Clusters

When more than 2 planets are conjunct, one talks of a cluster.

Note that all the planets in a cluster do not have to be conjunct to all the other planets of that cluster. For instance, Mars in Sagittarius 1°, Venus in Sagittarius 8°, and Pluto in Sagittarius 16° form a cluster, even though Mars and Pluto are not conjunct (15 degrees is definitely too wide as an orb for a conjunction).

Clusters, however, tend to associate the values of all the planets involved. In the example mentioned above, in the cluster in Sagittarius Mars and Pluto will behave as if they were a bit conjunct. Or, rather, you will have a Mars-Venus-Pluto conjunction.

As with conjunctions, the tighter the orbs, the more powerful the cluster.

Clusters indicate accumulations of soul forces in a chart.

Easy opposition

Suppose Mars is opposed Saturn, with Mercury trine Saturn and sextile Mars. These 3 planets form an 'easy opposition'.

The word 'easy', here, does not necessarily mean that the Mars-Saturn opposition will be easy to deal with – these 2 planets have values which are difficult to marry. What it means, however, is that in that particular chart, the values of Mercury may help in marrying Mars and Saturn. From this point of view, Mercury may 'ease' the opposition. For instance, it may mean that the Mars-Saturn combination of values will become an achieving force if the person undertakes writings (Mercury), or that the mental sphere can be a way of resolving the stop-go problems which are inherent to the Mars-Saturn opposition.

Note: if Mercury were square to Mars and Saturn instead of trine to one and sextile to the other, it would not be an easy opposition but a T-square.

T-square

If Sun is opposed Saturn, and if Mars is square both Saturn and Sun, the 3 planets form a T-square.

The meaning of T-squares should not be fixed too strictly. It will vary greatly depending on which planets are involved, how well the values of each marries with the others, on the tightness of the orbs, and also on the rest of the chart.

Generally, a T-square indicates a strong structure, a crystallized formation of psychological forces – which means a crystallized part of the astral body. There may be good sides and bad sides to this. If the person can harmoniously integrate the values of the different planets, then there is a great power of realization in the T-square. (Remember we see the square as an aspect of materialization, that is, one which facilitates concrete realizations and achievements in the world.)

If however, the T-square is associated with emotional blockages then, precisely because it is crystallized, it may prove particularly difficult to overcome – the kind of brick wall one must hit a number of times before issues can be resolved. In that case, it is important to remember the promise of a strong, supporting and achieving structure that will shine through once the conflicts have been resolved.

Remember also that the tighter the aspects (that is, the smaller the orbs), the more significant and intense the T-square – for good or for bad.

Another thing which can strongly reinforce a T-square is if one or more of its planets are on an angle. The result is that the crystallized formation of astral forces is intricately woven into the make up of the psyche.

Grand cross

In a chart, suppose there is a Sun-Mars opposition, and a Jupiter-Moon opposition. Suppose, moreover, Jupiter is square Sun and Mars, and so is the Moon. The 4 planets are said to form a grand cross.

The meaning is identical to the one we described for T-squares, but even more intense.

If it coincides with the angles, a grand cross will necessarily be, if not the major chapter of the chart, at least one of the essential parts.

Grand trine

Suppose Jupiter is trine Venus, Venus is trine the Moon, and the Moon is trine Jupiter, the 3 planets together form a grand trine.

The symbolism is that of trines, but of course in a superlative manner. A grand trine indicates a powerful association of soul forces, a potential of a certain dimension.

Some astrologers like to see one of the planets of the grand trine also make a square or perhaps an opposition to another planet in the chart. Otherwise, they consider that the grand trine may go 'round and round' in circles, that is, the person may find it difficult to express their potential concretely or do much with it. This is not absolute, but in a number of cases it is very true. The symbolism of the number 3 relates more to archetypal creation than to concrete manifestation (which is related to 4).

In any case, facing a grand trine in a chart, the questions which arise are 'What will the person be able to do with it?' and 'How to manifest it concretely?'

Kite

If 3 planets form a grand trine, and a 4th planet is sextile to 2 of those forming the grand trine, the 4 planets together form a kite. For instance, suppose Jupiter, Venus and Moon form a grand trine, and Mars is sextile Jupiter and sextile Venus; then Jupiter, Venus, Moon and Mars form a kite.

The symbolism of kites is largely similar to that of grand trines, with the added forces of the sextile planet (Mars in the above example).

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.