Style Preferences

We rely on journalistic style standards to ensure consistency style throughout the publication. Here are some common usages that we’d like you to employ in your writing:

Do not use acronyms except where the acronym is widely used. For example, NASA is permitted. BML for Black Moon Lilith is distracting and should be avoided. Be careful when using abbreviations or, best yet, no abbreviations. ASC, DESC, MC and IC are permitted for the angles of a chart; NN and SN may be used for north node and south node respectively. Do not abbreviate the names of planets or signs. Please spell out the entire word or phrase the first time it is used including the initials in parentheses after this first usage, the acronym or abbreviation may be used on subsequent usages. Aspect abbreviations are acceptable, yet here again, no abbreviations is preferred. Abbreviations are different for astrologer to astrologer. Being clear by avoiding confusing abbreviations will make it easier for others to read.

Write out all dates to avoid confusion. Write January 5, 2006, not 1/5/06, which could denote the fifth of January or the first of May, depending on where the reader lives. Remember our readership is international.

Avoid capitalizing or bolding words for emphasis. Capitalize “Sun” and “Moon” and other sensitive points in a chart (planets, asteroids, signs, etc. Be careful when using abbreviations. ASC, DESC, MC and IC are permitted for the angles of a chart; NN and SN may be used for north node and south node respectively. Do not abbreviate the names of planets, signs or aspects.

Use “conjoin” not “conjunct” as the verb: Examples: “When Venus conjoins (or conjoined) Mars…” or “When Venus is conjunct Mars” or “The conjunction of Venus and Mars”

Make sure your footnotes or endnotes contain all required information. When making attribution to a book, for example, the preferred style is: author’s name, title, publisher, city of publication, date of publication/copyright date, page or pages. Example: Diane Middlebrook, “Her Husband: Hughes and Plath—a Marriage,” Viking, NY, 2003, pp. 43-44. When in doubt, consult a writing style book, such as “Strunk and White”.

Make sure you have provided the original and secondary sources as appropriate for all birth and event dates. Some examples follow:

ª From AstroDatabank, citing mother’s memory

ª From AstroDatabank: Romy Ransom quotes birth certificate

ª From www.abc.com, original source unknown.

The journal is published in the United States. Therefore, periods and commas at the end of a quote are placed inside the final quotation mark, but colons and semi-colons are placed outside the final quotation mark. Exclamation points and question marks are placed either inside the quotation marks or outside depending on whether the punctuation applies to the quotation or to the whole sentence. Examples: She proclaimed dramatically, “He’s a Scorpio!” “We enthusiastically endorse John Smith for the Board of Directors”!

Write out all numbers from one to nine when they are part of a sentence. For example, “There were 50 people in the room, and nine of them were born in 1950.” However, you may use the numeral for a house designation (3rd house) or in a date: October 5, 1910.

If you use copyrighted material, you must get permission and send with your article. Fair use and the responsibility for gaining permission are based solely upon the submitting author. When submitting an article to ISAR, you, as the author, assume all the responsibility for gaining permission. ISAR, its Board of Directors and agents of ISAR are held harmless from any author’s material which has been plagiarized.