Version 5.0

iPhemeris is switching our business model to a purchase of base features with a subscription to access all Premium features. No purchased feature (either in the base product or a previous In-App purchase) will ever be taken away. Apple App store policy requires developers to continue to make purchased features available for as long as the product they were purchased from is in the App store, and we intend to fully comply.

Don’t panic, if you don’t see something you purchased. It is still there somewhere. Check this documentation and especially this What’s New section. If you still can’t find it, then please contact us at [email protected]. It doesn’t help anyone to run to the App Store and leave a bad review, often filled with wrong information. Ask us, and we will try to help.

This change will be good for our customers as well as us going forward. It will enable us to continue to fix bugs and maintain the software and provide continual improvements to the base product and more importantly to add many more premium features.

We felt we had to make this change to be able to increase the pace of innovation and improvement; to continue to add new features and also to keep up with the pace of all the changes Apple is making to the user interface of macOS and iOS. Apple’s constant re-arranging of the deck chairs requires continual and ongoing maintenance to stay current. If we do not keep up, iPhemeris will quickly become non-functional or incompatible with newer Apple platforms. And then we all lose. This is the trend in the software industry and we are moving with it. We hope you will understand and stay with us, there are many very good things to come.

New, Improved & Fixed In this Version

1. FIXED: There were some issues with display of points being shown in the wrong house for some house systems: Equal MC, Campunus. These have all been fixed as far as we know. Contact us if you find more.
2. IMPROVED: Orb Settings have been improved.
   • It is now possible to easily turn ON/OFF display of any aspect for the Chart Wheel or Reports without changing the orb. Check/Uncheck the relevant check box next to each aspect.
   • Different Applying (A) and Separating (S) orbs can be independently set for: Luminaries (Sun/Moon), Planets and Fixed Stars.
3. NEW: Show Uranians in List setting. See the iPhemeris Settings menu accessed from the menu bar at the top of the screen. It is located on the first panel. It Turns ON/OFF the display of Uranians in planet and points list. This was added because Uranians are included with an All Access subscription, and not everyone wants to see these bodies in their lists because Astronomers now know they do not to exist.
4. NEW: 800+ Fixed Stars can be shown on the wheel and in reports. The user interface should be fairly self explanatory and they can be searched for by name or constellation. The list also serves as type fixed star Ephemerides because it shows the current position of the stars. Stars move at approximately the same rate of Ecliptic Longitude as precession, 1 degree every 72 years.
5. NEW: We have added interface translations for several more languages – Greek, Indonesian, Polish, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese. If you see something that is wrong with these please let us know. These are done with AI and abbreviations are probably not so great.

Fixed stars took a long time and were a lot of work because many things in the underlying data models needed to be changed to accommodate the many new points that we intend to allow to be shown on the wheel and in reports. Now that this work is done, the pace of improvement and innovation will be much quicker! Enjoy.

Before contacting support, please make a thorough review of the documentation. Many questions are already answered here. When contacting support:

GETTING SUPPORT

• Send email via the iPhemeris Menu at the top of the Screen: Help –> Email iPhemeris Support. That button automatically includes information about the version of MacOS and iPhemeris you are running and helps us diagnose the issue.
• Please provide as much information as possible about the issue, including:
  • The version of MacOS (see the Apple About menu).
  • The version of iPhemeris (see the iPhemeris About Menu).
• When asking a question about charts, include:
  • Date, time, place and type of horoscope you are asking about (it’s best to send a screen shot of the chart).
  • The exact nature of the issue you are encountering.
  • If you are getting a chart with an unfamiliar Ascendant/Mc, please review the help documentation on time zones. Wrong time zones are the most frequent cause of issues with Mc and Ascendants.
• Screen shots illustrating the issue are always helpful.

NOTE:
Posting negative reviews is not the best or fastest way to get our attention. It can take us weeks to notice. We are very responsive to email and often respond within hours, and will do our utmost to get things sorted ASAP!

To get support, use the option to email us from the iPhemeris Help Menu or at: iPhemeris Support

All of these settings are Global and are used throughout the program in every feature.

Ayanamsa

• When a feature is displaying Sidereal data, this Ayanamsa settings is used.
• Ayanamsa – Select a pre-defined Ayanamsa from the dropdown, or choose “Your Ayanamsa” at the bottom to set a custom value.
• Custom Ayanamsa – To use your own custom value for the Ayansamsa:
  • Select Your Ayanamsa at the bottom of the Ayanamsa list.
  • Enter your value in the box. Use a value for the Epoch Jan 1, 2000. iPhemeris will interpolate the correct value for other dates.
  • To calculate the correct value: ValueNow – ((CurrentYear – 2000) * 0.01396887831940).

Note: The degree offset from Tropical positions for pre-defined Ayanamsa are listed at the end of this documentation. Values shown are for the Epoch starting Jan. 1, 2000. iPhemeris adjusts those to the date of the Chart or Table being used. It does this using the mean rate of annual precession (0.01396887831940 degrees per year).

Symbols
Select the symbol used to represent Earth, Pluto, Eris & Vulcan. This applies to all features throughout iPhemeris.

Calculations

Part of Fortune – Sets the calculation used by all features. Most ancient authorities advocated using a different algorithm for day and night births. However, due to a mis-translation of Ptolemy’s writings many Astrologers commonly believe he advocated using the same formula for day and night births. Recent translations make it clear he did not. It’s your choice, iPhemeris offers both:

• • Different for Day and Night Births (default):
    • Part of Fortune for Day Birth = Ascendant + Moon – Sun.
    • Part of Fortune for Night Birth = Ascendant + Sun – Moon.
  • Same for Day or Night Births: Part of Fortune = Ascendant + Moon – Sun.

Lunar Nodes – Use either True Node or Mean Node in all features.

Black Moon – Use either True or Mean values for Lunar Apogee, also know as Black Moon and Lillith.

Languages
Use this setting to force iPhemeris to use one of the supported translations and override your system language settings.

