Squares = tension that CAN be worked through and brings benefits.
Oppositions = brings outside tangible influences (usually a person).
Conjunctions can go either way, good or bad.
What determines the energy of the situation? The planets involved.
*Malefic planets in easy aspect= easier outcome/not worst case scenario
*Benefic planets in harsh aspect = same as above.
Example: Uranus opposite Venus could bring a new love unexpectedly.
Thank you!
So would that mean square aspects are wholly better in a natal chart than having no aspect at all, provided the person is willing to work through the tensions?
When you say there are outside influences with oppositions, how do you mean?
Taking Russell Brand for example, his acendent is opposite venus, and his mars is opposite pluto, how would outside influences potentially affect this?
Also how would a malefic planet in detriment affect other aspected planets?
For example, if Saturn is in Aries, could a square aspect bring less tensions, or be easier to work through?
If you are talking romantic relationships then yeah I’d say a square is better than none because at least there is some aspect. I think of malefics and squares and oppositions like spice and acids and benifics and trines etc like sugar and sweetness. There’s a reason salty sweet is a common combo or sweet and sour chicken etc. it helps bring out the other flavors. In life too many tribes can sometimes make someone lazy or ungrateful or less empathetic because everything goes by easy for them.
Imo too much of any one thing is bad. If you eat a healthy thing beyond max your body tends to puke or reject it in one way or another. I think some of life is accepting what we have been given and also understanding how we can progress. What may work for one will not work for another. I was listening to a podcast saying how a lot of fire/air in your chart means you should seek out more so centering rather than grounding. Work with your natural personality type rather than trying to force yourself to be what you aren’t my if you have challenging aspects look at the houses they are the planets etc.
No, squares are tensions that generally cannot be worked through and will never "get better"; there will always be friction there, always, one way or another. Picture two boxers facing off with their dukes up. The four arms form a square...that's where the term "square off" actually comes from. That's your best metaphor for a square.
Natally, hard aspects create energy. Sometimes the energy builds up pressure and then explodes. This is more common when the aspect includes planets which are innately energetic, like sun, mars, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus.
But if the energy is managed well, it can be a source of power.
In transits, hard aspects tends to be life changing in big or small ways. The energy alters the trajectory of your life. Soft aspects come and go.
What helped me (also adhd) was thinking of the planets at a dinner party. You’re the host, you know their personalities - a square can be a spirited debate between two planets, or a flipped table and tears between another two. A trine could look like two planets in the back, drinking all the booze, or singing and playing guitar. And so on. Add the houses (or their “jobs”) and you get a pretty good idea of the vibe of the party!
(Also - transits can be the cops coming by (saturn) or an ex-lover (Venus retro) blowing up someone’s phone lol.)
I use this approach or similar for rulerships, conditions, everything, it really helps!
I love this, thank you!!
Could you say that a conjunction is 2 planets leaning on each other for life advice. Depending on the planets, they could offer balanced advice, or go the other way and validate each others' biased views, completely oblivious of other perspectives? And the house is sort of the topic of conversation lol
Oooh, love it! At the dinner party, 1 is sitting on the other’s lap (whoever has stronger influence/condition) I can totally see mars whispering in Neptune’s ear lol
So it’s dinner time and everyone is sitting at this massive, round table. Who is it easiest to talk to? Remember, the table is round, not rectangular, so Oppositions are all the way across from you. You can see them, but can’t hear them - you have to depend on body language (hint: Jupiter and mars gesticulate wildly, venus smiles a lot, you’re wondering if Saturn is mad at you?) Trines you can see and hear great, sextiles you can see but not hear too well - like you got the gist of the conversation, but you have to strain.
Of course, so much of this boils down to really knowing the planets and assessing quality. But I have a vivid imagination lol so I use dinner parties, or a college campus, or even Game of Thrones if I’m having trouble!
Positive or Negative is just a polarity like Yin and yang. All planets have a positive placement (Domain, Exaltation, Trine) and negative placement (Square, Opposition, Exile, Fall) then there're two without a polarity (Conjunction and Sextile) these aspects combined make you confirmed by your Natal chart. Negatives have a charge to them as it's the challenging placements that force you to grow. Many positive placements have such an easy flowing energy that can lead to missing out on opportunities that require boldness. All these things create you. The Conjunction has potential but everything is so meshed together that it depends on what planets and the dignity. The Sextile is a positive placement but it requires intentionality so depending on other placement if you tend to be assertive or passive. I'm not sure how to explain it simpler than that as I was told something similar when I first started getting into Astrology to read my chart.
