Aspects

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Aspects." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/categories/aspects.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Aspects. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/categories/aspects

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-aspects,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Aspects},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/categories/aspects},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Aspects are the angular relationships between planets in a chart. The classical five (conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition), are called the Ptolemaic aspects, with minor aspects added by later astrologers, notably Kepler. Each is a division of the circle, so a square is a quarter and a trine a third, and each carries a character traditionally read as harmonious or difficult. The orb, or allowance either side of exactness, varies by school.

Facts

Origins

Whose Classification This Is

The classical five are Ptolemy's, set out in the Tetrabiblos in the second century CE. The minor aspects were introduced by Johannes Kepler in 1619, and the harmonic aspects by twentieth-century astrologers. 1

Structure

Angular distances on the 360-degree circle: conjunction 0, sextile 60, square 90, trine 120 and opposition 180, each read within an orb of a few degrees. 1

Overview

Size of the Traditional Set

5 classical (Ptolemaic) aspects 1

Learn More

The Angles Between Planets

Aspects are the angular relationships between planets in a chart, measured in degrees around the circle. The classical five, the Ptolemaic aspects, are the conjunction (0 degrees), sextile (60), square (90), trine (120) and opposition (180); later astrologers, notably Kepler, added minor aspects such as the quincunx and semisquare.

Each aspect is a division of the circle by a whole number (the opposition halves it, the trine divides it in three, the square in four), and carries a character: the trine and sextile are read as easy or harmonious, the square and opposition as tense or challenging, the conjunction as a blending whose tone depends on the planets.

The dynamics of a chart

Where the signs and houses place the planets, the aspects describe how the planets act on one another, and much of the interpretation of a chart lies in reading its pattern of aspects, which planets are linked, by what angles, and in what configurations. Astrologers allow each aspect an orb, a margin within which it still counts.

The atlas gives each aspect its angle, its harmonic basis and its traditional character, and notes the distinction between major and minor aspects. Aspects are read together with the planets, signs and houses of the chart.

Cross-Tradition Connections