An ephemeris is a must-have tool in any astrologer’s arsenal. The Latin word for “diary,” an ephemeris chronicles the planets’ daily passage through the zodiac signs down to the degree and minute. Want to know where Jupiter was when you scored your dream job six years ago? The position of Mars when you finally dumped that loser who made your life hell? Find an ephemeris for that year and radar in on the fateful date.

Here is a sample of a standard page of an ephemeris from Cafe Astrology. Follow the glyphs in the top row to locate the planet in transit. You can find the date in the left-hand column then check the degrees at their intersection. Notice that the Sun advances a degree every day while the outer moving planets like Pluto, hover in a degree for a longer period of time with only the minutes (the number to the right of the degree) advance each day.

Charting apps like Astro Gold and Solar Fire are also useful if you don’t want to scroll through an ephemeris. You can just plug in the desired date and voila! A chart for any given day appears.