- Angular Separation
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By definition, aspects are snapshots in the 360-degree synodic cycle between any two bodies, the faster-moving body making the aspects to the slower (relatively fixed) body. The point here is that if aspects are indeed essential astrological factors, and almost all astrologers would agree they are, than something about the ever-changing phase angle between any two astrological bodies is informative – provides interpretive material.
Astrology is frequently defined as the study of cycles among the heavenly bodies, so interpreting these synodic cycles and all the various aspects they form is crucial if not absolutely essential. I have been studying large-scale aspect patterns for some forty years and concentrating on aspect phases (full-phase aspects) almost exclusively in recent years, so I have at least some experience in this area.
Aside from the general interpretation we might give to the various celestial bodies themselves (like Jupiter relates to career and life path, etc.), aspect interpretations are based on the various angles (aspects) any two planets form with one another, and that aspect circle or cycle extends from the conjunction of any two bodies through the opposition and back around to the next conjunction. All angles in the 360-degree cycle are aspects of one kind or another, either commonly accepted aspects like the Square (90-degrees) and Sextile (60-degrees) or some finer angular separation. When it comes to synodic cycles, there are only aspects to consider, nothing else.
We can examine any particular planet or body in its relationship to the other heavenly bodies by just placing that planet at the zero or conjunction point in the synodic cycle and laying out the rest of the bodies (Sun, Moon, and planets) at the points in the synodic cycle at the aspect points or angles they naturally have in relation to the selected planet. This is easy to do and the resulting chart provides a clear picture of how each body relates or is positioned in relation to any other. I call this a Phase Chart.
- Example of a Jupiter Phase Chart
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For example, if I place Jupiter at the zero-point of the synodic cycle (the conjunction point or top of the chart wheel in this diagram) and lay the other planets along the 360-degree aspect circle as they are in their relationship to Jupiter, we can see at a glance what aspects or angular separations are formed. Of course they all range from zero through the Opposition (180-degrees) and on around back to the next conjunction at the zero-degree mark.
It is clear that some of the planets are separating (waxing or going out) from the Conjunction (zero-degree point) and some of applying (waning or returning) back to the Conjunction point. We can also see that ALL of our astrological interpretation of these aspects depend on their position along this 360-degree synodic circle or cycle. And the fact that we are dealing with a cycle is important.
Planetary cycles, just like the cycles of the heartbeat and breath, repeat themselves, over and over. Just as the cycle of the breath goes from the zero point of complete exhalation and expands outward to the point of complete inhalation (expansion), so in any two-planet aspect cycle, the faster-moving planet of the two travels from the Conjunction or inward zero-point outward until the Opposition (point of greatest extension or expansion) is reached and then begins to return back to the zero-point or next conjunction. These planetary cycles are for all practical purposes endless.
Planetary synodic cycles are very straight-forward and easy to understand, so that a simple chart or snapshot of the various bodies at our birth or for the present moment clearly shows where each heavenly body is in relation to any of the others. What remains is for us to interpret and find what these various aspects or angular separations mean. This is what astrologers have been doing for centuries, of course: learning to interpret these heavenly aspects astrologically.
So far, I have presented a brief overview of what aspects are and, as astrologers, we have been using and interpreting these aspect combinations for many hundreds of years. I am assuming that those of you reading these have a basic knowledge of aspects and their interpretation, so I will not elaborate the basics here. What I would like to do at this point is share with you a few of the results of my work with aspects, in particular those concepts that may be somewhat in contrast with traditional astrological practice. These results may in fact require some adjustment of view on your part. I know they did for me.
Heliocentric
To begin, and I will just briefly mention it here, there is the question of heliocentrics to consider. I understand that heliocentric astrology is not popular at the moment and I don’t want to present arguments here for its validity. I have made those arguments for some forty years and those articles and books are readily available
Here I want to just make it clear (to inform you) that in all my work over these many years, when it comes to aspects, looking at them heliocentrically is a lot more rewarding or informative than it is geocentrically, and using the two systems together, geo and helio, gives you the best of both worlds, a kind of astro-stereoptican – a 3-D view.
It took me years to accept this conclusion, but at this point I have no doubt that looking at your natal or a transit chart heliocentrically gives a more stable and clear view of an individual or moment, and perhaps I can communicate why very simply here:
The heliocentric framework is, of course, what is happening now in the heavens, with Earth circling the Sun, along with the other planets. In fact our traditional geocentric natal chart is simply a snapshot taken from earth of the heliocentric solar system. That’s what the standard geo chart is: a snapshot of the helio system from within that heliocentric system – a perspective.
- Geocentric Snapshot of the Solar System
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So, according to my logic, if we value our snapshot collection (geo charts), then sooner or later we will want to actually study the system (helio) that we are taking snapshots of from Earth. After all, that is what geocentric astrology is. But I will not belabor this point, but leave it to you to figure out on your own which system you find most useful.
As for looking at aspects, you do get results from either the geocentric or the heliocentric systems. It is just that, in my experience, the results from looking at helio aspects are much more stable or dependable when it comes to interpretation – getting at the heart of things. Check it out for yourself, when you can.
Full-Phase Aspects
Another point that is important to make concerns full-phase aspects, and here I can’t imagine that (if you consider what I am presenting) there can too much argument or difference of opinion. For centuries we have (for the most part) been interpreting waxing and waning aspects as identical. For example, the waxing Square (90-degree aspect) and the waning Square (270-degree aspect) are in most astrological textbooks given the same interpretation. A Square is a Square is a Square, and so on. This is true for all other pairs of aspects with the exception of the Conjunction and the Opposition, which have no matching points.
