What does phase mean?

Aspect is the angular relationship between two planets, that is, how two functions affect each other. It can explain complex patterns better than a single planet, because people are not operating on one planet, but many needs are pulling at the same time.

It is easiest for novices to read aspects as "good aspects" and "bad aspects". This can make judgments shallow. A more accurate question is: Are these two forces bound, opposed, frictional, flowing naturally, or do they provide opportunities for each other? Where do they recur? Is there a realistic exit?

A conjunction means that the two planets are close together and their functions tend to get mixed up. It can be strong, or it can be difficult to separate. People with the Sun conjunct Mercury may easily tie themselves to their ideas and express a sense of presence; people with the Moon conjunct Saturn may tie their sense of security to responsibility, restraint, and fear of troublesome others.

Conjunctions are not necessarily good, nor are they necessarily bad. The key is to see which two planets they are in, which house they are in, and whether they are supported or oppressed by other aspects.

Oppositions are like a seesaw, with two planets standing at opposite ends of the chart. It often makes a person feel like he or she is being pulled between two needs, and it can easily show up through others. You don't necessarily admit that you have another side at first, and then you will project it onto your partner, collaborator, competitor, or external environment.

For example, when Venus opposes Uranus, you may need relationships while also needing freedom; when the moon opposes Pluto, you may need intimacy while fearing being engulfed. The maturity of hedging is not to eliminate one end, but to learn to allow both ends to have positions at the same time.

Squares often create the most friction because both functions want to work, but in incompatible ways. It can bring stress, but it can also bring motivation for growth. Many configurations that really promote life changes are not the smoothest three points, but the four points that repeatedly force you to deal with problems.

For example, when Mars squares Saturn, it may manifest itself as wanting to take action but being afraid of making mistakes, wanting to rush but being stuck by reality; but after practice, it may also turn into strong endurance and execution discipline. The problem with squares is not that they are "bad" but that they need to be trained to exit.

The trine usually indicates a natural flow, with little conflict between two functions; the sextile is like an opportunity, which needs to be used proactively. They are indeed more comfortable than squares and oppositions, but comfort does not mean a certain manifestation result.

If a person has a lot of three points in his chart, he may have talent, coordination, and natural resources; but if he lacks pressure aspects, he may also lack the motivation to push himself into reality. Having more trine aspects does not mean that one has a better life, but that certain abilities are more natural. Whether it can be used depends on the palace position, fortune and personal choice.

Tolerance is the range of allowable deviation in phase. The closer to precision, the more powerful the phase. Luminous bodies such as the sun and moon usually have a slightly wider tolerance, while outer planets, asteroids, and sensitive points usually have a tighter tolerance. When reading a chart, do not treat all broad aspects as main lines, otherwise the chart will be overinterpreted.

Practical judgment is: first look at close aspects within three degrees, and then look at whether the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, ascendant, angular sign or personal planet is involved. Aspects that are close, repeated, and touch the core point are more suitable for making final conclusions.

If a tense aspect has a trine, sextile, house exit, or realistic training method, it is not just a pressure, but may also become an ability. For example, if the Moon squares Mars, you may be emotionally reactive and easily defensive, but if you have the support of Saturn at the same time, you may learn to turn your emotions into discipline and action.

So the aspect reading cannot stop at "you have a trauma/you have a gift." It depends on where this energy goes: which houses it falls in, whether it is connected to the structure of Saturn, the expansion of Jupiter, the expression of Mercury, or the realistic execution scene of the tenth and sixth houses.

After opening the phase table, first sort by tolerance. Priority is given to close aspects involving the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, ascendant, and personal planets. Then look at which houses these aspects connect to, and whether they form a T-square, Grand Trine, Kite, Yod or stellium.

Before coming to a conclusion, answer at least four questions: Which two planets are interacting; whether the interaction is in conjunction, opposition, square, trine or sextile; which houses it falls in; and whether there is a third planet that provides an exit. In this way, the phase is not a pile of terms, but evidence of reading the tape.