Table Of ContentASPECTS
I AND!
PERSONALITY
KAREN HAMAKER-ZONDAQ
pects are one of the less-well-understood factors
in astrology, something often overlooked in the rush *
of books that attempt to describe the planets, signs
and houses. Yet aspects are the fundamental descrip-
tors of relationships, both within the psyche and be-
tween the individual and the outside world.
Hamaker-Zondag takes a perceptive look at aspects—
both major and minor—and at the continuing discus-
sion in astrology about the relationships between
aspects and harmonics, the question of orbs, sign
relationships versus degree relationships, the relation-
ships between the aspects and the elements and
qualities. She also addresses less-well-discussed fac-
tors: mclining and declining aspects, approaching and
departing aspects, the nature of unaspected planets,
and the ruling aspect.
Her general discussions of these matters are supple-
mented by extensive, in-depth delineations of the
major aspects for each of the planets as well as the
Sun and Moon. These delineations include the aspects
each planet makes to the Ascendant and Midheaven.
Of special note is the inclusion in these delineations
of the inconjunct, or quincunx, an aspect that y
astrologers are beginning to agree has important in-
fluence in the chart. This is a clear and accessible ap-
proach that can be used by students at many levels.
Contents
Preface ix
Part One: About Aspects
1. Kinds of Aspect 3
2. Determining the Aspects 23
3. The Psychological Influence of Aspects 39
4. Approaching and Departing,
Inclining and Declining Aspects 51
5. Unaspected Planets 61
6. Aspect Configurations and the Ruling Aspect
7. Judging the Composition of Aspects 91
Part Two: Aspect Interpretation
8. A Few Words on Interpretation 99
9. Aspects of the Sun 103
viii! Contents
10. Aspects of the Moon 137
11. Aspects of Mercury 169
12. Aspects of Venus 195
13. Aspects of Mars 217
14. Aspects of Jupiter 237
15. Aspects of Saturn 255
16. Aspects of Uranus 273
17. Aspects of Neptune 283
18. Aspects of Pluto 291
Bibliography 301
About the Author 303
Preface
This book has been written to help students understand the factors
that play a part in the interpretation of aspects as they relate to
personality. An unquestioning acceptance of ready-made interpre-
tations—however helpful some of them may be—is never satis-
factory in the long run. Therefore my intention is to teach students
how to work out the interpretations (see chapter 3) after we have
studied the essential nature of the aspects and how they are derived
from the circle.
At the very outset we encounter a number of problems such
as what orbs to use and what allowance, if any, should be made for
the influence of the signs. Since opinions on these points differ in
the astrological world, I have let myself be guided as far as possible
by my own practical experience because I have no wish to base this
book on theoretical arguments. Practical experience also comes to
the fore in the chapter on unaspected planets—the latter being a
feature that ought never to be ignored when aspects are being
judged.
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Astrological Signs and Svmlrols
Sign Symbol Day Ruler Element Cross
Night Ruler
Aries Mars cT Fire Cardinal
Pluto
Taurus Venus 9 Earth Fixed
Gemini I[ Mercury ^ Air Mutable
Cancer Moon 5) Water Cardinal
Leo Sun O Fire Fixed
Virgo TTP Mercury ^ Earth Mutable
Libra \renus ^ Air Cardinal
Scorpio Pluto ^ Water- Fixed
Mars c?
Sagittarius ^ Jupiter Fire Mutable
Neptune ^
Capricorn ^ Saturn 'S Earth Cardinal
ITanus ^
Aquarius — Uranus 6r Air Fixed
Saturn ^
Pisces Neptune £ Water Mutable
Jupiter
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Preface / xi
I assume that the reader is already familiar with the meanings
of the planets, signs, houses and elements, and so I will try to avoid
ground covered in my earlier books.
The last chapter consists of basic interpretations of the major
aspects; the object being to give an opportunity for practice. Let
the reader turn to chapter 1 for the effect of a given aspect, and
then combine this with the meanings of the planets involved (as
explained in chapter 3) to arrive at an interpretation which can be
compared with that given in chapter 8. This chapter makes no claim
to completeness, but is intended solely as a guide to aspect inter-
pretation; which is, of course, only one part of general chart analysis.
As always, my husband, Hans has mulled over the form and
content of thousands of words in order to make the manuscript as
readable as it now is; thank you Hans.
January, 1982
Karen Hamaker-Zondag
Part 1
About
Aspects
1
Kinds
of
Aspect
What Is An Aspect?
As everyone knows, the Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun.
The astrologer, however, studies the universe as it affects people
on Earth and therefore treats the Sun and planets as if they were
going round the Earth. In other words, we retain for convenience
the old geocentric view. As seen from Earth, the Sun appears to
travel across the sky along a fixed path; a path that is also traversed
by the planets. The Sun, Moon and planets all seem to move in
more or less the same circle (or, more accurately, in the same narrow
track) around the Earth. This 360° circle is the zodiac. It is divided
into twelve 30° sectors—the signs of the zodiac. The Sun, Moon
and planets move in front of a backdrop of the signs. They can be
found anywhere in the zodiac, and can therefore be observed in
different directions. When two or three are in the same zodiacal
degree, we perceive them lying in the same direction.
Figure 1 on page 4 marks a few planets in the zodiac. If we
consider Mars as our reference point, the direction in which we
view Mars is at a right angle to the direction in which we view
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Figure 1. The horoscope viewed from Earth (E) at the center. From this
point, the angles of the planets create aspects.
Venus. For us on Earth, they are 90° away from one another. But
the position of Mars in respect to Jupiter is quite different. Here
the distance between the two planets is such that the Mars-Earth-
Jupiter angle is 120°.
Mars also stands at a specific distance from Saturn in the circle
of the heavens as seen from Earth, and the two planets form an
angle of 26°. Now this angle is not a recognized astrological aspect.
Not every angle between planets is called an aspect. The angles
known to tradition as aspects are listed in Table 1.
When two (or more) planets as seen from the Earth form one
of these special angles, this means they are linked astrologically.
The parts of the psyche symbolized by the said planets interact
directly. All according to the nature of the aspect, they assist and
stimulate or hinder and dampen one another. In psychological
terms, an aspect represents a process by which given psychic ener-
gies are linked in a way that gives each of them greater freedom