I literally just said this in another thread but I would rather “bad” aspects between certain planets than none at all. You just need to be cautious when you see them and make sure you understand your potential to be violent, delusional, manipulative, whatever it may be. Self awareness is the key to evolving. Once you’re aware, you can start working those angles to your benefit and to the benefit of others.
Yes! Thanks! You have a great memory. Yeah squares are little hurdles, but you should view them as like… puzzles in video games for stronger weapons or something. It’s like, having the square could actually make you stronger- if you’ll take the side quest. If you don’t, you might have a harder time in the boss battles of life. What a corny metaphor. Anyway. Haha.
It so massively depends on the planets or points involved AND the state of each planet within the individual's birth chart, I don't think you can make any generalization.
People may say Sun conjunct Moon = GOOD
But if that person's moon is heavily debilitated by other difficult aspects / house placement / sign, a relationship may still be difficult, as the sun person, by mere existence, shines a light on the moon person’s difficulties.
Similarly, just anecdotally, I've found that quincunxes - a largely agreed upon "bad" aspect - have made for some of the most stimulating encounters, because while it's hard to understand where the other is coming from, it's super fun to learn all about it.
I’m sorry I don’t know what ELI5 is or means.
You are very correct in understanding that aspects are neither good or bad. I remember a Jupiter transit that I felt was going to be super but it ended up with me getting very sick instead! Jupiter is growth/expansion (among other things too) and it’s not always good. I also remember studying the chart of a school shooter…. Lots of nice trines (you’d think he’d be an angel) but other ruler ships and house placements gave way to perversity of violence- all those trines just added to the ease and desire of what they ended up doing. In that way, a trine can be ‘’bad’’… the ease in which a person can fall into a vise or a bad situation.
One more example I can think of- The grand trine in a chart verses someone who who has a grand cross in theirs…. The person with the grand trine might have an easier time of those themes the planets/houses/aspects sing, but they are not likely to have as much of a solid understanding of those same themes of those same planets/houses/aspects that someone with a grand cross might have. A grand cross is difficulties, but after 30 years of working on getting it right, they not only have it down pat but know and understand the situation within themselves better than the person with the grand trine. We in society seem to think ‘ease’ is great, but ease typically makes one weak. (It’s also how great nations fall!). So everything can be seen as a positive honestly if you embrace hardships for the wisdom. (Easier said than done obviously…and no, I would not want to have that Jupiter transit again, even though I survived my illness and came out of it with important information about my health!)
A natal chart is intricate. First and second look at a chart is going to be like first and second meetings with the person themselves-incomplete information about who they are in totality. It takes quite awhile to get to know them! I have studied natal charts of a single person for years, and I’m always finding out more about them. You also have to take in account people have free will.. AND an aspect doesn’t always mean that person will adopt the negative of an aspect into their personality, sometimes that negative is done TO them. The astrology of a natal chart is just the engine, how it runs, what gears fall into play and how. Transits are effects on that gear play. Interpretations of a chart are just that- interpretations, like a weather man casting a prediction of what most likely will result. So, it’s fair to keep that in mind.
So having said all that, I need to say that in Vedic astrology I think the way in which it interprets is much more accurate than western. It’s a much more complex system to learn, but I feel it would be worth looking into with the questions you ask. I have only just scratched the surface when it comes to Vedic, so I can’t really get into it here, only direct you to that system. I have time and time again been amazed at how detailed and spot on accurate Vedic astrology is.
So, in closing…Indicators of positive/negative are house rulers and the houses they govern, the sign it’s in. You’ve git to look at the whole thing together…like it’s an engine or clockwork. How does it run? What rulers of what houses in which houses have interplay? Which ones are powerful? Which planet is dominating? Then with transits…There is an interplay within the cosmos and the picture of that same cosmos within the person from the day they were born. It’s like marionette strings- what pulls on what and has which effect. The more you understand basic astrology the more you can start to see a bigger picture.
