an introduction to full-phase aspects

8/8/2019 An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects

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An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects An Introduction to Full-PhaseAspects

By Michael Erlewine

[email protected]

Jupiter Phase Chart

I have been fortunate to come across anumber of interesting techniques in my40+ years as an astrologer, such asLocal Space, Deep Space Astrology,Heliocentrics, and others. The techniqueI am introducing here is one of the mostimportant and powerful methods I haveever come across and well worth yourwading through my explanation of it untilyou see how it works. I call it Full-PhaseAspects and the chart: Full-Phase Chartor Phase Chart.

Phase Aspects offer a new way to lookat astrological aspects, and aspects aresomething we astrologers all subscribeto, the angular separation betweencelestial bodies like the Sun, Moon, andplanets – aspects.

Each planetary pair makes what istermed a “Synodic Cycle,” which simply

means that the faster of the two planetsmakes a complete circle of 360 degreesthrough the zodiac in relation to theslower planet. The most obviousexample of a synodic cycle is the cycleof the lunar month. Each month theMoon completes a 360-degree circle orcycle, going from one New Moon to theFull Moon and on around to the nextNew Moon.

All heavenly bodies do the same, eachto the other. The slower planet appearslike a fixed object, while the faster-moving planet cycles around it in a bigcircle or cycle.

The point here is that at every momentof the day or night each planetary pair isforming some angular relationship,some angle or aspect with the other.The sum total of all the angularrelationships or aspects in our chart(and what they mean) represents a lot ofwhat astrology is all about, modern orancient.

Each angular relationship, each angle

between any two planets, is eitherleaving or approaching some majoraspect like a Conjunction, Opposition (whatever aspects you use) and actuallyboth. As we leave the edge (separate)from one aspect, we begin to approachthe edge (apply) to the next aspect, andon around. There never is a time whenthe angle between two planets ismeaningless any more than there isever a time when the two planets are

not somewhere in their cycle ofrelationship. Traditional exact aspectsare a convenience, but they canobscure the fact that something real isalways happening with any two bodiesin relation to one another.

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An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects

Example of Angular Separation

In fact, we can examine the relationshipof any single planet or body in itsrelationship to the planets in the systemin terms of the phase or the angle theyform to one another. And it is importantto know which is the faster-movingplanet and which moves more slowly.Let‟s forget for the moment that some

fast-moving planets (like Mercury)sometimes slow down and turnretrograde. We can discuss that atanother time. Here we are justinterested to know, in general, whichbody moves faster than another, andthus makes a synodic circle or cyclearound the other. Traditionally, thebodies (in order of average daily motion)are as follows: Moon, Mercury, Venus,Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,Neptune, and Pluto. Here are theiraverage daily motions.

Average Daily Planetary Motion

For this discussion, what we want toknow is what phase angle (angularseparation) does the planet (the fasterbody) make to the another (the slowerbody)? That angle starts at zero whenthe two bodies are conjunct one anotheragainst the backdrop of the zodiac andgoes from the Conjunction (0-degrees

separation) out to the Opposition (180-degrees separation) and on around.When the two bodies are moving ever-farther apart, this is called “separation”or (more commonly) “Waxing.” After theOpposition point, the angular separationstarts to close up and get smaller as thefaster-moving planet heads toward thenext Conjunction with the slower body.This is called an “Applying Aspect,” or more commonly a “Waning” aspect.




My Standard Natal Chart

We can lay out the planets in a commonnatal chart on the 360-degree wheel andlook for which bodies are Waxing orWaning in relation to any other.However, this requires constantawareness on our part to make sure wedon‟t have it backward, that is, bymistake, think that the Sun is applying to

the Moon, when it always is the otherway around: the Moon can only apply tothe Sun and never vice versa.

To make these angular separationseasier to spot (and this saves forever

juxtaposing the two bodies in the mind),I have found it much easier just to laythe bodies out on a ordinary 360-degreewheel, using any planet as the focus. Icall this a “Full Phase Chart” or simple a“Phase Angle Chart.” It only takes a few

minutes to create a Phase Angle chartfor each planet and then you have themforever. We are adding this chart form toMatrix Software programs, for thosewho want it done automatically. Forexample, here is my Jupiter phase-angle chart:

The Phase Angle Chart

As you can see, while there is somesimilarity between my normal natal chart(with Jupiter at the focus) and my Phase

