As mentioned previously, aspects are sign based, and determining the type of aspect is simply a matter of counting the number of signs that separate two planets or points. The Moon at 15 degrees Cancer is two signs (60 degrees) from Mercury at 15 degrees Virgo:
15 Cancer to 15 Leo = 30 degrees
15 Leo to 15 Virgo = 30 degrees
30 + 30 = 60 degrees
60 degrees = a sextile
With this technique we are leveraging our knowledge that each sign is composed of 30 degrees, and we simply count by three. It’s an effective technique for determining an aspect, one that is accurate and is easy to use—especially when working with a chart that was generated with the Whole Sign House (WSH) system. However, this technique gets a little more cumbersome and risky (with respect to accuracy) when using a quadrant house system where signs and houses do not always line up so perfectly.
Look at the two charts below. These charts depict the same moment, but are cast using different house systems. The chart on the left uses WSH. Notice how all the house cusps on the WSH chart start at 00 degrees, and how the houses and the signs are aligned. The houses and signs are effectively one and the same: the 1st house is Leo; the 2nd house is Virgo; the third house is Libra, etc. This allows us to easily use the counting technique described above.
We can determine that the Moon is square Mercury because the Moon is in 11th house Gemini and we can count three signs back to Mercury in 8th house Pisces. That’s 90 degrees: a square. Likewise, Mercury is sextile Mars because Mercury is in Pisces and Mars is back two signs in Capricorn. That’s 60 degrees: a sextile. Remember, even though in the WSH system houses and signs are aligned, aspects are sign based. Always count by sign.
Remember, aspects are sign based. Always count by sign.
[As an aside: If you are unfamiliar with the WSH system, you probably have noticed how the AS/DS line and the MC/IC line float; that is, they are not fixed to house cusps and are not perfectly horizontal and vertical. With the WSH system these lines can tilt a little bit, not at all, or a lot—landing in succedent and cadent houses, rather than the angles. In this chart you can see that the MC/IC lines are actually in the 9th and 3rd houses.]
The chart on the right uses the Regiomontanus house division (as a traditionally trained horary astrologer, this is the house system I use). The houses and the signs in this chart are not aligned. Notice too how some signs cover two house cusps. Virgo covers the cusps of both the 2nd and 3rd houses, and Pisces covers the 8th and the 9th house cusps. Also, notice how some signs do not cover a house cusp at all: the entirety of Scorpio is in the 4th house, and Taurus is entirely in the 10th house.
It is still easy to read aspects in this chart. However, if you rely on the counting method described above, it can get tricky. For example, count the signs in the chart on the right from the Moon to Mercury. Remember to count signs and not houses, and we’re looking for a square, three signs, 90 degrees. Did you count Taurus? What about the Venus to Saturn; that’s a square as well. This is a relatively simple example, but you can see where this method could get cumbersome, slow, and error prone.
If this is your main method of checking aspects, or if you depend solely on the aspect lines that are generated by your charting software, you may be doing yourself a disservice. You could be missing out on an easier, quicker, more engaging method of finding aspects that also carries with it some very important information.
If you depend solely on the aspect lines that are generated by your charting software, you may be doing yourself a disservice.
To be continued…
edited July 26, 2021
