Basic Primer on Aspects in Astrology
There was a question today about how to break down and interpret aspects so I’m going to do a thread today about how to interpret aspects and how to also use them. Let’s define what an aspect is first. An Aspect is a planet’s ability to see another planet, and thus have a relationship with that planet. They ‘regard’ or acknowledge each other’s presence and are having an interaction. Think of it like this. All your planets in your chart are all in one big house party (pre-COVID) together, but not all of them are interacting and talking to each other. But there are some people who ARE talking to each other and engaging in a connection with someone else. The people engaging with each other, regard each other or are aspecting each other. Now, there are 5 major aspects that I will focus on:
Conjunction: 0º
Sextile: 60º
Square: 90º
Trine: 120º
Opposition: 180º
Its also important to mention that each aspect carries the nature of a planet, because of the relationship of the planets to the Luminaries in the Thema Mundi (the Birth Chart of the World, the basis for our rulerships and domicile scheme).
The Sextile has qualities of Venus
The Square has qualities of Mars
The Trine has qualities of Jupiter
The Opposition has qualities of Saturn
Conjunction is of Mercury, as a conjunction can go both ways.
It is for this reason why Sextiles and Trines are generally more positive: because the Benefics are aspecting the luminaries via trine and sextile. Its also for this reason why Squares and Oppositions are more challenging: Mars and Saturn aspect the Luminaries via square and opposition.
Now that we’ve established which aspects are favorable and unfavorable, let’s talk about the favorable aspects. Generally trines will be a lot stronger favorable aspects, because the qualities of the Greater Benefic are attached to the Trine. Generally, the sextile will be less strong in terms of its potency, but I ALWAYS say, don’t underestimate the power of a sextile. The same goes for malefics, square has qualities of mars, the Lesser Malefic, and opposition with Saturn as the Greater Malefic.
Sextile
Let’s get into the Sextile. It has the qualities of Venus & can bring planets’ interests together via its unifying effect. Generally, planets in a sextile will have a similar direction they want to get together, & by combining their resources, will mutually help each other accomplish their goals. I think of the phrase Azula uses in ATLA when she’s taunting Suki.
“Don’t you know fans just make flames stronger?”
She’s right: the Fire and Air are sextile each other. By combining both together, you get a much more solid product. Planets in a sextile aspect work together in a collaborative effort to achieve a common goal. Venus/Saturn can give one a healthy sense of commitment to accomplish whatever goals they want to accomplish. Planets in a sextile to each other will always be of the same polarity: Fire and Air, or Earth and Water. Some people use the words masculine/feminine to describe the polarity: I use Diurnal/Nocturnal, because of the nature of Luminaries. Diurnal is of the Sun, who emits and generates light. Nocturnal is of the Moon who receives and reflects light. It’s about emission vs reception, and I think those words arent appropriate words to use because it’s literally not within the realm of what’s being discussed: Astrology. Anywho, Fire and Air aren’t affected by gravity, so they will rise together. Whereas Earth and Water ARE affected by gravity and thus will ground one another and offer support and stability. The sextile lets go of personal interest and are collaborative through merging.
Trine
When we look at the Trine, it is a little different, because this aspect carries the qualities of Jupiter: the Greater Benefic. We know Jupiter has an amplification effect, and that is exactly what the Trine does. It amplifies, but it does it in a different way than the sextile does. The planets in contact with each other via Trine are of the same element: Fire, Earth, Air, or Water, and thus will be able to add more of that element. I think of Trines as enablers. Jupiter is the planet of growth and says “YES”! So if Saturn is Trine Venus, Venus is gonna be like “can we commit to this relationship?” and Saturn is gonna be like “YES LETS SEAL THE DEAL”. But sometimes, you gotta watch out what you’re saying yes to, because you can say yes to the wrong things. The reason why I use the word enable for Trines is because enabling is really a neutral word, and I think, like Jupiter, trines can say yes TOO much. Also, because planets trine each other are of the same element, they have the same motivations but do them in different ways due to the fact that they’re part of a different quadruplicity (Modality). Planets trine each other in Earth signs may want to create further stability, but Fixed Earth may accomplish that through reinforcement, and Mutable Earth accomplishes this through refining and change. But we’re still working within the same element, and “speaking the same language”.