Angle Chart for Jupiter, there are alsoreal differences. Keep in mind that allwe are doing here is taking each planetin its relationship to Jupiter and askingourselves if the angle between them iswaxing or waning? If it is Waxing, weplot it on the left-hand side of the chartwheel – the waxing side, while if it isWaning, we plot to the right-hand side ofthe chart – the waning side. The result isa chart on which we can easily see how

many waxing and how many waningaspects we have, in what quantities,hemispheres, and quadrants. We cansee a lot more as well, but we will get tothat a little later. Let‟s recap:

Jupiter Phase Chart

If we take any planet we are interestedin and place it at the zero or theconjunction point (at the top of a blank360-degre wheel) and lay in the rest ofthe solar-system bodies out in terms of



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects their particular phase angles with thatbody, we can learn a great deal aboutthe body in question, in this caseJupiter. In fact, these Phase Charts tella complete story of what that planetmeans in relation to the other planetsand an accurate one at that. I have usedliterally hundreds of techniques over theyears, if only because I haveprogrammed them. Phase-angle chartsare one of two techniques that reallywork for me and deserve some attentionon the part of astrologers.

I am using Jupiter as an example.Above is my Phase Chart using Jupiter

as the focus. The other bodies aredistributed according to their phaseangle with Jupiter. Note that this chart isnot the same as my natal chart if wewere to use Jupiter as the focus in thatchart.

Jupiter is the focus in the Phase Chartand all the other bodies are placed inthis chart according to their phaseangle, their actual angular separationwith Jupiter, either waxing or waning. It

can take a few moments and somethought on your part to understand whata Phase Chart is, but once you do, youwill see how convenient this type ofchart is to examine for meaning.

The Hemispheres and the Quadrants

Throughout the history of astrologicalwheels, whether we look at housewheels or any other kind of wheels, wetend to divide the one wheel first into

two hemi-spheres and often further intoquadrants. Using the familiar lunar cycleas an example, it would be traditional tosay that the hemisphere containing theNew Moon represents the „inner”hemisphere, while that for the Full Moonrepresents the outer hemisphere. Wecan also divide the chart into the Waxing

hemisphere (from the Conjunction to theOpposition) and the Waning hemisphere(from the Opposition back to theConjunction).

Inner and Outer Hemispheres

These hemispheres can, in turn, bedivided into quadrants or quarters, sothat we have four of them as follows:

(1) Inner-Waxing – From theConjunction to the 90-degree or Squarepoint.

(2) Outer-Waxing – From the 90-degreeor Square point to the Opposition.

(3) Outer-Waning – From the Oppositionpoint to the 270-degree Square point.

(4) Inner-Waning – From the 270-degree Square point to the nextConjunction.




Giver and Taker Hemispheres

Looking at the hemispheres and thequadrants in my Jupiter phase-anglechart, we can see at a glance that somequarters and hemispheres have moreplanets in them than do others. Thisleads to some interesting interpretationas we will see. Let‟s take my Jupiter phase chart as an example and jump

right into some interpretation. Pleasebear with me.

My Jupiter Phase Chart

Let‟s keep in mind that Jupiter typicallyrepresents our career or life path,literally the way we go through or handleSaturn. This is why lawyers areconnected to Jupiter, because they areexpert at handling the law – Saturn.Jupiter is the lawyer but also the guide,our path through the obstacles of Saturn

in our life, the Life Path.For my Jupiter Phase Chart, the outer orpublic hemisphere shows what planetsare available to me to advance mycareer or life path, publically. In my casethere is only one, and that is Neptune.We will get into this later, but we cannote here that perhaps my mostsignificant contribution to the publicsphere are my two Internet sites, All-Music Guide (allmusic.com) and All-

Movie Guide (allmovie.com), which soldrecently for some $80+ million dollars. Iwould say that is some measure ofsuccess. No, I did not get that money.

My point here is that Neptune is the onlyplanet (relative to Jupiter) that is in theouter or public sector AND it is in thethird quadrant, which means it is



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects waning. As we shall see, the secondquadrant has to do not with building orcreating new structures (waxing), butthe third (waning) quadrant has to dowith drawing meaning out of previouslycreated structures. The extensiveguides I produced for film and musicwere all about rating and reviewing allmusic and film – very much a thirdquadrant activity. They involved critiqueand reviews, always a waning function – the ending of the cycle. I hope you canbegin to see how we might interpretthese phase charts.

The Four Aspect Groups

Another factor we want to look at in thePhase Chart are traditional aspect sets,which can be organized into thefollowing groups:

The Four Aspect Groups

(1) Conjunction, Opposition, and theWaxing and Waning Squares

(2) The Four Waxing and Waning Trinesand Sextiles.

