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Clairvision Astrology Manual – Astrological aspects – significance and symbolism

Minor aspects

Among the minor aspects, the principal ones are:

To these, in Clairvision Virtual Astrologer, biquintiles (144°) were added, for reasons explained in the section on biquintiles.

Despite the fact that they are called 'minor', these aspects can at times exert an extremely powerful influence in a chart. A sesquisquare, for instance, can be the 'karmic key' which explains a whole chart. Biquintiles, according to our school, can bring occult forces of considerable magnitude.

Astrological aspects – sesquisquares

The sesquisquare is perhaps the least minor of the minor aspects. Truly, the sesquisquare is only minor by name – it can play a major influence in a chart. It measures 135°, that is, a square (90°) plus half a square (45°). Symbolically, this can be understood as a 'super-square', leading to a symbolism of intense karma.

In a chart, a sesquisquare can correspond to problems which are not necessarily obvious when one first talks with the native. But when going deeper, it is not rare to realize that sesquisquare-related problems have played a key role in their life. To take an example, a Sun-Saturn sesquisquare immediately draws attention to potential deep problems with the father. These, however, may never have been identified. It may only be through self exploration work that it will be realized how the relationship with the father has exerted a negative influence in the person's life. (Of course, the Sun-Saturn sesquisquare might also express in a different way than in the relationship with one's father.)

Sesquisquare-related problems are often karmic, that is, the result of a painful and difficult past life situation, or of some irresponsible behaviour in one's past lives.

So if there are sesquisquares in your chart, you definitely want to ask yourself the question: 'To what exactly do they correspond in my life? What are the issues resulting from them?'

In medical astrology, in the case of chronic disease, sesquisquares in the patient's natal chart should be carefully considered. For in certain cases, the sesquisquare planets hold the key to healing. As long as the karmic issues related to a particular sesquisquare have not been dealt with, they may act as a lock, blocking the patient's recovery. Conversely, once resolved, there may be more than just a recovery – a real transformation with a change of values and direction in life may take place.

Astrological aspects – biquintiles

Biquintiles in Clairvision Virtual Astrologer

Note: to quickly judge the biquintiles in a chart, Clairvision Virtual Astrologer has a drawing preset called 'Biquintiles Only'.

The biquintile is an aspect which is usually regarded as very minor. At the Clairvision School, however, we have found it to be extremely powerful, at least in certain charts.

There are some symbolic reasons for this. What is a quintile? An aspect which measures a fifth of a circle, that is, 72 degrees. What is a biquintile? Twice a quintile, that is, 144 degrees – the measure of a pentagram.

If you draw a pentagram, or five branched star, within a circle, you can easily see that between each spike, there is a quintile (a fifth of a circle), and that each line of the pentagram delineates a biquintile, or two fifths of the circle.

The pentagram is perhaps the most magic of all figures of sacred geometry. It symbolizes occult power, the mastery of esoteric principles and of astral forces. It has sometimes been used by black magicians (who use it 'upside down') but there is nothing intrinsically evil in it. The pentagram is sheer power, and can be used for either pure or evil purposes.

This is exactly the significance that we have attributed to the biquintile – deep occult power. For instance, in the 'Teachers' database, look at Uri Geller's very tight Mars-Saturn biquintile (12').

It has appeared to us that biquintile spikes are particularly powerful. In terms of sacred geometry, one can easily see a reason for this. When two biquintiles are organized in a spike, they form the beginning of a full pentagram.

From this perspective, we invite you to use the 'Biquintile Only' drawing preset in Clairvision Virtual Astrologer and view the charts of Satya Sai Baba and Adolf Hitler, two men of great power – a white magician and a black magician (Walter Stein saw in Adolf Hitler the reincarnation of Klingsor). What can you see? Surprise!

Satya Sai Baba's chart forms a near complete pentagram. Hitler's forms 60% of a pentagram, firmly grounded in Black Moon and Pluto, which is especially noticeable in a chart which is otherwise rather common.

Symbol for biquintiles in Clairvision Virtual Astrologer

In Clairvision Virtual Astrologer, the traditional symbol for biquintile (which most astrologers never bothered memorising) is replaced by a small pentagram. This symbol appears more appropriate for this aspect, which has been largely underestimated so far. Hopefully, this will be the start of a new career for biquintiles.

And what about triquintiles?

If biquintiles are so powerful, should we also be looking at triquintiles (three fifths of a circle)? No, because whenever two planets form a biquintile, they form a triquintile at the same time (on the other side of the circle). Draw a pentagram and you will immediately understand.

Astrological aspects – inconjunctions

Inconjunctions, also known as quincux are one of the minor aspects. They measure 150 degrees, that is five signs, or 5/12 of a circle.

Inconjunctions can be very significant in transits. In a chart where Uranus is strong, for instance, carefully look for the times when Uranus in transit will be inconjunct the Sun, or other important clusters in the chart. These may be times of explosive changes for the person.

Similarly, if there is a major conjunction or cluster in a chart, when one of the planets of that clusters happens to be transiting so as to form an inconjunction with the cluster, important events may take place in the native's life.

