Birth Chart - The Aspects

The birth chart is a symbolic map of the solar system as seen from the earth at the time and place of birth. The birth chart is comprised of three basic factors.

Aspects The aspects (angles) formed between the Sun, Moon and planets, as seen from the earth. These are indicated by the lines on a birth chart.

Signs Each planet is located in a particular sign of the zodiac. The symbols for each sign are placed around the edge of the chart, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

Hiouses Each planet is also located in a particular house in the chart. These are indicated by the twelve sections of a birth chart.

It will be seen that although many people may have, for instance the planet Mars in the sign Scorpio in the first house, or the planet Venus in the sign Capricorn in the tenth house, and hence have certain traits in common, the number of ways in which the three factors of planets, signs and houses can be combined is infinite.

Your birth chart is therefore a unique blueprint of your personality, everyone is different. When you are born, the birth chart represents a set of potentials, it describes the "form" of your personality and the contents must be added through the experiences of life.

Aspects Names

A Conjunction is where two planets are at the same place, and their energies are merged together.

Trines (120 degrees), and Sextiles (60 degrees), between two planets indicate an easy flow of energy between the functions involved, they therefore show aspects of your personality that work harmoniously together indicating inherent abilities or talents.

Squares (90 degrees) and Oppositions (180 degrees), show that there is some stress or tension between the two functions involved. Squares and Oppositions between planets therefore indicate inner conflicts and tensions (conscious or unconscious) that throughout your life you will be forced to recognise and express in a positive way. If you are not conscious of these inner conflicts, they will be confronted through seemingly 'fated' external events or in relationships with others, particularly when the planets involved are activated by transits.

A tolerance or "orb" of about 8 degrees is allowed either side of the exact aspect, but the wider the orb, the weaker the influence. There are also a number of minor aspects, these are not shown on this chart. They have a smaller orb of influence, and their effects are not always so noticeable.

This is not to say that Trines and Sextiles are "good" and Squares and Oppositions are "bad".

A chart dominated by flowing aspects may indicate someone for whom everything comes too easily, they will therefore lack any real motivation and may not achieve much during their life.

A chart with many stressful aspects, on the other hand, may indicate someone who driven by his or her own inner conflicts, can achieve something of real worth in their lives. The stressful aspects are just as necessary to us as the flowing aspects, and most of us are a fairly even balance of both.

The activity of each planet is further modified by the sign in which it is placed, the effects of these modifications in your particular case will be described in the chart analysis.

The Planets

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