Here's a little article I wrote a couple of years ago. Hope it will prove useful to you.
General Effects of the Aspects
Conjunction (Conjoined, Corporally Joined or Joined by Body) The conjunction, the aspect of 0°, signifies union, emphasis and intensity, concentration, one-pointedness, direct action or expression, and cooperation or coming together. It is the most potent of the aspects and is highly energetic. The native will assert the energies of the planets involved with little regard for outside influences or other people. The conjunction acts as a creative force vigorously expressed. The coupled energies are expressed persistently even in the face of formidable obstacles, and there is an insistent unconscious need to manifest the energies of this aspect. This aspect is unwilling to make concessions or effect a compromise. The conjunction is essentially self-centered, and is both unaware of and unconcerned with the not-self. The native is self-motivated where the conjunction occurs and needs no external stimulus to action. The conjunction shows an unusual gift for refining skills or talents and denotes a unique personal characteristic. As was mentioned above, and as is true for all aspects, the order of the planets in the zodiac and the orb separating them play important roles in proper delineation, as do the signs and houses containing them.
A special condition obtains in conjunctions with the Sun. Any planet in conjunction to the Sun is either under the sunbeams or combust. Both conditions are considered to be afflictions and weaken the planet considerably; combustion is considered to be one of the most serious and damaging of all afflictions in both Hindu and western astrological traditions. Also, a special instance of combustion occurs when a planet is found to be with 17’ of exact conjunction to the Sun, or in the heart of the Sun, a condition known as Cazimi considered by some astrologers to bestow an exceptional exaltation of the planet’s powers and ignored by others.
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Sextile This aspect of 60° is an aspect of assistance, and also of opportunity. The sextile has group or social implications, and is uncompromisingly personal. In its more positive and constructive manifestations, the aspect shows the native seeking out or attracting to himself those people who will willingly lend him support in his own personal enterprises, who are like-minded, or have what he needs to further his aims. The aspect can also lead to a listless or insouciant attitude resulting in little accomplishment because of the easy acceptance of the native by those around him. The sextile demands effort on the part of the native if its full benefits are to be enjoyed, its ultimately productive nature used to advantage. In the dexter aspect, the native, through the relationships he creates in his more immediate surroundings – his neighbors, relatives and such folk – will likely be provided with an almost automatic and out-of-mind type of support for his activities. In the sinister aspect, we are more apt to see people who provide him with the needed support to attain long-term or more broadly social goals, often working on his behalf behind the scenes. The sextile brings social encouragement to personal goal or vision.
Octile, Semi-square The octile results from the division of the circle by 8, and is an angle of 45°. This is an aspect of friction. It can signify disagreement and strife. The two planets sound a dissonant note, or provoke controversy. This aspect produces heat and can slow down progress or bring things to halt. There can be a failure to reach agreement, a contentious atmosphere. The aspect may create irritation, abrasion or a wearing down, and annoyance. Its effects can result in a depletion of resources or energy, and breaks with supporting groups, allies and friends. Rudhyar says that this aspect is confrontational and can be sharp and devastating for the person caught unprepared. The outer world attacks the individual in some way. It is one of the Eighth Harmonic aspects and is particularly important in directions.
Square (Quadrate) The square is the most dynamically active or energetic of the aspects and tends toward obstruction and disruption. It brings reaction, struggle, and when its challenges are well-met, success. It shows the effort or struggle needed for survival in the general scheme of living, with its risks. In the natal chart, squares show the manner in which the native builds up the peaks of his consciousness, from moments of ecstatic self-fulfillment to agonizing over the state of his being, or inner conflicts, as well as frustrations in the matter of the self’s skills, abilities and personal resources in the course of meeting the problems of life. While the opposition and trine aspects are basically indicators of a general equilibrium or dynamic stasis in living, the square shows the disruption of equilibriums as man acts in the context of the immediate demands of life. From the external perspective these acts are simultaneously seen as rebellion and accomplishment, and have an equal possibility of ending up as either frustration or fulfillment. The aspect indicates the mechanisms of tension and release that lead to self-realization or to the frustration of self-fulfillment. The native’s attempts at self-expression, at building the ego-constructs, at fulfilling desires is blocked and thwarted. The difference between what one wants and what one has, or between what one is and what surrounds him is felt acutely. The aspect reflects the practical considerations of everyday experience. It shows the psychological relationship between two energies that work at cross-purposes, seen in the Elements involved in the aspect. It operates independently, individualistically and self-assertively. Its mode of action is abrupt and creates discomfort, which spurs the native to action of the sort indicated by the Quality in which the square occurs. This aspect has the characteristics of a crossroad, where collisions often occur or progress is blocked by traffic, where a turning point is reached and a choice of direction must be made.
