Guides / Western astrology
The major aspects
Aspects are angular relationships between planets. The five majors are conjunction, opposition, trine, square, and sextile.
Angles that name a relationship
When two planets are a specific number of degrees apart, Western astrology calls that an aspect. Inner Light lists the five majors: conjunction (0°), sextile (60°), square (90°), trine (120°), and opposition (180°).
Traditional sense of each
A conjunction fuses two planetary themes in the same place. An opposition pulls them across the wheel and asks for awareness of polarity. A trine describes ease of flow, often of similar element. A square describes friction that demands work. A sextile describes opportunity that still needs to be taken.
These are interpretive tones. They do not say that a relationship, or a life, will succeed or fail.
Common questions
- What is an orb?
- An orb is how far the measured angle may differ from the exact aspect and still be counted. A square is exact at 90°. If two planets are 93° apart, the orb is 3°.