PLANETS AND THEIR ASPECTS
When building up a picture of a person’s character, looking at the sunsign is a good beginning, but it only illuminates a small part of the character jigsaw. As you looked at the interpretation for your sunsign you may have felt it was very accurate in relation to yourself. If you did, then it is clear your sunsign has a very strong influence within your natal horoscope. But for most of us, the influence of the sunsign is tempered by other factors, and these can usually be found in the various aspects of the rest of the planets at the time of birth. For those who know little of the subject of Astrology let me enlighten you about some of the basic knowledge any Astrologer needs to learn.
At birth, there is not only the Sun forming a relationship to you, but the Moon and the rest of the planets within our solar system. It is rare indeed for two people to have all of the planets in exactly the same position in the sky, unless they were born at exactly the same time. Even then, geographically, they may have been miles away making the angle of the planets in relation to themselves slightly different, and of course they may have been born at a different part of the day, resulting in some planets being above the Earth’s horizon, and others below. All of these factors can influence how the planets are positioned and so influence how much effect these planets can have on you. I hope you can now see why it is important that an Astrologer has not only the day, month and year you were born available to him/her for calculation, but the place where you were born, and, if possible, the exact time of birth, too. The more information an Astrologer has, the more accurate the interpretation will be.
But what about these aspects? What are they? What do they mean? How can they have such an influence on our lives? There are a number of important aspects to be considered and I will now give you a short tutorial on the various aspects available, although I will not go into precise detail and interpretation for every planet that it is possible to aspect with. Unless you know which aspects are important to your particular character, it would be a waste of time, and I could write a book just explaining the aspects and their interpretations. However, I will give you an insight into the various types of aspect available, and if you ever do receive a copy of your own horoscope will have some understanding as to why certain aspects have been emphasised in your interpretation.
There can be aspects which have a strong influence and some which are of lesser importance. All aspects are strongest when the degree aspect is very exact, but it is possible for the aspect still to be formed, with a lesser impact, up to several degrees difference, and this difference is known as “the orb” of the aspect. Major aspects are allowed a greater orb difference than the minor aspects, but every aspect has an impact on some part of your life and this needs to be recognised within the wider picture shown by the planetary positions at your birth.
In ancient time it was necessary for an Astrologer to personally calculate the position of every planet in the sky. They then used the information their client gave them and mentally calculated the position of the Ascendant (Rising Sign), Midheaven, Moon’s Node, and the aspects each of these made within a person’s natal chart. It was a time-consuming, mentally strenuous task which many people found difficult to complete. Then they would have to look at each planetary position and each aspect to discern the interpretation of the character. No easy task, requiring much dedication.
In later years some people realised it was possible to calculate, in advance, the positions of the planets on any given day, and this was how the Ephemeris was born. Many Astronomers used it to help them in their work, but the Astrologer also found it an invaluable source of information which cut down the length of time they needed to calculate a chart.
But there were still many calculations that needed to be done. Working out the Ascendant, and the other planetary influences were still required, taking into consideration the geographical longitude and latitude, knowing in which particular time zone the person had been born, determining the adjustment required for changing that to the constant GMT format which the Ephemeris has calculated for the position of the planets, seeing whether or not a Summertime adjustment was needed, and only then actually physically drawing up a chart to the appropriate positions, from which the aspects were carefully calculated. Having done this many times in my early days as an Astrologer I know how difficult this can be, and am glad that easier ways have been invented to reduce this part of the process even further.
Major Aspects
Conjunction
This is when two planets, or other source of influence, such as the Ascendant, are so close together that 0º separate them. There is an orb allowance of up to 10º when calculating this particular aspect, and I have learned over the years that the influence is still great, even at this distance apart, suggesting that perhaps the orb should be made even wider. But for the moment, I am suggesting all of my major orbs should be considered in the interpretation if they are 10º or less. Some planets when they are conjoined are very “friendly” to each other having attributes which work well together, and this type of conjunction can be very beneficial to the person concerned. There are some planets, however, which do not work easily together, and when this sort of conjunction arises, expect difficulties as the attributes of the two planets within the aspect vie with each other for dominance and supremacy. It is also possible to have two planets which are close enough to be classed as within conjunction of each other, but are placed within two different signs. In this instance, it is the sign influence on its particular planet which will probably be at odds with the other planet’s sign, making it difficult even for friendly planets to work well together, never mind unfriendly ones. It has to be acknowledged that a conjunction is not automatically favourable, or unfavourable, requiring the knowledge of the planetary attributes to define how helpful the aspect will be.
Opposition
This is when two planets or other source of influence, are positioned 180° apart. The orb allowance for this aspect is again 10°, however, an opposition is invariably an aspect which brings difficulties, no matter which planets are involved. But the influence may be of a lesser nature if they are friendly planets.
Trine
A trine is where two planetary influences are 120° apart and are given the orb allowance of all major aspects. This is usually classed as a positive aspect, bringing many benefits to a person’s character, however, it is possible for a trine aspect to be so harmonious that the person believes things are easy to accomplish, and end up not trying very hard, encouraging laziness and lassitude. There is a special situation called a Grand Trine, whereby three planetary bodies are positioned so that each is in trine to the other two, and the three of them form a complete triangle. But it should be noted that the orb allowance in a Grand Trine is only 2°. No matter how many difficulties the person has, this special trine aspect will pull them through. It is one of the most important aspects within a natal horoscope and should always be given a high priority when making an interpretation.
Square
A square is where two planets are 90° apart with an orb allowance of 10°. This is one of the most difficult aspects any person has to deal with, as it represents tension, disruption or difficulties, which may not be resolved.
Sextile
A Sextile occurs when two planets are within 60° of each other, and as it is a major aspect an allowance of 10° is usually given. Being classed as a positive aspect, “This is the oil that makes the wheels turn.”
Minor Aspects
Semi-sextile
A Semi-sextile is noticed when two planets are 30° of each other, and the orb allowance is only 2° for this aspect. This aspect can make a situation uncomfortable and add to the tension of other bad aspects.
Quincunx
A quincunx is an aspect formed between two planetary bodies which are 150° apart, and an orb allowance of 2° is usually given. It is only in recent times that the influence of this aspect has been recognised as being of any importance, and research is still ongoing as to its full effect. But I think its main influence is to complicate and unsettle a situation.
Semi-square
The semi-square aspect results when two planets are 45° apart, and has a 2° orb allowance. This can create a problem or hitch in affairs, especially of those of the heart if Venus is included.
Sesquiquadrate
An aspect where 135° separates the two planets, with a some astrologers giving it a 2° whilst others determine it with a 4° orb allowance. The jury is still out on this but look at the square interpretation for the attributes of this aspect, but give it a lesser importance within the chart.