Have a look at this chart for the afternoon of July 21st. Uranus is just over the line into Gemini, while the Sun is in the last degree of Cancer. Only a little over one degree separates them from being in a perfect 60-degree sextile aspect. But they are in the “wrong” signs – Gemini and Cancer are adjacent in the Zodiac, not separated by one sign like a “true” sextile. Strictly in terms of sign-energy, that’s not a “harmonious” sextile – it’s a clashy semi-sextile. 

Try thinking musically: are we looking at the harmonious sound of middle C with an E played above it or the cacophonous sound of a C and a D played together?

I believe that the answer is a little of both and confronting that confusing insight brings us face to face with a fundamental paradox built into aspect theory – one that we can state as a simple question: are aspects between planets as we usually think or are they actually between signs?

As an astrologer steeped in modern tradition, when I was younger that question never crossed my mind. I knew that aspects were “obviously” between planets. We might quibble about orbs, but the basic idea was clear – a sextile was simply a 60-degree angle between any two astrological points. I have to thank my friends in the world of Hellenistic astrology for offering an alternative perspective: that aspects are actually about the relationships among the signs themselves. Planets are only along for the ride. 

That second sign-based perspective makes practical astrological sense too. In fact most of us think that way all the time when we’re reflecting on the astrology of relationships. In the modern pop astrological framework, “everybody knows that a Cancer shouldn’t marry an Aries.” (That’s not actually an idea I would endorse, but we certainly hear it a lot.) Note how no one who makes that kind of pronouncement is fussing about degrees. They would all agree that someone born on June 23rd was a Cancer and that someone born on April 18th was an Aries and that any relationship between them would be a catastrophe. 

But think about it: an early Cancer and a late Aries like that might actually have a close sextile aspect between their natal Suns. So is that good news or bad? 

In my own practice of synastry, I actually do tend to use these whole sign aspects – any Cancer planets in Hollister’s chart are effectively square to any Aries planets in Palmer’s chart. Regardless of which planets we are talking about, one is charged with Aries energy and the other is charged with Cancer energy and that basic tension between aggression and sensitivity will make itself felt in their relationship regardless of the planets’ degree positions. 

In synastry, I pay particular attention to that “whole sign” approach with interaspects between the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant, along with Venus and Mars. Meanwhile, with the rest of the planets, I tend toward a more modern, purely geometrical, reading of aspects – which naturally sometimes embraces planets being in the “wrong sign” for the aspect, as we just saw in our opening example of that Sun/Uranus sextile. 

The angle is right, but the signs are wrong.

Still speaking of my own practice, with transits and progressions I use the modern geometrical definitions of aspects – degrees of separation, not sign positions. Ditto for my work with birthcharts – although even in birthchart work, I often make an exception. If a Scorpio with a Leo Moon comes to me for a reading, I’ll almost always talk about the integrative challenges presented by that “Sun/Moon square” regardless of their degree positions. Forget about degrees – Scorpio is Scorpio and Leo is Leo and there will always be some core archetypal tensions between those two signs.

Note how I keep saying “in my practice.” All of this is just what has worked for me effectively in the counseling room. It’s what I have learned in my daily life as an astrologer as I tried to sort out this basic sign-vs-planet ambiguity that’s inherent in aspect theory. At a theoretical level, I am all over the map with this question, in other words. I claim no consistency at all – only the lessons of experience. 

• Are aspects geometrical angles between planets as the modern astrologers say or are they archetypal relationships among signs as our Mediterranean astrological ancestors thought?

The more I wrestle with that question, the more I believe that the best answer is “yes.” Both perspectives are true. And that means that the living reality of aspects is actually a very slippery subject.

Still, some dimensions of the mystery are pretty clear from our actual experience. Let me give you an example. You solar Aquarians out there – are you feeling Pluto’s energies in your lives now? Easy question, right? I’m guessing that the answer in most cases will be yes, even if your Sun falls near the end of Aquarius. Pluto in Aquarius is currently impacting all Aquarians – that’s a demonstration of whole sign aspects in action. Meanwhile, I suspect that if your Sun lies in the first few degrees of Aquarius, right now you’re really in “Pluto City.”  It’s a lot more vivid and intense for you than it is for those late-Aquarians.

That’s just one example, but it contains a key practical principle.

• Whole sign aspects work in practical, observable ways, but when an aspect moves within modern orbs, its action is vastly more dramatic and obvious.  

That’s all pretty intuitive. We can take it a practical step further by remembering two of our cardinal principles of interpretation: (a) first things first, and (b) you’ll never have enough time to “talk about everything.” Strategic editing of our presentations is fundamental to achieving clarity with our clients. And that means that in practice you’ll often leave out the effects of whole sign aspects even though they are real simply because they don’t pass the “first things first” test. At any given moment other configurations are probably more pressing. 

In my experience, all that is true both in a transits and progressions context and also with natal chart analysis. 

HYBRID VIGOR

We are still left with the knotty question I raised right at the beginning of this essay: what do we do with aspects that are in the wrong signs? I was taught to call them “Out of Quality” aspects, but I suspect that just saying “in the wrong sign” is more common nowadays. Certainly if you put it that way, any astrologer would understand what you meant.

The truth of it is that such aspects are truly hybrid. In our initial example, there is a strong sextile between the Sun and Uranus, suggesting mutual excitation and encouragement. At the same time, we cannot ignore the underlying archetypal tension between Cancer and Gemini. All of those levels of interaction must be taken into account as we unravel the full significance of this aspect. 

This is a good time to remember an overarching principle of evolutionary astrology: all aspects are about integration. With this Sun/Uranus situation, we just have a bit more integrating to do.

Let’s break it down. There’s a powerful push toward individuation implicit in the Uranian energies. Via the sextile, Uranus is stimulating the solar ego to act boldly and unilaterally on its own behalf. The risk of heedlessness and insensitivity is worth mentioning, but basically this aspect is a big green light for decisive, self-oriented action. 

All of that is based on the strict “it’s a sextile” interpretation, and that is definitely part of the truth – but let’s not forget that the clashing undercurrent of the semi-sextile between Gemini and Cancer is operating too. Remember though – in evolutionary astrology, we never say the words “bad aspect.” That dissonance can be helpful even if it’s unpleasant. Think of it like this: maybe you’ve got a friend who loves you enough to tell you things that you don’t always want to hear – there’s an example of a so-called “bad aspect” in action. They can be good for you in a “corrective” sort of way.

So, the case of our Sun/Uranus sextile on July 21, what does this “wrong sign” perspective add to our understanding?

The Sun is in Cancer, so it’s sensitive. It knows it could get hurt. It is therefore inclined toward caution. Meanwhile, Uranus in Gemini is all, “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”

There’s the tension. That’s how the semi-sextile dimensions of this aspect play out. They add notes of uncertainty and ambivalence to the energetic matrix. At their best, the Sun and Uranus both benefit from it. Cancer’s caution might help the person evade some nasty surprises. Uranus being in alert, open-minded Gemini might open up channels to some new “outside the box” information that could make a helpful, fresh contribution to whatever situation is arising. 

All in all, what’s trying to happen here is indeed centered on the bold pulse of individuation and self-claiming that the modern “by-the-orbs” sextile promises – but in this case it is tempered and made wiser by some uncomfortable yet timely doubts and questions. 

You can, in other words, feel both the effects of the geometrical aspect and the whole sign one.

And that’s how aspects “in the wrong signs” actually work.