Words the used in the practices
Defined without mystique. This is The Grove's glossary; the words used across the site, each defined in plain language so no one has to feel lost at the door. Terms appear at the end of the writing that uses them, a quiet key to the language of the practice.
A
8 termsThe Arabic letter-number system, used in the esoteric science of letters to find meaning in names and words.
A house or unit number reduced to a single digit and read for the character of a home. A lens for noticing what a space asks of you, never a reason to reject a perfect apartment.
Any surface set aside for practice: a table, a shelf, a windowsill, a corner of a dresser. History's grand altars belonged to temples and institutions; home practice has nearly always been modest. An altar is defined by use, not by size or budget, and yours doesn't have to look like anyone else's.
Repeating number sequences such as 111 or 444 that appear in everyday life, read as messages of guidance, reassurance, or timing from angels and spirit guides.
A yoga posture. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, asana simply means a steady, comfortable seat; over time it came to name all of the physical poses. Asanas build strength and flexibility, but their deeper purpose is preparing the body to be still enough for meditation.
The angles between planets in a chart, traditionally read as the relationships between them: harmonies, tensions, standoffs, alliances. Where a chart stops being categories and starts being a story.
Traced back over 25,000 years to early lunar tracking. True systems began in Mesopotamia and Babylon, where the zodiac wheel was invented to measure seasonal changes. There are three main tyes of astrology Western, Vedic (Jyotish), and Chinese.
The early 20th century English artist who developed the modern sigil method.
B
3 termsTwo or more runes joined into one symbol, the point where runes and sigils meet.
Getting to know a new deck by handling it, studying the cards and working with it regularly. Some readers sleep with a new deck nearby or do a deck interview spread to learn its personality.
Building a practice out of what someone else's practice looked like, then wondering why it feels like a costume. Usually not fakery; usually longing wearing the wrong outfit. The remedy isn't wanting less, it's going and getting the meaning directly.
C
12 termsA single card drawn for guidance or focus for the day ahead. It is one of the simplest ways to build a relationship with a deck.
Gentle plant oils such as olive, jojoba, sweet almond, or coconut that dilute essential oils so they can be used safely on the skin. They nourish on their own too, which is why a simple olive oil scrub works as well as it does.
A practice of gathering awareness into a clear internal point to support alignment, containment, and energetic clarity. Often used to help maintain a sense of being in one’s own energy.
Energy centers commonly referenced in certain spiritual traditions. You do not need to know or work with them for grounding to be effective
An ancient Babylonian system that assigns numbers 1 through 8 to letters by vibration, holds 9 as sacred, and reads compound numbers alongside single digits.
The modern practice that popularized sigil work, known for its flexible, results-focused approach.
Filling a sigil with energy and focus to activate it.
A complete and separate system built on the lunar calendar, twelve year-signs, and five elements, part of the larger body of Chinese cosmology. Your year animal answers a different question than your sun sign.
A system rooted in sound and symbolism, where numbers carry meaning based on what they sound like in Chinese, making some numbers lucky and others avoided.
An additional card drawn to shed light on a card that feels unclear. It can add context, answer a follow-up question or confirm a message.
Clearing a deck's energy with smoke, moonlight, sound, crystals or intention. Many readers cleanse a new deck, after heavy readings or when a deck feels off.
The traditional associations linking herbs, stones, colors, planets, and days to meanings and intentions. A rich shared vocabulary, worth learning and never required; knowing forty correspondences is lovely, and it is not the same thing as practicing.
E
5 termsThe act of flowing, originating, or radiating outward from a source. Commonly refers to something that is produced or emitted, such as a thought, a gaseous vapor, light, or an invisible energy field.
A term used to describe the subtle space people experience around the body. Often felt rather than seen; language varies across traditions.
The reference table of planetary positions over time that all chart calculation rests on. Astrologers used to compute charts from printed ones by hand; the free websites are doing the same math, faster.
Concentrated aromatic extracts distilled or pressed from plants, carrying the scent and much of the character of the herb, flower, resin, or peel they came from. They're potent, so a few drops go a long way, and they should always be diluted in a carrier before they touch skin or bathwater.
Calculated from every letter of the full birth name; often read as natural gifts and the shape of what you're here to build. Also called the Destiny number.
F
2 termsNumbers applied to space and time through the Lo Shu Square, used to find favorable directions for a person and read the shifting energies of a home.
A flow state (being in the zone), is considered an optimal state of consciousness where you become completely immersed in an activity. Your focus becomes so intense that distractions fade, self-consciousness dissolves, and time seems to warp. It can lead to feeling the dissolution of the ego, where the boundary between the observer and the…
G
5 termsThe Hebrew tradition of reading numerical values in letters and words, central to Kabbalistic interpretation. A living practice with its own name and lineage.
A focused, altered state used to charge a sigil.
The practice of noticing and appreciating what is good in your life, however small. Gratitude doesn't deny what's hard; it widens your view to include what nourishes you too. Over time, it trains the mind to find more of it.