Spike

Spike is a term used at the Clairvision School. As far as we may know, it is not a standard term for most astrologers.

Roughly speaking, a spike is like a big arrow head drawn by two similar aspects, for instance two inconjunctions or two sesquisquares, and directed towards a planet. For instance, if Mars is sesquisquare Venus and Jupiter is also sesquisquare Venus, but with Jupiter not conjunct Mars (Jupiter 'on the other side'), there is a sesquisquare spike pointing toward Venus. When dealing with biquintiles, for instance, we have noticed how Sai Baba's and Hitler's charts present powerful biquintile spikes.

A spike tends to indicate an accumulation of forces (either positive or negative) relating to the planets which are pointed to.

Aspects – waxing and waning, applying and separating

Waxing and waning aspects

Let us start with the simple example of a Sun-Moon conjunction, that is, a New Moon. The Moon moves along the zodiac much faster than the Sun. The Moon moves 12 to 15 degrees per day, while the Sun moves about 1 degree per day. So, every 29 days or so, the Moon 'overtakes' the Sun; in other words a Sun-Moon conjunction takes place.

A conjunction is not a punctual moment in time. It does not take place only at the very moment when the Moon overtakes the Sun. Taking 10 degrees as the orb, the conjunction starts when the Moon approaches within 10 degrees of the Sun, that is, nearly one day before the New Moon. The conjunction then lasts for nearly one day after the New Moon.

If you are sensitive to energies, you may have noticed how completely different the feeling is just before and just after a New Moon. And yet, in both cases the Sun and the Moon are conjunct. The conclusion is that talking of a Sun-Moon conjunction is simply not good enough. When analyzing the meaning of the aspect, you must take into consideration whether it is applying (just before the New Moon) or separating (just after the New Moon).

A similar effect can be observed with other planetary conjunctions. There is a cycle from newness, when the two are conjunct; to fullness, when they are opposed. Assuming both planets are direct, the aspects leading up to the conjunction are waning and those after it are waxing.

For example a Sun-Saturn trine with Sun in Sagittarius 12° and Saturn in Aries 12° is a waning aspect. The Sun is moving towards a conjunction with Saturn. A Moon-Pluto square with Pluto in Capricorn 16° and Moon in Aries 16° is waxing. Here, the Moon is moving away from a conjunction with Pluto.

When you have fully digested this concept, ponder on this oddity: a Sun-Pluto opposition with Pluto in Capricorn 16° and Sun in Cancer 15° is a...? Waxing opposition, because the Sun is moving away from Pluto. Not for much longer, though! As soon as the Sun has passed the exact conjunction, it starts moving towards Pluto again. Consequently a Sun-Pluto opposition with Pluto in Capricorn 16° and Sun in Cancer 17° is said to be waning.

The symbolism of the cycle of waxing and waning is discussed in Applying and separating conjunctions – astrological significance.

In Clairvision Virtual Astrologer waxing and waning aspects are listed under 'Aspects' in the View menu.

Applying and separating aspects

An applying aspect is one that is about to happen. The faster-moving planet is still moving toward the exact point of aspect. A separating aspect has already happened. The faster planet has passed the point of aspect.

In our example of the Sun-Saturn trine, the Sun is in applying trine with Saturn for a few days before it reaches 12° Sagittarius. After passing the point of aspect it is in a separating trine with Saturn. Eight months later, the Sun will again form an applying trine with Saturn as it approaches 12° Leo (assuming for the sake of simplicity, that Saturn has not moved).

In a natal chart applying apects are generally considered to carry more influence than separating ones. Similarly with transits, the applying phase of an aspect is seen to be more powerful than the separating phase. Some astrologers attribute a greater orb of influence to applying aspects than to separating ones.

The special case of conjunctions

When can an aspect be both waxing and separating? Both waning and applying? When it is a conjunction.

Think of what happens at New Moon. Just before the Moon becomes New, it is approaching a conjunction with the Sun. The aspect between Sun and Moon is an applying conjunction. It is also waning – these are the last hours of the Moon cycle.

Just after a New Moon, the Moon is still conjunct the Sun but now it is a separating conjunction. This is the beginning of a new Moon cycle, so the aspect is a waxing conjunction.

Likewise, a Sun-Saturn conjunction with the Sun in Aries 12° and Saturn in Aries 15° is both applying and waning. A few days later, when the Sun is in Aries 18°, the conjunction is both separating and waxing.

Aspects between dialectically opposed planets

Which planets form dialectically opposed pairs? Sun-Moon, Mars-Venus, Moon-Saturn, Jupiter-Saturn, and also Sun-Saturn, Mercury-Jupiter.

Each of these dialectics is related to a number of archetypes, values, psychological tendencies, body parts and energies.

This topic is discussed at length in Samuel Sagan's book, Planetary Forces, Alchemy and Healing, and is also part of our course in astrological symbolism. Without going into details, what must be said here is that a major aspect between any of these pairs of planets, especially if it is strong (for instance if it is tight), will tend to bring up all the elements related to this dialectic in the person's psychological and energetic make up.

