In contemporary astrology, aspects play a significant role. The planets, with the Sun (or Earth) at their centre, form a variety of angular relationships with one another as they travel in their elongated orbits around the Sun. These are known as “Aspects”. The most common aspect relationships are the conjunction (0 degrees), opposition (180 degrees), trine (120 degrees), square (90 degrees), and so on, all of which result from dividing the circle by numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4. It is said that the energies and characteristics of two planets combine in either harmony or discord when they form an aspect with one another. When two planets, say Mercury and Venus, are directly across from one another in the sky, this is called an opposition.
It’s possible to classify the most popular aspects into three broad groups:
Certain points deserve special attention: Aspects between two planets that highlight or align their energies are called emphatic aspects. Two planets are said to be in conjunction when they occupy the same degree of the zodiac (0 degrees). Their identities have merged into one. Planets on opposite sides of the zodiac are said to be in opposition (180 degrees). There is a concordance between the energies. Depending on the planets involved, they can attract or repel one another gravitationally.
Hard aspects include a square (90 degrees) and a semi-square shape (45 degrees). These stand for difficulties, obstructions, and juicy stuff. They’re what our lives are made of. The flow of life can be obstructed by an excessive number of factors, while an insufficiency of factors can cause a life that flows too easily and doesn’t help us grow and evolve.
Trine (120 degrees) and sextile (60 degrees). These gentler parts of life give us comfort, insight, and clarity. What’s going on is plain to see, and we fully comprehend the situation. A life with too much coolness, too much mentality, and a lack of substance results from having too few soft and hard aspects.
When an aspect is exact, it comes to the fore. Still, in most cases, the effect of the aspect doesn’t fully manifest until some point, both before and after the precise moment. An aspect’s “orb of influence,” or just “orb,” refers to the area in which that aspect has an effect. Close orbs fall within 1-2 degrees of arc on either side of the exact aspect, while loose orbs extend out to 10 degrees of arc.
The planets involved in an aspect analysis are also important. First and foremost are planetary aspects to the Sun and Moon, followed by those to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Aspects to the chart angles (ascendant and midheaven) are significant if your natal chart has a precise birth time. It all depends on the specific combination. Some planetary aspects, like Saturn’s with Mars, have more threat of conflict than others, like Venus’s with Jupiter.
To get started with chart interpretation, you draw your chart and look the charts of celebrities over on Luna. This is not an affiliate link and is just my preferred chart provider. Draw your chart and start to break it down into different aspects.
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Samantha is an intuitive healer and visionary who holds space for heart-centric souls to discover their strengths, find their true purpose and take bold steps towards living a life aligned with their core values and soul purpose. Through a fusion of psychology, spirituality, Human Design, Reiki Energy Healing, and two decades of business experience, Samantha has supported hundreds of people to find their purpose, live life with more flow, and build thriving businesses.
She is is a registered practitioner with UK Reiki Federation and CMA.
As a though-leader, her work has been featured in numerous publications and television appearances on BBC and Channel 5 News.