(3) The Four Waxing and Waning 45-degree type

(4) The Four Semi-Sextiles andInconjuncts

I have tried to make these aspectsgroups easy to spot by placing four

colored rays in the chart, with about afive-degree orb. This way you can seewhat kind of aspects you have on hand

just with a glance.

In the center of the wheel you will findfour types of colored rays, red, green,yellow-like, and purple. These marksome of the more common types ofaspects:

Red: The Semisquares or 45-degree

multiples.Green: The Sextiles or 60-degreemultiples.

Yellow: The Square or 90-degreemultiples.

Purple: The Semi-Sextiles andInconjunct aspects.

We can see at once that my Sun is in ared zone, meaning it is forming a semi-square aspect to my natal Jupiter. Notonly is it a semi-square, but it is a“Waxing” semi-square, which justmeans it is in the process or expandingor going out from the Conjunction withJupiter toward the Opposition. My Sun issome 45-degrees from Jupiter and it is“waxing,” that is: separating fromJupiter. All planets on the left-hand sideof the Phase-Angel chart are waxing(separating) just as all the planets onthe right-hand side of the chart are

waning (applying).

If I make a quick interpretation of SunWaxing Semi-Square-Jupiter, I find:

Trouble at the Start

“Your ideas and plans for success canmeet with delays or obstruction, but



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects nothing that does not have a workaround. The envisioned success needsto be firmly held in mind, and now is thetime to persevere. You can shift yourdirection, subtly, away from just makingplans to getting ready to achieve them.”

The four Semi-Square aspects in thechart I call the “Four Challenges” or the“Four Obstacles,” because theseaspects in a chart can tend to slow youdown or block any forward motion. Andthere are four types of Semi-Squares.Not all Semi-Squares are created equal:

The Four Challenges

The Four Challenges

(1) Trouble at the Start – 45-degree orWaxing Semi-Square

(2) Trouble Making It Happen (buildingthings up) – 135-degree or Waxing

Sesqui-Quadrate

(3) Trouble Understanding – 225-degreeor Waning Sesqui-Quadrate

(4) Trouble Learning Lessons (troubleconsolidating) 45-degree or WaningSemi-Square

The interesting thing here is that each ofthese four Semi-Squares presents adifferent problem AND each of themrequires on our part a different approachor solution. Not all aspects of the sametype act the same and this is a veryimportant fact when it comes tounderstanding full-phase aspects. Thisis also true for ALL mirror aspects, suchas aspects like Squares, Sextiles,Trines, etc., in fact every for aspectexcept the Conjunction and theOppositions, which have no mirrors.

The Four Energies

The Four Energies

Next, let‟s look at the four energizingaspects, the two Trines and the twoSextiles, shown on the chart by thegreen rays. These are:

Energy to Begin – 60-degree or WaxingSextile Aspect

Energy to Succeed – 120-degree orWaxing Trine Aspect

Energy to Conserve – 240-degree orWaning Trine Aspect



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects Energy to Finish Up – 300-degree orWaning Sextile Aspect

A quick look tells us that the only planetwith the green ray boundaries is Mars –

Mars Sextile Jupiter. This aspect fallsinto the fourth kind of energy aspect, asinterpreted here:

Energy to Finish Up

“Examining your own efforts to succeed,with an eye toward improvement isindicated. Career drive and ambitionsneed to be tempered by careful analysisand sorting out what works from whatdoes not. This is an optimum time for

just that.” What we might want to keep in mind isthat when it comes to Jupiter, myJupiter, the only real energizing aspectis my Mars AND it is in the waning or“taking” hemisphere, meaning I am notpumping out energy to build somethingnew, but rather putting energy intodistilling or receiving something FROMwhat has already been created.

Secondly, that energizing aspect is inthe inner or private sector, and not in thepublic or outer hemisphere, whichsuggests that this is more something Ido behind the scenes rather than in fullpublic view.

With Full-Phase aspects, a standardWaning Sextile comes with twoadditional pieces of information, (1) thefact that is on the taking or receiving endof things, and (2) that it is inner or

private, rather than outer or public. Thatis a lot of extra information. And it is trueof all of the other kinds of mirroraspects.

The Four Turning Points

The Four Turning Points

As for what is perhaps the most famousset of aspects, including theConjunction, Opposition, and the twoSquares, these are part of the yellow-rayed group. In the standard astrologicalchart there are four points in the chartthat traditionally have marked change, aturning point in the current situation, achange from one state of being toanother.

