by Robert Wilkinson
Due to yet another discussion over at KISS about quintiles and biquintiles, I was inspired to revisit and expand on what I’ve written about the aspects generated by the 5th harmonic aspect series and all derivative series, including the 10th, 15th, and 20th harmonics. Today we’ll cover the aspects named in the title.
I last gave this to you over 2 years ago, and have written so much new material I needed to give the 5th harmonic aspects their own article. I’ve re-done part 2 to expand on the 10th, 15th, and 20th harmonic aspects, which are all subsets of the 5th harmonic, with the 10th harmonic specifically important in understanding how the 5th harmonic aspects come to express as they do.
The 5th and 10th harmonic aspects, i.e., the decile, quintile, tredecile, and biquintile, are extremely important in showing us the “quintessential” elements in our charts, as well as times when progressions and transits make these inner and outer specializing qualities possible. Once you see how these aspects are related in terms of the “whole cycle,” you’ll understand when you can leap into your uniqueness and individualized ways of perfect self-expression!
When I first studied Astrology in the early 70s, there wasn’t much out there. Even today, while there has been a lot written about the Quintile series of aspects, much of it is vague, fairly generalized, and often speculative. Since these angles occur with great frequency, I believe that understanding them for what they are can give you valuable insights into this very powerful aspect series.
The Quintile
The entire 5th Harmonic aspect series is based on division of the circle by 5, yielding 72 degrees as the primary aspect, which we know as the Quintile. It's glyph is a star. This aspect represents specialization, gifts, and unique conditions. It is an aspect of creativity.
No matter how similar it may be to other quintiles in other charts and times, each quintile is a unique quality or condition. These show us “quintessential” circumstances that (to paraphrase Rudhyar) have been weaved out of the “biospheric” potential of the “natural 4th” and raised by Creative Mind into the “human 5th.” In transits, they are points of specialization or unique "quintessential" events and experiences that hold the potential of raising the 4 vibration to the 5, from instinctive to individual, from generic to specialized.
Obviously, a waxing quintile functions differently than a waning quintile, since the phase relationship of the former is opening and the latter closing the cycle. The waxing quintile is a specialized quality arising out of the previous sextile phase relationship. If the productivity of that phase was made manifest, the quintile become the point where one’s specialized way of expressing it can be realized and/or applied.
The waning quintile represents the quintessential unique elements we learn during the “whole cycle” that are fulfilled at the waning square and incorporated into the realizations of the meaning of the “whole cycle” at the waning binovile. So after the realization or the gestative period indicated by the binovile, the specialized qualities unique to that cycle can come forth to be used productively during the period of the waning bielftile and sextile.
Any quintile represents a high degree of specialized force or form, something unique brought forth, an act, talent, or thing that has been transformed out of generic materials. Thus it shows a point of high individualization, a unique stage of development, or a talent or gift recognized and/or articulated. All the other aspects in the series to some degree show this energy of specialization, but in different phases of the process than the Quintile itself.
The types of high specialization or unique gifts and talents are shown by the planets involved and where they fall and rule in the chart. The planets show the specialization, and the houses the planets in quintile fall in show the life areas where they will be discovered and worked out.
I've found, though, that if the productive possibilities of those interrelated planetary energies haven't been developed, then the quintile will not be as evident as it would be had the ground been prepared to bring forth that gift. For example, someone may have a potential musical gift, but if they never learn how to play an instrument, their ability to demonstrate that gift will be severely limited. Someone may have a unique healing power, but it will only come forth randomly (if at all) without proper training.
The Biquintile
The Biquintile, as the name implies, is a “double quintile,” a 144 degree aspect showing a unique interactive situation, where one gift interacts with another gift, creatively and/or regeneratively. It is an interactive unique form of self-expression that often involves other people and their unique gifts, whether they align harmoniously with yours or not. Its glyph as given in Llewellyn George's A To Z Horoscope Maker and Delineator is the mathematical "Plus/Minus" sign, a plus over a minus.
Biquintiles, because they are interactive, always involve either a 5th house or 8th house form of expression. That’s where the factors of creativity and magnetism come into play. Of course, the interactivity will show in the houses where the planets in biquintile occupy, and again, only to the degree that each party represented by the planets in biquintile have specialized their part of the interactive dance.
The waxing biquintile is the second major point of specialization in the “5-pulses” within the “whole cycle.” We already have the gift or special quality (such as it is) set at the waxing quintile. Aspects subsequent to that bring out our responses that determine what types and qualities of interactive specialization arise at the waxing biquintile.
The waning biquintile is the third point of specialization in the whole cycle, but because the hemisphere and quadrant are different, so is the arena and circumstances within which the specialization comes forth. Again, because the planet making the aspect determines whether it’s waxing or waning, this “8th sector” relationship often involves a unique interaction, where we must examine what we want and why we want it, and why we are or are not holding on to something we believe is special to our identity. Uniqueness works many ways, and we can be “specialized” in unfortunate as well as fortunate habits.
It can also manifest as an interaction triggering a unique response based in something in the “undead past” lurking in our subconscious mind. In other words, it may be a specialized gift or time to un-do an old magnetic reaction based in a past loss.
I've observed that the biquintile can have a "boomerang effect," where unique things in the past come back in unique ways for better or worse, depending on the function of the planets involved. I’ve seen it to work in a way that if we do the hard work up front, we get the reward on the back end, but if we avoided the hard work up front, the biquintile brings us the consequences of that avoidance.
Summing Up and Using These In Charts
Both quintiles and biquintiles represent major phases of high specialization. The quintile is always personal, both private and public, and the biquintile is always interactive, both private and public. Both are points where "quintessential" qualities may come forth showing our unique gifts to the world, and receiving unique gifts from the world.
As with all aspects, these operate in a chart three ways. 1) There are the natal to natal aspects, showing our fundamental internal gifts, regardless of how broadly or narrowly developed they are. 2) There are the directed and/or progressed aspects to the natal planets and to each other. These show potential gifts in each natal planet which develop internally as a function of time and personal inner growth. 3) There are transiting aspects to natal, progressed, and directed planets, showing how “real world” events are shaping our responses, and therefore our potential gifts.
Other than our charts, these quintessential specializing phases in time are also created by transit to transit aspects associated with events in the world. As you can see, all the aspects made relative to our charts could impact us in a variety of ways, whether the specialized conditions that happen from time to time via the transits are innate to our planetary response or not.
On a final note, remember that unless there's something that can be taken to the "quintessential" stage, then it may not manifest in obvious ways. It may be a flash on something that you "could" develop into your own unique take, but if you don't grasp the thread, you won't find the dance.
Specialization requires something able to be made unique. Some things in our world are not unique, and there's nothing special to be found there except maybe a reflection on why we don't need to be there. Other events are simply unique, for better or worse. And still other things lead to a flash that changes a life forever.
Moving from the natural 4 to the specialized vibration of 5 is associated with why we are here and evolve as we do. We are all given the ability, like the Magician, to pick up and utilize the resources of the material, emotional, mental, and spiritual world. After familiarizing ourselves with these natural tools, there are times when we can use them in specialized ways to gift our world with our unique vision and skills. Then we are offering the world our unique song, and our unique life becomes a living gift to us and all we meet along the Way.
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
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