Author: Alison Price   –   Published: March 2025

By now you know when reading a chart there are four cornerstones to chart interpretation. The four cornerstones are the signs planets. Houses and aspects and whilst there are many things that can be said about signs, houses and planets, personally, I find the aspects to be the most interesting. The main reason aspects are interesting is because they’re different for everybody, even though I may have a Moon aspect to my Sun, and you may have a Moon aspect to your Sun, if the aspect is different, the combination of energies changes too. And not only that, but some aspects can be more important than others.

• They could be applying or separating.
• They could be partile.
• They could be aspects of declination.

Another way of looking at aspect connections is through the lesser used aspects. I haven’t spoken about lesser use aspects much at all, but this time we’re going to be looking at the aspects of the 5th harmonic, which are the quintiles and the biquintiles. When these two aspects are in a chart they are typically coloured in turquoise.

Quintile Aspect Patterns

Quintile Fat and Thin Arrows

I also want to just point out that there are two specific quintile aspect patterns, not that we’re talking about them today, but just let me mention it in passing. You’ve got the quintile fat arrow, and you’ve got the quintile thin arrow. Both of which are triangular aspect patterns and I’ll be discussing those later on this year. So, let’s have a look at the fifth harmonic lesser used aspects of the quintiles and the biquintiles.

Unveiling Hidden Talents

Ptolemaic Aspects

In astrology, there are five well-known main Ptolemaic aspects and they are the conjunctions, oppositions, trines, squares and sextiles. These are the basic aspects you start with. The standard orb I use for the Ptolemaic aspects is 8° degrees, except for the sextile (which is half of a trine), at 4° orb.

Minor Aspects

The four minor aspects are the semi-sextile and the quincunx (12 harmonic) and the semi-square and the sesquiquadrate (8th harmonic). In general, I use an orb of 2° for minor aspects.

Lesser-Used Aspects

But beyond these familiar planetary relationships lies a hidden gem – the quintile aspect (72°) and bi-quintile (144°) aspects. These aspects are formed by dividing the circle by 5. So the quintile is one fifth of a circle (360°/5 = 72°) and the biquintile is two fifths of a circle ((360°/5) x 2 = 144°). There are other lesser known, but still whole number angle degrees as well. The 5fifth harmonic aspects hold the key to creativity, intelligence and personal mastery. Not every chart will have quintiles but many do.

Creativity and Mastery

5th Harmonic

Both the quintile and biquintile belong to the 5th harmonic in astrology. This number is associated with creativity, invention and refinement. Unlike major aspects, which typically show life’s challenges and ease, quintiles represent the urge to create, innovate and express unique talents.

Genius

I view quintiles as markers of genius and as a sign of a person’s natural gifts, creative insights and their ability to shape reality in new and insightful ways. These five based aspects often appear in the charts of artists, scientists and innovators who have a unique approach to problem-solving or artistic expression.

Quintile Energy

Subtle

Unlike the dramatic energy of a conjunction or opposition, I believe that quintile energy is subtle and it operates beneath the surface, often manifesting as an innate ability rather than an external force. Those with tight quintiles may not even realize their gift until they actively develop and refine their skills. As an astrologer, it is you job to help your clients see the potential in their lives that is suggested by any quintiles in their charts. Usually, people are so obsessed with the issues brough forward by their squares and oppositions that they can’t even contemplate subtle quintile energy until you explain it to them.

Examples

• A person with Mercury quintile Mars may have razor-sharp wit and mental agility, making them an excellent debater or writer.
• Someone with Venus quintile Neptune may have an unusual artistic talent, creating beauty in ways other people wouldn’t think of.
• Sun quintile Uranus could indicate a natural innovator and trendsetter and someone who thinks outside the box.

Unlike the trine which brings ease, quintiles require focused effort to fully activate them. It’s like having an innate ability to play the piano, but you still need practice to become a master pianist.

The Geometry of Genius

The Meaning of the Quintile

Quintiles are not just random angles, they are deeply connected to sacred geometry, that connect to the pentagram and the Fibonacci sequence.

Five

The quintile is part of the 5th harmonic. In numerology, 5 is the number of change, curiosity and exploration. This number is linked to the pentagram, an ancient symbol of balance, beauty and the harmony between the material and spiritual worlds.

Fibonacci

In nature, the Fibonacci sequence (which appears in flower petals, seashells and galaxies) often follows a fivefold pattern, showing the natural order and structure of creativity. This same energy flows through quintile aspects in astrology, that in a way can connect us to the deeper intelligence of the universe.

