What does astral mean?
"Astral" is an adjective meaning relating to the stars, deriving from the Latin astrum, "star." In its most literal sense it describes anything starry or star-like, though modern English rarely uses it this way outside poetic or literary contexts. Far more commonly today, astral appears in esoteric and spiritual vocabulary, where it refers to a supposed non-physical dimension — the astral plane — or to the astral body, a subtle counterpart of the physical self said to travel during sleep or meditation. Practices such as astral projection and astral travel belong to Western occultism and Theosophy rather than mainstream science. The word's connotations therefore shift dramatically with context: neutral and descriptive when discussing celestial imagery, mystical and speculative when paired with terms like plane or projection. Related words such as astrology and astronaut share its star-derived root. Writers should note that in formal astronomical prose, precise terms like stellar or celestial are generally preferred over astral.
adjectiveRelating to or resembling the stars; connected with supposed non-physical realms or bodies believed in some traditions to exist beyond the material world.
- Relating to the stars or star-like phenomena.
- (In esoteric or spiritual contexts) relating to a supposed non-physical plane of existence or subtle body.
"She claimed she could leave her astral body behind and travel through dreams."
"The night sky offered an unbroken astral panorama far from city lights."
"Practitioners of occult traditions describe the astral plane as a realm between matter and pure spirit."
The word 'disaster' literally means 'bad star' — ancient people blamed misfortune on hostile planets, making 'astral' the root of doom-saying itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of astral
Astral entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed from Late Latin astralis, formed from astrum, meaning "star," which itself traces back to the Greek astron of the same sense. The word belongs to a productive family of star-rooted terms including astrology, astronaut, and asterisk, and even underlies disaster, whose original sense was an ill-fated alignment of the stars. Its shift toward occult meanings developed largely in 19th-century Theosophy.
How astral is actually used
Neutral in astronomical contexts, but carries distinctly esoteric, mystical, or New Age connotations when used in phrases like 'astral projection'. Best avoided as a loose synonym for 'celestial' in formal scientific writing, where 'stellar' is preferred.
Easily confused with astral
Austral means 'southern' (as in Australasia) while astral means 'of or relating to the stars' — they differ by only two letters but come from different Latin roots.