Trine The trine is an indicator of momentum or equilibrium. . It shows that which tends to continue in a groove in accordance with, or contrary to, expectation. Or, it shows that which it is hoped can be established in a desired and helpful continuance. The trine builds upon itself. It is a continual compounding of both personal involvements and definitely individual realizations. It shows what a native adds of his own to an underlying structure of self-expression that is at root dependent on the foundation equilibriums normally charted by the opposition aspect, or what he demands by way of a wholly independent balance in general reality as a certification of his integrity.
Commonly the trine is said to show a natural talent or ability that can be expressed without effort, and is flowing and unimpeded in its manifestation. The trine is an aspect of good fortune simply because things continue as they are and the relationship of the two planets progressively builds upon itself. So the aspect represents a dynamic of smooth flow and ease of integration. Things seem to come of their own accord, without effort. The manifestation of the planetary relationship will be shown by the particular determination of the planets involved, their conditioning in the horoscope.
The trine may be said to indicate repetition of relationships, momentum, continuance, balance, increase, accretion, impetus, propagation, self-perpetuation, independence and stability.
An excellent demonstration of the nature of the trine and a striking confirmation of the truth and ancient wisdom of astrology as well, is to be found in “outer space” in the Lagrange Points L4 and L5, where the nature of the trine aspect is brought to physical manifestation in the material universe. Of the five Lagrange points, these two, which are the “empty” apices of two equilateral triangles with the large bodies at the other apices and thus are actual trines in manifestation, are the most stable points among the five and matter falling into these regions stays there, accumulates over time or continues in its place, increases, is in balance and so on.
Sesquicuadrate The sesquicuadrate aspect, an angle of 135° (a “square and a half”), is an aspect of agitation. Benjamine says that it often acts by suddenly breaking up existing conditions, paving the way for effort along different lines. It acts in sharply defined disruptive intervals and calls for quick decision. Rudhyar says it is an aspect of willful activity, and represents a deliberate type of struggle in which personal issues are forced for the sake of a gradually clarified goal. The native seeks to crush obstacles in his path. The aspect belongs to the Eighth Harmonic group of “hard” aspects, and is important in directions as a trigger point.
Quincunx, (Inconjunct) The quincunx (KWIN-cunks) aspect results from the division of the circle by 12, and is irregular, being an angle of 150°, and in medieval terms the two planets involved “do not behold each other.” It is an aspect of disharmony and disjunction. The two planets are in some way inharmonious, out of balance, or out of touch with each other. It creates conditions of uneasiness, irritation, and maladjustment. It operates subliminally, just on the edge of consciousness, and calls for regeneration or reorganization. The aspect tends to operate in a continuous manner. Recognition is lacking. Situations described by the quincunx lack clarity or focus, and are often surrounded by silence, indifference, or disorganization. The things or persons indicated by the planets involved are averse to each other, alienated, out of contact, and not on familiar terms, and yet tend to generate friction, discord, disharmony or upset. This aspect is often involved in questions of ill health and death. Here, the right hand knoweth not what the left doeth. I have an incest chart in my files in which Venus is Ascendant Ruler, posited directly at the Descendant in Scorpio, and tightly quincunx Moon in the 12th; the mother was aware of the abuse to her daughter by the father, but never said a word. She “did not behold” the sexual molestation of her daughter, and “turned a blind eye.” The quincunx produces strain, grating, discomfort, frustration and abrasion. It can indicate “being out of joint,” just not fitting together. Some astrologers suggest this aspect can produce unrealistic expectations or aspirations, while others claim that it is expansive; the first I agree with, the second I question. Judge by your own experience.
