Astrological Aspects
WHAT AN ASPECT IS:
The Sun, Moon, and planets are located on
a circle that is known in astronomy as the
ecliptic plane. Because the planets are
located on this circle, we can refer to the
distance between the 2 planets by the number
of degrees that separate them. For example,
two planets that are in opposite directions
are 180 degrees apart.
A distance of 180 degrees, according to
astrologers, causes the astrological
influence of the two planets to "mix
together" and affect the person. There are
many other distances that also cause the two
planetary influences to mix together, such
as 0, 90, 120, and 60 degrees. Each of these
angles is called an aspect. Some astrologers
use many other aspects as well.
HOUSES IN ANCIENT ASTROLOGY:
Other Aspects:
Some astrologers use dozens of other
aspects. Of these additional aspects, one of
the most popular is the quinitle aspect,
which is an angle of 72 degrees. Note that
72 degrees is 1/5 of a circle. There is also
a bi-quintile aspect of 144 degrees. Many
different meanings have been given to the
quintile aspect.
There is little agreement regarding the
meanings of most minor aspects. In the
example chart wheel, the Sun.is at 10
degrees 27 minutes of Gemini, and Uranus is
at 29 degrees 0 minutes of Pisces, an angle
of 71 degrees 27 minutes, which is a
quintile aspect (72 degrees) with a 33
minute orb. This person is an independent
(Uranus) individual (Sun) who enjoys having
the freedom to engage in cultural pursuits,
and avoids heavy responsibilities.
Other popular aspects are the novile (40
degrees, which is 1/9 of a circle), bi-novile
(80 degrees), quadranovile (160 degrees),
septile (51 3/7 degrees, which is 1/7 of a
circle), bi-septile (102 6/7 degrees), tri-septile
(154 2/7 degrees), decile (36 degrees, which
is 1/10 of a circle) and tri-decile (108
degrees) aspects.
If this seems like a lot of aspects to
interpret, then you may feel overwhelmed by
the approach of astrologers who use harmonic
astrology; in harmonic astrology many
hundreds of other aspects are used! For an
explanation of these aspects used in
harmonic astrology, see the section of
AstroEncyclopedia that explains harmonic
astrology.
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Definition of Terms Used in Aspects
(Orbs, Applying/Separating, Waxing/Waning):
ORB: The orb of an aspect is how far from
exact it is. For example, a square aspect is
90 degrees. If 2 planets are separated by 91
degrees (or by 89 degrees) then the 2
planets are in square aspect with a 1 degree
orb. In other words they are 1 degree from
being in exact square aspect. The larger the
orb, the weaker the aspect. An aspect with a
small orb is very powerful. Some astrologers
use much larger orbs than others. The
allowable orb for a square aspect is
believed by some astrologers to be as little
as 2 or 3 degrees, and by some to be as
large as 10 or 12 degrees. Although this
difference of opinion may be great, probably
it is not as great as it seems because
virtually all astrologers agree that the
narrower orb makes the aspect much more
powerful so astrologers who use very small
orbs like to focus their interpretation on
influences that are really powerful and
salient in the person's life.
APPLYING/SEPARATING: An applying aspect
is an aspect that is becoming stronger,
while a separating aspect is one that is
becoming weaker. For example, suppose that a
person has the Moon 89 degrees ahead of the
Sun in the birthchart. Because the Moon
always travels faster than the Sun and it is
89 degrees ahead of the Sun, then we know
that it is in the process of becoming more
exact; in other words it is an applying
aspect. On the other hand, if the Moon was
91 degrees of the Sun, the square aspect
would be separating. Some astrologers feel
that an applying aspect is more significant
than a separating aspect because the
applying aspect is more powerful and a more
pressing challenge for the person whereas
the waning aspect is not as critical, more
of a waning issue in a person's life. Most
astrologers, however, do not put a great
deal of emphasis (or any emphasis at all) on
whether an aspect is applying or separating.
WAXING/WANING: A waxing aspect occurs
when an aspect formed as the faster planet
moves towards being opposition from the
slower planet, and a waning aspect occurs
when the faster planet is returning back to
conjunction to the slower planet.
Examples: If the Sun is at 10 degrees of
Gemini and the Moon is at 9 degrees of Leo,
this is an applying, waxing aspect with a 1
degree orb because the faster planet (the
Moon) is heading towards the exact sextile
aspect (applying), and it is moving from
conjunction towards opposition (waxing). If
the Moon is at 11 degrees of Leo, it is
separating and waxing also with a 1 degree
orb. if the Moon is at 9 degrees of Aries,
it is applying and waning with a 1 degree
orb, and if the Moon is at 11 degrees of
Aries, then it is separating and waning also
with a 1 degree orb.
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