorpion): An M-like shape ending in an upward-pointing arrow or barbed tail, representing the scorpion's stinger. Scorpio governs depth, transformation, sexuality as union, the confrontation with death, and the hidden powers beneath the surface.

Sagittarius (The Archer): An arrow pointing diagonally upward and to the right, sometimes with a small cross at the base. The upward arrow represents the centaur archer aiming at celestial truth. Sagittarius governs philosophy, long-distance travel, higher education, optimism, and the search for meaning.

Capricorn (The Sea-Goat): A complex glyph that combines a V shape with a curved tail curling inward, representing the sea-goat's body. Capricorn governs ambition, structure, worldly achievement, discipline, and the patient climb to the heights.

Aquarius (The Water-Bearer): Two parallel wavy horizontal lines representing the water flowing from the water-bearer's vessels, or the electromagnetic waves of this air sign's mental energy. Aquarius governs innovation, collective consciousness, rebellion, friendship, and humanitarian ideals.

Pisces (The Fish): Two crescent-arcs facing away from each other, connected by a horizontal line, representing the two fish swimming in opposite directions. Pisces governs compassion, dissolution, spiritual longing, sacrifice, and the merging of the individual with the infinite.

Aspect Symbols: How Planets Relate

Aspects are angular relationships between planets in the birth chart. Each type of aspect has a specific glyph and describes how the planets involved interact energetically.

Conjunction (0 degrees): A small circle with a vertical line extending upward (like the symbol for Mercury but without the crescent, or a stylized lowercase d). Two planets in conjunction blend and intensify each other's energies. The conjunction is the most powerful of all aspects because the planets are united in the same location of the sky.

Sextile (60 degrees): An asterisk-like symbol or a six-pointed star pattern, also simply represented by a * in many notations. The sextile creates opportunity, affinity, and ease of communication between the planets involved. It requires some initiative to activate but flows naturally once engaged.

Square (90 degrees): A simple square or box symbol. The square creates friction, tension, and challenge between the planets involved, driving growth through conflict. Squares are considered dynamic but difficult aspects that force action and development.

Trine (120 degrees): A triangle symbol, representing the three equal divisions of the zodiac circle that create trines between signs of the same element. The trine creates harmony, ease, and natural flow between the planets involved. Often described as the luckiest aspect, though without challenge it can lead to complacency.

Opposition (180 degrees): Two circles or dots connected by a horizontal line, representing two planets directly across the chart from each other. The opposition creates awareness through contrast, the need to integrate two seemingly opposite principles. When worked consciously, oppositions become the most relationship-oriented and perspective-expanding aspects in the chart.

Quincunx/Inconjunct (150 degrees): A small angle or adjustment symbol. The quincunx connects signs that share no element, quality, or polarity, creating an awkward, adjusting relationship that requires continuous recalibration. It is associated with health, work, and the need for constant adaptation.

Chart Angles: The Four Pillars

The four angles of the birth chart form its structural skeleton. They are the most sensitive and personally specific points in any chart because they depend entirely on the exact time and place of birth, unlike planetary placements which shift slowly over hours and days.

Ascendant (AC or ASC): The zodiac degree rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. Represented on the left side of the chart, it governs the physical body, first impressions, the instinctive approach to new situations, and the outermost layer of the personality that greets the world. The Ascendant and its ruling planet form one of the most important interpretive keys in any chart.

Descendant (DC or DSC): Always directly opposite the Ascendant, on the right side of the chart. Governs partnerships, the qualities we seek in others, and what we have not yet owned in ourselves (the shadow of the Ascendant). The seventh house begins at the Descendant.

Midheaven (MC, Medium Coeli): The highest point of the ecliptic above the horizon at the moment of birth. Appears at the top of the chart. Governs career, public reputation, life direction, the relationship to authority, and how one is seen in the world. The tenth house begins at the Midheaven.

Imum Coeli (IC, Lower Heaven): Directly opposite the Midheaven, at the bottom of the chart. Governs the private self, home, family of origin, roots, ancestry, and the foundational emotional ground of the personality. The fourth house begins at the IC.

The Lunar Nodes

The Lunar Nodes, the North Node and South Node, are not planets but the two points where the Moon's orbital path crosses the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path). They carry tremendous importance in evolutionary and karmic astrology.

