Aspects in astrology: how your planets talk to each other

An aspect in astrology is the angle between two planets in a chart, measured along the zodiac circle. The five major aspects are the conjunction (0 degrees), the sextile (60), the square (90), the trine (120) and the opposition (180). They describe how two parts of you work together: with ease or with friction. And friction is not bad: a square is read as the place where effort turns into skill.

What an aspect is

In a birth chart, each planet stands for one part of you. The Sun is your core, the Moon what you need, Mercury how you think, Venus how you love, Mars how you go after what you want. The sign shows a planet's style. The house shows the area of life.

Aspects add the piece that turns this list into one person: which planets are in contact, and in what tone.

Two planets in aspect are read as linked. When one is active, the other has a say. Venus by itself describes how you love. Venus in aspect with Saturn, the planet of discipline and time, describes a way of loving in which seriousness and commitment are always part of the picture.

The measuring is plain geometry. On the zodiac, a circle of 360 degrees, every planet has a position as seen from Earth. The distance between two positions is their angle. Divide the circle by two, three, four and six and you get the major aspects, plus the case where two planets stand side by side.

The five major aspects

The column "Signs apart" explains why each angle has its tone. Signs four apart share an element, so a trine usually links two planets that run on the same thing, such as two fire signs. Signs three apart share a mode and never an element. A square links two planets that act in the same manner and want different things. The grid of elements and modes shows this for all twelve signs.

What an orb is

Planets are rarely at the exact angle. The orb is the allowed deviation: how far from exact an aspect may be and still count.

An example. Your Sun stands at 10 degrees Leo, your Moon at 14 degrees Scorpio. Leo and Scorpio are three signs apart, so the two are 94 degrees apart. That is a square with an orb of 4 degrees.

Three things are worth knowing:

• Commonly, astrologers allow up to about 6 to 8 degrees for major aspects, and less for sextiles.
• The smaller the orb, the more clearly an aspect is read. An aspect within one degree counts for more than one at seven.
• Astrologers differ on orbs. If two sources list different aspects for your chart, neither has made a mistake. They draw the line in different places.

Easy and tense aspects: why a square is not bad

Trines and sextiles are called easy or flowing aspects. Squares and oppositions are called tense or dynamic. The conjunction depends on the two planets involved.

Older books simply called them good and bad. Many astrologers no longer read them that way, for a practical reason.

An easy aspect works without your attention. That is pleasant, and it also means you may take it for granted. Venus trine Jupiter is read as warmth and generosity that come naturally. Nobody has to practice it, and for that reason it can stay unused.

A tense aspect gets your attention. Two parts of you want different things, and you notice it. Mars square Saturn is read as drive meeting a brake: wanting to go and feeling held back. Over time, astrologers read exactly this as the making of endurance, because someone who has always had to push against resistance learns to keep going.

A trine is a talent you were handed. A square is one you build.

An opposition works in a similar way, with one difference: its two sides are often split between you and other people until you claim both. A chart full of trines is not a better chart. Most charts hold a mix: ease to rest on, friction to grow on.

How to read the aspects in your own chart

In a chart drawing, the aspects are the lines that cross the middle of the wheel. A full chart shows a lot of them, so do not start with all at once.

1. Start with the Sun and the Moon. Which planets are in aspect with them?
2. Pick the tightest aspects, the ones with the smallest orb.
3. Name both planets in plain words, then add the tone of the angle. Moon trine Mercury: what you feel and how you speak cooperate, so feelings are easily put into words.
4. Only then look at the rest.

A note on the birth time. Aspects between planets depend mainly on your date of birth. The Moon moves fast, so its aspects are less certain without a time. The Rising point, the degree of your Rising sign (also called the Ascendant), moves about one degree every four minutes. Aspects to it and to the Midheaven, the highest point of the chart, need an exact time.

The same five angles are used beyond your own chart. Between two people's charts they are the basis of synastry. Between the moving sky and your chart they are called transits.

What to do next

Get your chart, find the two or three tightest aspects, and read each as a sentence about two parts of you. Ask where you have seen that cooperation or that tug in your life. The step-by-step guide on how to read a birth chart shows where aspects fit in.

If you would rather have them read in context, a Birth Chart Reading is calculated from your exact birth data and written for your chart.