Again, if we take Mars as the senses and Venus as the soul, when they are in conjunction and Venus is the stronger by sign, as in the earthly or airy triplicity, the soul will control and refine the senses and will gain in feeling and emotion; but if they are in a fiery or watery sign there will be more danger of the senses and passions enslaving the soul. Jupiter may be taken as the higher mind, sympathy, benevolence, and growth; Saturn as the lower mind, separateness, caution, and limitation; and if these are in conjunction in the watery or fiery triplicity, which strengthens Jupiter’s influence, the former characteristics will overpower the latter and will gain by the process in definiteness, practical application, method, perseverance, and will power; while if Saturn is the stronger through being placed in the airy or earthy triplicity, the combination will show less of the elasticity and expansiveness of Jupiter and more of the rigidity and contraction of Saturn.
DIAGRAM No. 6
If the reader acquires a thorough familiarity with the nature of the planets, it will not be a difficult matter to see how the one must modify the other when any two are in combination; and the result may be expressed either in terms of fate or in terms of character, for these are really convertible as has been explained before.
The Parallel of Declination is generally regarded as the same In nature as the conjunction. When, however, two planets are in parallel and in some definite aspect at the same time, it is best in practice to interpret the combination in terms of the aspect. whatever it may be good or bad. If there is no aspect, the parallel may be treated as a conjunction, but it will not be so strong, and will act rather as an inclining than a determining influence.
The remaining aspects in the table, it will be seen, are all definitely good or bad, and not variable like the conjunction and parallel.
The Good Aspects are all based upon a threefold division of the circle of the zodiac, as in Diagram 6. Thus the trine, 120°, is a third of the circle, the sextile, 60°, is half a trine, and the semi-sextile, 30°, half a sextile.
The Evil Aspects represent the circle halved or quartered, as in Diagram 7. Thus the opposition, 180°, is half the circle, the square, 90°, is a quarter of the circle, and the semi-square, 45°, and sesquiquadrate, 135°, are respectively half a square and a square and a half.
DIAGRAM NO. 7
The question is certain to be asked here as to why the threefold and fourfold divisions of the circle should be the one good and the other evil? If a given planet, say Jupiter, is on the whole more good than evil, so far as its influence upon the inhabitants of this earth is concerned, why, even when it is in square to a given point in the horoscope, should its good side be entirely suppressed and only its evil side be allowed to manifest, so far as that point is concerned?
The question is not at all an easy one to answer, and we can do little more than indicate analogies. The religious philosophy of the mystic assures us that there is a basic three-fold mode of operation underlying the whole universe, and that it can be stated in terms of consciousness and in terms of force working through matter. The former aspect of it is seen in the continually recurring doctrine of the divine Trinity found in nearly all religions; and the latter side in the Hindu teaching as to the “three qualities” or modes of operation of force when involved in matter and termed Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. If, then, three is the basic number underlying, permeating, creating and sustaining the whole universe, the astrological doctrine of the harmonious nature of those aspects based upon a three-fold division of the zodiac, falls into line with this general philosophy of things. We are apparently justified in conjecturing that the angle of 120° harmonises with the material constitution of the solar system and with the modes of operation of vitality, consciousness and force. The evil aspects are based upon a wholly different mode of vibration, and start from numbers two and four instead of number three. It is philosophically impossible to suppose that there is such a thing as radical evil anywhere, evil deliberately planned and worked into the universal scheme of things by the Creator. All the evil we know of or can imagine is the result either of ignorance or of distorted free-will, which itself perhaps is only another name for a higher form of ignorance. Good is harmony, evil is discord. In music, two notes harmonise if their vibrations accord with one another; and if they do not, discord is the result. We seem, therefore, bound to suppose that aspects based upon the square represent clash, conflict and discord; and that the soul which finds itself surrounded by forces working in this fashion has itself created the discord from which it is now suffering. The effect, although temporarily painful, is spiritually good, because the soul learns by its own experience to distinguish between that which will produce discord and that which will produce harmony; so that the clash and conflict of opposition end in wisdom.
This may be illustrated in practical Astrology. The opposition aspect is when two planets are situated at exactly opposite points in the zodiac. Let us suppose that these are Venus and Mars. In this case the soul and the senses will be at war and the person will suffer. He will find it a hard task to preserve a straight course morally through life; his passions will be continually overstepping the bounds of moderation, especially in the direction of sex. When he truly realises this, and that it is a highly undesirable phase of character, he will have made a big step in the knowledge of the difference between good and evil, wisdom and foolishness. But mere knowledge will not of itsel suffice to undo the harm done; action, will, is necessary. A strong will may gradually rein in the runaway passions, and the knowledge acquired will direct them into the right path. This may take a lifetime or even more to accomplish, but the result is good, doubly good indeed, for there is an increase of wisdom and a greatly increased strength of will brought out by the continual effort at self-control. If Venus is elevated or is otherwise the stronger of the two, the task will be rather easier than it otherwise would be.
All oppositions, and in fact all evil aspects, may be resolved along somewhat similar lines to the foregoing. In some, such as Saturn afflicting Jupiter, it is partly selfishness and partly lack of practical ability that has to be got rid of. In all those in which Mars is one of the two, trouble will arise from an excess of energy, a lack of gentleness or prudence or of consideration for others, in those matters that are signified by the other planet. When Mercury is one of the two, the reason will be at fault; as, for instance, when Mercury opposes Jupiter, intellect and emotion clash at times and trouble will be brought about by action based upon impulse, although that impulse might be highly creditable if it were controlled by common-sense. And here, as elsewhere, the particular shade of the misfortune will depend upon which of the two is the stronger or higher up in the horoscope. With Venus it is the emotions, affections, and social qualities that contribute to the trouble and that need regulation. With the Sun it may be pride that has to be restrained, or the laws of health that must be studied and obeyed. With the Moon it may again be the bodily health that will cause trouble, or the mind may be wrongly impressionable in some direction, or the psychic and mediumistic side of the nature lacks control.
Along these lines of tendencies of character nearly all Astrology may be interpreted, that which centres round the good aspects—which will here represent balanced and wise phases of character—as well as that resulting from the evil ones—which stand for excess or defect. The planets may thus be looked upon as faculties or powers in human nature, and good or bad aspects as men’s wise or foolish use of them—their virtues and vices, in short. That these are innate in the character and date back to birth shows, not that this view is unsound, but that the real origin of tendencies resulting in such aspects must be traced back beyond birth to a previous state of existence.