Ultimately I think two keywords for the Sextile and Trine are:
Sextile: Collaborative
Trine: Enabling
Square
Now when we get to the harsh aspects, these are a little bit more straightforward. My favorite analogy for the square is the fact that there are 4 perpendicular angles that make up each side. If the lines are moving in perpendicular directions, their paths intersect and block each other from moving forward. Their goals and their directional movement create obstacles that eventually come to confrontation, the intersection of these lines. That’s exactly what squares are: they are confrontational because the goals are conflicting with each other’s ability to mutually move forward. This is the aspect of Mars, and thus it is going to cause fights, cause stress, and tension, because of the conflict of interest. However, the square is initiating, so while it can be confrontational, it gets the ball rolling. I think of the square like muscles, especially since Mars can be about bodybuilding and physique: in order to make your muscles grow, you have to apply pressure in order to strengthen them and create tension. Tension is not always bad. Tension creates growth. Squared planets are not of the same element, but are of the same modality, so they are doing something in a certain manner, but something of a completely different form of matter prevents them from doing so. Example: Cancer and Aries are Fire and Water signs. However, Fire can boil Water, evaporating it, or Water can put out a fire, diminishing it completely. Or if we take Taurus and Leo. Earth (dirt and sand) put out fires, whereas Fires can heat up the wood so much to the point where they disintegrate and turn to ash. The very nature of these elements are in conflict with one another, and thus, their presence prevents each other from being able to accomplish their goals.
Opposition
Now the opposition is where things get interesting because it is generally straightforward: planets are opposite each other, and thus they can be on opposite ends of the spectrum and can be polarizing. Things that seem polarizing in nature or binary: like light and dark. It cant be both light or dark at the same time, it’s either dark or its light. Oppositions are here to show that there is an inherent binary and something is very concretely one thing or the other thing. The way I like to describe oppositions is that it can be polarizing because there is a need to be one thing or another, but through compromising one’s own interest, because remember this is the aspect of Saturn, and Saturn is all about depersonalization and knowing that the world doesn’t revolve around you and that there is more to life than just you, in order to break the binary, you have to compromise your own interest. Saturn is also about knowing the limits and what is feasibly possible. The very nature of oppositions is that the planet’s opposite can have interests that are antithetical to one another. Let’s take Leo and Aquarius: there’s the Leo which is ruled by the Sun, who is the center of the Universe, but then there’s Aquarius who is ruled by Saturn and recognizes that there are multiple Solar Systems and galaxies and that there is plural in life, not singular. This is why planets can perform poorly in the opposite sign they rule: the interest of the opposite sign is antithetical to its nature. Ultimately the nature of the opposition can feel like a tug of war, and sometimes you have to realize that you don’t need to tug.
Some keywords I like to use for the harsh aspects are:
Square: Conflict of Interest
Opposition: Polarization
Conjunction
When we get to the conjunction, this is where stuff gets interesting, because this is when two planets come together and are in the same sign. They’re operating from the same logic, as their rulership is the same. The conjunction can swing both ways though. Jupiter and Venus conjoined can be beneficial because both have a desire to expand, whereas Venus/Mars might feel difficult because there’s a desire to connect but also separate at the same time. Whether the planets are in a good relationship with each other really informs the nature of the conjunction. And sometimes two seemingly unrelated things may come together and have to find a way to work together, even though they might be conflicting, with each other. I think of planets conjoined as weird food combinations. Like dipping your French Fries in Ice Cream (which is REALLY GOOD btw), it can be really delicious combination, but combining ketchup and cake might not taste the best. Conjunctions can also be taken to be understood the same way the grammatical conjunction is understood: it joins two ideas together. Remember Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? The keyword I like to use for conjunctions is a combination of interests. And sometimes this combination works really well, and sometimes it doesn’t (In typical Mercurial fashion: it doesn’t conform to qualitatively good or bad). Sometimes the conjunction can be easier if planets like Venus and Jupiter are conjoined, but sometimes it can be more difficult like Jupiter/Saturn.
Other Remarks
I think for any aspect, you need to consider the nature of each planet in the context of a chart and how those planets get along with each other. Saturn & Mars typically don’t get along because Saturn is fallen in Mars’ sign, but Mars is exalted in Saturn sign. So consideration whether these planets innately like each other is the first consideration for interpreting aspects, and then consider what is the nature of the aspect between them. Then consider their condition in the natal chart: whats their dignity, what house are they in, what houses to they rule (it will tell you the topics that are of interest of the planet), the sect of the chart, etc. From there, you can get started interpreting the aspects between planets. Remember, these planets are engaging in a dialogue with each other because they are acknowledging each other’s existence; they regard each other.
