Secondary progressions move your birth chart forward at the rate of one day for each year of life. The chart for the 36th day after your birth describes you at 36. It is slow, personal and very good at showing long inner shifts: the progressed Moon changing houses every couple of years, the progressed Sun changing sign every thirty or so.
The Astrolas Progression tool calculates that chart for any date you choose and lays it out in four tabs. This guide shows you what each part of the page is and how to read it without getting lost. For the background on the technique, secondary progressions and the progressed Moon is the companion piece.
What the tool does
You give it your birth data and a target date. It works out the progressed positions of the planets and angles for that date and then shows three kinds of contact:
- Progressed to progressed (SP ร SP): aspects the progressed planets make with each other.
- Progressed to natal (PR ร NA): aspects from progressed planets to your birth planets and angles. These are the ones most astrologers watch.
- House and sign changes: when each progressed planet entered its current house and sign, and when it leaves.
On top of that it tracks the progressed lunation cycle, the relationship between the progressed Moon and progressed Sun, across your whole life.
What you need before you start
- Birth date, time and place. The time matters a great deal here. The progressed angles and the progressed Moon's house both depend on it, and a two hour error can shift house timing by years. See why birth time matters.
- The date you want to look at. Today is the default.
Step by step: filling in the form
Open the Progression tool and fill in:
- Name, any label you like.
- Day, Month, Year of birth.
- Hour / Minute of birth. Unknown Time is available, but read the house results with a lot of caution if you use it.
- City / Location, chosen from the suggestions so the coordinates are correct.
- Progression Date, the date you want the progressed chart for. There is also an hour and minute beside it, though for progressions a few hours makes almost no difference.
Press View Progression. The result page shows your birth details, the progression date and time you chose, and an Update button so you can change the date and recalculate without starting over.
The four tabs
Wheel
The progressed chart itself, with the usual Display, Share and Export menus for theme, size, bodies, share cards, PNG download and printing. Under the wheel you will find:
- Non-chart-related progressions Aspect Grid: aspects between the progressed planets, with an orb of 1ยฐ and anything within 12' highlighted.
- Second Progression Aspect Descriptions: the same SP ร SP contacts as a list, with the orb and a short description for each.
- Chart-related progressions Aspect Grid: progressed planets across the top, natal planets and angles down the side.
- Notable Progression Aspects: the PR ร NA list with orbs and meanings. The page itself tells you to pay closest attention to anything within 12' of exact.
- Progression Summary Table: each progressed planet with its sign, house, the houses it rules, the date it entered its current sign and house, how long it stays, and when it leaves.
Planets
A card for each progressed planet, starting with the Sun and Moon: the house it sits in, the sign, keywords, and a paragraph on what that phase tends to feel like. The progressed Moon card also describes which developmental cycle you are in by house. Some interpretation blocks on these cards showed a lock icon for guests when this guide was written.
Structure
The overall shape of the progressed chart (for example Splay or Bowl) and any aspect configurations such as a T-square or grand trine, if one is present. For what those shapes mean, see chart patterns.
Lunar Phases
Secondary Progressed Lunar Phases covers all eight phases of the progressed Moon relative to the progressed Sun, from birth to age 100. Each phase lasts roughly three and a half to four years, and your current phase is highlighted with a short description. The table below it, Progressed Moon Phases throughout life, gives the date range of each phase, the phase name, a meaning, and the dates the progressed Moon crossed into each natal house during that phase.
How to read the result
Progressions reward patience. Read in this order.
- Progressed Moon first. Find its sign and house on the Planets tab and in the summary table. It changes house every two to three years and is the clearest single marker of what you are emotionally busy with. Note the "leaves house" date.
- Your progressed lunar phase. On the Lunar Phases tab, the highlighted phase gives the season of the current 30 year cycle. A New Moon phase is about planting; a Full Moon phase is about seeing results; a Balsamic phase is about letting go.
- Tight PR ร NA aspects. In Notable Progression Aspects, anything under about 30' is live now. A progressed planet reaching one of your natal angles or natal luminaries is usually a period you remember.
- Sign and house changes of the progressed Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars. These are rare. When one is due in the summary table, mark it.
- SP ร SP aspects last. They describe internal tone rather than events.
If aspect names or orbs are unfamiliar, aspects explained covers them, and the twelve houses explained helps with the house material.
Tips
- Change the Progression Date to a year in the past when something big happened. Seeing what was exact then is the fastest way to learn how progressions show up for you.
- Set the date a year or two ahead to see which aspects are coming. Progressed aspects build slowly, so you get plenty of warning.
- Progressions pair well with outer events. Open Transit for the same date and look for a transit landing on the same natal point as a progressed aspect. When both agree, the period tends to be significant.
- If your birth time is estimated, check the progressed Ascendant and MC with care and lean more on the progressed planets, which barely depend on time.
- For a different kind of directed chart, what is solar arc direction explains the main alternative.
Questions people ask
How is this different from transits?
Transits use the real sky today against your birth chart. Progressions use a symbolic chart that moves one day per year. Transits often line up with outer events; progressions tend to describe inner development and readiness.
Why does the progressed Moon matter so much?
It is the fastest moving progressed body, about one sign every two and a half years, so it is the one you actually feel change within a normal span of time.
What orb should I use?
The tool uses 1ยฐ for progressed aspects and highlights anything within 12'. That is a standard, fairly tight choice. Most practitioners treat a progressed aspect as active for about a year either side of exact.
Try it with your own chart
Start with today's date, read your progressed Moon and your current lunar phase, then move the date around to test past turning points. The tool is at /progression.