A practice of bringing awareness into the body and present moment to create stability and calm. Often used to support nervous system regulation and emotional steadiness.
The booklet that comes with a deck, offering the creator's meaning for each card. It is a helpful starting point, especially with a new deck.
H
2 termsThe twelve rooms of the chart, each governing an arena of life: identity, resources, communication, home, creativity, work, partnership, and onward around the wheel. Planets show WHAT, signs show HOW, houses show WHERE.
In, 1987, while living in Ibiza, Spain, Alan Robert Krakower claimed to have had a mystical eight-day experience where he was downloaded with the system by an entity known only as "The Voice". Human Design categorizes individuals into different Energy Types and Strategies which dictate how you naturally interact with the world and make correct…
I
6 termsThe artwork of a card, often the first and strongest source of its message. Details in the background, expressions, colors and symbols can all speak.
The quiet knowing that lives beneath the noise of thought, sometimes called intuition or the voice of the heart. It speaks through the body, through feelings and through sudden clarity, and it gets easier to hear the more you listen.
The meaning you bring to a practice; by every honest account, mystical and clinical alike, the active ingredient. Same candle, different intention, different practice.
The sense that reads the inside of your body: heartbeat, breath, the tightening under the ribs, the drop in the stomach before your mind has a reason for it. Neuroscience calls it interoception. Practice calls it gut knowing or the felt sense. It is trainable, and much of grounding, meditation, and card work is interoception…
Interpreting a card through feelings, impressions and imagery rather than the guidebook. The reader notices what stands out first, whether a color, a symbol or a sudden thought.
The ancient Greek practice of adding the numeric values of letters in a word to reveal its number and meaning.
J
3 termsA deep, lasting sense of well-being that doesn't depend on circumstances the way happiness does. Joy can be cultivated: noticed, practiced and returned to, even in hard seasons. It often shows up in small moments, if you're looking for it.
A card that falls out of the deck while shuffling. It is often read as a message that insists on being heard.
The living astrological tradition of India, part of Hindu practice for thousands of years. Uses the sidereal zodiac and its own complete methods; not Western astrology with different math, and best learned from within its own tradition.
K
2 termsDrawn from Jewish mysticism, this system uses Gematria, the numeric values of Hebrew letters, to uncover hidden connections between words and names.
A word or phrase printed on many oracle cards to anchor its meaning. It offers a quick focus point during a reading.
L
4 termsRemoving repeated letters, or vowels, from the statement of intent before designing the sigil.
The vocabulary of a language, a person, or a field of knowledge. The word also names a dictionary of those words, traditionally one for an ancient language such as Greek or Hebrew, from the Greek lexikon, meaning "of words."
The number reduced from your full birth date, often interpreted as the broad theme your life keeps circling. Numerology's answer to the Sun sign.
A broad term used to describe working with imagined light and intention to support clarity, balance, and energetic awareness. This can be symbolic, intuitive, or experiential.
M
3 termsA grid of numbers used to trace planetary and spirit sigils.
11, 22, and 33: totals most modern practitioners leave unreduced, reading them as intensified themes of their root digits.
The sign the Moon occupied when you were born. Many readers see it as the inner life: your emotional weather, what comforts you, who you are with the door closed.
N
2 termsA map of the sky calculated for the exact date, time, and place of a birth: every planet's position, the sign rising on the eastern horizon, and the twelve houses laid over it all. Also called a birth chart. A mirror, not a verdict.
With an ancient history numerology or arithmancy has existed since the discovery of mathmatics. It ties together a divine or mystical relationship between a number and metaphysical phenomena or ideas.
O
3 termsSomething given as an act of devotion. Objects count, and so do acts: for some practitioners, the arranging and tending itself is the offering, which is why beautiful practice needs no defense.
With roots dating back into antiquity, oracle cards serve as a visual trigger to connect with your inner wisdom. Each deck is built around its creator's own theme, imagery and messages, so every one carries its own voice.
Tarot follows a set 78-card system with established meanings shared across decks. Oracle decks vary in size, theme and meaning from one deck to the next.
P
8 termsUsing oracle cards alongside tarot to add depth to a reading. An oracle card might set the theme, offer advice or close the reading with an overall message.
Practice arranged for an audience at the expense of use. Not the same as beautiful practice (beauty can be devotion) and not the same as shared practice (teaching and showing can be generous); the tell is that the audience's eyes matter more than your own hands.
Calculated from the consonants; the face the world meets first. Numerology's Rising.
Birth month and day added to the current year and reduced; read as the theme of your current year, cycling 1 through 9.
Any single item in a chart, named by planet, sign, and house, as in 'Venus in Libra in the sixth house.' The word you'll see everywhere once you start reading about charts.
Symbols drawn from planetary magic squares, each tied to a planet's energy.
Breath work in yoga. From the Sanskrit prana (life force) and ayama (to extend or draw out), pranayama uses conscious control of the breath to move energy, calm the nervous system, and focus the mind.