Quintile Themes

Golden Ratio

The Golden Ratio (1.618), which is also often called the Divine Proportion, is closely linked to quintiles. This ratio appears in art, architecture and nature to shape everything from the spirals of galaxies to the human face. Homes and building designed with the Golden Ratio are more pleasing to our eyes and we want to live and work on such buildings.

Proportion

Astrologically, people with strong quintile aspects may have an innate sense of proportion, harmony and order, whether in music, design, or problem-solving. They can see connections where others see chaos and this makes them natural innovators and visionaries.

Inner Brilliance

Many highly creative and intelligent people have prominent quintiles in their charts. While major aspects describe personality and life events, quintiles reveal how a person perhaps will channels their inner brilliance.

Leonardo da Vinci

Birth Data

10pm, April 15th, 1452, Vinci, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci has strong quintiles, highlighting his mastery of art, science, and engineering.

Moon Quintile Venus

Artistic Sensitivity and Emotional Harmony

This quintile suggests a deep emotional connection to beauty, art, and aesthetics. Refined taste and intuitive artistic sense, allowing him to capture human expressions, movement, and natural details with remarkable fluidity. A natural ability to harmonize emotions with artistic expression, seen in his soft sfumato painting technique, which blends light and shadow seamlessly. A unique sensitivity to proportion and form, which contributed to the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic beauty and perfect symmetry.

Sun Bi-Quintile Neptune

Visionary Genius and Mystical Creativity

A highly imaginative and otherworldly mind, blending reality with fantasy and idealism. Mastery of light, shadow, and illusion—evident in his artistic techniques and futuristic inventions. A deep spiritual connection to knowledge, suggesting he saw his art and discoveries as a divine pursuit.  The ability to channel inspiration into tangible form, turning dreamlike visions into real innovations.

Sun Bi-Quintile Ascendant

Magnetic Presence and Unique Personal Expression

A commanding yet unconventional aura, setting him apart from his peers. The ability to express his identity in a highly refined and individualistic way, seen in his self-portraits and enigmatic personal style. An effortless ability to embody his creative ideals, making him an icon of artistic mastery and intellectual brilliance. A tendency to see himself as a creator of new worlds, shaping both art and science with his unique insights.

Uranus Quintile Midheaven (MC)

Radical Innovation and Revolutionary Thinking

Unorthodox career path—he was not just an artist but also an inventor, scientist, and engineer. A pioneering mind that constantly challenged conventions and sought groundbreaking discoveries. An ability to predict the future with ideas far ahead of his time (e.g., concepts for helicopters, tanks, and anatomical studies). Genius in blending art with science, which was unprecedented in the Renaissance era.

Neptune Quintile Ascendant

Mystical Charisma and Inspired Self-Expression

A dreamy, otherworldly presence, making him a mysterious and enigmatic figure. A highly imaginative and fluid self-image, allowing him to take on multiple roles—artist, scientist, engineer, and philosopher. An intuitive connection to the unseen, explaining his obsession with anatomy, nature, and hidden structures in the world. A natural ability to capture the ethereal and the divine, seen in the Mona Lisa’s mysterious expression and the spiritual depth of The Last Supper.

Da Vinci Overview

Leonardo’s quintile and bi-quintile aspects reveal a rare blend of artistic mastery, scientific innovation, and visionary thinking. These aspects activated his hidden genius, allowing him to create some of the most influential works in history. His chart shows that true brilliance comes from integrating multiple disciplines—art, science, and spirituality—into aharmonious, visionary whole.

Mozart’s Quintiles

The Astrological Signature of Musical Genius

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth chart is filled with quintile and bi-quintile aspects, which are linked to creativity, mastery and a natural talent for structuring beauty. These fifth harmonic aspects show his exceptional musical ability, rapid skill development, and deep emotional connection to his art. Below is a breakdown of how each of these quintiles contributed to his early musical genius and lasting legacy.

Moon Quintile Venus

Emotional Harmony and Aesthetic Sensitivity

An intuitive ability to express beauty and emotion through music. Deep sensitivity to melody and harmony, making his compositions both technically brilliant and emotionally compelling. A natural gift for creating music that evokes deep feelings, making his works universally loved and timeless. A sense of grace and balance in composition, leading to perfectly structured pieces.

Sun Bi-Quintile Mars

Passionate Creativity and Fiery Artistic Drive

A tireless creative energy output. Mozart was known for his intense productivity, composing over 600 works in his short lifetime. By all accounts he had a bold and dynamic approach to music, often pushing boundaries with fast tempos, sharp contrasts, and dramatic intensity. He had a mastery of technical skills in composition and performance, that showed a highly refined control of musical expression. He bore a strong competitive drive and always strived for innovation and perfection in his pieces.

