ASPECT - 1 a : the position of planets or stars with respect to one another held by astrologers to influence human affairs; also : the apparent position (as conjunction) of a body in the solar system with respect to the sun.
| Aspects and Orbs |
You are looking for any aspects between the lunation chart planets and the natal chart planets. Very tight orbs are used. No more than 3 degrees with a new moon and full moon, and only 1 degree for the quarter moons. While you are learning how to use lunations, stick with the main aspects (conjunction, square, trine, and opposition). With these, you'll more quickly grasp how this forecasting technique works and won't be haphazardly assigning blame to some ultra-minor aspect when it isn't really even involved.
In the sample bi-wheel chart, you'll see that the outer wheel is a quarter-moon lunation with Mars at 14 Taurus and it is in square (90 degrees) to the lunation Neptune. Right away, we are dealing with some sort of deceptive (Neptune) action (Mars) and we haven't even begun to compare it to the natal chart yet.
Next, we look to the natal chart (inner wheel) and see that indeed, the lunation Mars is also in square to the natal Venus. The orb is within minutes, well within the 1 degree orb limitation for a quarter-moon chart. Mars also looks to be in square to the natal Sun, but the orb is too large for a quarter-moon so we will ignore it for this example.
Now we want to determine where this deceptive action is going to come from and what it is going to involve.
We look now to what Venus rules in the natal chart and what house it is in. It sits in the 11th of friends and rules the 2nd of money and the 7th of partners/spouses.
It seems that either a friend, partner, or spouse is likely to deceive you about something involving money and you won't be too happy about it.
So what do we know so far? First of all, we know that within one week of the date of the lunation, there's going to be a problem with money, but is there a way to know more closely what day? The answer is YES. Many astrologers who do forecasting (whether with or without the lunations) have depended on when aspects are exact as the day that the event will take place. This lunation forecasting system, however, looks to the Moon as a trigger for setting things into motion.
| Timing - The Moon As Trigger |
We are going to watch the movement of the Moon to help us determine exactly what day that Mars -- Venus square will come to fruition. To do this, we have to use the concept of midpoints.
The midpoint of an aspect is a point halfway from one planet to another. In our example chart, natal Venus is at 14 Aquarius and lunation Mars is at 14 Taurus. This is a 90 degree aspect, so the midpoint will be 45 degrees (half of 90) from 14 Aquarius. A simple way to calculate this in your head is to add 45 to 14 (14 Aquarius + 45 = 59) then subtract whole signs (59 - 30 degrees of Aquarius = 29 Pisces). So the midpoint is 29 Pisces.
[Just to double check our math, let's move in the other direction and add 45 to 29 Pisces then deduct as many whole signs as we can. What is left over should be where Mars is. (29 Pisces + 45 = 74 -30(Pisces) -30(Aries) = 14 (Taurus)]
Once we've identified the midpoint, we now can extend it across the chart to find all our trigger points. See diagram 5. Each end of the dark lines represents a what can be called a trigger point. So for our example, 29 Pisces is the midpoint, 29 Virgo (opposite the mp) is another trigger point, 29 Gemini (which is a square to the midpoint) is a trigger point, and 29 Sagittarius (another square to the midpoint) is yet another trigger point.
The reason we identify so many trigger points is that in the space of one week (the period for which our example quarter-moon lunation is in effect) the Moon can only travel approximately 90 degrees (three signs). It would never go completely around the chart, for instance, to reach the actual midpoint if it were more than 90 degrees away in the lunation chart. So we look to when the Moon will make contact with one of the four trigger points. It is that day that we will likely see the outcome of the aspect.
Using your bi-wheel, with the natal chart on the inside and lunation chart on the outside, find the transiting Moon.
The trigger point is usually going to be the midpoint between the transiting planet and the natal planet and when the Moon reaches that midpoint, boom! the aspect is set off. At times the Moon cannot reach the midpoint position because it is too far away and won't travel far enough in the time span allowed for that particular lunation - let's say the one week for the quarter moon. In this case, the midpoint has sensitive points at the opposition point, and the square point. When the Moon can reach one of those, it can trigger events. Our example diagram has the Moon very near one of those auxiliary midpoints suggesting that the event could be triggered off shortly before the lunation actually takes place or alternatively, when the Moon reaches the next trigger point. (#2)
The most important part of this technique is determining those trigger points and watching the Moon's travel. Had this been a New Moon, which is in effect for four weeks, the travel of the Moon would allow it to contact all four trigger points and we'd see the effects repeated four times during the month (roughly the same day each week). Also, since a New Moon covers such a long period of time, the effects would be minor, but effects nonetheless. (Keep in mind that we are talking about very simple aspects. If you have some heavy stuff in your chart involving many planets, then the effects would naturally be greater.)
Getting setup:
- use a well-timed natal chart
- create a chart for any of the lunar phases.
- erect a bi-wheel or pencil in the transiting phase planets around the natal chart.
- compare lunar phase planets to natal planets according to the recommended orbs
- noting the planets being aspected, figure the timing of the Moon to trigger the aspects.