Planetary Aspects: How the Planets Communicate in Your Chart

In traditional astrology, the aspects are the glances (from the Latin aspicere, "to look toward") that the planets cast at one another according to the geometry of the signs. A planet that beholds another may testify in its favor or against it; planets that do not behold each other remain blind to one another, unable to act in concert. To understand these glances is to understand the web of testimonies that upholds the judgment of any chart.

The aspects as configurations of the signs

Before measuring degrees, the tradition measures signs. Claudius Ptolemy, in the Tetrabiblos, defines the aspects by the relationship between the zodiacal places, and it is from this relationship that their nature arises:

The conjunction, strictly speaking, is not a "glance" but a bodily union: the planets occupy the same place and mingle their natures. The other four are the true rays — two friendly (sextile and trine) and two adverse (square and opposition).

Conjunction — union

Two planets in the same sign mingle their substances. The result depends entirely on who is joined: Sun and Venus soften; Mars and Saturn harden. A conjunction with a benefic blesses the place; with a malefic, it oppresses it.

Trine (120°) — the most friendly ray

It links signs of the same element. It is the testimony of greatest concord: the planets favor each other with ease, like allies of the same nature. But concord is no virtue in itself — a trine between two malefics merely makes their evil more fluent.

Sextile (60°) — mild concord

It joins signs of the same gender. It favors, but with less force than the trine: it is a goodwill that needs an occasion to be fulfilled.

Square (90°) — combat

It links signs of the same modality but opposite qualities. It is the ray of open conflict, of hindrance and of effort. Two planets in square contend, and the more dignified one tends to prevail.

Opposition (180°) — confrontation

Diametrically opposite signs look at each other face to face. It is the utmost discord, that of a balance that breaks — it manifests above all in the houses of others: partners, adversaries, spouses.

Aversion — when planets do not see each other

Signs that are 30° or 150° apart are in aversion: they do not behold each other. A planet in aversion to another — or to its own domicile — acts blindly, unable to come to the aid of what it rules. Later astrology renamed these angles "semisextile" and "quincunx" and treated them as minor aspects; the tradition is clear: aversion is the absence of a glance, not a weak glance.

Application and separation

An aspect is applying when the faster planet approaches the exact angle — the matter is yet to come, gaining strength. It is separating when it has already passed the exact angle and moves away — the matter is a thing of the past, losing vigor. Traditional judgment gives enormous weight to this distinction: promises are fulfilled by application.

Reception, bonification, and maltreatment

The angle describes the form of the glance; the planets involved describe its quality. Jupiter and Venus are the benefics; Saturn and Mars, the malefics. From this arise three essential notions:

• Reception — when a planet aspects another that is in its own dignity (domicile, exaltation…), the second "receives" it, and the bond becomes cordial, hospitable.
• Bonification — a planet aided by a benefic, or by a ray of reception, has its signification elevated and protected.
• Maltreatment — a planet attacked by a malefic through square or opposition, or besieged between Saturn and Mars, has its signification corrupted.

This is why a trine is not simply "good" nor a square simply "bad": a trine of two malefics may ruin; a square received by a benefic may build up. The nature of the planets commands; the angle only modulates.

How to judge the aspects of a chart

1. Identify the planets and what each signifies by nature and by rulership.
2. See the type of ray — concordant (trine, sextile) or discordant (square, opposition).
3. Weigh the dignity of each planet: a dignified malefic wounds less; a debilitated benefic helps less.
4. Check for application or separation and proximity to exact.
5. Consider reception and sect — a malefic of the sect in favor behaves better.

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The benefics, when configured to the significators, promise good things; the malefics, when they wound them by an adverse ray, promise harm — and the astrologer judges by dignity and by reception which testimony prevails.

Frequently asked questions

How many aspects does a chart have?

More than one ought to interpret in full. Begin with the planets that behold the Sun, the Moon, the Ascendant, and their rulers — these are the testimonies that decide the chart.

Are trines and sextiles always good?

No. They are concordant rays, which makes easier whatever the planets signify — for good or for ill. A trine of Saturn to Mars eases harshness just as much as a sextile of Jupiter to Venus eases fortune.

What is a Grand Trine?

Three planets in triplicity, all at 120°. It indicates great concord in one element, but the tradition warns: concord without dignity yields little — what matters is which planets form the figure and in what state they are found.

Conclusion

The aspects are the grammar of glances in the sky. To read them in the traditional manner — by the relationship of the signs, by sect, by dignity, by reception — is what separates a superficial reading from a true judgment of the natal chart.

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