- Waxing and Waning Aspects
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A very few astrologers, like Grant Lewi, Dane Rudhyar, and L. Edward Johndro have tried to point out that we should be interpreting a waxing Square differently than we do a waning Square, but no one is listening and even some of them don’t follow their own advice. About the closest we come to acknowledging this concept may be with the lunar cycle, where most astrologers would not interpret a First Quarter Moon as identical to a Fourth Quarter Moon, and so on. But that is about it.
It is high time that we astrologers rectified this oversight on our part and clearly differentiated by interpretation a waxing aspect from a waning aspect. And of course this differentiation is what full-phase aspects are all about, so I will be presenting that information here. For my own part, when I started using full-phase aspects instead of the traditional one-interpretation-fits-all approach, my interpretive skills took a giant step forward.
Aspects and Orbs
And the last point I will make here has to do with the traditional use of aspect orbs in astrology. Unfortunately this habit has been exacerbated with the advent of computers, where if we have two planets that are out-of-orb with one another (according to whatever orb we have assigned), then that planetary pair may not even appear on our computer screen or printout. We are not advised about that combination even though it may be one minute or second of arc beyond the orb limit we have set.
- Standard Aspects and the Phas Chart
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As with the heliocentric view, I will not attempt to present all of the necessary arguments as to why the practice of orbs can be self-limiting. Instead, I will go straight to why it can be valuable for us to reconsider when and how we use aspect orbs. Here in a nutshell is what I discovered for myself about this practice of orbs.
The whole concept of orbs was established to make it easier to filter more meaningful aspects from the overall mass of aspects we use. I am afraid that many of us have fallen into the habit of ignoring any planetary combination that is not brought to our attention by being within whatever orbs we have assigned it.
In the standard geocentric chart, we have some 45 combinations of the Sun, Moon, and planets, each of which represents a unique blend of two planets, one with the other. There is no planetary pair that is not important, that is not part of the whole solar system. There are no repeats; each combination is essential and represents the energies of two heavenly bodies.
If a particular planetary pair is out-of-orb to a specific aspect, that pair is not suddenly nowhere or absent from the solar system. It is always right where it is, and never somehow gone missing. In fact, if a planetary pair is out of one aspect, it is by definition immediately applying or heading to the next aspect in the series.
My point is that it is time we stopped dropping ANY planetary combination from our radar screen just because it is “out-of-orb.” Instead, there is much information to be gained by simply looking at where in fact that combination is in the 360-degree phase cycle that we have been discussing here. And I will go even further:
In my own work, I have not only stopped using orbs, but perhaps more important I have stopped considering the standard set of aspects (whether just the Ptolemaic or a more expanded set) definitive by itself. Yes, I still look at major aspects and am interested to know if a particular planetary combination reaches an exact aspect, but that observation is now secondary compared to my wanting to know ‘in general’ where any planetary combination is in the overall 360-degree cycle.
In other words, a planetary combination such as the Venus-Neptune pair does not cease to have relevance or existence just because it is not at or near some pre-defined aspect. Even if out-of-orb, that combination is still right where it is in the solar system, still in the ballpark of this or that standard aspect. And I have stopped thinking so much in terms of aspects and started thinking instead of where in the full-phase cycle this particular combination is at the time. Now I look to see where the Venus-Neptune (for example) is in the phase chart. Is it waxing and growing stronger toward Opposition or is it waning and falling back toward the next conjunction. Is it in the first quarter or one of the other quarters? Is it on the inner (Conjunction) side of the cycle or the outer (Opposition) side?
I have found this practice of actually looking to see where a planetary pair is in the phase cycle of immense value in increasing the quality of interpretations for myself and for my clients. While I still am aware of orbs or at least when an aspect is exact, I no longer consider any planetary pair that is “out-of-orb” and “out-of-aspect” to be inconsequential. Each planetary pair (and the energies it represents) is essential to the overall planetary system and may be a combination that I need to look at. And when I do look, I look to see (generally) where it is in the overall phase chart and cycle.
The above is just a brief overview of the concept of Full-Phase Aspects. There are other articles here that go into more detail in this same section, so you may want to look through those.
In closing this brief overview of the Phase Chart, I would like to point out that in my experience with literally thousands of astrologers over the years, it seems that almost every astrologer has techniques that seem to work for them,in that they provide some view or another of life that is useful. No technique is used by everyone and some techniques are more universally used than are others. There is no accounting for taste and this is true for astrological techniques as well.
My point is that all astrological techniques present a view or perspective through which certain areas of our life are brought to our attention, while still other areas are suppressed in that view. There is no silver-bullet technique. Having studied and programmed literally hundreds of astrological techniques over the years, I have some sense of why certain techniques may be more useful than others.
I believe that Phase Charts is a technique of real use to astrologers, partly because it is a simple expansion of pure aspect theory (something almost all astrologers subscribe to), and second because in my experience (of many years now) I find the information it brings to my attention is very true and welcome to my mind. I find this a rather elegant technique, one that is easy to learn, simple to use, and profound in its ability to satisfy needs I did not even know I had.
To sum it up, my first impression when I began to see how the Phase Chart worked was that not only did several important pieces of the astrological puzzle come together in a very revealing way for me, but that what was revealed was like an image on one of those picture-puzzles that you can only see when the pieces do go together. I found a much more holistic image of myself through Phase Charts, and I was amazed to see that even a non-astrologer could learn this technique in short order. If you can make the time, check it out.
