30 Degrees of Separation - The Semi-Sextile

There's little I can write about in astrology that I haven't written about before, at least once during my many years of blogging. While preparing a weekend post, I began scribbling about the semi-sextile, referred to a piece by astrologer Donna Cunningham....then took a quick look back at my archived posts. Lo and behold - I'd written about this in the past - in 2014. Ah well, waste not want not. I shall simply link to the old post and include under the link the additional words I'd already written before discovering my earlier work. The old post has some interesting comments attached too, by the way.

In a Minor Key - The semi-sextile (2014)


(Today)

Something I read at Quora had me perusing my own natal chart - I do so rarely these days. I then clicked around Google quickly and happened upon a piece by Donna Cunningham.

From Is the semi-sextile a good aspect or a bad one?
by Donna Cunningham.

Snips -

Have you read or been taught much about the semi-sextile? I’m guessing that you haven’t—in most astrology writings, it tends to get shrugged off as a minor aspect after a half-hearted sentence or two of description. It’s a 30° aspect, plus or minus 2-3°. For instance, a planet in Aries may form a semi-sextile to a planet at approximately the same degree of either of the two adjacent signs, Pisces or Taurus...........

.........The good traits of one of the signs can usually offset the less than wonderful traits of the other, especially if we learn to use them consciously. I have several in my chart, and they tend to pull me back off the ledge when I’m about to bungee dive into the worst qualities of the signs involved.

I'm most aware of one prominent semi-sextile in my own natal chart: Sun at 6+Aquarius/Jupiter at 6+ Pisces. I like that one. Aquarius chases after logic, while Pisces chases imagination and dreams - the effort expended in maintaining a balance of the two helps make life interesting and satisfying.

I hadn't, until now, taken as much notice of two other semi-sextiles in my chart. Saturn and Uranus are semi-sextile within a degree, in Aries and Taurus respectively. Those are my Aquarius Sun's ruling planets (traditional and modern), and that semi-sextile does echo the feel of the Aquarius/Pisces semi-sextile: in a "stop-go" kind of way - Aries is spontaneous and quick, Taurus is traditional and steady. A feasible balance needs to be maintained, and it's not too difficult to do.

The third semi-sextile in my chart is between Mercury and Venus in Capricorn and Sagittarius respectively- not quite 2 degrees of difference in the semi-sextile. Again, here's that same flavour coming through "steady and careful as she goes" from Capricorn, but "get on the road now and go as far and fast as possible" from Sagittarius!

So, I've discovered what is a recognisable trait in my personality - recognisable to me anyway, only I know for sure what goes on within. There are three pieces of evidence of this trait in my chart. Knock-out fall-down fights of opposites are not a feature of these semi-sextiles, but gentle tussles between two subtly different sides of me, neither being too far beyond the pale to be blended together. One side wins sometimes, but the other side has been known to win equally often too.

For any stray passing reader with an interest in astrology and their natal chart to hand - take a look for any close semi-sextiles and discover how they fit in your own case. I'll finish today in the same way I ended my 2014 post:
"As always, personal experience is key to knowing how it (or anything) works for you."

In a Minor Key - the semi-sextile

In astrology there's seldom universal agreement about anything. The good news: it means the old doctrine is still a work in progress, nowhere near yet being chiseled in stone. The bad news: we can never be absolutely, 100%, sure of anything.

The semi-sextile, considered a minor aspect, is also a minor point of disagreement. Semi-sextile is a tight aspect of 30 degrees (not more than 1 or 2 degrees from that) between planets, which entails a link between neighbouring zodiac signs, which are usually quite different in nature, always different in element and quality. Some sources have the semi-sextile labelled as a minor "hard" aspect, others see it as being slightly helpful but less so than its cousin and big brother, sextile (60*) and trine (120*).

Numerous articles and explanations of the semi-sextile's potential in a natal chart are available on the net and in astrology text books. Personal experience: I have Sun in Aquarius exactly semi-sextile Jupiter in Pisces (6 degrees of each), also Saturn semi-sextile Uranus, at 12 and 13 degrees of Aries and Taurus respectively. Aquarius and Pisces, via Sun and Jupiter, get along rather well for me, I find. My natal Sun's modern ruler, Uranus, in semi-sextile to natal Sun's traditional ruler, Saturn perhaps assists, at times, in attempting to understand both sides of any old/new, trad/mod, change/status quo questions.

Brief extracts from a few astrologers' observations on the semi-sextile:

The Owl in the Moon blog begins a nice piece on semi-sextiles like this:

Many astrology students reasonably suggest that as the two planets are in signs with nothing in common, it makes sense that they do not 'get along'. However, their position as neighbours is a vital relationship. Also keep in mind that planets are neutral to each other, and all points need to be considered to discover how they will work together.

From Donna Cunningham at Skywriter:

Have you read or been taught much about the semi-sextile? I’m guessing that you haven’t—in most astrology writings, it tends to get shrugged off as a minor aspect after a half-hearted sentence or two of description. It’s a 30° aspect, plus or minus 2-3°. For instance, a planet in Aries may form a semi-sextile to a planet at approximately the same degree of either of the two adjacent signs, Pisces or Taurus.

The table below shows the pair of possible semi-sextiles for all 12 signs. Briefly, the aspect involves planets in neighboring signs. But are they good neighbors or bad? That is to say, are they harmonious or at odds, do they support each other or bicker, and do they bolster each other’s efforts or sabotage them?

My answer is: all of the above…depending on the signs and planets involved. There aren’t really any good or bad aspects, you know — just evolved and unevolved ways of using the two planets in the combination. The ultimate effect depends on the choices you make about how to use them at any given moment...............

From AdZe MiXXe's Angle on Aspects:

....A semi-sextile is somewhat comparable to the pearl within an oyster. The oyster itself is illusive and then once you have it you still have to dig to get the benefit. Semi-sextiles are receptive and internalizing. They often indicate latent abilities and require preparation. Planets in semi-sextile aspect help to clarify each other. Semi-sextiles help link the perimeter to the center. Energy and resources are attracted. Semi-sextiles require both worldly assets and spiritual goods. Often they can indicate the power of divination and subliminal influence. Higher consciousness is required to make effective use of this energy. Semi-sextiles resonate with Neptune, Mutable, Water and Pisces energy.

At The Inner Wheel Dawn Bodrogi has a slightly different way of putting it:

The semi-sextile is the nice, polite kid no one notices, until one day we start wondering who has been putting soap in the cat food and dropping Aunt Bessie’s jewelry down the toilet. Even then, his bigger, stroppier brothers, the quincunx and the square, get the blame, and all the while, while everyone’s back is turned, the semi-sextile grows up in the shadows and thinks up more clever and nefarious means to disrupt the flow. And he gets away with it. This is how Bond villains are created. The next thing you know, he’s threatening to take over the world (or at least, two planets in your chart).

As always, personal experience is key to knowing how it (or anything) works for you.