Opposition When one planet stands directly opposite another in the zodiac, with 180° separating them, it is called the opposition aspect. Among the true aspects it is the most powerful. It is an aspect of separation and conflicting drives and desires. The aspect operates on the conscious plane; there is awareness. It creates, or seeks to create, states of equilibrium or balance and situations or conditions that remain constant, static, or dependable. The drive is toward harmonizing and resolving the conflicts shown by the aspect. The two energies described by the opposing planets (with sign and house) pull in opposite directions. Usually, you cannot have your cake and eat it too so that one urge overpowers the other; the weaker must be relinquished in favor of the stronger. However, if withdrawal does not occur, and especially if there is a mediating planet in sextile-trine relationship to the two ends of the opposition, compromise and harmonization are possible. The aspect may show wholly internal conflict, or may indicate external forces opposed to the manifestation of the self (these forces are, of course, projections from the inner self seeking a means of bringing the internal conflict to a resolution) which must be dealt with. The aspect is persistent in its effects and of long duration. The issues created by the opposition cannot be avoided. They are forced upon one by the environment and are beyond control. The aspect can produce tension, irresolution, and even neurotic behaviors as the battle between the healthy, constructive forces of the real self and the neurotic, obstructive forces of the idealized self is fought out within the psyche. The root conflict, described by the natal opposition, can be catalyzed by directions or transits touching the natal aspect and producing an actual conflict.
The opposition can show adversarial situations, dilemmas, self-contradictory tendencies, disapproval, resistance, division and the ability to withstand powerful opposing forces.
The opposition aspect is of primary importance in delineation of horoscopes. It shows the natural disposition of the native, that is, his slant on life or the way in which he typically sees and reacts to experience. The opposition may be said to indicate his natural inclination, orientation or leanings in life. In many horoscopes the opposition will depict the central core of the self and the life, or the axis around which the life revolves. The opposition reveals the way the native “comes to attention” in the business of being a self-integrated organism. In other words, it indicates a necessity or opportunity for personal equilibrium and shows some phase of conscious self-awareness that facilitates a personal response to the immediate potentials of experience. The opposition is an equilibrium aspect, and tends toward a dynamic stasis.
Parallel (Parallel of Declination) Although the Parallel is one of the major, or Ptolemaic, aspects, and has been included among them since ancient times, its derivation and nature are different from the other aspects and it is generally used as a confirmatory, supplementary aspect rather than as a primary one. While the rest of the aspects are determined by longitudinal measurement along the ecliptic, the parallel of declination is a measure of latitudinal deviation from the equator, that is, distance in degrees north or south of the equator. The parallel is derived from a different set of coordinates, and in that sense is deviant. It is sometimes asked why latitude above or below the ecliptic is not used for this north-south measure instead of declination from the equator. It is just this special viewpoint that gives the parallel its special descriptive powers; it owes its effectiveness as an aspect to the fact that it belongs to a different system of coordinates, takes a different viewpoint. Because the houses are derived from equatorial rather than ecliptical measure, and the parallel has a like derivation, this aspect is far more personal, immediate, circumstantial and individualized. This aspect allows a check of the longitudinal aspects from a different plane of reference. The other five aspects are longitudinal and ecliptical; the parallel is latitudinal and equatorial.
The parallel charts a particular dynamic of consciousness, showing how the native attempts to make his own space in the world or achieve psychological elbow room. It represents the native’s special perspective on things, his own particular leanings in viewing the world. There are two things which give special pertinence to the parallel. First is the actual amount of deviation from the equator (the common ground of all mankind) and second is the orb of aspect. Parallels are very seldom allowed more than one degree of orb, whether both are on one side of the equator, or on different sides; the maximum ever allowed is one-and-one-half degrees. When two planets are in parallel, that is, within orb of the same degree of declination, it is the amount of deviation from the equatorial plane that brings them strength in the delineation. Planets with high declination, usually defined as above 17° of declination, are considered to be quite powerful. Some astrologers treat high declination as a dignity of moderate strength.
