Aspects, the angles between planets
Conjunctions, oppositions, squares, trines and sextiles: how planets talk to each other.
Five major aspects
A conjunction (0°) fuses two planets. An opposition (180°) makes them face each other. A square (90°) makes them push against each other. A trine (120°) lets them cooperate without effort. A sextile (60°) offers an opportunity you still have to take.
Orbs: how exact is exact
Planets are rarely at the perfect angle, so we allow slack, called the orb. Our defaults are wide for the Sun and Moon and tight for minor aspects. The tighter the orb, the louder the aspect; a square at half a degree runs your life, a square at six degrees is background noise.
Hard is not bad
Squares and oppositions are where your energy and your accomplishments come from. Charts made only of trines tend to belong to people who are comfortable and not much else. When the app shows a hard aspect it also tells you what the friction produces.
Applying and separating
An aspect is applying when the faster planet is still moving toward exactness and separating once it has passed. In a birth chart, applying aspects feel like unfinished business; in transits, applying is anticipation and separating is digestion.