Calendars
Choose the first day of the week (Sunday or Monday) for calendars displayed on the following feature tabs:

• Ephemeris and Declination/Latitude
• Aspect Calendar
• Transit Calendar

Uranians

Turn ON/OFF the display of Uranians in the lists of points in side panels where points to be displayed on the respective feature are selected.

Location Preferences are used by the Ephemeris tables and Calendar pages for the location and elevation when Topocentric data is being displayed.

When iCloud is enabled, iPhemeris stores horoscope data in iCloud. This allows all your devices (Mac and iOS) to share your horoscopes. A horoscope added or edited on one device will automatically be added or updated on all devices. Using iCloud saves time and provides secure backup.

iPhemeris uses very little iCloud storage for horoscope data and we strongly recommend using it.

To enable it:

1. Click Yes.
2. Follow all prompts.
3. If you are asked to sign into iCloud, please use the same account you use with iPhemeris on your other devices.
4. Proceed to MacOS System Preferences > iCloud >  iCloud Drive > Options and allow iPhemeris to use iCloud Drive (scroll down in the list if you do not see it).

Once iCloud is properly enabled astrological charts from other devices using iPhemeris will start to appear. This may take a few minutes. If you do not see them, wait 5 minutes then restart iPhemeris.

Trouble Shooting
Please double check the following:

• Check that iCloud is enabled & also that you have allowed iPhemeris to use iCloud Drive in MacOS System Preferences.
• If you can’t save charts we have seen users with the following issues:
  • iCloud was enabled but not iCloud Drive.
  • The iCloud storage limit was reached (the solution is delete some of the likely many photos up there or buy more space).
• If you are not seeing the charts saved on your iOS device, then also check that your iOS device has access to the internet via WIFI or a cellular connection. When using a cellular connection you must also allow cellular data or charts will not sync.

Displayed Planet & Points Preferences

Your settings for which Planets and other Points are displayed in each feature can be shared with iPhemeris on all your other devices via iCloud. Turn ON the setting next to the feature you want to share with all your other devices. Leave OFF the ones you want to only be used on that device.

• When ON, turning ON or OFF a planet shown on the Ephemeris for example, will turn that planet off in iPhemeris on all your other devices which you also have this setting ON.
• When OFF on a device, then the settings for which points to display on a Chart for example only effect that device.

This setting can be ON on some devices, and OFF on others. For example, if you wish to share your settings with iPhemeris on only Mac devices turn it ON on your Macs and leave it OFF on your iPhones.

Print Only In Black & White

Disables color printing throughout iPhemeris and improves readability for Black & White printers and/or saves costly ink and toner.

Astrologer Information

You may enter up to 5 lines of Astrologer information that is displayed in the lower right corner of the Chart Wheel. This can be anything you want and will appear on printouts also.

Arrange which functions appear and in what order on the iPhemeris Tab Bar (across the top of the main application window). Restart iPhemeris to see your changes.

Using this Preference you can have multiple instances of the Chart window or other feature if required.

iPhemeris offers pre-defined color themes which can be selected via the settings button (Gear icon) on most feature tabs.  We have created a variety of themes that work well on displays and for black and white and color printing and which use generally accepted colors for various astrological elements and points. However if you prefer to design your own color theme then this is the place to do it.

This custom Color scheme will be saved and sent to iCloud and is available to iPhemeris on iOS devices if you use that. You will see this color scheme available in versions of iPhemeris (version 11.0 or newer).

Define Your Color Scheme for Charts & Sky Now
Select the color well next to the planet, sign or other element you wish to set a color for. When you are done adjusting all the colors Save the changes. You may then apply this scheme by selecting “Your Colors” from the dropdown on the Charts & Sky Now settings panels.

Sky Now displays a continuously updating Chart of the Sky using the House System and Location specified in Preferences.

NAVIGATION

• The display updates once per second.
• Use the disclosure button in the toolbar show or hide the left sidebar.
  • Turn On or Off display of Planets and other Points from the left sidebar.
    • The check boxes on the LEFT control what is displayed on the wheel and also the overlay (horizontal lines) of the Graphic Ephemeris in reports.
    • The check boxes on the RIGHT control what is displayed on the reports and also the wavy ephemeris lines of Graphic Ephemeris in reports.
  • Adjust Orbs for aspects (or turn them off completely) in the left sidebar.
  • Sidebar settings are remembered and apply to Sky Now only.
• Use the Settings button (gear) to configure the Appearance of the Sky Now wheel (colors, style, etc).
• Adjust time steps using the drop down.
• Time step the chart using arrows:
  • Real-time updates are turned off once time-stepping has been started.
  • Use the button with the red line to resume real-time updating.
• Drag the divider between the chart and the reports section tor re-size.

SkyNow wheel styles and other settings are accessed via the Gear button in the Sky Now Toolbar.

EPHEMERIS TYPE

• Tropical, Sidereal, Geocentric, Topocentric, Heliocentric settings apply only to the SkyNow tab.
• Sidereal data uses the Ayanamsa defined from iPhemeris Preferences.
• Topocentric data will use the location and elevation at that location set from the Location Tab available on this Settings panel.

House System – Sets the House System used by the Sky Now chart.

Chart Wheel Styles:

• These work the same as Chart Wheel Styles for Charts. See Chart Preferences section.

Location – Sets the location used by the Sky Now chart. Enter location data using any of the following techniques:

• Enter latitude / longitude values manually.
• Search for a place name or address.
• Scroll around the Map.

Chart creating, editing and viewing is done from the Charts tab. The interface is simple and after familiarizing yourself with a few buttons you should be able to move around quickly.

