When studying astrology, there are three components you want to learn first before you tackle the aspects. These are the houses, the signs, and the planets. Once you have a good understanding of these, you can then add in the fourth building block, the aspects. For anyone who does not know about the houses, signs, and planets, please read this blog The Anatomy of Your Chart as a starting point.
Getting back to the aspects, we first have to define what one actually is. An aspect is a geometric angle that forms between planets or other important chart points.
Aspects tell us the type of communication that’s going on between two planets or other special placements such as the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, IC, the south or north Lunar Nodes, and Chiron. It is essential to grasp the meaning of each aspect because you will then know whether the dialogue between two points is harmonious or tension-causing.
The purpose behind understanding all the aspects in your chart is integration. You want everything to work together. So, it becomes your job to help one planet communicate with another as best as you can. This means you first have to know the language being spoken by the planet and what its needs are. For example, if Jupiter the planet of expansion and growth, is in your 10th house of career it may be saying, “Dream bigger!” But if it is in a square aspect to Saturn who wants restriction and self-discipline, then you will have to get each planet on the same page before all parts of you are going to be happy.
Think of each planet as an archetypal energy you embody. Each planet has an agenda and a mission it wants you to carry out. And, based on the sign and the house your planet is in, you know where in your life it’s pressing on you to act, and in what way you will be acting this out. In other words, the house shows you the place and the sign describes the attitude you express while carrying out the planet’s agenda.
Now that we know what aspects are and why they are important, let’s talk about the five main aspects you want to look for in your chart to get a better understanding of yourself.
Conjunction: 0 degrees
A conjunction occurs when two planets are right next to each other (0 degrees apart) and up to 5 degrees apart (astrologers call this within a 5-degree orb). When a conjunction is present between two planets, it is as if they have joined together to form one unique energy signature. Here, the agendas of both planets need to be examined carefully because they are each expanding the other’s influence on you.
Sextile: 60 degrees
A sextile is when planets make a 60-degree angle between one another. So, for example, if Pluto is in Libra in the first house at 20 degrees, it would be making a sextile aspect to Saturn if Saturn was in Sagittarius in the third house at 20 degrees. So, sextiles are always two signs apart. The energy sextiles embody is invigorating – they “excite” and enhance each other, and while that may sound good, it all depends on which planets are involved and in which areas of life things are getting fired up!
Square: 90 degrees
A square aspect represents any planets/points that have a 90-degree angle between them. Squares are generally referred to as “tension-causing” or difficult, but they’re only meant to be a challenge for you to overcome – to pay more attention to – not to sweep under the rug. Squares should be points where we direct our attention and ask, “Hmmm… what could I do to improve this area of my life?” All of astrology works on us from an invisible realm. The whole point of studying your chart, like we are with the aspects, is to bring these facets to light, so we can work with them consciously instead of having them work on us.
Trine: 120 degrees
The trine is considered a harmonious aspect in astrology, but it comes with a warning: if you don’t do anything about it, you may not reap its rewards! So once again, how are you applying yourself to these areas of life where your trine shows up? And are you expressing the energies of the two planets making up the trine in the most beneficial way? An example of this aspect is having Jupiter in the twelfth house at 15 degrees of Virgo trine Uranus in the fourth house at 15 degrees of Capricorn. Trines occur four signs apart and they are always in the same element (both of them are in Earth signs in this example) and it is because of this that these planets work more graciously with one another; they speak the same elemental language.
Opposition: 180 degrees
The opposition occurs when two planets are on opposite sides of the chart staring each other down. As you can imagine this dynamic isn't very comfortable. It’s like each planet is in a game of tug-a-war, and it’s your job to be the mediator between the opposing views. If you can find the middle ground (compromise) with these two planets by allowing each to have its say - without being hindered by the other - then you're right on track. Ultimately, all of these planets represent parts of your own psyche arguing back and forth, so it’s worthwhile to recognize what those parts want and learn how to listen to their needs.
To recap, once you know where a planet lives (the house) and what its dominant behavioral traits are (the sign), you can then start analyzing what type of communication is occurring (the aspect) between the two planets or other chart points.
In addition to these five main aspects, there are many more you can learn about on your own, but these are the main aspects most commonly used for astrological interpretation. If you would like to view a class that pulls everything together explaining the houses, signs, planets, and aspects through numerous examples, you may want to check out my online class, Foundations in Astrology, which is available here.
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