The North Node (also called the Dragon's Head, or Rahu in Vedic astrology) is represented by a horseshoe shape opening upward, like a stylized omega or inverted U with short legs. It points toward the soul's evolutionary direction and growth edges in the current lifetime.

The South Node (Dragon's Tail, or Ketu in Vedic astrology) is the inverted version of the North Node glyph, opening downward. It represents past-life familiarity, innate talents that come easily but may hold the person back through over-reliance, and the comfort zone that must be left for the North Node's growth to occur.

The Nodes always oppose each other exactly: when the North Node is at 15 degrees Scorpio, the South Node is at 15 degrees Taurus. They move retrograde through the zodiac, completing a full cycle in approximately 18.6 years, coinciding with the Lunar Nodal Return, a significant life threshold.

Asteroids and Minor Points

Contemporary astrology has significantly expanded its symbolic vocabulary through the incorporation of asteroids, dwarf planets, and calculated points. The four major asteroids each have established glyphs and interpretive traditions.

Chiron: A key-like glyph (a K with a circle or a vertical line with a circle). Represents the wounded healer archetype: the area of life where one has suffered deeply and, through that suffering, developed the capacity to heal others. Chiron's placement reveals the location of core wounds and the healing gifts that emerge from working through them.

Ceres: A scythe or grain sickle symbol. The largest body in the asteroid belt, recently reclassified as a dwarf planet. Governs nourishment, food, grief at loss, and the cycles of separation and reunion.

Pallas Athena: A spear and shield symbol, or sometimes a stylized A. Governs wisdom, strategy, creative intelligence, and the relationship to the father principle and patriarchal structures.

Juno: A scepter symbol. Governs committed partnership, marriage, equality in relationship, and the lessons of the long-term bond.

Vesta: A flame symbol. Governs devotion, sacred focus, purity of intention, and the capacity to dedicate oneself wholly to a cause or calling.

Arabic Parts and Lots

The Arabic Parts (also called Lots in Hellenistic astrology) are calculated points derived from the relationships between specific planets and the Ascendant. Each has a distinctive glyph and interpretive meaning.

The Part of Fortune (Pars Fortuna) is the most widely used Arabic Part. Its glyph is a circle with an X inside, like a wheel divided into four quadrants. It is calculated as Ascendant + Moon - Sun (by day) or Ascendant + Sun - Moon (by night). It represents the area of life where one finds natural joy, ease, and fortunate circumstances.

The Part of Spirit is the Part of Fortune's counterpart. It represents conscious intention, vocation, and the soul's direction in the current life. Demetra George has done significant work recovering the Hellenistic interpretation of these lots in her translation of Vettius Valens's Anthology.

How to Read a Birth Chart's Symbols

History of Astrological Notation

The systematization of astrological glyphs as we know them today began in earnest in the medieval Islamic and Byzantine Greek traditions, which inherited and codified the Hellenistic Greek astronomical records. The oldest standardized forms of the planetary symbols appear in Greek manuscripts from approximately the 10th-11th centuries CE, though the underlying symbolic elements are far older.

The printing press played a critical role in standardizing astrological notation. Before print, copyists varied the glyphs considerably. With print's capacity for exact reproduction, the standard forms we use today became fixed. Claudius Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, the foundational text of Western astrology written around 150 CE, was among the first astrological works to be printed in the 15th century, and its diagrams contributed to the standardization of astrological notation across Europe.

The three outer planets, Uranus (discovered 1781), Neptune (1846), and Pluto (1930), received their glyphs in the modern era. Uranus's glyph was proposed by various astronomers and astrologers with different conventions persisting in different national traditions (the H shape is more common in English-language astrology; a different form is common in German-language practice). Neptune's trident was adopted from the planet's mythological ruler, the Roman god of the sea. Pluto's glyphs have remained somewhat contested, with both the astronomical abbreviation-based PL glyph and the occult spirit-soul-matter glyph in simultaneous use.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are astrology symbols called?
Astrology symbols are called glyphs. Each planet, zodiac sign, and major aspect has a specific glyph that encodes the planet or sign's core meaning through geometric composition.

What does the astrology symbol for the sun look like?
The Sun's glyph is a circle with a dot at its center. The circle represents wholeness and the infinite; the dot represents the individuated self at the center of existence.