The Point of Beginning – 0-degree orConjunction Aspect

The Point of Success – 90-degree orWaxing Square Aspect

The Point of Fulfillment – The 180-degree or Opposition Aspect

The Point of Conclusion – The 270-degree or Waning Square Aspect

As you can, see I have no planets in theyellow-rayed sections, so I don‟t haveany turning-point opportunitiesconnected to Jupiter.




The Four Pauses

The Four Pauses

This leaves only the purple-rayedaspects and I do have the planetMercury there. There are four points inthe astrological chart that indicate amiddle time, a time in-between, whenthe old is starting to fade and the newhas not fully exerted itself.

Plans to Begin – 30-degree or WaxingSemi-Sextile Aspect

Progress Declines – 150-degree orWaxing Inconjunct Aspect

Understanding Dawns – 210-degree orWaning Inconjunct Aspct

Conclusion Concludes – 330-degree orWaning Semi-Sextile Aspect

My “Waxing Mercury-Semi-Sextile-

Jupiter Aspect interprets as follows:

Plans to Begin

“Ideas relating to your career or lifepath, finding the words, are moreaccessible just now and perhaps evencan be formulated into a real plan thatcan be carried out in the near future.”

That covers the sixteen main aspectsused by astrologers. Now let‟s look atother ways to read the Phase Chart.

The Directional Values

Now let‟s explore briefly the Waxing andthe Waning aspects, what I like to callthe Givers and the Takers. Which oneare you, a Giver or a Taker?

Waxing or Giving Giving and Taking

This one is easy to see, as simple ashow may planets are on the left-handside of the chart (the waxing half fromthe Conjunction to the Opposition) andhow many are on the right-hand side ofthe chart (From the Opposition to thenext Conjunction). As you can see, asfar as Jupiter is concerned, I have five

waxing planets on left-hand side andfour waning planets on the right-handside of the chart, so I am predominantlya “Giver,” when it comes to Jupiter or my career. In other words, I probably putout or “give” more than I receive or “take,” although it is pretty wellbalanced, with the Sun on the waxing or



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects positive side and the Moon on thewaning or receptive side. That is quitetraditional.

Waning or Taking

Introvert and Extrovert

So we know that in my career I will give,but also notice the upper and lowerhalves or hemispheres of the chart. All

but one of my planets is in the private orinner hemisphere and only one planet(Neptune) is in the outer or public half ofthe chart. What does this tell us?

What it suggests is that when it comesto my career the main (in fact the only)planet in the outer or public sector isNeptune, so we could speculate that Iwill have to make my career (or it will beeasiest if I do) in some Neptune-like

occupation.Well, Neptune and astrology are goodpartners, in particular since I am moreinterested in what astrology means thanin the technology (Uranus) of it. Also,my main outer career was in creatingthe largest music data site on the planetand one of the two largest film sites in

the world, plus I made my living as amusician when I was younger. Neptuneis all about music and film. Tradition tellsus that.

Neptune in Waning Outer Hemisphere

However there is more. My Neptune isnot only in the outer or waninghemisphere, but it is in the waning or

passive, that is: the receptive half of thechart. This tells me that instead ofadding new Neptunian content to theworld, I will be working with existingcontent and manipulating it, which is justwhat I did by creating a database of allknown music and movies, and ratingand reviewing them. Even when Iperformed, it was performing Chicago-style blues, helping to understand andperform that existing genre. I am an

archivist of popular culture, so I havebeen told.

The story we can tell from looking ateven one of the planets in our chart(here Jupiter) goes on and on. Look athow all but one of the planets are in theupper or inner hemisphere, whichsuggests I am a very inner-directed



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects person, one who works more behind thescenes than in the public eye.Remember, it was my Neptune that ismy way into the spotlight, and I havereceived scores of awards for my musicand film sites and books.

Waxing First Quadrant

And last, but not least, if we examine allof my eight planets in the upper or innerhemisphere, we see that five of themare in the left-hand or waxing quadrant,which suggests inner again, but more asnascent, the matrix out of which newideas are born. My Sun is also there asis my Uranus, so you can expect newideas (these full-phase aspects are anexample of that) from this chart. In fact, Ihave a majority of these inside-outwaxing planets embedded in the firstquadrant of the chart.