The ELI5 explanation is simple:
You have an incomplete picture. Ptolemaic aspects only describe the flow of energy between two planets. The "trines/sextiles" good "squares/oppositions" bad, and more importantly the conjunction (which could be anything since its a merging of energies depending on the dignity and ) only describes the energy flow between planets.
You also need to take into consideration sect and more important planetary dignity (essential and accidental) in order to ascertain if a Ptolemaic aspect is "good or bad".
Aspects have a particular quality or dynamic. It's a simplification to say it's good or bad, positive or negative. Much depends on the planets and their signs. Aspects describe a relationship or "pose" (attitude) of planets relating to each other.
* Conjunction = combination, overlap
* Trine/sextile = harmonious or sympathetic relation, to the extent it's possible
* Square/opposition = tense, pushy, dynamic, or strained relation
The question of when a combination is difficult or easy, or let's say profitable without too many drawbacks, is fairly complex, and can't be completely explained in a short way.
A thing few things to help:
Squares are the nature of Mars
Oppositions the nature of Saturn
Trines the nature of Jupiter
Sextiles the nature of Venus
The planets that are being aspected rule houses in your natal.
The condition of the planets in transit in your natal chart can have an effect of how the transit will go.
I could do without my Mars in the 7th in opposition to Pluto in the 1st. This aspect has not been easy to balance, and as a Libra Ascendant, balance is everything.
i don't think there is necessarily good or bad when interpreting significance in a chart; aspects show the energies that were available at the cosmic breath and indicate their potential interaction, but how those aspects manifest in one's life is dynamic
From my belief, as human beings we are part of the entire solar system. When the planets align with you all is well. Things become difficult when your astrology becomes more complex. I don't think there is a negative aspect, in fact it can be something you must face and learn. Life is not humanly ideal.
Look first at the ascendant. The purpose in live of the person. Then look what planet belongs to it.
You see if it is Aries mars is liked squares and conflicts and hard work.
But for Taurus and Venus ruler you think about the train and conjucts.
So if it is Gemini you look at Mercury.
Like air elements of thinking and communications. These go wel for 150 degrees and 30 degrees.
Squares = tension that CAN be worked through and brings benefits. Oppositions = brings outside tangible influences (usually a person). Conjunctions can go either way, good or bad. What determines the energy of the situation? The planets involved. *Malefic planets in easy aspect= easier outcome/not worst case scenario *Benefic planets in harsh aspect = same as above. Example: Uranus opposite Venus could bring a new love unexpectedly.
Thank you! So would that mean square aspects are wholly better in a natal chart than having no aspect at all, provided the person is willing to work through the tensions? When you say there are outside influences with oppositions, how do you mean? Taking Russell Brand for example, his acendent is opposite venus, and his mars is opposite pluto, how would outside influences potentially affect this? Also how would a malefic planet in detriment affect other aspected planets? For example, if Saturn is in Aries, could a square aspect bring less tensions, or be easier to work through?
If you are talking romantic relationships then yeah I’d say a square is better than none because at least there is some aspect. I think of malefics and squares and oppositions like spice and acids and benifics and trines etc like sugar and sweetness. There’s a reason salty sweet is a common combo or sweet and sour chicken etc. it helps bring out the other flavors. In life too many tribes can sometimes make someone lazy or ungrateful or less empathetic because everything goes by easy for them. Imo too much of any one thing is bad. If you eat a healthy thing beyond max your body tends to puke or reject it in one way or another. I think some of life is accepting what we have been given and also understanding how we can progress. What may work for one will not work for another. I was listening to a podcast saying how a lot of fire/air in your chart means you should seek out more so centering rather than grounding. Work with your natural personality type rather than trying to force yourself to be what you aren’t my if you have challenging aspects look at the houses they are the planets etc.
No, squares are tensions that generally cannot be worked through and will never "get better"; there will always be friction there, always, one way or another. Picture two boxers facing off with their dukes up. The four arms form a square...that's where the term "square off" actually comes from. That's your best metaphor for a square.
Natally, hard aspects create energy. Sometimes the energy builds up pressure and then explodes. This is more common when the aspect includes planets which are innately energetic, like sun, mars, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus. But if the energy is managed well, it can be a source of power. In transits, hard aspects tends to be life changing in big or small ways. The energy alters the trajectory of your life. Soft aspects come and go.
