Astrology Basics – The Aspects

by Alison Price

This is part of the Starzology Astrology Basics series of posts on the four building blocks for reading a chart.

This is what you need to know to read a chart.

The other blocks are:

• Signs
• Planets
• Houses

and Chart Points.

The Meaning of Aspects

The astrological aspects are the angular relationship between the planets and points (the Ascendant and Midheaven etc.) in a chart.

In your chart some planets will be in aspect to each other and some will not have aspects. Some planets may have easy aspects and some may have difficult aspects.

There are five main aspects.

The Conjunction

More on the conjunction

The Sextile

Planets in sextile work well together and support each other. They suggest that you have latent talents in the nature of the planets involved and this can be brought forward for the creativity and vision in your life. The sextile is a soft aspect.

The Trine

Planets in trine to each other are easy going and let the other planet be themselves. This is the best aspect of support and being positive. The trine is an easy or soft aspect.

The Square

Planets that are square to each other have some tension between them. Their energies compete for dominance and challenge each other. Planets in square create internal dilemmas for you. The square is a hard or difficult aspect.

The Opposition

Planets that oppose are in tension with each other and will struggle to work together. These planets create external dilemmas for you and can indicate where you project the issues to the other. The opposition is a hard or difficult aspect.

And another – The Quintile Aspect

Although not one of the big five aspects I use the quintile aspect as well as it is the aspect of creativity. Planets in quintile to each other show your creative expression in line with the meaning of the two planets. The quintile should always be considered when analyzing creative expression and outlets in your life.