Aspects in Astrology: The Conjunction

With the rise in popularity of astrology, people are beginning to learn that there is so much more to their astrological profile than just their Sun sign.

Your full astrological profile is found in your birth chart, which is a two-dimensional representation of the layout of the solar system at the time you were born.

Not only was the Sun in a particular sign when you were born, but so was every other astronomical body.

Each astronomical body becomes a point represented by an icon in a computer-generated birth chart. And each point contributes to the complexity of your personality.

Additionally, points in the chart interact with other points in the chart when they relate to one another by being close to the same degree at certain angles on the wheel.

Aspects in Astrology: The Conjunction

The angles of relationship are called aspects. The six strongest ones are the conjunction, the square, the opposition, the trine, the sextile, and the inconjunct. This article explains the conjunction.

Getting Your Birth Chart

It has never been easier to get your birth chart calculated, thanks to computer programs and online applications. AskAstrology has one at: https://beta.askastrology.com/zodiac-signs/.

Simply go to that page and scroll down to What is My Zodiac Sign? You should have something like this, and please enter the relevant information:

After you do so, the program will calculate your birth chart and give you an image that looks like:

As you can see, there are numerous lines inside the circle. The lines make up the “circuit board” of your natal chart. Each aspect represents an energetic connection between two points based on the degree of the point placement between each point being nearly the same.

The angle of Connection/Orb of Influence/Approaching and Separating

In the chart above, the Moon is at 21 degrees 56 minutes (21d56m). Any other points at 21 degrees would form some kind of aspect.

Since points are rarely at the same degree, and the angle of influence does not have to be exact to be felt, there is an allowable “orb of influence”, which ranges from 0d to 10d, depending on which astrology book or website you read.

The 10d orb of influence is reserved for the luminaries, the Sun and Moon, and the strongest aspects, the conjunction and the square, and sometimes the opposition. So, the orb of influence is also determined by the aspect. Conjunctions and squares allow for the widest orb of influence (5d to 10d).

Oppositions and trines have the next widest allowance (up to 4d to 6d). And sextiles and inconjuncts are even more narrow (up to 2d to 4d).

The judgment for the orb of influence can also be affected by the number of points being considered. Hellenistic astrology used just the visible astronomical bodies, so the Sun to Saturn. With so few points the orbs were often at their maximum.

But as more points have been discovered and incorporated, the circuit board of a chart, with all the main astronomical bodies of the solar system, as well as various asteroids, can get messy and overwhelming if the orbs of influence remain at their widest.

As a professional astrologer who uses over 20 points in the charts I cast, my orbs of influence are very narrow for both the points and the aspects. Additionally, based on motion, the faster-moving point is either approaching or separating from a slower-moving one. The orb of influence is wider for approaching points than it is for separating ones.

If Mercury is 3d away from Neptune but moving towards Neptune, its influence is greater than if it is 3d away from Neptune but moving away from Neptune.

So, if you set the maximum orb of influence for Mercury and Neptune, both main points, at 4d, then you might make the distinction that the orb of influence is 4d while approaching, but half of that when separating, 2d.

The Conjunction: When Points Merge

Points that conjunct sit side-by-side; when they do, their energy merges. Let’s say a person has their Sun at 6d of a sign and Neptune at 8d of the same sign; their Life Path or Primary Drive (Sun) merges with their Spiritual Purpose (Neptune).

They will strongly feel their Life Path and Spiritual Purpose move in step with each other. This energy is very strong since the Sun is approaching Neptune, keeping in mind that we consider the movement of the solar system from the view of the Earth, not the Sun, in astrological practice.

If another person has Neptune at 6d and the Sun at 8d, they too will feel their Life Path and Spiritual Purpose merged, but differently, due to the fact that these energies are separating.

You might think of it as the difference between a concert pianist and a college piano instructor. Both commit their lives to their love of music, but there is a subtle distinction in how hard or much they pursue it.

Merging energy

Using this example and expanding it, you can have points that are conjunct by sign, but not degree. Another person is born with the Sun at 3d of a sign and Neptune at 20d of the same sign.

These points are outside the range of the orb of influence, but they are in the same sign, so they still get merging energy, which might result in the person dreaming about being a pianist, but never getting past playing just for themselves or for family.

In an odd twist, the conjunct by sign individuals who have the Sun approaching Neptune and the ones who have the Sun (20d) past Neptune (6d) are likely not to be very different because the aspect is not really being determined by degree, thus eliminating the power of approaching and separating.

Points in the same sign, but not close by degree “enhance” one another, but do not merge. Lastly, thanks to the concept and application of the orb of influence it is possible to have points conjunct by degree, but not by sign.

Consider the Sun at 28d of Aries and Neptune at 2d of Taurus. These points would be conjunct by degree, but not sign, creating a unique blend of energy that could lead to some unconventional results.

Continuing with our pianist examples, this Aries/Taurus blend might want to write his or her own music (Aries) but ends up only finding work playing classical pieces (Taurus). To reconcile these energies, they might end up playing classical pieces, but modifying them in some maverick or pioneering way.

For some astrologers, this above example would not be considered, since only valid conjunctions occur within the same sign; thus, the orb of influence stops and starts where the “natural” relationship of the aspect would occur.

This logic applies to all the other aspects if this is the philosophical bent of the astrologer, thus squares must be with signs that are “naturally square”, such as the mutable, fixed, or cardinal sign that is three signs away, ahead, or behind the sign in question.

Aries squares with Cancer or Capricorn, so points in Aries can only square with points in Cancer or Capricorn.

The Power of the Conjunction

This aspect is one of the most powerful because the energy of two points “combine forces”. A tight orb of aspect (0d to 2d), and if the faster point is approaching the slower one, makes this the most powerful aspect aside from a similar result with the square aspect.

You can even pile on extra energy if you have multiple points in the same sign and if they string themselves together by linking orbs of aspect. When this happens, there is a special term for the conglomeration of energy; the grouping is labeled a “stellium”.

Individuals with tight conjunctions or a stellium will have intense energy regarding the combined points, their expression by sign, and which house they occupy.

They will “stand out” in the way and where the energy merges. Run your chart and see if you have any conjunctions. Wherever you have them, expect that those areas of your life, and the energies involved, will be greater than other energies in your chart.