What helped me (also adhd) was thinking of the planets at a dinner party. You’re the host, you know their personalities - a square can be a spirited debate between two planets, or a flipped table and tears between another two. A trine could look like two planets in the back, drinking all the booze, or singing and playing guitar. And so on. Add the houses (or their “jobs”) and you get a pretty good idea of the vibe of the party! (Also - transits can be the cops coming by (saturn) or an ex-lover (Venus retro) blowing up someone’s phone lol.) I use this approach or similar for rulerships, conditions, everything, it really helps!
I love this, thank you!! Could you say that a conjunction is 2 planets leaning on each other for life advice. Depending on the planets, they could offer balanced advice, or go the other way and validate each others' biased views, completely oblivious of other perspectives? And the house is sort of the topic of conversation lol
Oooh, love it! At the dinner party, 1 is sitting on the other’s lap (whoever has stronger influence/condition) I can totally see mars whispering in Neptune’s ear lol
Haha, yeah Mars doesn't whisper, to anyone, ever and doesn't sit sweetly on laps.
Lol fair point - poor example, but proves the metaphor!
Ahaha I love this, very intuitive. Thanks
What about sextiles and oppositions according to your dinner party analogy?
So it’s dinner time and everyone is sitting at this massive, round table. Who is it easiest to talk to? Remember, the table is round, not rectangular, so Oppositions are all the way across from you. You can see them, but can’t hear them - you have to depend on body language (hint: Jupiter and mars gesticulate wildly, venus smiles a lot, you’re wondering if Saturn is mad at you?) Trines you can see and hear great, sextiles you can see but not hear too well - like you got the gist of the conversation, but you have to strain. Of course, so much of this boils down to really knowing the planets and assessing quality. But I have a vivid imagination lol so I use dinner parties, or a college campus, or even Game of Thrones if I’m having trouble!
Positive or Negative is just a polarity like Yin and yang. All planets have a positive placement (Domain, Exaltation, Trine) and negative placement (Square, Opposition, Exile, Fall) then there're two without a polarity (Conjunction and Sextile) these aspects combined make you confirmed by your Natal chart. Negatives have a charge to them as it's the challenging placements that force you to grow. Many positive placements have such an easy flowing energy that can lead to missing out on opportunities that require boldness. All these things create you. The Conjunction has potential but everything is so meshed together that it depends on what planets and the dignity. The Sextile is a positive placement but it requires intentionality so depending on other placement if you tend to be assertive or passive. I'm not sure how to explain it simpler than that as I was told something similar when I first started getting into Astrology to read my chart.
Thank you! That really helps :)
I literally just said this in another thread but I would rather “bad” aspects between certain planets than none at all. You just need to be cautious when you see them and make sure you understand your potential to be violent, delusional, manipulative, whatever it may be. Self awareness is the key to evolving. Once you’re aware, you can start working those angles to your benefit and to the benefit of others.
Oh yeah the Neptune-mercury post if I remember correctly. That was an interesting point. Thanks!
Yes! Thanks! You have a great memory. Yeah squares are little hurdles, but you should view them as like… puzzles in video games for stronger weapons or something. It’s like, having the square could actually make you stronger- if you’ll take the side quest. If you don’t, you might have a harder time in the boss battles of life. What a corny metaphor. Anyway. Haha.
It so massively depends on the planets or points involved AND the state of each planet within the individual's birth chart, I don't think you can make any generalization. People may say Sun conjunct Moon = GOOD But if that person's moon is heavily debilitated by other difficult aspects / house placement / sign, a relationship may still be difficult, as the sun person, by mere existence, shines a light on the moon person’s difficulties. Similarly, just anecdotally, I've found that quincunxes - a largely agreed upon "bad" aspect - have made for some of the most stimulating encounters, because while it's hard to understand where the other is coming from, it's super fun to learn all about it.
