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I often get questions about the validity of out of sign aspects. For example, if your Sun is at 29 degrees Virgo, and your partner’s Moon is at 0 degrees Libra, some astrologers would consider this to be an out of sign conjunction. I’m one of the astrologers who would not consider this a conjunction. Aspects involve the angle between two planets, and the signs they are in. You can’t ignore the impact signs have on planetary aspects, because planets and signs aspect each other.
Aspects are how planets “talk” to each other; your planets make certain connections to your partner’s planets, and they have a conversation. They may agree, with harmonious aspects like the conjunction, trine or sextile. They may challenge each other with an opposition or square. But if they are within the appropriate orb, they will influence each other.
Signs color the way a planet expresses its energy. Mars in deliberate Taurus will act differently than Mars in impulsive Aries. Signs have general relationships with each other, also called aspects:
- Signs of the same element (Fire, Earth, Water, Air) trine each other (they harmonize).
- Signs of opposite polarities oppose each other, sharing the same qualities (fixed, cardinal, mutable), the same characteristics (masculine or feminine) but different elements. They challenge but complement each other. For example, Libra and Aries (both masculine cardinal).
- Signs that square each other share the same qualities, different elements and different characteristics. Gemini is mutable, masculine Air and it squares Virgo, which is mutable, feminine Earth. They challenge each other.
- Signs that sextile each other share the same characteristics, but different elements and qualities. Taurus is fixed, feminine Earth and it sextiles Cancer which is cardinal, feminine Water. Their elements are different but complementary, so they still harmonize (Earth and Water, Fire and Air).
- Signs that inconjunct each other have nothing in common. Their qualities, characteristics and elements are all different. For example, Pisces (mutable, feminine, Water) and Leo (fixed, masculine, Fire).
Out of sign aspects between planets ignore the relationships between signs. If your Venus is at 0 degrees Taurus, and your partner’s Mars is at 29 degrees Leo, it’s not a trine. Yes, Mars is almost in Virgo (where it would trine Venus in Taurus), but it’s not, actually, in Virgo. Your partner takes action in way that grabs attention (Leo). He’s not practical and self-effacing (Virgo). His dramatic way of getting things done is not going to harmonize with your grounded way of expressing love or saving money (Venus). The whole idea behind a trine is harmony, and Leo and Taurus are not harmonious signs. Same idea with the conjunction, a union of two things. Your Sun at 29 degrees Virgo is not unified with your partner’s Moon (at 0 degrees Libra), because Virgo and Libra are different signs.
You also have to take orbs into consideration. The orb of an aspect (between planets) must be narrow enough for those planets to influence each other. Your Venus at 2 degrees Cancer will get along with your partner’s Mars at 20 degrees Cancer. They are both in the same sign, so there will be compatibility in how you express love, and how your partner asserts himself. But the planets are so far apart (with an orb of 18 degrees) that they won’t talk to each other. But if your partner’s Mars is at 4 degrees Cancer, there’s intensified heat and attraction that comes from a Venus/Mars conjunction.
In her book “Aspects and Personality,” Karen Hamaker-Zondag nicely sums up what happens as the orb of an aspect widens: “Wide aspects are like a blunt knife: it is still possible to cut with them, but their cutting power is inferior to that of exact aspects.” Eventually, the orb is so wide that the aspect loses all power. Your Sun at 5 degrees Aquarius will not form a square aspect with your partner’s Sun at 22 degrees Scorpio. The signs square each other, so there will be some general tension between your detachment and your partner’s intensity. But that tension would be pronounced if your Sun was at 19 degrees Aquarius (and a square aspect between Suns was formed). If the concept of signs aspecting each other and planets aspecting each other is confusing, think of it this way: aspects between planets take the general issue of how signs relate, and make it specific to the relationship between people.
Here are the maximum orbs I use for synastry (I use slightly wider orbs for natal aspects). These are not set in stone, but they follow general, astrological parameters.
- Conjunction/Opposition: 5 degrees
- Square: 3-4 degrees
- Trine: 3-4 degrees
- Sextile: 2-3 degrees
- Inconjunct: 1-2 degrees
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