For instance, in people with a strong Moon-Saturn opposition, the attitude to the 'inner child', as opposed to serious and rigid characters, is likely to be of great importance. If the person happens to have health problems related to joints, the Moon-Saturn axis should be the first one where to try to implement healing.

Oppositions, because their intrinsic symbolism is close to that of a dialectic between opposed pairs of values, will of course highlight planetary dialectics directly and significantly. But all major aspects, whether conjunctions, squares, or even sometimes sextiles, may have the same effect.

In an astrological consultation if, through the aspects of the chart, you can detect that one of the planetary dialectics is important for the client, this will immediately lead you to a number of important things to tell them, as well as powerful suggestions to work on themselves. For more on this topic, refer to Planetary Forces, Alchemy and Healing, and our free, online course.

Aspects to angles

Clairvision Virtual Astrologer offers the option to display or hide the aspects to the Ascendant and Midheaven. This option is selected by default, meaning that if you do nothing, the aspects to these angles will be displayed.

The general rule is that aspects to the angles emphasize and strengthen the significance of planets and other objects in the chart. However there are times when it can be useful hide these aspects, for example when the angles are aspected to a minor object (such as an asteroid, or the Part of Fortune), and not much else.

You may also want to hide the aspects to angles if the time of birth is not known precisely. This allows you to keep the houses while de-emphasizing the birth time itself.

In Clairvision Virtual Astrologer, the option to hide aspects to angles for the current chart is in 'Configure Chart Drawing'. To set the default for all charts, go to 'Preferences.'

Aspect orbs

In Clairvision Virtual Astrologer, orbs for aspects, transits and progressions can be customized in the Preferences menu.

How long does a conjunction last? A square? Sextile? Mathematically there is a precise moment when the aspect occurs, but in practice the influences of the particular planetary configuration extend over a wider period of time. The designated range within which an aspect is said to be occurring is the aspect's orb. For example the standard orb for conjunctions is 10 degrees. Two planets 10 degrees or less than each other are said to be conjunct.

For major aspects like conjunctions and oppositions it makes sense to have a wide orb, as the period of influence is longer. When it comes to the minor aspects, orbs are typically set at smaller angles. The more minor the aspect, the smaller the orb.

The significance of an aspect can vary according to all sorts of other factors (not all of which are astrologically predictable). For example a Full Moon is always a Sun-Moon opposition, but not every Full Moon has the same energetic qualities. Some are loud and chaotic; others pass with barely a ripple. Setting the orbs for a chart offers the flexibility to allow for these fluctuations.

Because of their apparent size and influence, the luminaries (Sun and Moon) are sometimes attributed slightly wider orbs than the other planets, for example 11 or 12 degrees for a conjunction or opposition instead of the usual 10.

The Sun and Moon have the same angular sizes in the sky

Astrological aspects – conjunctions

Conjunctions are the most powerful of all aspects, not only because they create a major combination of planetary forces, but also because they indicate an accumulation of forces, one of the 'important chapters' of the chart. (Of course, the importance will vary depending on the planets involved. A North Node-Black Moon conjunction, for instance, is less significant than a Sun-Saturn square.)

Conjunctions in transit

Among all transits, conjunctions are also the most powerful (a conjunction transit is when the transiting planet passes over the position of place in the natal chart).

Whenever a chart has one or more clusters (conjunction of more than two planets) or major conjunctions, you can expect important events to take place when significant planets are transiting them. The consequence is that any chart rich in clusters or conjunctions is likely to be rich in intense life events.

Applying and separating conjunctions – astrological significance

To understand the meaning of an applying or separating conjunction, keep in mind the 'old', 'elimination-like' energy that can be felt just before the New Moon, that is, in an applying conjunction. Also keep in mind the beautiful freshness that can be felt just after the New Moon, that is, in a separating conjunction.

Separating conjunctions suggest the following symbolism

  • a new, fresh, beginning in relation to the values of the two planets
  • impetus and youthfulness
  • innocence, directness, spontaneity; perhaps also a certain impulsiveness
  • Even if the person is an 'old soul', they are starting a new cycle as far as the values of these two planets are concerned.

Applying ('old Moon'-like) conjunctions suggest the following symbolism

  • the completion of a cycle of lives
  • the completion of tasks undertaken in former lives;
  • wisdom, NBY (a Not-Born-Yesterday maturity and know-how)
  • need for calculated moves and exacting precision – specific tasks have to be performed in order to complete the cycle, unlike with the youthfulness of a separating conjunction, which can benefit from nearly any new experience;
  • old karma
  • the challenge of either finalizing a cycle or 'failing the exam' and having to do it all over again. Here the purpose is not to rush into all kinds of varied experiences (as in the I Ching's hexagram 'Youthful Folly') but to complete what needs be done.

See full Clairvision Astrology Manual.

copyright © 2008 Samuel Sagan, Ruth Helen Camden.