by Robert Wilkinson
There is a lot of disagreement and confusion about astrological aspect orbs. Today we’ll take a brief look at orbs, what they are and how they demonstrate the phase relationships in every area of our lives, and how wide they can be.
We last explored this 3 years ago. Because of a recent discussion on FB about this topic, I figured it was time to post it again, with additions and edits.
An orb is the variation in any aspect from the exact angle of degrees that separate two planets. They are how far apart from exact an aspect can be. For example, the aspect called a “quintile” is exact at 72 degrees. The orb of the quintile is how many degrees away from exact that specific aspect is still in play.
Some astrologers are into narrow orbs, some are into wide orbs, and in Vedic astrology they throw out orbs altogether (which is one of the problems that needs fixing, but that’s another discussion altogether.) As in the other ancient system, Chinese astrology, there are periods, subperiods, and subsubperiods which do not take into account the interrelationships between the planets either at birth or in “real time.”
All aspects show various “phase relationships” in the cycles between all the planets, with some waxing and some waning, some forming and some separating. The aspects are the 4 dimensional trigonometry which makes Astrology so rich in meaning. These all contribute to our understanding of any given configuration at any point in time, past or future, whether in the natal chart or the larger sky patterns going on right now.
I tend to look at orbs as a variable number of degrees from exact, since sometimes a very wide orb is warranted, while at other times it should be tighter. I give a wider orb to aspects made by the Sun and Moon, less so the planets. I have found that what sign a planet is in makes a difference, since a trine between planets in similar elements is stronger in its nature than a trine between planets in signs that are not naturally in trine. These “out of sign” aspects have their own way of being interpreted which depend on many variables.
The reason I often use wider orbs is because as I explained earlier, any aspect is really a “phase relationship” in the dance between two planets. Any aspect involves approaching energy, exact energy, and energy that is in the past but still present, if only as an echo or impression in our hologram. All experience makes an impression as part of its unique “point of emergence in the time wave.” That’s why an aspect can be made which has great significance from that point in life forward.
Another very significant factor in orbs are whether an aspect is forming or separating with any other intervening planet. Some that would be out of orb come back into play through "collection of light," for example. Others “translate” the light of the aspect via making aspects to two planets which are not in aspect to each other. Then even two planets out of orb could find themselves either anticipating the aspect to come, or temporarily back in that aspect relationship, depending on the planets and aspects involved.
In natal charts, as a general rule the Sun and Moon have an orb of 10-13 degrees for a conjunction or opposition, depending. The other planets have conjunction and opposition orbs of 8-12 degrees, depending. For squares and trines, I give all the planets an orb of 7-8 degrees, sextiles get an orb of 6 degrees, and quintiles an orb of 4-5 degrees.
Semisquares and sesquisquares get an orb of 3-4 degrees, and all other aspects, including quincunxes, 2-3 degrees at most. That means a decile is 34-38 degrees, a tredecile is 106-110, a biquintile is 142-146, and so forth. I almost never give orbs larger than 2 degrees, and frequently as narrow as a degree and a half, for the 7th, 9th, 11th, and other “minor” harmonics, since over the years I’ve found 1.5-2 degrees to be the zone of maximum intensity for any aspect, whether forming or separating.
Still, even with these as guidelines, there are variances must be allowed for, like whether they are in signs that are naturally in biquintile or quincunx, or not. There is a huge difference between a quincunx between Aries and Leo, Aries and Virgo, Scorpio and Aries, and Sagittarius and Aries, for example. And planets in opposing signs often work in an oppositional way, even if they're too wide to be in an actual opposition.
Then there is the issue of overlapping orbs. Perhaps a 152+ forming quincunx may share some blended influence with the 152+ separating triseptile. Or a separating 105 degree biseptile may share some of the energy of the forming 108 tredecile, especially if made strong by supporting aspects from other planets. We are slicing nuances in phase relationships in such circumstances.