The old astrologers treated the parallel and contraparallel as a conjunction. The contraparallel is when the two planets are found on opposing sides of the equator, one north, one south, rather than both being on the same side. The trend among modern astrologers is to treat the parallel as a conjunction, which indicates an accentuated stimulus to positive action or decision, and the contraparallel as an opposition, showing a tendency to make preparations for possible later adjustments.
In the techniques of directions, progressions, and transits, parallels are said by some astrologers to be necessary at the time of perfection of a longitudinal aspect for that aspect to be effective. For example, a square occurs by transit between two planets that might normally bring death, but if no concurrent parallel exists between them, they will not produce that effect. Let experience guide your judgment. In any case, the parallel is a supplementary and not a principal aspect which corroborates, amplifies, and intensifies the statements of the other aspects both major and minor. Parallels should not be ignored in practice, but neither should they supplant the longitudinal aspects.
Quintile Division of the circle by 5 yields 72° and this is the quintile aspect. Its double, 144° is the bi-quintile, and they are similar in meaning. They indicate a special personal talent or artistry, a merging of two energies that work together to create a unique ability serving some special purpose. These aspects, along with others which will not be presented here, are called Keplerian aspects because they were introduced into astrology by Johannes Kepler, who apart from being the man who discovered the Laws of Planetary Orbits based on the observations of Tycho Brahe, whom he succeeded, was also the Court Astrologer for Rupert, of the Holy Roman Empire. His official title was Court Mathematician, and a good part of his duties included the casting of horoscopes for His Imperial Majesty. The orbs allowed these minor aspects are small (for the quintile series, 1-1/2 or possibly 2°), because they are not powerful like the major aspects. But simply because their orbs are small, when they occur they are often significant. Lilly used this aspect in directional work. Still, they must be relegated to a secondary level of importance as far as major life events. However, it might be worth mentioning that Einstein had three of the quintile-series aspects in his chart; they are not insignificant, but simply highly personal and idiosyncratic traits that contribute strongly to the purposes shown by the major aspects or the stronger minors.
General Effects of the Aspects
Conjunction (Conjoined, Corporally Joined or Joined by Body) The conjunction, the aspect of 0°, signifies union, emphasis and intensity, concentration, one-pointedness, direct action or expression, and cooperation or coming together. It is the most potent of the aspects and is highly energetic. The native will assert the energies of the planets involved with little regard for outside influences or other people. The conjunction acts as a creative force vigorously expressed. The coupled energies are expressed persistently even in the face of formidable obstacles, and there is an insistent unconscious need to manifest the energies of this aspect. This aspect is unwilling to make concessions or effect a compromise. The conjunction is essentially self-centered, and is both unaware of and unconcerned with the not-self. The native is self-motivated where the conjunction occurs and needs no external stimulus to action. The conjunction shows an unusual gift for refining skills or talents and denotes a unique personal characteristic. As was mentioned above, and as is true for all aspects, the order of the planets in the zodiac and the orb separating them play important roles in proper delineation, as do the signs and houses containing them.
A special condition obtains in conjunctions with the Sun. Any planet in conjunction to the Sun is either under the sunbeams or combust. Both conditions are considered to be afflictions and weaken the planet considerably; combustion is considered to be one of the most serious and damaging of all afflictions in both Hindu and western astrological traditions. Also, a special instance of combustion occurs when a planet is found to be with 17’ of exact conjunction to the Sun, or in the heart of the Sun, a condition known as Cazimi considered by some astrologers to bestow an exceptional exaltation of the planet’s powers and ignored by others.
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Sextile This aspect of 60° is an aspect of assistance, and also of opportunity. The sextile has group or social implications, and is uncompromisingly personal. In its more positive and constructive manifestations, the aspect shows the native seeking out or attracting to himself those people who will willingly lend him support in his own personal enterprises, who are like-minded, or have what he needs to further his aims. The aspect can also lead to a listless or insouciant attitude resulting in little accomplishment because of the easy acceptance of the native by those around him. The sextile demands effort on the part of the native if its full benefits are to be enjoyed, its ultimately productive nature used to advantage. In the dexter aspect, the native, through the relationships he creates in his more immediate surroundings – his neighbors, relatives and such folk – will likely be provided with an almost automatic and out-of-mind type of support for his activities. In the sinister aspect, we are more apt to see people who provide him with the needed support to attain long-term or more broadly social goals, often working on his behalf behind the scenes. The sextile brings social encouragement to personal goal or vision.