NAVIGATION (LEFT to RIGHT)

• Sidebar Disclosure Button – Show / Hide left sidebar.
  • Displayed Planets & Points:
    • The check boxes on the LEFT control what is displayed on the wheel and also the overlay (horizontal lines) of the Graphic Ephemeris in reports.
    • The check boxes on the RIGHT control what is displayed on the reports and also the wavy ephemeris lines of Graphic Ephemeris in reports.
  • Orbs & Displayed Aspects:
    • Turn Aspect On/Off on chart and reports independently by checking or unchecking the box next to the Aspect label.
    • Set orbs for Applying / Separating for Luminaries (Sun & Moon), Planets and other bodies, Fixed Stars.
    • Fractional Orbs are allowed.
    • Be sure orbs don’t overlap for aspects that are close (e.g. 45 and 51 degree aspects) else only the first will be show. In this case you would need to use an orb of less than 6 degrees.
  • Fixed Stars:
    • 800+ visible fixed stars are in the list.
    • Search for them by common name or the constellation it is in.
    • Use the check box to show them on the chart wheel and in reports.
    • The list doubles as a fixed star Ephemerides. The position and sign shown is always the current position. Keep in mind that fixed stars move at approximately the same rate as precession, 1 degree of longitude every 72 years.
• Chart List – To display a saved chart, click the button at the top of the sidebar with the Chart icon to show/hide the list. By default all charts are saved and backed up to iCloud (not wise to disable this). All charts saved to iCloud by any version of iPhemeris (iOS or Mac) will be available here.
  • Add a Chart: Tap the ‘+’ button.
  • Copy a Chart: Copy the selected chart. Only works when 1 chart is selected.
  • Edit a Chart: Select a chart in the list:
    • Make sure only one is selected (a blue check mark appears on the left of the currently selected chart(s)).
    • Click the Edit button. If the button is not blue it means no chart is selected or more than one is selected.
    • Make your edits in the dialog that appears.
  • Clear Selected: Clears selected charts and stops displaying. Useful when selection is hidden by search filter or off screen.
  • Delete a Chart: Select a chart in the list (only one), click the Trash button.
  • Search/Filter: Search charts by Name or Categories. If you’ve added category tags to any of your charts, for example President, you can filter the list to only show charts “tagged” with the word President.
• Chart Style Settings – Click the gear button. See below for details.
• Show Charts Dropdown – Depending on the number of charts selected (1, 2 or 3) the drop down displays relevant display options. E.g. Currently selected chart with an additional chart for “Now” as a bi-wheel, or a composite of 2 selected charts, etc.
• Chart Notes: Add or edit written notes for the charts currently being displayed. Notes are saved as part of the chart data and sync via iCloud (when enabled) to all devices.
• Chart Rectification – 
  • Use the drop down to select a period to time step charts.
  • Use the Arrow buttons to advance the respective chart forward or back the selected amount of time.
• Text Size (A/A) – Adjusts the size of text show in the aspect reports view.
• Print Button – Print the currently displayed charts and their respective reports.
• Adjust Size of Chart Relative to Aspect Grid: Drag the divider between the wheel and the Aspect grid.

DRAW 1 CHART

• Click the row of the chart to draw.
• Select a Chart Type from the dropdown in the Toolbar.

DRAW 2 CHARTS (Bi-Wheel)

• Click any two charts in the list (first is on inner wheel, second on the outer).
• Make sure only two charts are selected, or de-select unwanted charts.
• Select 2 Charts in the drop-down in the toolbar.

DRAW 3 CHARTS (Tri-Wheel)

• Select any 3 charts in your list.
• Select 3 Charts in the drop-down above the chart display.

DRAW COMPOSITE

• Select two Charts.
• Select “Composite” in the dropdown in the toolbar.

DRAW BI-WHEEL with NATAL, RELOCATED, PROGRESSED or SOLAR RETURN

• If you’ve not already done so, make a Copy of the natal chart. To make a copy, select the chart (only 1 chart may be selected) and use the copy button.
• Edit one of the copies and add the additional data in the relevant section for whichever type you are trying to create: Relocated, etc. We recommend making a copy for each additional type. Then these can be compared in Bi or Tri-Wheels to the Natal horoscope.
• Select the Natal horoscope.
• Select the Relocated, Progressed or Solar Return.

Adding & Editing Charts

Time Zone lookup works best when data is entered in the dialog in the order the fields are listed (start at the top and work down).

• Date and Time – This is required.
• Location – To enter Latitude and Longitude, click the Edit button next to those fields. The Map view will drop down. The Map allows manual entry of latitude and longitude, search for locations by name, and drag and zoom to find locations. The position under the cross-hair is used and is more precise depending on the degree to which the map is zoomed.
• Time Zone
  • After date, time and place have been entered, use the Find Time Zone button to look it up.
  • Alternatively, you can enter it manually. iPhemeris uses standard time-zone notation, e.g. time zones west of GMT are negative (-) and east (+).
  • Local Mean Time – Calculates a time zone from the chart longitude. This is for researchers and should only be used by those who understand how and when to use it.
• Note – The Map and Time Zone lookup require Internet access.
• House System: Select a house system to use for the chart. This setting overrides whatever you set as the default for this chart only.
• Categories: Add any words to categorize your charts. These can be used in the chart list to search, filter and group your charts.
• Notes: Add and edit notes about the chart.
• Tropical / Sidereal – Individual charts can now display either tropical or sidereal positions (tropical sidereal is no longer a global setting). Sidereal positions use the global setting for Ayanamsa set in iPhemeris Preferences.
• Geocentric / Topocentric / Heliocentric – Horoscopes can display positions for any of these types of data. Topocentric positions use elevation (altitude above sea level) obtained from NASAs global elevation database. The value is obtained when you use the map to set the location. If you have an existing chart and are switching it to display Topocentric data, use the Map (Location EDIT button) to get the location again so that the elevation can be obtained.

Relocated, Progressed & Solar Return Horoscopes

The fastest (and recommended) way to create Relocated, Progressed and Solar or Lunar return charts is to make a copy of the respective natal chart. Select one in your chart list and use the copy button, then find the copy and edit to add Relocated, Progressed or Solar Return settings. Copies makes it possible to compare them in bi-wheels or tri-wheels to each other.