Still, very closely defined orbs are the "arena of influence." I learned early on that the true "orb of activation" in “event oriented astrology” was 1.5 degrees forming or separating for transits, and over the decades I've found that to be spot on. In fact, note the next time you have a major aspect happening by transit, and see if you’re not still in the heart of the experience for a short time after the aspect is exact.
When it comes to interrelationships between several planets in a configuration (such as those used in “evolutionary astrology”) like a Yod, “Kite,” T-square or Grand Cross, or several points in a Great Sextile, Septile, Quintile, etc., the more exact the aspects in that configuration are, the tighter it will trigger in space-time. We can also have "loose" configurations, where things aren't exact, but they trigger first one planet, then another, then another. The firing sequence may not be exact at the same time, but the sequence is triggered in an order depending on the degrees of the planets in the configuration. This “firing sequence" is all important in determining which aspect(s) are triggered first, second, and so forth.
As an aside, years ago I was introduced to the notion that the number of degrees from exact also had its own unique quality. In other words, a conjunction made by planets 2 degrees apart has a different quality than planets 4 degrees apart. A 73 degree quintile is different than a 76 degree quintile. An 88 degree square is different than an 84 degree square. Close observation of these sorts of distinctions yielded countless insights when I applied them to forming and separating transiting aspects.
One of the most important variables in how I compute aspect orbs is what signs the two planets are in, and in the case of natal aspects, if the aspect between any two planets is forming or separating by progression. I’ll give you an example from my own chart.
I have a natal Sun at 12 Aries, a natal Jupiter at 26 Pisces, and a natal Saturn at 29 Virgo. While it might seem that my Sun is too wide to be conjunct Jupiter at 16 degrees, and barely in orb to be in a 13 degree out of sign opposition to Saturn, there are two factors that I have indicate my Sun-Jupiter works as a conjunction.
First, my life history definitely has demonstrated that I have a Sun opposition Saturn. That pulls Jupiter into the mix, since there is no question that Jupiter is opposed Saturn. The second major factor is that my natal Jupiter is at perihelion, and progresses very quickly throughout my life. It entered Aries when I was young, and now approaches my Sun.
That means by progression Jupiter conjuncts my Sun throughout my life, since it keeps getting closer and closer to my Sun. However, since my Saturn is retrograde, it pulls away from the opposition by progression, and ultimately progressed to a pentelftile (163+ degrees). So by progression my Jupiter draws closer to a conjunction with my Sun, while Saturn moves away from the opposition.
Another factor often overlooked by astrologers is that if one has a stellium, the middle planet(s) “gathers the light” of the two outermost planets in the stellium. It works like a three note chord, with the middle planet anchoring the tone and the outer two operating as a harmonic third and fifth. Here’s another example from my chart.
I have a Sun at 12 Aries, a Mars at 24 Aries, and a Mercury conjunct MC at 30 Aries. Ordinarily Mercury would be way too far out of orb of a conjunction to my Sun. However, in this case three factors play a role here.
The first is that all of those planets are in the same sign. That creates a powerful resonance between them and all the midpoints created by those three planets. It activates 12, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 Aries. Second, it’s clear that I have a Sun conjunct Mars, as well as a Mercury conjunct Mars. This is an example of Mars pulling together two other planetary energies that ordinarily wouldn’t work as a conjunction. And third, both the Sun and Mars progress to conjunctions to my Mercury. That strengthens the “Sun-Mars-Mercury” chord of Aries energies.
To finish this brief exploration of orbs and aspects, I feel it’s important to approach these things with an open mind, and remember that very little is engraved in stone in our craft. Sometimes what we think works doesn’t, and sometimes things happen even when we believe they shouldn’t.
Our charts are living time machines, and show a life where we have phase shifts approaching, phase shifts happening, and phase shifts in the past. All the planetary aspects show time triggers appropriate to the quality of those aspects, a series of pulses between all the energies within us and how we are in harmony or friction with the forces external to us. You may see an influence begins to manifest long before an actual event or decision, and that’s the value of taking a wide view of orbs.
© Copyright 2019 Robert Wilkinson
Comments