Octile, Semi-square The octile results from the division of the circle by 8, and is an angle of 45°. This is an aspect of friction. It can signify disagreement and strife. The two planets sound a dissonant note, or provoke controversy. This aspect produces heat and can slow down progress or bring things to halt. There can be a failure to reach agreement, a contentious atmosphere. The aspect may create irritation, abrasion or a wearing down, and annoyance. Its effects can result in a depletion of resources or energy, and breaks with supporting groups, allies and friends. Rudhyar says that this aspect is confrontational and can be sharp and devastating for the person caught unprepared. The outer world attacks the individual in some way. It is one of the Eighth Harmonic aspects and is particularly important in directions.
Square (Quadrate) The square is the most dynamically active or energetic of the aspects and tends toward obstruction and disruption. It brings reaction, struggle, and when its challenges are well-met, success. It shows the effort or struggle needed for survival in the general scheme of living, with its risks. In the natal chart, squares show the manner in which the native builds up the peaks of his consciousness, from moments of ecstatic self-fulfillment to agonizing over the state of his being, or inner conflicts, as well as frustrations in the matter of the self’s skills, abilities and personal resources in the course of meeting the problems of life. While the opposition and trine aspects are basically indicators of a general equilibrium or dynamic stasis in living, the square shows the disruption of equilibriums as man acts in the context of the immediate demands of life. From the external perspective these acts are simultaneously seen as rebellion and accomplishment, and have an equal possibility of ending up as either frustration or fulfillment. The aspect indicates the mechanisms of tension and release that lead to self-realization or to the frustration of self-fulfillment. The native’s attempts at self-expression, at building the ego-constructs, at fulfilling desires is blocked and thwarted. The difference between what one wants and what one has, or between what one is and what surrounds him is felt acutely. The aspect reflects the practical considerations of everyday experience. It shows the psychological relationship between two energies that work at cross-purposes, seen in the Elements involved in the aspect. It operates independently, individualistically and self-assertively. Its mode of action is abrupt and creates discomfort, which spurs the native to action of the sort indicated by the Quality in which the square occurs. This aspect has the characteristics of a crossroad, where collisions often occur or progress is blocked by traffic, where a turning point is reached and a choice of direction must be made.
Trine The trine is an indicator of momentum or equilibrium. . It shows that which tends to continue in a groove in accordance with, or contrary to, expectation. Or, it shows that which it is hoped can be established in a desired and helpful continuance. The trine builds upon itself. It is a continual compounding of both personal involvements and definitely individual realizations. It shows what a native adds of his own to an underlying structure of self-expression that is at root dependent on the foundation equilibriums normally charted by the opposition aspect, or what he demands by way of a wholly independent balance in general reality as a certification of his integrity.
Commonly the trine is said to show a natural talent or ability that can be expressed without effort, and is flowing and unimpeded in its manifestation. The trine is an aspect of good fortune simply because things continue as they are and the relationship of the two planets progressively builds upon itself. So the aspect represents a dynamic of smooth flow and ease of integration. Things seem to come of their own accord, without effort. The manifestation of the planetary relationship will be shown by the particular determination of the planets involved, their conditioning in the horoscope.
The trine may be said to indicate repetition of relationships, momentum, continuance, balance, increase, accretion, impetus, propagation, self-perpetuation, independence and stability.
An excellent demonstration of the nature of the trine and a striking confirmation of the truth and ancient wisdom of astrology as well, is to be found in “outer space” in the Lagrange Points L4 and L5, where the nature of the trine aspect is brought to physical manifestation in the material universe. Of the five Lagrange points, these two, which are the “empty” apices of two equilateral triangles with the large bodies at the other apices and thus are actual trines in manifestation, are the most stable points among the five and matter falling into these regions stays there, accumulates over time or continues in its place, increases, is in balance and so on.