Relocated Chart
Relocation Charts require additional information. After You’ve entered Natal or Event information, check the Relocated box to enter Relocation data.

• Location (required) – Provide latitude and longitude using the Map view. Use the Edit button to display the Map view.
• Place Name (optional) – Location search from the Map sets this automatically, you can manually enter and edit it.

Progressed Charts
Progressed Charts require additional information. After you’ve entered Natal or Event information, check the Progressed box to add Progression data.

• Select Progress to Now if you wish the chart to always be progressed to the current date and time.
• Or de-select Progress to Now, to set a specific Date and Time.
• Either Progress to Now or a Date and Time are required.
• Choose a Planet and Cusp progression styles.
• Charts can be both Relocated and Progressed.

Solar & Lunar Return Charts

Solar and Lunar Return horoscopes require additional information. After You’ve entered Natal or Event information, check the Solar / Lunar Return box.

Solar Return

• Year – Enter a year for the solar return. Must be 4 digits. Click AD/BC to toggle (on available with extended ephemeris option).
• Location (required) – Set the place where the subject was on the Date & Time of the Solar Return.
  • Edit – displays the map and allows location search.
  • Use Natal – When the subject was at the same location as for the natal chart, this sets the Solar Return location with that data.
• Place Name (optional) – set by the Map tool and can be edited. This is not location lookup. Use the map map for location lookup.
• Time Zone:
  • After date, time and place have been entered, use the Find Time Zone button to look it up.
  • Or, enter time zone manually. iPhemeris uses standard time zone notation.
  • Local Mean Time – Calculates a time zone from the chart longitude. This is for researchers and should only be used by those who understand how and when to use it.
• Solar Return charts cannot also be Relocated or Progressed.

Lunar Return

The data required to cast Lunar Return charts is essentially the same as for Solar Returns. To create one:

• Select the Lunar Return button on the Solar / Lunar Return panel.
• Enter a date near the date you want a Lunar Return chart for.
• Use the Previous and Next buttons to find Lunar Returns after, or previous to that date.
• Continued clicking of next/previous buttons steps back and forward through all lunar returns for the charts natal moon location.

NOTE: If the chart type does not remain selected after leaving the Edit Chart dialog, it is because iPhemeris did not find all the data needed to display that type of chart. Please check that you have entered all required information.

CHART WHEEL STYLES

• Chart Colors – Select a color scheme from the drop down. This applies only to charts (not Sky Now). You can design your own color scheme from iPhemeris Preferences and which will appear on this dropdown after you’ve defined it in iPhemeris Preferences.
• Show House Numbers – Toggles the display of House numbers on the chart wheel.
• Label House Cusps – Toggles house cusp labels. Turn OFF for European wheel.
• Show Minutes on Wheel – Toggles the display of minutes on astrology charts. Minutes are NEVER displayed on Tri-Wheels. Minutes are ALWAYS displayed on reports.
• Show Aspects On Wheel – Toggles the display of Aspects on the chart. No effect on display of aspects on reports.
• Always Show MC & Asc – Can be used to turn off display of points on the chart if they are the same as various house cusps in the house system used. No effect on reports. E.g. when set to NO, the Asc point is not displayed on a chart using Placidus.
• French Wheel Style – Horoscope wheel is displayed in style used and preferred in France. Disables some of the other wheel style preferences.
• Dotted Line for Separating Aspects – When ON separating aspects are shown using a dotted line. When OFF a dotted line is used to indicate minor aspects.
• Draw Degree Marks on Wheel – Toggles ON or OFF the drawing of degree marks (1 per degree) and with a longer tick mark for the Decanates.
• Draw Bold Axis Cusps with Arrows – Bolder lines for MC/IC and Asc/Dsc and with Arrows.
• Show Decanates – Toggle the style of Decanates on chart wheel: None, Empty, Modern Rulerships, Traditional Rulerships.
• Show Bounds, Terms, Limits – Display Bounds on wheel: Egyptian or Ptolemaic.
• Show Nakshatra – Display 27 Nakshatra divisions around the Tropical wheel based on the Ayanamsa selected.

House System – The default house system when creating charts. Changing this does not change the house system used by charts already created. Edit a specific chart to change its house system, or make a copy and have one with each.

Use 24 Hour Time – Forces time entry and time display to use 24 hour style. This over-rides time entry / display styles that are determined by your Mac System Settings for date and time in your country.

Ephemeris Type: Tropical / Sidereal – Individual charts can now display either Tropical or Sidereal data. This sets the default used when creating a new chart. When sidereal, it uses the global Ayanamsa value set in iPhemeris Preferences.

Ephemeris Type: Geocentric / Topocentric / Heliocentric – Individual horoscopes can now use Geocentric, Topocentric or Heliocentric data. This setting sets the default used when creating new charts. Topocentric & Heliocentric are only available and enabled if you have purchased the Extended Ephemeris from the iPhemeris Store.

Location Use by Chart + Now – The chart for Now used in Bi-wheels will use the location specified by this setting.

• Current – The location you set for Sky Now.
• Natal – The location used by the chart on the inner wheel.
• Default – The Default location set in iPhemeris Preferences.

Rulers On Reports – Show Modern or Traditional Rulers

Progression Defaults – Changing default Progression settings does not change the style used on charts already created and in your chart database.

• Progressed Planets – The default style used to Progress the planets, bodies and any other point derived from their positions.
• Progressed MC & Cusps – The default style used to Progress the MC and other House cusps.

iPhemeris currently offers the most common Progression styles.

Changing the default Progression settings does not change the progression style used on progressed charts previously created and already in your chart database.

Progression settings for individual charts are stored with each chart in the database allowing you to experiment with different progression styles. To change the progression settings of an existing chart, edit the chart individually using the chart editor.