What is the symbol for each zodiac sign?
The 12 signs: Aries (ram horns), Taurus (bull head), Gemini (Roman numeral II), Cancer (two curved claws), Leo (lion's tail), Virgo (stylized M), Libra (scales), Scorpio (M with barbed tail), Sagittarius (arrow), Capricorn (sea-goat tail), Aquarius (two wavy lines), Pisces (two fish).

What are the symbols for the planets in astrology?
Sun (circle with dot), Moon (crescent), Mercury (crescent-circle-cross), Venus (circle-cross), Mars (circle-arrow), Jupiter (4-shape), Saturn (h-cross), Uranus (H-circle), Neptune (trident), Pluto (PL or circle-crescent-cross).

What does the conjunction symbol look like in astrology?
The conjunction symbol is a circle with a short vertical line, indicating two or more planets occupying the same degree or within orb of each other.

What does the opposition symbol look like in astrology?
Two circles connected by a line with dots at each end, representing two planets directly across from each other at 180 degrees.

What are the four major chart angles in astrology?
The Ascendant (rising sign, eastern horizon), Descendant (western horizon), Midheaven/MC (highest point, career), and Imum Coeli/IC (lowest point, home and roots).

What is the North Node symbol in astrology?
The North Node is a horseshoe shape opening upward. The South Node is the same shape inverted. The North Node indicates the soul's evolutionary direction; the South Node indicates past-life familiarity.

What do Demetra George and Bernadette Brady say about astrological symbols?
Demetra George identifies three building blocks of all glyphs: the circle (spirit), crescent (soul), and cross (matter). Bernadette Brady emphasizes that the symbols carry the accumulated weight of thousands of years of human relationship with the planets.

What is the Part of Fortune in astrology?
The Part of Fortune is a calculated point shown as a circle with an X inside. It represents where one finds natural joy and ease, calculated from the Ascendant, Sun, and Moon positions.

Fixed Stars in Astrological Notation

Beyond the planets and calculated points, traditional astrology incorporates fixed stars: specific individual stars outside the solar system that exert influence when conjunct (within 1-2 degrees of) natal planets or chart angles. Bernadette Brady is the foremost contemporary authority on fixed star interpretation, and her Brady's Book of Fixed Stars (1998) provides the most complete English-language treatment of the subject.

Fixed stars are not given their own glyphs in standard astrological charts. Instead, they are listed by name alongside the degree they currently occupy in the ecliptic. Because fixed stars move very slowly (due to the precession of the equinoxes, approximately 1 degree every 72 years), their positions in the zodiac differ between tropical and sidereal calculations.

The most significant fixed stars in Western astrology include Regulus (28 degrees Leo in tropical astrology, associated with success, honor, and the potential downfall of the proud), Spica (23 degrees Libra, associated with exceptional gifts and fortunate outcomes), Algol (26 degrees Taurus, the most feared star in traditional astrology, associated with intensity, obsession, and Medusa's head), Antares (9 degrees Sagittarius, the heart of the Scorpion, associated with intensity and the passion that leads to both greatness and self-destruction), and Aldebaran (9 degrees Gemini, the eye of the Bull, one of the four Royal Stars, associated with honor, integrity, and success).

When a natal planet sits within 1 degree of a significant fixed star, the star's qualities infuse that planet's expression. A person with the Sun conjunct Spica will often demonstrate the star's association with exceptional talent and good fortune in their solar domain (identity, creativity, vitality). This level of astrological analysis, while requiring more technical knowledge, extends the symbolic vocabulary of the birth chart considerably.

Sabian Symbols: Degree-Level Astrological Notation

The Sabian Symbols are a set of 360 individual symbolic images, one for each degree of the zodiac, channeled by clairvoyant Elsie Wheeler and recorded by astrologer Marc Edmund Jones in 1925. Each degree of the zodiac thus has both its planetary and sign context and its specific Sabian Symbol image, providing an additional layer of interpretive richness.

Isidore Kozminsky also developed his own set of degree symbols, the Kozminsky Symbols, which provide an alternative set of 360 degree images with a slightly different symbolic flavor. Both systems are used by advanced astrologers to add nuance to planetary placements and chart angles.

In reading birth charts, Sabian Symbols are typically applied to the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and any planets in particularly prominent positions. The symbol for a planet's exact degree provides a poetic, imagistic description of how that planet's energy manifests in the specific individual's life. Demetra George incorporates Sabian Symbol analysis into her client readings as one tool among many for accessing the chart's living metaphorical layer, beyond the more abstract planetary and sign keywords.