Sun Bi-Quintile North Node

Destined for Creative Greatness

His life path was uniquely tied to his artistic gifts, with music being his soul’s mission. Mozart almost had a sense of divine inspiration, as though his music was meant to elevate the human experience. His rapid evolution and success fulfilled his potential at a young age (writing symphonies at 8 years old!). There is a sense of fate with Sun biquintile the North Node and he seemed to be born to compose.

Sun Bi-Quintile Ascendant

Charismatic Genius and A Magnetic Presence

Mozart had strong, radiant personality which attracted patrons and audiences with ease. He had an ability to project his innate confidence and individuality, to make him a well-known public figure despite many personal struggles. As a diminutive person (5′ 4″), his presence and energy were seen as larger than life which was reflected in his music’s dramatic and captivating nature.

Mercury Bi-Quintile Mars

Lightning-Fast Musical Thought

Mozart had exceptional mental speed, that allowed him to compose music in his head way before he wrote it down. He had a sharp, witty communication style and was well known for his playful and cheeky personality. His precision and highly technical skill in both composing and performing complex pieces took people’s breath away and still does. Mercury biquintile Mars indicates the ability to juggle multiple musical ideas at once, to make his compositions layered and intricate.

Mercury Bi-Quintile Ascendant

Genius Through Words and Music

He seemed to have the ability to instantly translate his thoughts into music and to make musical composition effortless. He also held a charismatic and expressive presence, especially in performances. Mozart’s mind almost worked on multiple levels at once, to effortlessly project (Ascendant) his technical skill (Mercury) with artistic vision.

Venus Quintile Pluto

Passion and Power in Art

Mozart had a unique ability to capture the depth of human emotions in music. We are attracted to the magnetic, haunting quality in some of his pieces, especially in his later operas. The music moves us and has a transformative effect on listeners, inducing both joy and sorrow in powerful ways. At times he had a fearless approach to exploring both light (Venus) and dark (Pluto) themes in his music.

Mars Quintile North Node

Driving Force Behind His Destiny

It is as though he was destined to push his relentless energy and fuel his creative journey. Perhaps there was a sense of urgency and purpose, because he knew he had limited time to create as he died so young at age 35. He set himself up as a natural leader in the music world, constantly setting trends rather than following them.

Mars Quintile Ascendant

Dynamic Stage Presence

He had a fiery, expressive way of performing that was full of energy, pizzaz and confidence. As he played many of his pieces in person, his ability to physically translate drives into music, made his performances electric. He had a resilient and bold personality which allowed him to withstand the pressures of public life.

Jupiter Biquintile Uranus

Expansive Vision and Revolutionary Musical Style

As a genius at breaking musical norms, Mozart often defied classical composition structures to create something entirely new. By all accounts, he had a playful, unpredictable streak and always wanted to make his compositions fresh and unexpected taking you on a road less travelled. The Jupiter biquintile Uranus aspects in his chart allowed him to compose grand and expansive pieces. His pleasant-sounding innovations shaped the future of classical music, influencing countless composers after him.

Jupiter Biquintile South Node

Past-Life Gift and Mastery of Music

All aspect connections to the South Node in anyone’s chart suggest things brough forward into this life’s incarnation. The Jupiter biquintile the South Node aspect was as if he had a sense that he was carrying musical knowledge from past lifetimes. With effortless talent from a young age it was as though he was simply “remembering” how to compose. Mozart had a deep spiritual connection to music and used it as a way to uplift the world.

Chiron Biquintile Midheaven (MC)

Heal the World

Mozart’s music has a deeply healing and transformative effect on people. Even today Mozart is played in neonatal units and hospices for people arriving in this world and those leaving it as it is thought to reduce pain. 

Mozart is played in high crime areas in cities and brings relief to the activities that go on in back alleys. Shopkeepers play Mozart outside their doors to stop youths loitering around the sidewalk. If you play Mozart to a wilting houseplant it will perk up and begin to flourish. Tomato farmers have Mozart playing through speakers in their greenhouses for better sweeter crops. Traditionally, poultry farmers play Mozart in their hen houses for better egg laying as it calms the chickens. 

Despite personal struggles, Mozart himself used music as a form of self-healing. His music continues to heal generations of musicians.

Mozart Overarch

The Quintile Signature of a Musical Prodigy

Mozart’s numerous quintiles and biquintiles show a chart bursting with divine creativity, precision and technical mastery. These fifth harmonic aspects indicate that his musical ability was more than just talent—it was an innate, almost supernatural gift.

