posted October 01, 2015 04:21 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Gemini Blues:
Ah, orbs. Everyone has their opinions

I use a 1-3-5 rule.

1° or less: This is a core aspect and colors the chart. Enen areas unrelated to the two planets involved are viewed through the filter of this aspect.

3° or less: This is a greater aspect. Its influence is felt in the areas indicated at all times.

5° or less: This is a lesser aspect. It's influence will depend on other factors. When a third planet, be it natal, transit, progressed, or synastry, aspects both planets with a 3° or less orb, the influence will increase such as to be felt as a greater aspect.

My $0.02

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Your approach is similar to mine. When I first started studying astrology, I went way wider with orbs, but as I studied and learned more, then precision took on greater importance. I wanted to clear through the clutter and tighter orbs help do that.

Ceri was actually a huge influence on me in that regard. Her consistent emphasis on tight orbs and her great posts pointing out how they make sense astronomically, have convinced me that it's best to keep orbs tight.

So, now, I have a basic good, better, best rule of thumb with orbs:

Good - 0°-3°
Better - 0°-2°
Best - 0°-1°

Those are the orbs I focus on in charts, but I will count wider orbs if they have something special about them. If an aspect with a wider orb is part of a Double Whammy that both people share, or if it's part of a geometric configuration like a stellium, kite, grand cross, etc. then I'll count it.

I also will count slightly wider orbs if the planets are in very tight parallel, c.parallel, or are antiscia or c.antiscia, or make key connections to the draconic chart of either person.

I think we get better results overall when we take a holistic approach and factor in all the different layered connections an aspect makes when deciding whether or not to widen the orb.

posted October 01, 2015 05:11 AM              

While it is important to have at least a few tight orbs in every relationship chart, they are not everything. In my experience with charts, what matters is to have the right geometrical aspects and as many aspects as possible (everything connected with everything). You will notice a good connected synastry has the planets positioned strategically so that they can capture as many aspects as possible with the other's chart: some will be tight, some will be wide, they are equally important in the architecture of the chart IF the synastry is connected as a whole.

To give an example, someone's Venus conj the other's Sun by 6 deg. If it had been closer, it wouldn't have captured 3 additional aspects, let's say a sextile with an outer planet, a midpoint tightening the square for the other and a perfect quintile. So the 6 deg orb is actually ideal for the other's chart and the relationship (not an exact conjunction)

Another important fact: good synastres DO have most aspects around 5 and at least half of them between 0-3 anyway; and everything is connected to everything on several levels: latitudinal, longitudinal, antiscia, house charts, duads, draco, sign/house symbolism etc. However, chart analysis is not successful IMO if we're just listing exact orbs, and just counting those and discarding strategically positioned planets chops up the complex architecture in there and doesn't offer the right picture of the relationship.

NOTE: the tight layer usually manifests instantly and gets people together, the wider layer is the second and third wave so to speak, and contributes to the two people staying together for a long time. BUT we need both. A synastry that has only 5 exact aspects and the rest is off is what I call a focal synastry; it's a synastry bringing a lesson rather than a relationship; a synastry with just scattered wide disconnected orbs probably won't happen in the first place, people won't get together.

Also, it is important to consider something we've discussed with Ceri last week: the orb in the natal synastry creates a "timing" in progressions; if it's too tight, the opportunity may be missed, if it's too wide, the same; it just has to be on the best spot for best results, and best spot is not 0 deg orb; behind a connected synastry, you will notice subsequent waves of aspects coming into orb with progressions, telling the story of the couple: when they met, when they got together, when they became parents etc.
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I seem to have loved you in numberless forms...

AstroMandala

posted October 01, 2015 07:41 AM              

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gemini Blues:
Ah, orbs. Everyone has their opinions

I use a 1-3-5 rule.

1° or less: This is a core aspect and colors the chart. Enen areas unrelated to the two planets involved are viewed through the filter of this aspect.

3° or less: This is a greater aspect. Its influence is felt in the areas indicated at all times.

5° or less: This is a lesser aspect. It's influence will depend on other factors. When a third planet, be it natal, transit, progressed, or synastry, aspects both planets with a 3° or less orb, the influence will increase such as to be felt as a greater aspect.

My $0.02

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posted October 01, 2015 07:43 AM              

quote:

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Originally posted by Wild Horses:
Your approach is similar to mine. When I first started studying astrology, I went way wider with orbs, but as I studied and learned more, then precision took on greater importance. I wanted to clear through the clutter and tighter orbs help do that.

Ceri was actually a huge influence on me in that regard. Her consistent emphasis on tight orbs and her great posts pointing out how they make sense astronomically, have convinced me that it's best to keep orbs tight.

So, now, I have a basic good, better, best ruler of thumb with orbs:

Good - 0°-3°
Better - 0°-2°
Best - 0°-1°

Those are the orbs I focus on in charts, but I will count wider orbs if they have something special about them. If an aspect with a wider orb is part of a Double Whammy that both people share, or if it's part of a geometric configuration like a stellium, kite, grand cross, etc. then I'll count it.

I also will count slightly wider orbs if the planets are in very tight parallel, c.parallel, or are antiscia or c.antiscia, or make key connections to the draconic chart of either person.

I think we get better results overall when we take a holistic approach and factor in all the different layered connections an aspect makes when deciding whether or not to widen the orb.

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posted March 24, 2019 06:22 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by woah city:
i'm most interested in the orbs considered too wide in a relationship chart (ie the time you first get together). is nine degrees way too wide or what? what orb do you typically use?

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Yes, way too wide. Composite charts are made from mid-points, not the actual positions of planets. So the orbs of influence are tightened to about 5° max for major aspects of longitude.

quote:

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Originally posted by Bismarck2:
What about quintiles, noviles, septiles? Also, what about asteroids?

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The orbs are tighter for the reasons stated above.

This thread belongs in Interpersonal Astrology. I'm moving it there.

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"Drift like a cloud and flow like water, seeing that all life is a magnificent illusion, a playing of energy, and there is absolutely nothing fundamentally to be afraid of." -- Alan Watts