Waning Fourth Quadrant However, we have three planets(including Mars and the Moon) in theinner hemisphere, but on the waningside. This points not to starting or givingbirth to new material, but toconsolidating or reaping from what isalready established. The Moon, whichstands for the Public is deep in theinside, in fact the deepest on this side.So let‟s put that together:

In my career (remember we are talkingabout Jupiter here) my access to thepublic sector (aside from my Neptunewhich is in the public section) is throughthe Moon (Moon = Public), and here theMoon is very deep in the seed section(think Sagittarius) of the chart. So, tointerpret it:

My career reaches the public by takingor gathering the essentials, the very

essence of what? Well, of my one outerplanet, which is Neptune, so ofNeptunian stuff, like music, film,astrology, and so on.

The same kind of thing goes for myMars. My career ambition or drive isvery strong, since it is on an energy



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects point and it is fourth quadrant, meaningit invests energy in reaping orconsolidating. You get the idea.

Using the Phase Angle Chart we can

rather easily tell the story of any givenplanet, in this case Jupiter. We have alot of hooks to interpretation just builtinto the natural framework of this type ofchart. And best of all, none of the hooksare bogus. We don‟t have to guess or make filler, because we are working withthe planetary aspects, just as allastrologers do, only convenientlyarranged to show their phaserelationship to the planet in focus.

I have told you a bit of my Jupiter storyas I like to tell. We are all storytellersand everyone loves a story. This is whythis is such a natural and powerfultechnique. You will of course tell yourown stories, but the idea of stories iskey here.

The astrology of the phase-angle chartis identical to what all astrologers use,

just plain old aspects. What is different

is that by using full-phase aspects, wesuddenly have additional informationthat was not available to us before. Intraditional astrology, a Square is aSquare is a Square, although most of uswould not mistake a First Quarter Moonfor a Fourth Quarter Moon, but weprobably would interpret a waxingMercury Square Mars as we would awaning Mercury Square Mars. I believethat kind of interpretation will give way tofull-phase interpretation just because itis easier and more informative to usethe full-phase method. That is why I useit. Phase Charts are almost self-interpreting. They tell their own stories.

Part Two of this Introduction to Follow,an article on the standard aspects.

For those interested in these techniquesin greater detail, please see my book"Full-Phase Aspects," available onAmazon.com.

Of course, since we have a circle, anypoint is fair game to use as a fiducial orstarting point.

I use the Conjunction as correspondingto the 10th House and Capricorn,because that is the most inner point, theOpposition being the most externalizedor „body‟ point. I learned from DaneRudhyar in a conversation with himmany years ago that differentastrologers have different hooks into

any cycle or circle. There is no right orwrong way to line up correspondences,only convenience and common sense.

Synodic Cycle Corresponsence

The New Moon is the most inward point,the Full Moon the most outward. Iactually see the New Moon, Capricorn,and the 10th house as a point of innerillumination, the result of the seed-essence of Sagittarius, etc. This is thetone or impulse that starts the cycle.



An Introduction to Full-Phase Aspects We can turn the various circles everywhich way to feel comfortable. For methe 4th house of the family or body,which is The Chariot (Cancer) in theTarot, and so forth marks the point ofgreatest specific gravity or incarnation.Once this is accepted, then Capricorn,etc. becomes the other end of thatconcept, by definition. And so on. This ismy way of doing it. It makes mecomfortable.

You mentioned that you use theConjunction point in a synodic cycle torepresent zero-degrees Aries, while Iuse the Conjunction point to mark the

zero-degrees Capricorn point. I placethe zero-degrees Aries point at the 90-degree or Waxing Square point andhere is my reasoning. I gave some otherreasoning above, but this may helpexplain my positioning. You mention thatyou use the 90-degree waxing square tomark the Cancer point equivalent. Ireserve this for the Opposition, which isthe greatest extension or density point.

Since the synodic cycle is 360 degrees

and there is an inner hemisphere from270-degrees through the zero orConjunction point and on around to 90-degrees…. And an outer hemispherefrom 90-degrees through the Oppositionand to the 270-degree point, I associatethe inner hemisphere with internal orinner issues and the outer hemispherewith outer or public issues in the synodiccycle.

The point where we go from the innerhemisphere to outer is similar to theAscendant, where something rises up. Ifind that the Ascendant and Zero Ariespoint correspond to the that 90-degreepoint AND all of the other points makesense to me. You mark that same pointas corresponding to Cancer.

I have given you my reasons for liningup the cycle correspondences as I do.Perhaps you could give me yourreasons.

- Michael Erlewine

an introduction to full-phase aspects

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