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Category: Stelliums

  • WTF is a Stellium in an Astrology Chart

    WTF is a Stellium in an Astrology Chart

    The idea for this entry came to me when I answered someone’s question on reddit about a stellium in their astrology chart. The question of “What is a stellium?”/“Do I have a stellium in my chart?”/“Tell me about my stellium!” seems to get asked a lot. Whether I’m being asked about this directly when reading a client’s chart, or if I just notice people asking these questions on forums (like reddit) as I creep in the shadows and answer questions (hahahaha!), it seems like everyone has questions about WTF is a stellium even is in the first place. But….astrologers can’t really seem to come to a consensus as to what exactly constitutes one. This is probably because there are many different ways to read a chart (and many different schools of astrological thought to practice from). Over 30 years of being a student of the discipline and 7 years of being a professional astrologer have caused me to come up with my own “guidelines” for reading a stellium in an astrology chart, and “rules” for deciding what constitutes a stellium in the first place. But before we get to all that, first a bit of pertinent information:

    WTF is a stellium, anyway? It is a massive group of planetary/celestial body energy (either 3 or more OR 4 or more) in an astrology chart in one location (such as having 4 planets in the 11th House). All of the planets might be in one house or sign, or the planets may cross over into two signs and/or two houses. Depending on the astrologer that you’re talking to/listening to/reading their work, some won’t count a bunch of planets/celestial bodies as a stellium if all the planets aren’t in the same sign and/or house.

    Side note: Have a stellium in your chart and want to know WTF it means? Or would you like some other kind of astrology reading? Get a reading from me here! Also, if you are more of a watcher than a reader, video incoming below:

    And with all that said, let’s begin with my guidelines for what counts as a stellium in an astrology chart:

    1. If there are only 3 planets in conjunction with one another, and two of those planets are the Sun and Mercury, I wouldn’t consider it a stellium. Reason for this being that the Sun and Mercury are usually quite close together anyway (Mercury’s maximum distance from the Sun is 28°). If the Sun and Mercury are two of the planets in a stellium, I would want to see 4 planets clustered together.
    *Example 1: The Sun @ 3° Virgo, Mercury @ 5° Virgo , Mars @ 6° Virgo, and Saturn @ 8° Virgo WOULD be a stellium.
    *Example 2: The Sun @ 3° Virgo, Mars @ 6° Virgo, and Saturn @ 8° Virgo WOULD be a stellium.
    *Example 3: The Sun @ 3° Virgo, Mercury @ 5° Virgo , and Mars @ 6° Virgo WOULD NOT be a stellium.
    (^^^ It’s still really important in the chart, though, since it is a triple conjunction.)

    2. When I look at stelliums, personally they don’t all have to be within a 10 degree orb in total, but each planet has to be within 5-degrees of the next one in line (for the Sun and the Moon, I will sometimes widen the orb to 7°). For instance: Venus @ 3° 33′ Sagittarius, Jupiter @ 8° 12′ Sagittarius, and the Sun @ 15° 04′ Sagittarius. Even though Venus and the Sun are out of the 10 degree orb, they are linked by Jupiter in the middle. 

    3. Sometimes I will consider the North Node as part of a stellium if it falls somewhere in the middle of the stellium/all the planetary energy. If it falls as either the first or last planet in the stellium, then I usually don’t count it as part of it. Though that also really depends on the whole chart. I would definitely need to see 3 other planets with the North Node involved to count it as a stellium.
    *Really, in the case of the nodal axis I would be MUCH more focused on why (from an evolutionary standpoint) this person came into this incarnation lacking familiarity with so much planetary energy. That’s a whole other animal, though.

    4. Some people don’t like to count the major angles as part of a stellium situation. Really, for me, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I will ALWAYS count an angle in a stellium if the planetary ruler of the angle is involved in said stellium. I don’t believe that they should be disregarded here. If I was counting a major angle as part of a stellium, I would want to see 3 planets around it forming a stellium.

    5. Some astrologers feel that in order for something to be a stellium, all the planetary/celestial energy has to fall in one house of the natal chart, or in one sign. Some are okay with the energy falling in different signs as long as they all fall in the same house. Some are okay with the energy falling in different houses as long as they all fall in the same sign. And some, like yours truly, are okay with the possibility of a stellium straddling different houses and/or different signs. We are such complex beings that it seems like it would shortchange the person on the quest to better understand themselves to not consider something a stellium just because the planetary energy straddles two houses and/or two signs.
    *The stellium will be strongest if it happens to take place in the same sign and house. The stellium is weakened when it happens to straddle two signs and/or two houses.

