New Moon on Monday Astrology

“Aspects” are the way planets communicate with each other.  Aspects are a big part of what determines the weather going on up in the sky.  Some aspects are considered “soft” (read: enabling) and some are considered “hard” (read: challenging). 

The easiest aspects to understand are the conjunction, and the opposition.  A conjunction is when two planets are very close together in a chart.  Think about all the planets that are currently in Aries (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and, as of tomorrow morning the Moon as well).  All of these planets are in Aries, but they’re not all “conjunct”.

There are thirty degrees to every sign.  Think of it like time: there are 60 minutes to an hour, right?  These planets are spread out over the course of the “hour” of Aries: some are happening early in the hour, like at 1:15, some are happening later, like 1:45.  Mars and Jupiter are the very closest as of today, at 20 and 21 degrees of Aries, respectively.  Their conjunction will be “exact” this Saturday night.

Traditionally, a conjunction is considered a “hard” aspect.  But it really depends on the planets involved.  When two planets are in the same spot in a chart, their energies blend.  Take Mars and Jupiter:  Mars energizes; Jupiter exaggerates.  So this weekend’s conjunction between the two could have numerous effects:  Jupiter could exaggerate the war-like, aggressive tendencies of Mars or Mars could energize the lucky, optimistic vibe of Jupiter.  We’ll have to see.

The most frequent conjunction is the New Moon, which happens at least once a month, when the Sun and the Moon merge in the sky.

An opposition is when two planets are on opposite ends of the chart.  Right now Saturn is in Libra, the opposite sign to Aries.  It’s mid-sign, right at 12 degrees (1:30ish). Venus is at 9 degrees Aries, which is close enough to be considered “Opposite”.  This Saturday afternoon, Venus will hit 12 degrees of Aries, and the opposition between Venus and Saturn will be exact.

Again, oppositions are considered “hard” aspects, but it really depends on the planets involved.  Venus brings love and tends to grace the things it comes into contact with.  Saturn brings foundation and tends to block the things it contacts.  The tug-of-war currently happening between the two is more about finding a way to balance the two energies:  the loving energy of Venus in the sign of the self can compromise with the discipline of Saturn in the sign of relationships, but that will take some conscious effort, we’ll have to satisfy ourselves (Venus in Aries) while still doing the right thing in relationships (Saturn in Libra).  (Is any of this playing out for you right now?)

The most frequent opposition is the Full Moon, which happens at least once a month, when the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the zodiac.

The soft aspects are the “Trine” and the “Sextile”.  A Trine is when planets are 120 degrees apart.  An easier way to picture this is by remembering the Elements:  Fire signs trine Fire signs, Earth signs trine Earth, etc.  Trines are enabling; they work easily together like BFFs.  That’s why Leo is supposed to get along great with Aries and Sagittarius:  Aries and Sagittarius are the other fire signs.  It’s as simple as that.

Right now the Sun is in Taurus, an Earth sign, and Pluto is in Capricorn, another Earth sign.  Just yesterday, both were at 7 degrees of their respective signs.  In other words, yesterday the Sun was exactly trine Pluto.  The Sun brings focus and Pluto brings power.  So the trine between these two planets that is just now separating is bringing a lot of focus to issues of power.  The Sun is a spotlight and Pluto is dark and deep.  Yesterday’s trine between the two also brought some things to light. 

Again, this is traditionally considered a “soft” aspect, but it can have negative consequences as well.  Sun trine Uranus, for example, could enable the unpredictable nature of that planet and bring all sorts of shocks and surprises.  Mars trine Saturn could bring a whole lot of anger and bad, bad moods. 

A Sextile is when two planets are 60 degrees apart.  Again, look to the Elements:  Water and Earth signs are in sextile aspect to each other, as are Fire and Air signs.  So again, that’s why Taurus and Cancer are traditionally “compatible” in all the literature that you read:  Taurus is Earth, Cancer is Water, they’re sextile. 

Sextiles are not as strong as trines, but they do bring opportunity, if you look for it. Right now, the Moon is in Pisces, a Water sign.  Pluto and the Sun are the only planets in Earth signs.  Overnight last night, the Moon made sextiles to both Pluto and the Sun, as it passed through the earlier degrees of Pisces.  Now it’s done making aspects altogether and in a state called “Void of Course” – we’ll get back to that idea another day. 

The last of the major hard aspects is called a Square.  Squares are 90 degrees apart.  An easier way to picture the square is by remembering the Qualities.  Each Quality includes four signs (one of each element).  Those four signs together form their own square:

Look at where Noon would be on a clock - there’s Venus in Capricorn, the Cardinal Earth sign.  Directly opposite that is Neptune in Cancer, the Cardinal Water sign.  To the left, at 9:00 is Jupiter in Aries, the Cardinal Fire sign and directly across, Uranus in Libra, the Cardinal Air sign.  The Cardinal signs are: Aries / Libra / Cancer and Capricorn.

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 Cardinal signs Square (or oppose) the other Cardinal signs, Fixed signs Square (or oppose) Fixed signs, and Mutable signs Square (or oppose) Mutable signs.  So that’s why your very most basic astrology would say that Aquarius and Scorpio aren’t compatible:  they’re both stubborn, fixed signs. (Remember too, that that’s just the Sun they’re talking about, and we all have a whole lot more to our charts!)

Squares are like corners:  they force things.  You get backed into a corner, so something has to change.  Let’s get back to Venus and Pluto.  Venus is in Aries (the Cardinal Fire sign), and Pluto is in Capricorn (the Cardinal Earth sign).  Early yesterday morning Venus made an exact Square to Pluto.  Venus is love, Pluto is power, and they’re cornering each other.  Do you know anyone who’s having power struggles in their relationship lately?

There are lots of other “minor” aspects that can be looked at (the quincunx, the semi-sextile, and on and on), but these are the best place to start.  If you’re new to Astrology, don’t feel like you need to memorize every one of these this instant.  Now that you’ve gotten a bit more familiar with what an “aspect” actually is,  a few more things will start to fall in to place! 

 By all means let me know if you have any questions. 

Be well out there y’all,

Adeline