Some days you just want to know where the Moon is and whether a planet has changed sign. You do not need a full chart for that. The Today's Sky page at /today answers it in one screen: the current Moon phase, the next New and Full Moon, and the sign and degree of every planet from the Sun to Pluto.
This guide shows what the page contains, how to turn those raw positions into something personal using your own chart, and when to move on to a proper transit reading. If transits are new to you, transits explained is the place to start.
What the page shows
Open Today's Sky and you see three blocks.
The Moon right now. The name of the current phase, such as Waning Gibbous, and how much of the Moon is lit as a percentage. Next to it are two dates: Next new moon and Next full moon.
Where the planets are now. Ten rows, one for each of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Each row shows the sign and the exact degree and minute.
A prompt at the bottom. If you are not signed in, it reads "Want it personalized?" with two buttons: Create my daily page, which takes you to sign-up, and Try compatibility first, which opens the compatibility checker. If you are signed in, it offers Open my dashboard instead.
The positions are calculated at the moment the page loads, from the same ephemeris the rest of Astrolas uses. Reload later in the day and the Moon's degree will have moved.
What you need
Nothing to see the page. It needs no birth data and no account. To make the positions mean something for you, it helps to have your birth chart open in another tab. You can get it free from the birth chart tool.
Step by step
- Open /today. The date at the top is today's date.
- Read the Moon block first. Note the phase and which sign the Moon is in (you will find it in the planet list).
- Scan the planet list for anything near 0 degrees or 29 degrees. A planet near 0 has just entered a sign. A planet near 29 is about to leave.
- Open your birth chart in another tab and compare. Find which of your houses each transiting sign falls in.
- If one of today's planets sits within a degree or two of one of your natal planets or angles, that is your contact for the day. Run it through the Transit tool for the full picture.
How to read the result
The Moon. The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days and moves roughly 13 degrees a day. Its sign sets the emotional weather: fire signs feel quick, earth signs practical, air signs talkative, water signs sensitive. Its house in your chart shows where your attention goes. The phase adds timing: the stretch from New Moon to Full Moon suits building and starting, and the stretch after the Full Moon suits finishing and clearing.
The next New and Full Moon. These are your planning dates. Many people start projects close to the New Moon and review them close to the Full Moon. To see which house those lunations hit for you, use the Lunation Analyzer, and read New Moon and Full Moon in your houses for what each house tends to bring.
The fast planets. The Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars move quickly enough that their daily degree matters. When one of them crosses a natal planet or angle, you often feel it for a day or two.
The slow planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto barely move from day to day. Their sign and degree describe the backdrop of months and years rather than the day. If one of them sits on a sensitive point in your chart, that contact colors the whole season. The outer planets and generations post explains why.
One thing the page does not show is retrograde motion. For whether a planet is retrograde and whether an aspect is applying or separating, use the Transit tool.
Making it personal
Today's Sky is the same for everyone. It becomes personal the moment you place it in your chart. A simple routine:
- Know your Ascendant sign. With whole-sign houses, the sign on your Ascendant is your 1st house, the next sign is your 2nd, and so on. That lets you place any planet in a house at a glance. See whole sign vs Placidus house systems if you use a different system.
- Know the degrees of your Sun, Moon and Ascendant. Those three contacts are the ones you are most likely to notice.
- Keep a short list of your natal planets' degrees. Then any row on /today within two degrees of one of them is worth a look.
When you want dates, orbs and interpretations for your own chart, the Transit tool does all of this for you.
Tips
- Check it at the same time each day. The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, so the time you load the page matters.
- Watch for sign changes of the fast planets. Venus entering a new sign, for example, often shifts what you want socially.
- Use the Next new moon date to schedule a fresh start and the Next full moon date to check progress.
- If a planet sits right on one of your angles, read midheaven vs ascendant to see which area of life it touches.
- The Moon Phase page takes the current phase further and lays it over your full chart.
Questions people ask
Does Today's Sky use my location?
No. It shows the zodiac positions of the planets, which are the same wherever you are. Houses depend on your location, which is why you need your own chart to place them.
Why does the Moon show a different degree when I reload?
Because it keeps moving. The page calculates positions live each time it loads.
Do I need an account?
Not to use this page. An account is only needed for the personalized features the prompt at the bottom mentions.
Try it
Open /today, note the Moon's sign and the next lunation dates, then check how today's planets meet your chart.