TERMS EXPLAINED (Sort of)

We say “sort of” because there is a lot of loose usage and conflation relative to Progression terminology. iPhemeris uses them in the following manner:

• Progression – Moves the planets, bodies and angles in time based on the actual planetary motion for the elapsed time between the date/time of the Natal or Radix chart, and the date/time of the Progressed chart. Progressions typically produce positions as they are found in an Ephemeris. Progressions techniques produce charts where the angular relationships are constantly changing over time just as they do in the sky.
• Direction – Moves all planets and points by the same amount or arc, either degrees longitude or Right Ascension (RA), depending per the selected type. Direction is typically based on the Sun’s arc in Longitude or RA, but directions can also be based on the movements of other bodies. Currently iPhemeris offers directions based on the Sun. Direction techniques keep all the angles between the directed elements the same.

PROGRESSION STYLES – PLANETS

• Secondary Progressed – Planets & other bodies are moved 1 day for each year and fraction thereof between the date of the natal or radix chart, and the date of the Progressed Chart. They are all shown in their position on the implied Secondary progressed date and time. iPhemeris calculates the exact time (to the second) between the two dates given, and uses the interpolated ephemeris positions for that time. For example, in a Secondary Progressed birth chart for a person 30 years and 6 months old, you would see that the positions shown on the progressed chart are between the Ephemeris values at the 30th and 31st rows (days) after the birth date.
• Solar Arc in Longitude – All planets are moved the same number of degrees (in longitude) which the Sun moved as calculated by the Secondary Progressed technique described above. Using this style of progression, planets will be in positions they never actually occupied (as a group) in time and space. For example, inner planets move faster than 1 degree per year and some of the outer planets move less than 1 degree per year and so moving them all together at the rate of the sun’s movement creates a configuration that never actually existed.

PROGRESSION STYLES – CUSPS

• Solar Arc in Longitude – The MC is progressed by the Sun’s Solar Arc in Longitude from the natal or radix date to the progressed date. The Ascendant and cusps are calculated from the progressed MC’s implied Right Ascension. Solar Arc in Longitude uses the distance the Sun travels along the plane of the Ecliptic.
• Solar Arc in RA – The MC is progressed by the Sun’s Solar Arc in Right Ascension from the natal or radix date to the progressed date.  The Arc of RA is applied to the natal RAMC and then used to derive all the other cusp and sensitive points. Solar Arc in RA uses the distance the Sun travels along the Equator.
• Naibod in Longitude – The average daily motion of the Sun in longitude (360°/365.24219879) between natal date and date progressed to is added to the MC and which is then used to derive the other sensitive points.
• Naibod in RA – The average daily motion of the Sun in longitude (0° 59′ 8.33″) between natal date and date progressed to is added to the MC and which is then used to derive the other sensitive points.
• Quotidian – Calculates the cusps using the actual date/time of interpolated progressed date. This is useful for progressing and doing Horary analysis because the progressed cusps change throughout the year according to the fractional portion of the year of the radix. If you don’t understand this explanation then use Solar Arc in Longitude.
• Solar Solar Arc Directed – MC, ASC and cusps are moved the same number of degrees in longitude the Sun moved, using the Secondary Progression technique.

The search bar is at the top of the list of Charts in all versions of iPhemeris. Any text typed into this bar (regardless of upper or lower case) will cause the list to be filtered to show only items in your database with that text in either of the following fields:

• Name
• Category

Example
If there was an item in your database with:

• George Patton in the NAME field.
• WW2 in the category field.

You could find it by entering either patton or ww2 into the search bar.

Categories
The category field is a good way to group charts and find all items labeled with one of your categories. You can add as many categories to a Chart as you like. Separate them by a space or comma.

For example you could categorize:

• George Patton’s chart with: ww2 general
• Dwight Eisenhower’s chart with: ww2 general president

Entering president in the search bar will show Eisenhower’s chart, but not Patton’s.

MORE SOPHISTICATED SEARCHES

Use the ‘/’ (forward slash) character to create more sophisticated searches:

• Text entered to the left of the / character will be restricted to being in the NAME field.
• Text to the right of the / will be searched for only in the CATEGORIES field.
• Words to the right of the / and which are separated by a space will be combined using AND to enable searching for a combination of categories.

Examples

• To find all items your database with Patton in the NAME field and WW2 in the Categories field enter: Patton / ww2.
• To find all horoscopes in your database where the Categories had Actor AND German, enter:  / actor german.

iPhemeris uses an international, open source Time Zone database known as TZDATA. You can read more about it here: TZDATA on Wikipedia

• Time Zone lookup requires Internet access (WIFI or a cellular data connection).
• It requires that the: Date, Time and Location are already set.
• Find Time Zone – This button queries the database for the Time Zone in effect for the data and time at the location.
• Local Mean Time – Calculates a Time Zone based purely on Longitude. This is only recommended for researchers and very old dates.

TZDATA is contributed to and corrected by computer scientists all over the world. It was originally created to be an accurate source of Time Zone data for computer clocks which need to know when a specific location switches between regular and Summer or Daylight time DST. Due to the various and politically complex dates when places around the world have adopted and repealed Summer Time, the database can sometimes be off by 1 hour in a specific location. This is happening less and less frequently due to continuous updating and improvement.  Anyone finding errors can report it to TZData by providing 3 sources proving the error, e.g. newspaper articles, etc. TZDATA is now the most accurate historical record of time zone data and clock changes anywhere in the world.

For US locations, errors sometimes occur for dates prior to 1966 (when DST was mandated nationwide). When errors of this type occur, it is typically that the date for the switch between DT and DST is incorrect. This will produce an ascendant difference of approximately 15 degrees. If you are seeing an unfamiliar ascendant or midheaven value, do not assume iPhemeris is wrong, do a Google search for when Daylight/Summer time was adopted at the place of the chart being cast.