The most widely used Western system, attributed to the Greek mathematician Pythagoras, which assigns the numbers 1 through 9 to letters in alphabetical order and centers on the birth name and full birth date.
Q
1 termThe person receiving the reading. When reading for yourself, you are both the reader and the querent.
R
7 termsThe advanced practice of estimating an unknown birth time by working backward from the timing of major life events. A someday door for people whose birth time is truly lost, not a beginner requirement.
Letting go of a sigil after charging, often by burning or hiding it, so the intention can work.
Cards drawn upside down. Some readers read them as blocked, delayed or inward energy, while others simply turn them upright.
The sign rising on the eastern horizon at your exact birth moment; it changes roughly every two hours, which is why birth time matters. Often read as the doorway: how you meet the world and how it first reads you. It also sets the houses for the whole chart.
Any action performed with intention and presence. A ritual can be an hour with candles and cards or it can be the ten seconds you take before you open the journal. What makes it a ritual is not the elaborateness, it is that you meant it and you were there for it. Repetition adds weight…
A bath drawn with intention. Salts, herbs, oils, and candlelight can all play a part, but what turns ordinary bathwater into ritual is that you decided what it was for and stayed present while it did its work. Even pulling the plug becomes part of the practice, letting what you're releasing drain away with the…
An ancient Germanic alphabet, with each letter carrying its own meaning and power.
S
12 termsAny place made intentional. It can be permanent or assembled in thirty seconds on a hotel nightstand, and it's consecrated by attention, not expense.
Corpse pose, the final resting posture of a yoga practice. You lie still on your back and let the body absorb the work. It looks like the easiest pose and is often the hardest, because it asks you to do nothing at all.
A historic sigil from medieval grimoires, used for protection and commanding spirits.
Tending to your own body, mind, and spirit with the same attention you give everyone else. Real self care is less about indulgence and more about getting grounded and centered enough to show up for your life. It can be a bath, a walk, a glass of water, or a well-placed no.
The zodiac tied to the actual constellations, used in Jyotish. Currently about 24 degrees offset from the tropical zodiac, which is why your sign can differ between systems. Neither is wrong; they measure from different anchors.
A symbol created to hold a specific intention or represent a spiritual being.
A holistic, body-oriented term for the body as a source of knowledge and intuitive information; grounding spiritual practice in physical sensation, breath, and embodied presence. Our bodies hold answers if we can listen quietly.
Calculated from the vowels of the name; read as the quieter inner wanting. Numerology's Moon.
A layout that assigns meaning to position. In a spread, where a card falls matters as much as which card it is, so the same card reads differently in the past position than in the outcome position.
The written phrase a sigil is built from.
The zodiac sign the Sun occupied at your birth; the one you already know from every magazine. Often interpreted as the core self: the thing your life is busy becoming.
A meaningful coincidence: the card that names the thing you were circling, the number that keeps appearing, the stranger who says the sentence you needed. Jung coined the term for events connected by meaning rather than cause. Whether you read it as the universe answering or as your attention finally catching what was always there,…
T
4 termsTarot began as a 15th-century Italian parlor game called "carte da trionfi." It wasn't until the 18th century that the cards were used for divination and esoteric studies transforming the game into the modern spiritual tool we know today.
Sun, Moon, and Rising: the shorthand trio most people learn first. Core self, inner weather, and the doorway you meet the world through.
Where the planets are NOW, read against where they were at your birth. The natal chart is the portrait; transits are the weather moving across it.
The zodiac tied to the seasons rather than the constellations: Aries begins at the spring equinox every year. What Western astrology uses.
V
4 termsRefers to early Hindu traditions rooted in the Vedas, ancient texts composed roughly between 1500 and 500 BCE. These traditions emphasized embodiment, breath, and presence as preparation for spiritual practice
An Indian system tied to Vedic astrology, where each number from 1 to 9 is ruled by a planet or celestial body.
The body understood as the home your spirit travels in. Caring for the vessel means rest, nourishment, water, touch, and stillness, offered as maintenance rather than reward, because the body holds the spirit and everything else you practice depends on it.
A style of yoga that links breath to movement, flowing from one asana into the next in a continuous sequence. Once the poses feel familiar, vinyasa becomes a moving meditation: relaxed, grounded, and fully in control.
W
2 termsThe astrological tradition of Europe and the modern West, rooted in ancient Mesopotamia and Hellenistic Egypt and Greece, preserved through medieval Arabic scholarship. Uses the tropical zodiac. The language this site, and most of the internet, speaks.
A circular letter chart used to trace a word into a sigil.
Y
1 termAn ancient practice from India that unites body, breath, and mind. The word comes from the Sanskrit yuj, to yoke or join. Beyond the poses, yoga is a path of union: the body holds the spirit, and moving it with intention brings the two back into conversation.
Z
1 termRepetitive, unplanned drawing done as meditation. No subject, no outcome, no skill required. The hand stays busy with pattern and the thinking mind gets quiet, which is why insight so often shows up partway through a page. Closer to breathwork than to art, though it sometimes produces art anyway.