Nikola Tesla’s Quintiles

Visionary Genius

Nikola Tesla, one of history’s greatest inventors and visionaries, had a mind ahead of its time. His innovations in electricity, wireless energy and electromagnetism revolutionized modern technology. Astrologically, Tesla’s quintile and biquintile aspects highlight his innate genius, deep intuition and relentless pursuit of discovery. These aspects represent a highly creative, almost mystical approach to science and invention. Tesla wasn’t just an inventor; he was an artist of energy and physics.

Sun Quintile Pluto

The Power of Transformation and Obsessive Genius

It seems that Tesla possessed an intense inner drive, pushing himself beyond normal limits to achieve his scientific breakthroughs. The Sun quintile Pluto aspect represents a transformational force, allowing him to see hidden energies and forces at work in the universe. He had a magnetic, almost hypnotic personality, with a powerful presence that fascinated those around him. This aspect also suggests a solitary path, as Tesla often felt misunderstood, choosing innovation over personal relationships.

Sun Quintile Ascendant

Visionary Persona

Tesla had an unmistakable presence he was tall, lean and had an almost ethereal appearance that made him seem otherworldly. The Sun quintile Ascendant aspect reflects an innate confidence (Sun) in his mission, allowing him to stay true to his revolutionary ideas, even when facing skepticism (Ascendant). He lived in his own reality, caring little for convention or social norms. This made him as a misunderstood genius, yet also an uncompromising innovator. Tesla probably  saw himself as a messenger of higher knowledge and often claimed that his ideas came to him in flashes of divine insight.

Mercury Biquintile Chiron

The Wounded Genius and A Mind Wired for Invention

Mercury (thought, intellect) and Chiron (wounding, healing) linked by a biquintile suggest a mind that saw beyond ordinary human limits. Tesla’s ideas were ahead of his time, and they were often too advanced for the world to understand (even today) and a source of intellectual isolation and personal suffering. He could hold entire blueprints of his inventions in his mind, visualizing machines and mechanisms in perfect detail before building them. With a deep interest to energy and frequencies, Tesla believed that understanding vibrations (Chiron) was the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe.

Mars Biquintile Uranus

The Drive to Disrupt

Tesla had a restless, electric energy that fueled his relentless pursuit of discovery. Mars (action, energy) linked to Uranus (innovation, rebellion) through a biquintile suggests an unusual and groundbreaking approach to invention. Tesla was known for his bold, unconventional experiments, in which he often fearlessly performed daring electrical demonstrations to prove his theories. Remember that electricity was not fully understood at the time and his work with alternating current (AC) revolutionized electricity to challenge the dominance of Edison’s direct current (DC). This Mars biquintile Uranus aspect also hints at his rebellious streak and Tesla didn’t just want to improve the world; he wanted to completely revolutionize it.

Book Recommendations

Quintiles and Bios

Here are some quintile themed books and biographies of the example charts I mentioned which may interest you.

• Astrology’s Hidden Aspects: Quintiles and Sesquiquintiles by Dusty Bunker.
• Quintiles and Tredeciles: The Geometry of the Goddess by Dusty Bunker
• Mozart: The Reign of Love by Jan Swafford
• My Inventions: Autobiography of Nicola Tesla by Nicola Tesla
• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Tesla Overarch

The Quintile Signature of Tesla’s Genius

Tesla’s quintile and biquintile aspects reveal a man who was:

• A channel for higher knowledge, receiving ideas in flashes of inspiration.

• Obsessed with transforming the world, even at great personal cost.

• A nonconformist genius, unwilling to follow the tried and true traditional scientific methods.

• A master of unseen forces (electricity), understanding energy in a way few others could.

Quintile Overarch

Lesser-Used Aspects

As an astrologer, you will no doubt focus on the main five aspects for your clients work as indeed this is where things happen. Once you get to the second or third session with a client who chooses to go deeper with you, that is the time to draw on the quintiles and biquintiles. The fifth harmonic aspects may not be as widely discussed as other aspects, but their subtle influence is great. Quintiles whisper rather than shout, requiring us to pay attention to our innate talents and refine them with effort. Think about what your quintiles and biquintiles aspects have to whisper to you and the planets are involved. If you’ve ever felt an unexplainable pull toward a skill or creative pursuit, your quintile aspects might hold the answer.

Personally…

Personally, I love finding quintiles in someone’s chart. I feel as though this is the type of astrology I was born for, to bring awareness to everyday folk about their hidden, or latent, potentials and genius streaks as shown by their natal quintiles and biquintiles.

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Author Bio

Alison Price: Professional Astrologer

Alison helps you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor. She offers Consultations for everyone and Coaching for Aspiring Astrologers.

If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.

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