Some software uses an older source for historical time zone and daylight savings changes called the ACS Atlas and which is based on The Olsen Database, the predecessor to TZDATA. Unfortunately, the ACS atlas is known to be extremely error prone, so much so that the developers of TZDATA decided they could not use it as their starting point. They analyzed ACS’s accuracy and uncovered too many errors. The developers of iPhemeris have also observed over the years many errors in charts based on ACS. We therefore concluded that the safest approach was not to include it, and we suggest that when a discrepancy arises between TZDATA and a chart cast using ACS, to simply do the research.

Time zones and Daylight / Summer Time are an important subject for Astrologers to be familiar with and it will be well worth your time to study a bit about the subject.

iPhemeris is a powerful tool that displays Tropical, Sidereal, Topocentric and Heliocentric data for any location and time at that location around the world (Topo and Heliocentric are available with the Extended Ephemeris). Simply by adjusting a few Display Preferences (gear button) you can have a standard monthly, tabular Midnight or Noon GMT Ephemeris or set it for any other time and time zone. For example, the Open of the New York Stock Market.

• Ephemeris tables display a full month of: planetary, asteroid, lunar phases, lunar ingress, moon “void of course” times and eclipse data.
• Data is grouped into weeks, with weeks starting on Sunday.
• The date column shows day and day of the week.
• The GST column displays Greenwich Sidereal Time.
• Two Moon positions are included:
  • This first displays the Lunar position at Ephemeris Time Zone and Hour as set in settings.
  • The second displays its position 12 hours later.
• Heliocentric tables do not show Moon tables or the Sun, Earth can be included instead from the planet picker in the side panel.
• Columns for the individual planets and bodies can be turned on or off in the side panel at left.
• The display of planetary longitude data is in Degrees, Minutes and Seconds order and is read as follows:

• The display of planetary declination and latitude (declination on the left, latitude on the right of each column) is in Degrees, Minutes and seconds and is read as follows:

25 n 28′ 59″ = 25 degrees North, 28 minutes, 59 seconds.

NAVIGATION

• The Disclosure button shows or hides the sidebar.
  • In the sidebar click buttons next to the various bodies to turn them on or off in the display.
  • The Data Export button will display the option to purchase Data Export (if you do not own it) or show planet set for data export.
• The Gear button shows the settings window.
• The Date entry field can be used to jump to a specific date.
  • If you purchased the Extended Ephemeris, clicking AD/BC toggles between dates before or after AD year 1.
  • There is no year 0.
  • When looking at pages for months prior to year 1 the title also displays the year in the Julian (Astronomical) Calendar which does have a year 0.
  • The Julian astronomical date for the 1st day of the month is included in the page title.
• The Left / Right arrow keys page back or forward by month.
• The Today button always returns to the current day and month.
• Longitude | Dec / Lat button switches between the two sets of data.
• The Print button prints the currently displayed month.
• The Text Size buttons increase and decrease the text.
• Click a row to highlight it, click again to un-highlight.

Ephemeris Settings are accessed via the Gear button at the top of the Ephemeris tab. These settings effect only the Ephemeris tabs.

The Ephemeris display settings are accessed via the gear button. Clicking that button display the following dialog which can be used to set:

• Time Zone andTime for data shown in the tables.
• Data Precision – long or short format.
• Color Scheme – color scheme used to display the ephemeris tables.
• Tropical or Sidereal – This setting is no longer global and relates only to the ephemeris tables displayed in the Ephemeris Tab. The sidereal setting uses the Ayanamsa selected in iPhemeris Preferences.
• Geocentric, Topocentric, Heliocentric – Topocentric and Heliocentric are only available with the Extended Ephemeris. See the iPhemeris store to purchase Extended Ephemeris.

Time Zone & Ephemeris Hour
This setting controls what time zone and hour each row of data in the Ephemeris tables uses. The tables will show the data in the selected Time Zone at the selected Ephemeris Hour.

• Time Zone – It uses standard Time Zone notation. Locations West of Greenwich are negative (-) and East are positive (+). It does not auto adjust for Summer/Winter time.
• Ephemeris Hour – Sets the hour in the the selected Time Zone.

Examples

1. For a Noon GMT Ephemeris, set a Time Zone of UTC (GMT) 00:00 with an Hour of 12.
2. For a Midnight Ephemeris is your Time Zone, set the Time Zone to your time zone and the Hour to 00:00.
3. For a New York Stock Market Ephemeris, set the Time Zone to -5:00 (or -4 during summer time) and the Ephemeris Hour to 9:30.

Void of Course Moon tables display in the lower left of the Ephemeris and Declination / Latitude displays. The table is included with the Mac Version of iPhemeris, and is available as an In-App Purchase on iOS.

• Time Columns – the first 2 or 3 columns show the date and time of the event. There will be 3 columns when GMT, the Ephemeris Time Zone and Local time are not the same, other wise only two.
• Last Aspect Column – Show the last planet to aspect the moon and the aspect it made.

Lunar Ingress Columns

• Sign Column – Shows the next sign the moon entered (after the last aspect to its left).
• Time Columns – 2 or 3 columns listing the time of the ingress event. As above there are 3 columns when GMT, Ephemeris Time Zone and Local time are not the same, other wise two.

The Void of Course period is the time between last aspect and the moon’s entrance into the next sign (Lunar Ingress).

Data export allows any data in your version of the ephemeris including asteroids and uranians to be exported to a file of Comma Separated Values (.csv) and saved on your Mac.

Planet and Body Check Boxes
These are in the sidebar at the left of the Ephemeris View. They set which planetary bodies will have their data exported to a file. These settings are independent of the display columns and only effect what is exported.

Start & End Date and Times
The Start and End date/time fields set the starting and ending point of the exported data. This setting in combination with the Frequency setting will determine how many rows of data are exported. You may select any period of time in the range of data supported by your version of the Ephemeris. For example if you set a start of Jan. 1, 2021 and an end of Jan. 1 2022 with a 1 day frequency you will get 365 rows of data.

Tropical / Sideral
This setting is independent of the displayed data and determines if the values exported are tropical or sidereal. If sidereal, then the ayanamsa setting set in iPhemeris Preferences is used. If you’ve never selected an ayanamsa then it defaults to Tropical and this setting has no effect.

