GUIDE TO PLANETARY ASPECTS: UNDERSTANDING THE QUALITIES OF PLANETARY ASPECTS
While planetary aspects are basic to astrological study, the focus is often on teaching the mechanics rather than how they shed light on interpretation.  An aspect from the Moon is connected to desire while an aspect from Venus may suggest love of something. We all need to learn to be more specific in our language when describing what planetary glances mean.
In reality, aspects matter if they are about 5 degrees otherwise the wider orb has a more minor influence. While Vedic astrology teaches that the aspect will impact the whole house (which is true) in reality it is more meaningful within a 5 degree orb. Hence  Saturn opposing Mars is much more of a problem if Saturn is at 10 Sagittarius and Mars is anywhere between 5-15 degrees Gemini but if Mars is at 28 Gemini then is a wide angle.
Below are some of the meanings of aspects and the desires that they create as suggested by the nature of the planet. Special thanks for these insights to Sanjay Rath.
Here is a quick summary of the types of desires involved:
Sun: Desires related to soul, career, good fortune, father and that which we consider worth living for. Sun aspects are not malefic but creates burning, cruelty, selfishness and egotistical acts.
Moon: Desires mind, family, home, mother, obsessions of the mind.
Mars: Desires conflict, power, ambition, property, siblings — that which is worth fighting for. Mars aspects cause fighting, debts, fires and accidents when Mars is afflicted but when Mars is strong, it may bring out the highest aspect of the fighter to serve, protect society and country.
Mercury: Desires speech, communication, learning, profession, wealth, friends and relatives. Mercury aspects show what one wants to learn and understand.
Jupiter: Aspects indicate desires for knowledge, good fortune, spirituality, values, children, teachers or gurus. Jupiter aspects show what one values and respects.
Venus: Aspects show desires for love, enjoyment, sex, comforts and relationships to beloveds, wife and sisters.
Saturn: Aspects indicate desires related to one’s weaknesses, blocks, suffering and hard work. Saturn aspects cause weakness, suffering, poverty and illness.
Rahu: (North Node) Aspects indicate desires for enjoyment, manipulation, and ambition. Rahu causes shocks, cheating and losses. Most people do not know that Rahu has a sneaky 30 degrees or 2nd house aspect on planets from itself aside from its trinal aspects. (A Rahu aspect the 1st, 5th, 9th from itself and also has the sneaky 30-degree aspect as stated above)
Ketu: (South Node) Does not have desires so he has no aspects. Many think the trinal aspects are important within 2-3 degrees and they are because that would create a conjunction in the D-9 or navamsha chart and have an important impact in creating deep past life regrets, past life karma or creates a black hole with the planet that is being affected. (Ketu has no aspects)
BENEFIC ASPECTS: JUPITER, VENUS AND MERCURY
Benefic aspects from Jupiter, Venus and a benefic Mercury create positive experiences and malefic aspects create unhappy experiences. The planet(s) house, sign and Nakshatra placement is the storage container where the karma is kept and shows the nature of desire.
For example, Venus in Virgo, in the 3rd house, a house of Kama and passions would have a strong stored up energy for sexual desire. Its aspects on the 9th house of Pisces, ruled by Jupiter, would possibly indicate, especially with Jupiter’s placement, a sexual relationship with a teacher or Guru, assuming Venus has additional malefic energy besides the highly charged sexual energy of Virgo.
In general, the benefic planets (Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury) create good desires:
Venus: show what we love or desire and what we love, we wish to possess. Venus aspecting the 2nd house may show what we love to eat or its aspects on the 12th house show that we love foreign travel or ashrams or even our love of sleep. Venus usually shows love of material possessions such as cars, houses and dresses so Venus in the 4th house will create love of beautiful and luxurious homes. Venus always aspects the 7th house from itself so it always creates a desire to find a partner and love in our life. Venus aspecting the 9th will show a great love of father and Guru.
Mercury: provides informational reconnaissance to provide knowledge and learning about something. Mercury is the student ready to learn and wherever his aspects land is where he desires knowledge. It creates a place for our favorite subject of learning. So, Mercury aspecting the 12th house will create a desire to study spirituality, and meditation. A Mercury aspect or association with the Moon will create a desire to study psychology and the nature of the human mind. A person with Mercury aspecting Rahu might desire to study viruses or specific diseases. Rahu in the 8th house may have a strong desire to study astrology if it is connected to a Mercury ruled house like Gemini or Virgo. (You get the idea).
Jupiter: shows all the good karma that we have done and remind us that when we continue to do charity, service and philanthropy in this life, we create new karma for the future. Jupiter’s aspects show that which we value in life and that which we respect. Jupiter can purify any area that his aspects touch. One will value whatever houses Jupiter touches, so Jupiter in the 1st house, aspecting the 7th is a wonderful placement for relationships where one values, honors and treasures, the spouse. Whatever planets Jupiter aspects, he will honor and value. Jupiter aspecting Saturn will lead one to honor and respect his employees and Jupiter aspecting Mars will mean that he will honor soldiers and policeman and treat his enemies with dignity. Jupiter aspecting Venus means he will honor his spouse and have great value for her.
Note: Most of you know that Jupiter aspects the 1st, 5th and 9th house from itself and Mars the 4th, 7th and 8th house from itself and Saturn the 3rd, 7th and the 10th house from itself. Other planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury) the 7th house from itself but most of us do not think about the qualities that the planets create through their glances or that the energy that they throw is really dependent on being 3-5 degrees in conjunction or in aspect to have a major impact. There are also Rashi Aspects from House to House but that is another complicated topic for another article.
Special thanks to Sanjay Rath and Zoran Radosavljevic for their insights on this material.
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