Sesquicuadrate The sesquicuadrate aspect, an angle of 135° (a “square and a half”), is an aspect of agitation. Benjamine says that it often acts by suddenly breaking up existing conditions, paving the way for effort along different lines. It acts in sharply defined disruptive intervals and calls for quick decision. Rudhyar says it is an aspect of willful activity, and represents a deliberate type of struggle in which personal issues are forced for the sake of a gradually clarified goal. The native seeks to crush obstacles in his path. The aspect belongs to the Eighth Harmonic group of “hard” aspects, and is important in directions as a trigger point.
Quincunx, (Inconjunct) The quincunx (KWIN-cunks) aspect results from the division of the circle by 12, and is irregular, being an angle of 150°, and in medieval terms the two planets involved “do not behold each other.” It is an aspect of disharmony and disjunction. The two planets are in some way inharmonious, out of balance, or out of touch with each other. It creates conditions of uneasiness, irritation, and maladjustment. It operates subliminally, just on the edge of consciousness, and calls for regeneration or reorganization. The aspect tends to operate in a continuous manner. Recognition is lacking. Situations described by the quincunx lack clarity or focus, and are often surrounded by silence, indifference, or disorganization. The things or persons indicated by the planets involved are averse to each other, alienated, out of contact, and not on familiar terms, and yet tend to generate friction, discord, disharmony or upset. This aspect is often involved in questions of ill health and death. Here, the right hand knoweth not what the left doeth. I have an incest chart in my files in which Venus is Ascendant Ruler, posited directly at the Descendant in Scorpio, and tightly quincunx Moon in the 12th; the mother was aware of the abuse to her daughter by the father, but never said a word. She “did not behold” the sexual molestation of her daughter, and “turned a blind eye.” The quincunx produces strain, grating, discomfort, frustration and abrasion. It can indicate “being out of joint,” just not fitting together. Some astrologers suggest this aspect can produce unrealistic expectations or aspirations, while others claim that it is expansive; the first I agree with, the second I question. Judge by your own experience.
Opposition When one planet stands directly opposite another in the zodiac, with 180° separating them, it is called the opposition aspect. Among the true aspects it is the most powerful. It is an aspect of separation and conflicting drives and desires. The aspect operates on the conscious plane; there is awareness. It creates, or seeks to create, states of equilibrium or balance and situations or conditions that remain constant, static, or dependable. The drive is toward harmonizing and resolving the conflicts shown by the aspect. The two energies described by the opposing planets (with sign and house) pull in opposite directions. Usually, you cannot have your cake and eat it too so that one urge overpowers the other; the weaker must be relinquished in favor of the stronger. However, if withdrawal does not occur, and especially if there is a mediating planet in sextile-trine relationship to the two ends of the opposition, compromise and harmonization are possible. The aspect may show wholly internal conflict, or may indicate external forces opposed to the manifestation of the self (these forces are, of course, projections from the inner self seeking a means of bringing the internal conflict to a resolution) which must be dealt with. The aspect is persistent in its effects and of long duration. The issues created by the opposition cannot be avoided. They are forced upon one by the environment and are beyond control. The aspect can produce tension, irresolution, and even neurotic behaviors as the battle between the healthy, constructive forces of the real self and the neurotic, obstructive forces of the idealized self is fought out within the psyche. The root conflict, described by the natal opposition, can be catalyzed by directions or transits touching the natal aspect and producing an actual conflict.
The opposition can show adversarial situations, dilemmas, self-contradictory tendencies, disapproval, resistance, division and the ability to withstand powerful opposing forces.
The opposition aspect is of primary importance in delineation of horoscopes. It shows the natural disposition of the native, that is, his slant on life or the way in which he typically sees and reacts to experience. The opposition may be said to indicate his natural inclination, orientation or leanings in life. In many horoscopes the opposition will depict the central core of the self and the life, or the axis around which the life revolves. The opposition reveals the way the native “comes to attention” in the business of being a self-integrated organism. In other words, it indicates a necessity or opportunity for personal equilibrium and shows some phase of conscious self-awareness that facilitates a personal response to the immediate potentials of experience. The opposition is an equilibrium aspect, and tends toward a dynamic stasis.
