Traditional Orbs and Aspects

[Todd Carnes]

Orbs, or as I like to call them, orbits of influence, are a way of indicating the relative strength of a planet. You can think of it as a circle surrounding each planet or the "spread" of the planet's beam/ray as it reaches across the chart to form the various aspects. Anything inside the circle can be touched by the planet's beams/rays and be seen/influenced by the planet. Anything outside the circle cannot. The semi-diameter is simply half of the orb - i.e. the radius of the circle.

 

Different authors give slightly different values for the semi-diameter of the planets (Lilly himself gives 2 slightly different sets of numbers). For this discussion, I will use Richard Saunders' numbers, which only vary ever so slightly from our dear Mr. Lilly.

 

Saunders gives us the following values for the semi-diameters of the planets:

 

• Saturn = 9°
• Jupiter = 9°
• Mars = 8°
• Venus = 7°
• Mercury = 6°
• Moon = 12°
• Sun = 15°

 

In traditional astrology (i.e. 17th century astrology) we use 5 basic aspects - conjunctions, sextiles, squares (or quartiles), trines and oppositions. (Technically, conjunctions are not truly aspects, but everyone treats them as such for simplicity's sake.) These aspects are 0°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 180° of separation between planets respectively. The aspects are EXACTLY these numbers - not more, not less. (We'll return to this point in a little bit.)

 

The nature of the aspects are as follows:

 

• conjunction = good with the good, and evil with the evil
• sextile = imperfect friendship
• square = imperfect enmity
• trine = perfect friendship
• opposition = perfect hostility / open defiance

 

There are basically two methods of dealing with aspects in traditional astrology. The first (I'll call it the Saunders method) is very good for medical astrology, but can become a real pain, if the planets are involved in any kind of retrograde motion or stationing.

 

Now, what a lot of people don't know. According to Saunders, there are four different types of each of the above aspects - seven, if you include the conditions of applying and seperating.

 

From most "perfect" to least, they are...

 

1) Aspectus Corporalis - this is when two planets respect, or behold, each other to the exact degree and minute. For example, if the Moon was at 15Ari00 and Mars was at 15Can00, they would be involved in a corporal square. This is the most perfect aspect, because it happens when two planets behold each other bodily (corporally) without respect to their beams. It's affects are the strongest and are felt immediately.

 

2) Partile Aspects - This is when both planets are seperated from each other so that, while not exact, each planet lies inside the semi-diameter of the other. For example, with Moon at 07Ari00 and Mars at 15Can00, they would be in a partile square. Mars would be well within the Moon's semi-diameter of 12°, but the Moon will have only just moved into Mars' semi-diameter of 8°. In this case, both planets can see and affect each other. A partile aspect is considered to be just as strong as a corporal aspect, but since the aspect is not exact, it takes time for its effects to be felt. In this case, the Moon needs to travel 8 more degrees before the aspect perfects. So, we would judge that the effects of the square will take 8 units of time, before they are felt by the native. (How we choose those units of time is beyond the scope of the current discussion.)

 

3) Monographic Aspects - This is when only one planet is bodily within the semi-diameter of the other. In this case, the beams of both planets are intermingled, thus they are aware of each other and behold each other, but only one planet has the power to act. This type of aspect is not as strong/forceful as the first two. For example, with the Moon at 03Ari00 and Mars at 15Can00, the Moon can behold (and begin to affect) Mars, because Mars is just at the Moon's semi-diameter of 12°, but Mars' semi-diameter is only 8°, so Mars cannot see or affect the Moon yet. In other words, it's like the Moon is sneaking up on Mars. Mars has that tingling feeling you get in the middle of your back when you sense someone is staring at you from afar. Yet, when he turns to see who's there, he doesn't see anyone.

 

4) Platick Aspects - These are the weakest aspects. In this case, neither planet lies withing the semi-diameter of the other, yet their beams still touch each other. Each knows the other is near, but neither can really do much to affect the other. For example, Moon at 25Pis00 and Mars at 15Can00 will result in the very outer reaches of each planet's semi-diameter just barely touching each other. This is the weakest of the aspects.

 

In summary, the sequence of events for an "Saunders" aspect (barring any retrograde motion) would be as follows:

 

1. Applying Platick
2. Applying Monographic
3. Applying Partile
4. Corporal
5. Separating Partile
6. Separating Monographic
7. Separating Platick

 

While I've had good success with this method on medical charts, it really is too involved for general use. That's where the second method, moiety, comes in. I believe the erroneous practice  by modern astrologers to assign "orbs" to the aspects, instead to the planets where they rightfully belong, derives from a lack of understanding of moiety. Using moiety is much easier. You simply average the semi-diameter of the two planets together and use the average, or moiety, to determine if they are in aspect. When using moiety, an aspect is either an exact (corporal) aspect or it's a partial aspect.

 

It should be noted that we do have partile and platick aspects when using moiety too. However, they're defined differently.

 

 Lilly tells us...

 

There is also a Partill [partile] and Platick aspect: Partill aspect is when two Planets are exactly so many degrees from each other as to make a perfect aspect: as if Venus be in nine degrees of Aries, and Jupiter be in nine degrees of Leo, this is a Partill trine aspect...

 

So, what Lilly would call a partile aspect, Saunders calls a corporal aspect.

 

Lilly also goes on to say...

 

A Platick aspect is that which admits of the Orbs or Rayes of two Planets that signifie any matter: As if Venus be in the tenth degree of Taurus, and Saturn in eighteen degrees of Virgo, here Venus hath a Platick trine, or is in a Platick trine to Saturn, because she is within the moity of both their Orbs...

 

To continue our example...

 

The Moon's semi-diameter is 12° and Mars has a semi-diameter of 8°. So the moiety of any Moon/Mars aspect will be 10°. Moiety has the advantage of still taking into account the varying strengths of different planets, while being a lot easier to work with. For example, while the Moon & Mars may be in a platick aspect when they're 20° apart, the affect is liable to be so subtle so as to go unnoticed. However, by the time they are within moiety, they're guaranteed to be close enough to notice each other and be felt. In fact, if within moiety, they have to be in at least a monographic aspect.

 

So, when using moiety, you end up with the following series of aspects...

 

1. Applying Platick aspect
2. Partile aspect
3. Separating Platick aspect

 

This post has grown quite long, so I'll close hoping that anyone who has read this far now understands why it's wrong to assign "orbs" to aspects. Doing so treats all squares the same, all trines the same, etc. and totally ignores the strengths and weaknesses of the individual planets.

 

Todd

 

P.S.

 

For the record, I was originally going to leave out Lilly's version of partile & platick aspects because I thought it would confuse the issue - Lilly basically takes partile, monographic & platick aspects and lumps them all together under the label "platick".

Since moiety basically guarantees you'll never have a real platick aspect, I guess this is ok. Though I think he should have kept corporal aspects "corporal" and he should not have re-assigned the term partile to them.