Help Calculating Aspects

If you're one of those lucky people who can quickly figure the aspects between two planets just by looking
at the chart and mentally figuring the distance between 27 Aries 42 and 21 Leo 55 (a Trine), you won't need
this page. For those of you who get a little confused, but want to learn how to calculate aspects rather than
just relying on the Astrodienst aspectarian on the lower left margin of the horoscopes they provide, this info
will hopefully help.
First, a few notes on aspects. An aspect is usually referred to as being exact if it is within
one degree of being exact. The term for being precisely exact is partile. The orb of an
aspect expressed in degrees is the allowable departure from partile that is used in defining
the planets as being "in aspect." Personally, I like to use a lesser orb that many writers
and computer programs. The closer an aspect is to being exact, the stronger it becomes.
So aspects with a wide orb are often questionable and maybe not even noticable. My
recommendation for the allowable orb is a follows:
Sun and Moon (sometimes called the lights): conjunctions 8°, squares, trines, oppositions 7°, sextiles 5°

Planets: conjunctions 6°, squares, trines, oppositions 5°, sextiles 3°

The aspects that we will look for are just those formed by the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and
Jupiter. When calculating the aspects, start with Sun and figure all of aspects that are formed by the Sun to
the Moon, and to the slower moving planets. After you have calculated the aspects formed by the Sun, go
next to fastest moving bodies. Remember, the aspects are formed by the fastest movers. Thus, it would be
correct to say that Mercury formed an aspect to Uranus or Uranus received an aspect from Mercury, but it
would not be correct to say the opposite, i.e. Uranus doesn't form an aspect with Mercury. The only
exception to this is the Sun and Moon. The Moon is faster than the Sun, but we always say the Sun is
forming an aspect with the Moon.

If you have trouble seeing where the planets are in relation to one another, it may help to plot them out on a
360° grid of sorts. The value in the second row is position that 0° of that sign in the zodiac:

Ari Tau Gem Can Leo Vir Lib Sco Sag Cap Aqu Pis
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330
Sun
Moon
Mercury
Venus;
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

By adding the degree of the planet placements in your horoscope and plotting them onto this grid, you may
find it easier to calculate the precise aspects. Start with the planets in the order they are listed here.