Obeying Signs
The southern signs of Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces are obeying signs of the zodiac.
Obliquity of the Ecliptic
The Earth's orbital plane is known as the ecliptic plane, and its relation with the Earth's tilt is known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. The angle between the plane of the ecliptic and the plane of the celestial equator and it is about 23 degrees and 27 minutes.
Occidental
From cusp of tenth house to fourth going westward is occidental. Occidental also means setting before the Sun.
Occultation
An occultation is an event during which one celestial object gets obscure or hidden by another celestial object that passes between it and the observer. We also get a conjunction aspect with an occultation. For example on certain Sun and Moon conjunctions we get solar or lunar eclipse where Sun or Moon gets hidden.
Occursion
It is a celestial event used to describe either conjunction of planets or their ingress into a zodiac sign.
Oikodektor
Oikodektor is a Greek word meaning "house steward". The planet that takes care of the affairs of a given house or sign is called its Oikodektor. For example Moon is the "Oikodektor" for the sign Cancer.
Opposition
An opposition is a major aspect of 180 degrees between two points. For example it can be between two planets in a horoscope or between one planet and a point like house cusp. Opposition is regarded as challenging and inharmonious aspect.
Orb
Also know as orb of influence, it is the distance in degrees till each planetary aspect remains in force. Major aspects like conjunction, square and opposition have bigger orb of about 6 to 10 degrees depending on the planets involved. Minor aspects like semi-sextile and quintile have 2 degrees of orb.
Orbit
The path any heavenly body follows as it travels in space around another celestial body. The Moon, for example, makes an orbit around Earth, while Earth and the other planets make orbits around the Sun.
Oriental
From cusp of tenth house eastward to fourth is Oriental. Oriental also means rising before the Sun.
Outer Planets
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are known as outer planets. These planets are not visible to the naked eye and were discovered in modern times.
Out of Bounds
Planets which are outside the prescribed declination either north or south of the celestial equator are called out of bound planets.
Out of Sign
An aspect between two planets which remain within orb but one of the planets is in different sign that regular aspecting sign. For example suppose Moon is at 29 degrees of Aries and Jupiter is at 3 degrees of Taurus, still they will be in conjunction aspect even they are in different signs.
Ownership
Every zodiacal sign is owned by a planet. For example Mercury has the ownership of Gemini and Virgo.
Astrology Terms starting with letter:
Written by Sanjay Sharma, © 2011, revised March 2021