Now, let’s break down how to use them.
The main way you really want to look at aspects is understanding planets in a different context. Planets rule houses, remember that. Planets are managers of the topics associated with that house, and sometimes the manager may be shitty and not take care of that house and its topics, or sometimes it can be a really efficient manager and improve the topics of that house. With that being said, planets in aspect to each other means that the areas of life that they rule are coming into contact with one another. If you have the Ruler of the 4th house square the Ruler of the 7th, you could find that the native’s home life, and their partners often butt heads a lot because they have a perpendicular interest. Or if we have the ruler of the 9th trine the Ruler of the 1st: the native might have a really good connection towards connecting with a higher power, with traveling, or wanting to learn more. But again, you cannot just analyze the aspect alone, you must analyze the aspect in terms of the context of that planet. This is my planetary checklist:
- Dignity
- House
- Sect
- Motion
- House Lord
THEN after analyzing this for both planets: what is the aspect? A debilitated Venus opposite a dignified Saturn is going to be VERYYYYY different than a dignified Venus opposite a dignified Saturn. You have to take into consideration the nuance of the planetary condition to see how much it has to offer in the relationship with the planet.
Application vs Separation
Application Aspect
Exact Aspect
The next thing we must consider is: Applying vs Separating Aspects. An applying aspect is when the faster-moving planet is earlier in zodiacal order, moving towards the slower moving planet. Take a look at this chart, the Moon (faster) is applying to Venus (slower planet), and applying aspects can be seen as an anticipation of events that will occur or something that is building up to something eventually. One great analogy is if you hit up your friend that you wanna link, and you’re getting ready to go see them. THAT’S the applying aspect. Ya haven’t linked up yet, but you’re both mutually getting ready to have your “meet up” which is what happens when the aspect goes EXACT. Which is the case in this chart.
When a planetary aspect goes exact, it represents the climax of the anticipation that was built. You also may be wondering: how do I know when an application begins? Well, once the faster-moving planet enters that sign it will aspect a slower moving planet in, the planet has begun applying. So while they may not be in a degree-based aspect, they are in a SIGN-based aspect which is just as important. Application is essentially the anticipation of a climax that hasn’t already gotten there. You can also think of it as foreplay 😏. You need to get some excitement built first before you dive into that orgasm. After we get to the climax and the transit goes exact, we come to the separating aspect, which is:
Separating Aspect
A separating aspect is when the faster-moving planet is later in zodiacal order, moving away from the slower moving planet. Check the example: Moon separating from Venus. A separating aspect can represent that the tension is now loosening and the relationship is getting weaker, and eventually coming to an end, after the planet completely leaves that sign. This is what happens when you guys part ways after you linked. You have to sit with the conversation, experience, etc. whatever ya did, and digest it and really understand what the means as you go about your merry way, separating from that person. You received some information from that interaction: what will you do with it now? The separating aspect is like a post-climax, or post-orgasm 😏, where now that the tension has been RELEASED. A separating aspect is pretty self-explanatory in the name: these planets no longer have an interest in each other and thus: separate. You can have application and separation for all aspects. Applying squares, separating oppositions, applying sextiles, separating trines, etc. Understanding application and separation is key to understanding aspects. And in case you dont know the order of planetary speed, I got you (from fastest to slowest):
Moon
Mercury
Venus
Sun
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
The faster-moving planet will ALWAYS apply to the slower-moving planet. The Sun can apply to Mars, but Mars cant apply to the Sun. Venus can apply to Jupiter, but Jupiter cant apply to Venus, because Venus is a faster moving planet. The Moon will always be the planet that applys to every other planet. Nothing can apply to the Moon because nothing is faster than the Moon. This is pretty much the basics of this Aspects, and there are a few more considerations for how aspects work, like:
- Overcoming
- Aversion
- Striking with a Ray
- Other forms of application (chariot, cazimi, etc)
But this is the basics, and lemme know if you got any questions!
This blog post was originally a Twitter Thread posted on 11/12/2020 at 11:25 PM in Orlando, Florida.
