In my quest to refine how I use atrobot for my astrology practice, I’ve explored the ‘strict’ orbs setting, and decided i really like it. Precision and very tight allowances in the degrees mean no massive clutter of lines that’s hard to read, yet I can still have the sorts of aspects I want to have. Take, for example, this chart.

All the whole number aspects are here, and there are examples of them all visible! Septiles and noviles, quintiles and semi-squares, oh my. I am loving using the less common aspects, and teasing out what they do and what they mean.

Pluto remains retrograde in Capricorn, but we should get used to that, it’s gonna be that way for a while. It’s semi-square to the asteroid Juno in Pisces, 44 degrees between them. In terms of their movement, Pluto is moving clockwise in the sky, Juno anti-clockwise, so they’re rapidly drawing apart (for certain values of ‘rapid’), but will move into an even tighter semi-square as they do so. Earth and water, the elements of the signs, play very well together; Pluto in an earth sign is a little uncomfortable, while Juno in a water sign gets along swimingly. So we can combine all that and say that the Juno energy in this aspect is slightly stronger and more forward than the Pluto.

The semi-square is what you get when you divide the circle by 8. We can look at the numerology of 8s for insight, as well as 2 and 4. Where 2 tends to be balance, 4 is solidity and structure; 8 begins to break the structure down, from a pure square to a rectangle, and brings versatility as well as a grounded strength to bear. You can easily think of a semi-square as half a square, or as a square with options. Tension still exists, but it’s easier, and more mutable.

Juno semi-square Pluto brings Juno’s relationship focus and Pluto’s obscure and hidden vibe into productive tension. This is good energy for exploring your relationships, and pulling little issues out for examination. Mind the Pluo trine to Mercury, both retrograde, and remember that you might be moved to blurt out some secrets about your relationships!

Let’s look at Ceres and Eris. I bet you don’t see those in your average astrology chart!

We’ve got Ceres at 6 degrees Cancer quintile to Eris at 24 degrees Aries. Let’s unpack.

A quintile is what you get when you divide the circle by 5, 72 degrees apart, and in this case, exactly that! Fives are all about creativity, motion, change, and getting out there. It’s active, moving, the energy between the points of a quintile has to move, because stagnation is anathema to this aspect.

Ceres in Cancer is a happy happy asteroid! Well, actually, it’s not just an asteroid, it’s a dwarf planet, or planetoid, and while seated in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, it composes 1/3 the total mass of the belt itself!

Eris is also a planetoid, and very recently discovered at that. Eris has a very erratic orbit way out beyond Pluto’s orbit, and takes 558 years to complete an orbit of the Sun.

Ceres rules nurturing relationships, and Eris rules over disagreement and strife, and change. Keeping in mind that Venus recently entered Aries, which it likes a whole lot more than Pisces, and that your desire for relationships and sex may be popping a bit, I bet you can guess what Ceres quintile Eris is gonna do for you.

Say goodbye to relationships that don’t feed and nurture you! Farewell bad sex, lack of consent, and otherwise bland, flavorless, boring relationships. This is the time to spice things up, grab that Eris destruction urge and cultivate it to your benefit. What in your relationships serve you, and what no longer brings you excitement? If you’re in a good relationship and want to keep it, aim the Eris vibe with that quintile hatred of boring stagnation towards something you’d like to shake up in the relationship. Need to make a change? This is the vibe to do it within.