Influence according to orb.

When I'm analyzing my natal chart I feel identified with most of the descriptions I read about aspects. Some aspects seem to be very promising but have a big orb of 4º, 5º or more. Is it for this reason that I don't feel them manifested in in my personality or in my life?

Thanks

4 to 5 degrees is not wide. They are well within the orb of influence. In fact, for a Sun oppose Moon aspect it's permissible at times to use 12 degrees.
Also, orbs can be a bit wider for planets which are angular....esp. on the cusps of the angles.

Except for the inconjunct, 2 and 1/2 degrees most of the time....
and the minor aspects...semi sextiles and semi squares, quintiles, etc.

Frankly, NO aspect is really minor. Especially if one has a lack of major aspects.

But every aspect can be activated at one time or another.

Just because you can't isolate the "feeling" of the aspect doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
LIN

Personally, I'm very flexible when it comes to orbs, especially in the case of applying aspects. I say this as a result of experience - I've seen in charts where planets that are supposedly too far to have an effect on each other manifest quite obviously as an aspectual pattern in the personality and life.

In the case of applying aspects, a way you can test to see if an aspect is truly operating in the life, is to count the degrees between the two planets and see if there was a specific event that exemplifies the nature of the aspect. For example, in my chart, there are three aspects that are either way beyond "conventional" orbs or occur across signs, yet still they have had an effect in my life. The aspects are 9 degree Sun-Moon square across signs, Mercury square Saturn at 9 degrees orb and a Mercury-Jupiter conjunction at 13 degrees orb.

Mercury square Saturn - perfected at age 9: This was the time when I was in the 4th grade going into the 5th. I did a 180 from how I was the previous year: I was very energetic, doing 3 sports for my school at a competitive level and playing rough day in day with friends and classmates. This period was around the time when my mind took a more serious and somber turn. I stopped playing sports for my school, and began to read a lot - books on science, history and animals. I also took to reading a lot of encyclopedias at this time.My sociability dropped around this time as well. I also took up chess around this time. The TV was always on either national geographic or animal planet.

Sun square Moon - perfected at age 9: Same time period. It was at this time that the relationship between my mother and father started breaking apart. Fights and arguments between them progressively increased in intensity until their eventual divorce.

Mercury conjunct Jupiter - perfected at age 13: It was around this time that my current interests started coming to the fore. Around this time, I got really into conspiracies, esotericism, philosophies, secret societies, etc. This was mirrored by a transit of Neptune/Jupiter/Chiron landing exactly on my moon in Aquarius. I'm still feeling the effects of that time period to this day. Definitely is a qualitatively different type of "research"as opposed to the Mercury/Saturn period. This time-period and its results are why I'm even on this obscure astrology forum, typing a reply to this thread.

I really think that tight orbs are overrated.

Often, when there is a wide orb , we will find that the midpoint of that orb will be aspected by a planet or an angle.

So if the native has an applying conjunction of Venus to Saturn, with a 14 degree orb, one should check to see if the midpoint of that Venus/Saturn is opposed or square to another planet.

If so, that conjunction will be more powerful than one might think at first glance.

I'm reviewing what you mention and you're right. Neptune opposes (00º00'00) to the midpoint of an important aspect of Mercury and I understand that this can be why it is so difficult for me to concentrate or learn. Thanks for the info.

katydid said:

Often, when there is a wide orb , we will find that the midpoint of that orb will be aspected by a planet or an angle.

So if the native has an applying conjunction of Venus to Saturn, with a 14 degree orb, one should check to see if the midpoint of that Venus/Saturn is opposed or square to another planet.

If so, that conjunction will be more powerful than one might think at first glance.

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DaphneLore said:

I'm reviewing what you mention and you're right. Neptune opposes (00º00'00) to the midpoint of an important aspect of Mercury and I understand that this can be why it is so difficult for me to concentrate or learn. Thanks for the info.

Click to expand...

wow. Having an opposition that is so totally exact is very powerful in terms of midpoints.

The metaphysics of midpoints is a very fascinating study. So having an opposition from Neptune to Mercury is potent. But having Neptune in exact opposition to a midpoint brings in three planets, and is thus more impactful. It is like a mini-system within your chart that is being affected.

Is it Mercury /Saturn or maybe Mercury /Moon?

Mercury /Jupiter

katydid said:

wow. Having an opposition that is so totally exact is very powerful in terms of midpoints.

The metaphysics of midpoints is a very fascinating study. So having an opposition from Neptune to Mercury is potent. But having Neptune in exact opposition to a midpoint brings in three planets, and is thus more impactful. It is like a mini-system within your chart that is being affected.

Is it Mercury /Saturn or maybe Mercury /Moon?

Click to expand...

I'm totally enjoying this discussion thread! Bloggers and astrologers bragging about their tight orbs is one of my MAJOR peeves; I find it very presumptuous. Also similar to a fast food french fries cook bragging about his Ginsu knives. I just want to know more about the aspect I'm researching; let ME decide how important it is in MY life!

Tight orbs...lol....like you can work out to make them tighter....
Astrology is a language of symbols. The positions of the planets including the aspects are CLUES to all the information revealed in the chart.
An aspect is an aspect is an aspect.
IF that information is ''important'' for the native to know, that information will be repeated in other aspects....in transits....in progressions.
Does anyone really think that a sextile is not valid if the planets are 7 degrees apart instead of 6? And an exact sextile is nice...but transits will bring wider sextiles together anyway....at some point...
And what about the stellium? And if the stellium is aspected to other planets....or another stellium? RULES have to be modified to give a
useful reading the native can understand.
LindaElena

I think we might simply say that an aspect with tighter orb may be felt or defined more strongly. And wider orbs are also influential.
I look a lot at aspects simply by sign without regard for degree as there is significant influence by sign as well.

What we really like to see is several aspect definitions (interpretations) which validate or confirm the interpretations. Let's say Jupiter makes an 8 degree orb sextile to the Venus in the chart. What I would like to see is another aspect which would confirm the energy of the Jupiter sextile..
OR let;s say that Venus rules the 11th house...but is not in the 11th. The Jupiter sextile would be interpreted as being lucky for goals and plans in the future...OR...being lucky with friends and/or social groups...any 11th house issue. So let's say Uranus trines the Venus....or is in the 11th making a good aspect to the Sun....so you see...these are cumulative energies which, when added together you get a vivid picture of the area of the chart you are looking at .....
No one aspect carries the last word about any energy or situation or event in a chart.
It's like....a package deal. Get it?
LIndaElena