Geocentric / Topocentric / Heliocentric
Data exported can be either:

• Geocentric – Earth centered data.
• Topocentric – Earth centered data as viewed from elevation at the spot on the Earth selected in Location Preferences (see iPhemeris Preferences). When you set the location using the map from the Location Preferences panel, iPhemeris will also get the elevation for that location from a NASA derived global elevation database.
• Heliocentric – Sun centered data. The Sun is not available, Earth is offered as an alternative.

Time Zone
Determines what time zone is applied to the date/time setting. If UTC 00:00 is set, then the data is GMT for whatever time was set.

Frequency of Data Points
Use a combination of the Every field and the Days/Hours field to determine how many rows of data you get between the selected starting and ending date/time.

Examples:

• If you want to export hourly moon data, set Every = 1 and Hours in the drop down.
• If you want data twice a day or every 12 hours, set Every = 12 and Hours in the drop down.
• Weekly data can be obtained by setting Every = 7 and Days in the dropdown.

Be careful with this setting, setting hourly data for a period of 1 year is 24 rows x 365 days.

Data To Include
This determines how many columns of data you get for each selected planetary body. Most planetary bodies have all four values, if it does not, then that column will simply be excluded for that body.

Some planetary bodies, like Chiron, do not have data available for all periods of time for various reasons. Chiron for example passed close to Saturn in the distant past, making it impossible to accurately calculate its location prior to that date. In those cases you will see the following value substituted: –99999.0

The Graphic Ephemeris can be added to the Mac version of iPhemeris with a one-time In-App Purchase. The Graphic Ephemeris feature adds the following capabilities:

• A new tab on the main view allowing display of planetary longitude and declination.
• A new Graphic Ephemeris Report in the Report section of charts that overlay’s the currently displayed astrological chart data.

The feature will be added in the last tab position but it can be moved anywhere from the Function Toolbar tab of iPhemeris Preferences.

SETTINGS

Settings are accessed from the gear at the top left of the Graphic Ephemeris View. The settings are only for the Graphic Ephemeris Tab and allow setting:

• The Color Scheme
• The data type to display graphically: Tropical, Sidereal, Topocentric or Heliocentric.

LONGITUDE

When longitude is selected, standard zodiacal positions for bodies selected in the disclosure panel on the left are drawn for the time period set in the start and end date fields in the tool bar above the graph.

UNDERSTANDING THE DISPLAY

If you are not familiar with the display of a graphical ephemeris, it might help to understand for example, that bodies are in Aries when shown on the graph between 0° and 30° and they are in Pisces when between 330° and 360°.

Planets are conjunct where lines cross and they are in aspect to each other when they are separated vertically by the degrees of that particular aspect. For example, if the Sun is on the horizontal line labeled 30° (Aries/Taurus cusp) and Venus is on the horizontal line labeled 90° (Gemini/Cancer cusp) they are separated by 60° and are sextile on that date.

When Moon Phase is selected in the planet selector, New and Full Moon are displayed. New moon is shown where sun and moon lines cross and full moon where they are 180° apart.

VIEWING POSITIONS

To see standard Astrological notation for any body currently displayed on the graph:

• Open the sidebar at the left (square button in upper left corner of Graphic Ephemeris view).
• Click select the magnifying glass button on the panel (if not already blue).
• Click the mouse anywhere on the graph and the astrological positions for the date wherever the mouse is moved are displayed.

HARMONIC RANGES

Using the harmonic range selector to the right of the Use button, it is possible to look for aspects by folding the graph over on itself for the selected range. If you are not familiar with how this works, best to leave it set at 360°.

For example, if a range of 90 is set then the vertical scale is restricted to a range of 90° and things at 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° are all displayed at the 0° position and appear to be conjunct. This makes it easy to spot angles for the selected harmonic.

Harmonic ranges can only be used on the longitude display and are disabled when showing declination.

VIEWING DECLINATION

When the Declination button is selected in the toolbar at the top of the Graphic Ephemeris window declination of any planet or body selected in the sidebar is shown. Declination for most bodies is between -30° (south) and 30° (north) degrees of latitude.

Use of harmonic ranges does not make sense for declination and therefore the range selector is disabled.

When enabled (see iPhemeris Store), the Graphic Ephemeris Chart Report shows up as a new tab in the Reports section of Charts and Sky Now. For full details on how it works see the previous section:

• Click the Search Button to display a pop up window showing data under the mouse.
• Select a date range to display.
• Click the Use button to update after a new chart is selected.
• Harmonic ranges are shown using the degree entry field to the right of the Use button.
• Declination data is not available in the Charts or Sky Now Reports view.
• When a Horoscope is being displayed, the positions of the first chart (inner most wheel) are overlaid on the Graphic Ephemeris. These positions are shown as horizontal dashed lines.

DISPLAYED POINTS

1. The planets and points selected to display on the Horoscope wheel will be included on the main graphic ephemeris chart (wavy lines).
2. The planets and points selected to display in Reports will be used for the dotted line overlays.

iPhemeris offers a powerful Calendar style Aspectarian that can display Tropical or Sidereal positions for any location and time around the world. An Aspectarian shows the relationship between bodies in the sky on a particular date, e.g. the Sun relative to Saturn on a day.

SETTINGS

Aspect and Transit Calendar share the same settings. They are accessed via the Gear button. Changing them for Aspect calendar also updates them for  Transit Calendar and vice versa.

ASPECTARIAN DISPLAY

• • It uses a calendar like format.
  • The displayJ0.0*@ R1.0*is read: Sun at 0.0° Capricorn, conjunct Uranus at 1.0° of Capricorn.
  • Planets & Asteroids shown on the Aspectarian can be turned On or Off in the sidebar.
  • Orbs for Aspects can be adjusted from the left sidebar. Open it and click the button with the I F symbol. Fractional Orbs are allowed.
  • Sidebar settings for Planets and Orbs are saved and only apply on the Aspect Calendar, i.e. no other iPhemeris feature shares these settings.

