Starlight09 said:
Basically... if the lines were not color coded as they are on Astro.com, I would have no idea what a square, conjunction looks like, etc.
Look at the elements, modes and gender of the signs
Trine = Signs of the same element, e.g. Venus in Taurus is trine Satun in Capricorn, as both are Earth signs
Sextile = Signs of the same gender but different elements, e.g. Venus in Scorpio is sextile Saturn in Capricorn as both are female signs, but Scorpio is Water and Capricorn is Earth.
Opposition = Signs of the same Mode, and the same Gender , e.g. Venus in Scorpio is in opposition to Saturn in Taurus. Both are Fixed signs and Both are Female signs - notice that oppositions have a large degree of commonality
Squares = Signs of the Same Mode. , e.g., Venus in Taurus is Square to Saturn in Leo - the only thing that the signs share is that the are fixed - the irresistible force meting the immovable object.
Now modern texts will talk about angles of separation - 120 degrees, 60 degrees, 180 degrees and 90 degrees. That is a measure of quantity, the definitions I've given are a measure of
quality. Now you will find Astrologers who argue that only the angle matters and use out of sign aspects. Originally out of sign aspects were a contradiction in terms - aspects were sign related. As you get into Astrology you will begin to make judgements about WHEN to use out of sign aspects (I require a perfection in at most 2 degrees).
You will also learn how much 'error' to allow - the orbs (these should apply to the planets not the aspect but modern practice is to consider only the aspect)
Starlight09 said:
What are/is the main factor which will tell me the role they play? Is it the aspects, or what houses the planets fall in? As a side question, what is the MC/IC good for?
The most important thing is the Houses.
Using my wife and myself as an example:
My wife's Sun lies in my 5th House (the Sun is the will, or life force, the fifth is romance, doing things together, children....
My Sun lies in her 5th House (repeat)
Our Suns are in an out of sign sextile - but only by 15 minutes
My Wife's Ascendant lies in my eleventh House (Ascendant = The person, mind, spirit and body 11th =friends, Hopes, Dreams Support and Help
My Ascendant is on her 3rd cusp, 3rd = communication, spiritual contact in a less formal sense (the third is the House of the Goddess) Her Jupiter is conjunct my Ascendant and Conjunct my Saturn (Saturn is her Sun ruler) I'll leave you to begin thinking about how these contacts might manifest
My Wife's Venus lies in my fourth House of Home and family
My Venus lies in her fifth of Romance, children and shared hobbies and recreation.
My Venus is conjunct her Venus by Sign.
Our Moons create the 'problem, lying in each other's eighth House - kind interpretation, we share our possessions on an emotional level (eighth is the partner's resources) but our Moons are in adjoining signs, - there is some emotional difference, mine is in Air, ruled by Saturn, hers is in Water ruled by Jupiter - Yet Saturn and Jupiter can bring a structure approach to spiritual growth
That's just a start, but it gives you some idea of how you can begin to put an interpretation together. As you get better you can add in more factors and start to add complexity and depth.
Starlight09 said:
If it's not too exasperating, can you give me an example of the kind of squares which are "positive" (as in the couple is thriving on the tension) vs. one that will create trouble?
Taking My wife and I again, our Jupiter's are square to each other. Jupiter squares are not as hard as Saturn squares, they bring some tension, here between her need to grow through spiritual matters (Her Jupiter is exactly on her 3rd cusp, and in middle age, she developed extremely strong psychic abilities). My jupiter is in my fourth - home, bricks and mortar, land and family - much more concrete concerns for growth. These tensions though are affected by her Jupiter conjunct my Ascendant on her 3rd cusp - I can be of help to her growth. Her Venus is conjunct my Jupiter, It's her that brings to me the appreciation of home and family - a tension but one which can bring us together rather than pushing us apart.
Remove some of those other contacts, and you might have one person whose need to grow, appears 'airy fairy' to their partner, with no understanding, whilst to the other, the partner is to concerned with bricks and mortar rather than the spiritual. That's destructive. For us, it never was, and it helped me become more spiritual and gave her a foundation - my jupiter in my fourth.
Starlight09 said:
Although I understand Saturn is the disciplinarian planet, if it's trine with a softer one like Venus... that would be an example of the relationship lasting beyond the initial attraction, right? Then again I'm wondering if it would stifle Venus' natural expression of affection.
It really depends on the condition of each planet - both by sign and placement as to how this would work out. Saturn in Libra with Venus in Aquarius would bring a very constructive and strong relationship, Saturn might be the stronger but would create the structure Venus needs to express herself fully
Saturn in Leo retrograde, trine Venus in Aries presents a greater problem. Saturn is debilitated so shows up more as worry, fear, concern, which limits the capacity for action. Venus in Aries is also debilitated being in detriment The expression of Venus qualities is much more aggressive, but the Saturn trine may lead to real conflicts Venus is interested in gambling, living it up and having a good time, live for the moment! Saturn finds this very worrying and is fearful of the outcome. It might be a trine but there's an easy flow of worry and doubt in one direction and an easy flow of the need to live it up in the other - not a good mix.
- it's the planets and their condition, not the aspect as such that matters. Modern Astrologers tend to interpret by aspect and ignore the nuances of sigh placement.
(OK that's an anthropomorphic view of the planets but hopefully you get the idea)
Starlight09 said:
Picking out what is important and what isn't is the biggest deal for me (of course aside from learning the meanings and personalities of each planet).. so far I've determined Uranus and Jupiter are kind of flops. Anyways, I can't thank you enough for replying in depth like this!
You are welcome
Try a simple but historically valid approach:
Use Whole sign houses (as they did in Hellenistic times and still do in Vedic Astrology
Use Aspects by sign, with only a small allowance for out of sign aspects. Don't worry too much about the angle, as long as the signs are 'right' Later on you can refine this . Even when you become experienced, that's still well worth doing as an exercise to see how it compares
Use only the major aspects (later on you can play with the others but they add nuance at most)
Use the classical planets, then have a look at Uranus and Neptune. When you're OK, move on and think about Pluto (I try not to LOL) and even the other dwarves and asteroids. You might decided to keep using them, you may drop them but get the basics right first.
