A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ōra and scopos meaning "time" and "observer" (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or "marker(s) of the hour"). It is claimed by proponents of astrology that a horoscope can be used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology, although practices surrounding astrology have been recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century. Horoscope columns are often featured in print and online newspapers.
In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually based on a system of solar Sun sign astrology, based strictly on the position of the Sun at the time of birth or on the calendar significance of an event, as in Chinese astrology. In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry predictive columns, written in prose that may be written more for increasing readership than tied directly to the Sun or other aspects of the Solar System, allegedly based on celestial influences in relation to the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the month of birth, cusp (two days before or after any particular sign, an overlap), or decant (the month divided into three ten-day periods) of the person's month of birth, identifying the individual's Sun sign or "star sign" based on the tropical zodiac.
