Frequently Asked Questions

Head to the download page — you'll always find the latest builds for Windows and macOS there.

Yes — this is standard Windows behavior for apps without an expensive publisher certificate. Click More info → Run anyway. The installer is safe.

No. The installation path must contain only Latin letters and digits. Use the default path the installer suggests, or choose another that meets this requirement.

macOS may block apps not signed by Apple. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and allow ZEUS to run. If that doesn't help, see the detailed walkthrough — including Terminal commands — on the Getting Started page.

ZEUS checks for updates automatically at startup and asks your permission before installing anything.

No — a license is required. It's created automatically when you register inside the app. First-time users get a free 14-day trial.

Open ZEUS → the License Manager will appear → register → pay for the plan you want → click Request License. Full walkthrough on the Getting Started page.

No. There are no automatic payments. You renew manually through the License Manager whenever you're ready.

Yes. Paid time accumulates on your balance, so you can top it up at any time. ZEUS will remind you 7 days before your license runs out.

A license is tied to a single device. Running ZEUS on two computers simultaneously isn't possible. To move your license to a new machine, use Attach License in the License Manager.

You won't be able to open the program. You can renew at any time — even if months have passed since it expired.

Open the Event Editor and enter the birth data. You can get there several ways:
· Fastest: double-click the event row in the selected circle;
· From the circle menu, choose New;
· From the main menu, choose Session → New Event;
· Click the New Event shortcut in the toolbar.

A thematic chart places any chosen planet on the Ascendant while the house grid is calculated using your selected house system (Placidus, Alcabitius, etc.). In ZEUS, enable the TH checkbox in the house systems widget and select the body you want on the Ascendant.

Everything lives in the Zeus/ folder in your home directory. On Windows that's usually C:\Zeus\; on macOS it's in the app container at ~/Zeus/.

Yes — after installing ZEUS on the new machine, copy the relevant folders from your Zeus/ directory:
dBase — database
sessions — saved sessions
configurations — configurations
txt — interpretation text files
sets/Almutens — almuten sets
sets/AspectConfigurationSets — aspect configuration sets
sets/AspectGraphSets — aspect graph settings
sets/AspectSets — aspect sets
sets/AsteroidSets — asteroid sets
sets/ChartTypeSets — chart type sets
sets/ExtraObjectSets — extra-object sets
sets/InterfacePaletteSets — interface palette sets
sets/LotSets — lot sets
sets/ObjectSets — object sets
sets/PaletteSets — palette sets
sets/SpherePaletteSets — Sphere palette sets
sets/StarSets — star sets
sets/TermSets — term sets
sets/HotKeys.key — keyboard shortcuts

A session saves your exact working state: configuration and settings, the data loaded in each circle, their active/inactive status, chart types per circle, the current circle, aspecting direction, and panel visibility. Open a session and pick up right where you left off.

Texts live in the Zeus/txt/ folder. Formatting rules are covered in the User Manual. Ready-made text packs (nakshatras, lunar mansions, etc.) are available on the download page.

1. Search for the nearest city that is in the Atlas and select it;
2. Type your actual place name in the location field;
3. Correct the coordinates (click the lock icon first to allow editing);
4. Click Create. The new location is saved to your personal Atlas for future use.

1. From the circle's menu, choose Relocation;
2. In the dialog, select the city and click OK.

Stars can be shown as extra objects. See the User Manual for details.

1. Prepare the object sets you need for each circle;
2. In the object catalog, turn off the link button if it's highlighted red;
3. Select the circle, then assign the set you want to it;
4. Repeat for the other circles as needed.

For a Composite: select any two events from the database or the left panel, right-click, and choose Composite. The combined chart is added to the event pool and can be loaded into any circle.
For a Davison Mean Chart: same steps, but you can select more than two events and choose Davison Mean Chart from the context menu.

Auto-save is probably turned off. Save your configuration manually from the Configurations menu, or enable Auto-Save there.

Set up an alternate chart display so you can toggle between the cosmogram and the horoscope with one key (Q).
The Modern configuration already has this toggle built in.
To configure it yourself: in Chart Elements (Settings → Chart), enable Alternate Chart, uncheck Cusps and House Belt, and set the chart start to 0°. Re-save your configuration.

Load each person's natal data into separate circle slots and set both chart types to Radix.

Adding new map locations requires an active internet connection.

Go to Settings → General Settings, tab Overall → Language.

You're likely placing an already-calculated return date into a circle whose chart type is set to Solar Return. All return chart types recalculate backward from whatever date you enter, so you'd end up with the previous return. To use a pre-calculated return date, set the chart type to Radix or Transit instead.

Start by setting the projection to Mundane Position. Then build a directions chart: set the direction type to Primary. The Consider Latitude checkbox controls whether the promissor's latitude is factored in (the significator's latitude is always used). Match your key by setting arc value and time period — Ptolemy's key: 1° = 1 tropical year; Naibod: 59'08' = 1 tropical year. Also select the appropriate house system.

ZEUS can visualize any primary directions calculated in the Primary Directions block, with the current exception of zodiacal directions that disregard the significator's latitude.

Yes — activate them as extra objects. If you don't have a set yet:
1. Enable the extra-objects circle with F5;
2. Open the extra-objects catalog (Settings → Object Catalogs → Extra Objects);
3. Create a new set and name it;
4. Under Object Type, choose Planetary Apsides or Planetary Nodes and drag the objects from Available to Selected;
5. Optionally adjust colors via each object's context menu;
6. Close the catalog — your set is ready.

Now just select it as your active extra-objects set.

Yes. The macOS version is compiled natively for Apple Silicon and runs without Rosetta.

Check three things: (1) the installation path contains no non-Latin characters; (2) your antivirus hasn't quarantined any ZEUS files — add the Zeus folder to its exclusions; (3) your graphics driver is current (OpenGL 2.1+ is required for the Celestial Sphere). If none of that helps, contact us on the contacts page.

Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11 are all supported.

macOS High Sierra (10.13) and later, including current releases on Apple Silicon.

Only for the initial launch (license activation) and for updates. All calculations run locally.

Swiss Ephemeris files are stored in Zeus/ephemerides/. You can drop your own SE files in the same folder. See the User Manual for details.

A previous installation was likely removed by deleting the folder rather than through the Windows uninstaller, leaving a stale registry entry. Delete this key to clear it: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{A44861FF-0F34-4319-9F3D-00B6D3374B97}_is1. See Microsoft's guide for how to use Registry Editor.

1. Check if 360 Total Security is installed. If so, remove it first — it's known to aggressively quarantine legitimate software. Then download this archive, right-click it, choose Extract All…, and extract into your Zeus folder (default: C:\Zeus). Try launching ZEUS again. If Windows Defender flags it, click More info → Run anyway.

2. If 360 Total Security isn't the issue, another antivirus may have removed or quarantined a file. Add the entire Zeus folder to your antivirus exclusions and restore any quarantined files. If ZEUS then reports missing files, download and extract the same archive into your Zeus folder.