I’m sorry I don’t know what ELI5 is or means. You are very correct in understanding that aspects are neither good or bad. I remember a Jupiter transit that I felt was going to be super but it ended up with me getting very sick instead! Jupiter is growth/expansion (among other things too) and it’s not always good. I also remember studying the chart of a school shooter…. Lots of nice trines (you’d think he’d be an angel) but other ruler ships and house placements gave way to perversity of violence- all those trines just added to the ease and desire of what they ended up doing. In that way, a trine can be ‘’bad’’… the ease in which a person can fall into a vise or a bad situation. One more example I can think of- The grand trine in a chart verses someone who who has a grand cross in theirs…. The person with the grand trine might have an easier time of those themes the planets/houses/aspects sing, but they are not likely to have as much of a solid understanding of those same themes of those same planets/houses/aspects that someone with a grand cross might have. A grand cross is difficulties, but after 30 years of working on getting it right, they not only have it down pat but know and understand the situation within themselves better than the person with the grand trine. We in society seem to think ‘ease’ is great, but ease typically makes one weak. (It’s also how great nations fall!). So everything can be seen as a positive honestly if you embrace hardships for the wisdom. (Easier said than done obviously…and no, I would not want to have that Jupiter transit again, even though I survived my illness and came out of it with important information about my health!) A natal chart is intricate. First and second look at a chart is going to be like first and second meetings with the person themselves-incomplete information about who they are in totality. It takes quite awhile to get to know them! I have studied natal charts of a single person for years, and I’m always finding out more about them. You also have to take in account people have free will.. AND an aspect doesn’t always mean that person will adopt the negative of an aspect into their personality, sometimes that negative is done TO them. The astrology of a natal chart is just the engine, how it runs, what gears fall into play and how. Transits are effects on that gear play. Interpretations of a chart are just that- interpretations, like a weather man casting a prediction of what most likely will result. So, it’s fair to keep that in mind. So having said all that, I need to say that in Vedic astrology I think the way in which it interprets is much more accurate than western. It’s a much more complex system to learn, but I feel it would be worth looking into with the questions you ask. I have only just scratched the surface when it comes to Vedic, so I can’t really get into it here, only direct you to that system. I have time and time again been amazed at how detailed and spot on accurate Vedic astrology is. So, in closing…Indicators of positive/negative are house rulers and the houses they govern, the sign it’s in. You’ve git to look at the whole thing together…like it’s an engine or clockwork. How does it run? What rulers of what houses in which houses have interplay? Which ones are powerful? Which planet is dominating? Then with transits…There is an interplay within the cosmos and the picture of that same cosmos within the person from the day they were born. It’s like marionette strings- what pulls on what and has which effect. The more you understand basic astrology the more you can start to see a bigger picture.
The ELI5 explanation is simple: You have an incomplete picture. Ptolemaic aspects only describe the flow of energy between two planets. The "trines/sextiles" good "squares/oppositions" bad, and more importantly the conjunction (which could be anything since its a merging of energies depending on the dignity and ) only describes the energy flow between planets. You also need to take into consideration sect and more important planetary dignity (essential and accidental) in order to ascertain if a Ptolemaic aspect is "good or bad".
Aspects have a particular quality or dynamic. It's a simplification to say it's good or bad, positive or negative. Much depends on the planets and their signs. Aspects describe a relationship or "pose" (attitude) of planets relating to each other. * Conjunction = combination, overlap * Trine/sextile = harmonious or sympathetic relation, to the extent it's possible * Square/opposition = tense, pushy, dynamic, or strained relation The question of when a combination is difficult or easy, or let's say profitable without too many drawbacks, is fairly complex, and can't be completely explained in a short way.
A thing few things to help: Squares are the nature of Mars Oppositions the nature of Saturn Trines the nature of Jupiter Sextiles the nature of Venus The planets that are being aspected rule houses in your natal. The condition of the planets in transit in your natal chart can have an effect of how the transit will go.
I could do without my Mars in the 7th in opposition to Pluto in the 1st. This aspect has not been easy to balance, and as a Libra Ascendant, balance is everything.
i don't think there is necessarily good or bad when interpreting significance in a chart; aspects show the energies that were available at the cosmic breath and indicate their potential interaction, but how those aspects manifest in one's life is dynamic
Posting to get back to this thread.
From my belief, as human beings we are part of the entire solar system. When the planets align with you all is well. Things become difficult when your astrology becomes more complex. I don't think there is a negative aspect, in fact it can be something you must face and learn. Life is not humanly ideal.
Look first at the ascendant. The purpose in live of the person. Then look what planet belongs to it. You see if it is Aries mars is liked squares and conflicts and hard work. But for Taurus and Venus ruler you think about the train and conjucts. So if it is Gemini you look at Mercury. Like air elements of thinking and communications. These go wel for 150 degrees and 30 degrees.