Parallel (Parallel of Declination) Although the Parallel is one of the major, or Ptolemaic, aspects, and has been included among them since ancient times, its derivation and nature are different from the other aspects and it is generally used as a confirmatory, supplementary aspect rather than as a primary one. While the rest of the aspects are determined by longitudinal measurement along the ecliptic, the parallel of declination is a measure of latitudinal deviation from the equator, that is, distance in degrees north or south of the equator. The parallel is derived from a different set of coordinates, and in that sense is deviant. It is sometimes asked why latitude above or below the ecliptic is not used for this north-south measure instead of declination from the equator. It is just this special viewpoint that gives the parallel its special descriptive powers; it owes its effectiveness as an aspect to the fact that it belongs to a different system of coordinates, takes a different viewpoint. Because the houses are derived from equatorial rather than ecliptical measure, and the parallel has a like derivation, this aspect is far more personal, immediate, circumstantial and individualized. This aspect allows a check of the longitudinal aspects from a different plane of reference. The other five aspects are longitudinal and ecliptical; the parallel is latitudinal and equatorial.
The parallel charts a particular dynamic of consciousness, showing how the native attempts to make his own space in the world or achieve psychological elbow room. It represents the native’s special perspective on things, his own particular leanings in viewing the world. There are two things which give special pertinence to the parallel. First is the actual amount of deviation from the equator (the common ground of all mankind) and second is the orb of aspect. Parallels are very seldom allowed more than one degree of orb, whether both are on one side of the equator, or on different sides; the maximum ever allowed is one-and-one-half degrees. When two planets are in parallel, that is, within orb of the same degree of declination, it is the amount of deviation from the equatorial plane that brings them strength in the delineation. Planets with high declination, usually defined as above 17° of declination, are considered to be quite powerful. Some astrologers treat high declination as a dignity of moderate strength.
The old astrologers treated the parallel and contraparallel as a conjunction. The contraparallel is when the two planets are found on opposing sides of the equator, one north, one south, rather than both being on the same side. The trend among modern astrologers is to treat the parallel as a conjunction, which indicates an accentuated stimulus to positive action or decision, and the contraparallel as an opposition, showing a tendency to make preparations for possible later adjustments.
In the techniques of directions, progressions, and transits, parallels are said by some astrologers to be necessary at the time of perfection of a longitudinal aspect for that aspect to be effective. For example, a square occurs by transit between two planets that might normally bring death, but if no concurrent parallel exists between them, they will not produce that effect. Let experience guide your judgment. In any case, the parallel is a supplementary and not a principal aspect which corroborates, amplifies, and intensifies the statements of the other aspects both major and minor. Parallels should not be ignored in practice, but neither should they supplant the longitudinal aspects.
Quintile Division of the circle by 5 yields 72° and this is the quintile aspect. Its double, 144° is the bi-quintile, and they are similar in meaning. They indicate a special personal talent or artistry, a merging of two energies that work together to create a unique ability serving some special purpose. These aspects, along with others which will not be presented here, are called Keplerian aspects because they were introduced into astrology by Johannes Kepler, who apart from being the man who discovered the Laws of Planetary Orbits based on the observations of Tycho Brahe, whom he succeeded, was also the Court Astrologer for Rupert, of the Holy Roman Empire. His official title was Court Mathematician, and a good part of his duties included the casting of horoscopes for His Imperial Majesty. The orbs allowed these minor aspects are small (for the quintile series, 1-1/2 or possibly 2°), because they are not powerful like the major aspects. But simply because their orbs are small, when they occur they are often significant. Lilly used this aspect in directional work. Still, they must be relegated to a secondary level of importance as far as major life events. However, it might be worth mentioning that Einstein had three of the quintile-series aspects in his chart; they are not insignificant, but simply highly personal and idiosyncratic traits that contribute strongly to the purposes shown by the major aspects or the stronger minors.
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