NAVIGATION

• The Disclosure button shows or hides the sidebar.
• The Date field jumps to the specified month and year. Years must be 4 digit (YYYY).
• Left / Right Arrow buttons page back and forward by months.
• The Today button always returns to the current month.
• The Print button prints the month currently showing.
• The Text Size buttons increase or decreases calendar text.

iPhemeris offers a powerful monthly Transit Calendar that displays transits between things in the sky and any Chart (the Radix) in your Astrological Chart database. Positions are either Tropical or Sidereal as per iPhemeris Preferences.

The first time used it prompts for a Radix Chart, select one from the list of existing Charts. If none exist yet, return here later after you’ve created the one you want to use.

SETTINGS

Aspect and Transit Calendar share the same settings. They are accessed via the Gear button. Changing them for Aspect calendar also updates them for  Transit Calendar and vice versa.

TRANSIT CALENDAR DISPLAY

• The column to the left of the aspect glyph displays the position of things in the sky on that date.
• The column to the right of the aspect glyph shows the position of aspected bodies in the Radix Chart.
• The displayJ0.0*@R1.0* is read as Transiting Sun at 0.0° Capricorn, conjunct natal Uranus at 1.0° Capricorn.
• Bodies and Points can be individually toggled for things in the Sky and the Radix from the left sidebar:
  • • PR Button (left most) – Toggles things in the Sky.
    • Middle Button – Toggles things for the Radix Chart.
    • IF Button (right most) – Sets Orbs.
• Use the Edit button in the toolbar to select a different Radix Chart.
• Sidebar settings for Bodies, Points and Orbs are remembered and only apply to the Transit Calendar. i.e. no other iPhemeris feature shares these settings.

NAVIGATION

• The Disclosure button shows or hides the sidebar.
• The Date field jumps to the specified month and year.
• Left / Right Arrow buttons page back and forward by months.
• The Today button always returns to the current month.
• The Edit button displays your saved charts. Select one to change the Radix chart.
• The Print button prints the month currently showing.
• The Text Size buttons increase or decreases calendar text.

Ephemeris and Calendar Pages

Click the Printer button in upper right of the view, or Right-click or Ctrl-Click in the page.

Charts and Chart Reports

Right-click or Ctrl-Click on the Chart View or Report Tab you want to print.

iPhemeris uses iCloud to backup and share your astrological chart data between iPhemeris on all your iOS and Mac devices. The first time iPhemeris sees an active iCloud account on a device, it prompts for permission to use iCloud, it will only ask once.  If you decline (we don’t recommend this), you can turn it on later iPhemeris Settings/Preferences.

** We strongly recommend you use iCloud to protect your chart/horoscope data. **

USING iCLOUD

1. iOS Devices – Enable iPhemeris to use iCloud from iPhemeris Settings.
2. MacOS Devices – Enable iPhemeris to use iCloud from iPhemeris Settings/Preferences.
3. Make sure iPhemeris is enabled to use iCloud Drive in iOS System Settings or Mac System Preferences. iCloud Drive must be enabled and iPhemeris permissioned to use it in order store and share chart data.

iOS – ENABLE iCLOUD DRIVE on iOS

1. On your device goto System Settings.
2. Tap your name at top left where Apple ID, iCloud… is shown.
3. In list on right tap iCloud which is near top.
4. Scroll down and make sure iCloud Drive is on.
5. Scroll further down and make sure iPhemeris is on.

Step 3

MacOS – ENABLE iCLOUD DRIVE on MacOS

1. Goto Mac System Preferences.
2. Select Accounts.
3. Select iCloud account in list on left side. If you do not see it then your device is not yet logged into iCloud.
4. If you DO see it, select it and then in the window to the right click the Options button next to iCloud Drive.
5. Find iPhemeris in the list and make sure it is selected as shown in the image below.

Step 3

HANDLING DUPLICATE CHARTS

1. First, turn iCloud on in iPhemeris on ALL devices you intend to use it with.
2. Second, allow it to finish syncing all devices. This can take several minutes or hours and it is best to wait until you see all your charts appear on all devices.
3. Finally, choose one and only one device and delete the duplicates. Deletions will automatically propagate to all your other devices.

DIABLING ICLOUD

This is not recommended. Turning iCloud OFF means that you will have no backup for your astrology charts and if something happens to your system of your installation of iPhemeris, you will not be able to recover them unless the system is fully backed up some other way.

• You can disable iCloud in iPhemeris from iPhemeris Settings.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

iPhemeris NEVER deletes your chart data for any reason. Only you can delete charts. Therefore if you are not seeing charts on a new device or after an upgrade of iOS check all of the following:

1. You are logged into iCloud.
2. You are logged into the same iCloud account you used on the previous device.
3. You have an internet connection.
   • Any WIFI connection will work.
   • If the connection is only mobile make sure that mobile data is enabled and iPhemeris is enabled to use it. The settings to enable iPhemeris to use mobile data are typically in the cellular section of iOS Settings App. Chart syncing requires mobile data when the connection is exclusively mobile (no WIFI).
4. If the first three are ok and you still cannot save charts check that you have not exceeded your iCloud storage limit.

Can’t Save Charts

1. Check that you have not reached your iCloud storage quota. If you are out of storage iPhemeris will fail silently. The simplest solution is to free up space by deleting some of the likely thousands of photos you have up there 🙂
2. iPhemeris can also fail to save charts if iCloud is ON in iPhemeris Preferences but not enabled to use iCloud Drive. See above instructions to enable iCloud Drive.
3. iCloud sync and storage cache can become corrupt. This can be fixed by simply logging out of iCloud and back in again.

Uranian (Hamburg) Hypothetical Bodies

These are now known not to exist, however some wanted them so they have been added as an In-App purchase. Have at it 😉