The Five Major Western Aspects

The five major aspects of Western astrology are the conjunction, the sextile, the square, the trine, and the opposition. They measure the angle between two points on the ecliptic. They are not the sign-based aspects, the graha drishti, used in Parashari Jyotish.

A conjunction is about 0 degrees: the two planets occupy nearly the same degree, and their topics combine. A sextile is about 60 degrees, a mild opening that usually needs a decision before it becomes anything. A square is about 90 degrees, friction that pushes action. A trine is about 120 degrees, an easy flow, often between signs of the same element. An opposition is about 180 degrees, a polarity across the chart that asks for both sides. Astrologers allow an orb, a few degrees of slack. The Sun and Moon are often given a wider orb than Mercury. There is no single official orb. A chart that calls 8 degrees a square and a chart that stops at 6 degrees can both be internally consistent.

Set the Sun at 18 degrees of tropical Leo and read four other points against it. Mercury at 16 degrees Leo is a conjunction, two planets in the same degree area. Venus at 20 degrees Gemini is a sextile, about 60 degrees back. Mars at 18 degrees Scorpio is a square. Jupiter at 18 degrees Sagittarius is a trine, Leo to Sagittarius, fire to fire. Saturn at 18 degrees Aquarius is an opposition. Those five sentences are Western aspect sentences. They describe angular relationships. They do not say that Mars "aspects the fourth and eighth" in the Jyotish sense, and they do not become true in a sidereal chart just because the names Leo and Scorpio appeared.

Why the name matters

Jyotish aspects are counted by whole signs. Mars aspects the 4th, 7th, and 8th signs from itself. Jupiter aspects the 5th, 7th, and 9th. Saturn aspects the 3rd, 7th, and 10th. The other classical planets aspect the 7th. A Western trine is not a Jupiter aspect, and a Western sextile has no twin in that list. If a program mixes the words, ask which rule it used. Houses, which say where an aspect lands in life, are in the 12 houses. The moving version of an aspect, today's planet against a birth planet, is in Western transits and gochar.

Questions people ask

Is a square bad and a trine good?

A square is tense and a trine is easy. Tension gets things built. Ease can be wasted. Western tradition treats both as conditions, not as verdicts.

Do aspects work without a birth time?

Aspects between the Sun, Moon, and planets can be computed from positions alone. Aspects to the ascendant or to house cusps need the birth time. The Moon still needs a time when it is near a sign boundary.

Can I translate a Western square into a Vedic drishti?

No. They are different rules applied to different zodiacs. Report one, then the other, if you want both.