    6. The best way that I have found to read a stellium in a natal chart is to first start by reading them as a series of conjunctions within the AREAS OF LIFE (house) that they play out and HOW in the manner of the sign that they fall. If the luminaries (the Sun and/or the Moon) are part of the stellium, I would start with one of those first and the planets that they conjunct. If neither of the luminaries exist, I would then look for the tightest conjunction between two planets and start there. Once you have a firm grasp on the energies that the series of conjunctions bring to the table, you can then merge those different planetary conjunctions together to give you a good idea of what the stellium in question might mean for the person.

    7. The generational planets (and slightly slower moving planets like Saturn) can be involved in a stellium, but a clusterfuck of generational/slower moving planets (like Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn all on top of each other in 1989) are not a stellium. THIS is called a SUPER-CONJUNCTION (or triple conjunction) and is not the same as a stellium. The reason it is not the same thing as a stellium is because these planets are slower moving so many people born under a certain generational super-conjunction will come under this super-conjunction influence.

    8. Since stelliums are such a massive amount of energy in one house, sometimes all that energy can be confusing and can cause some issues within the chart holder. If there are any issues to work out, one of the best ways to work them out (if possible) is to channel that energy into the opposite house (which generally gets neglected somewhat in this situation since the stellium puts so much focus on the house it is in). The only time this wouldn’t be applicable is if there is a stellium in the polar house as well (such as having stelliums in the 3rd and the 9th houses), or just having multiple planets in the polar/opposite house. 

    Disclaimer: I am not saying that I am unequivocally right here, these guidelines just work for me (and have for a very long time), and I figured that if they work and resonate for me then they might work and resonate with someone else as well. That’s the only reason I figured I’d throw my hat in the “WTF is a stellium” ring here. It really all boils down to how someone feels about a particular chart while they’re reading it. No right or wrong answer here 🙂

  • What the hell orb should I use? And when? And why?

    What the hell orb should I use? And when? And why?

    **I know this post deviates quite a bit from the out of bounds stuff I was talking about last week. I’m not through there at all, but the topic of orbs has come up many times on the forums that I creep on (and answer questions), and it struck me that this would make a good post.**

    What is an orb exactly you may be asking? An orb is how close together planets are in aspect in a natal chart (or any kind of chart, really). Why are they important? The tighter the orb between two planets, the more that particular energy may manifest in the person’s life. Which ones to look at first? I generally like to look at the orbs between the aspects made by the luminaries and the chart ruler (ruler of the Ascendant) first. An example of an aspect’s orb from my own chart can be found in the pictures below. In the first picture, circled in purple, you can see the conjunction between Pluto and Mercury in Scorpio in the 11th at about a 5 degree or so orb. The second picture is of the different aspects in the chart. You will notice next to the little symbols in the boxes there is also a number. That number is the orb between the aspects.

    In purple: Conjunction between Pluto and Mercury at a 5 degree or so orb in Scorpio in the 11th.
    In Black: You can see where the Pluto and Mercury conjunction appears, with the orb “5”

    Different astrologers have different ways of reading charts and reading the orbs made between planetary aspects. Some use a 10 degree orb across the board, and some use a slightly larger orb or slightly more narrow orb all the time. Some open that orb up somewhat for certain planets and narrow it some for others. I tend not to think anyone is wrong in this regard; it really all comes from personal experience and what just “feels” right to the astrologer. For me personally, it does depend on the feel of the entire chart somewhat, but I do have some “guidelines” that I generally follow. They are as follows (for a Natal Chart):

    No.1 – I tend to go by the 10 degree orb rule for aspects between the planets, luminaries, and Chiron. This has just always felt right to me personally. Every once in a while I *may* open this orb just a touch if the luminaries are involved in some capacity, but then I will only usually open it to 12 degrees. Also, when I open this orb slightly, this part of the chart really needs to be “speaking” to me in someway, for some reason.
    No.2-For aspects made to the North and South Nodes by the planets and Chiron, I really don’t like to go above a 5 or 6 degree orb. This is because the North and South Nodes aren’t even real celestial bodies but hypothetical points.
    No.3– For asteroid aspects, regardless of what the asteroid is making an aspect with, I really like to keep these even tighter, usually in the 3 degree range (though depending on what planetary body is involved, this orb may end up widened to 4 or 5 degrees).
    No.4-For me to count a fixed star aspect, regardless of what the fixed star is making an aspect with, these orbs have to be really fucking tight, like an orb 1 – 1 1/2 degrees (maybe 2 degrees if the connection seems really outstanding due to other factors in the chart). This is because fixed stars don’t move around and are always found in the same location in everyone’s chart. An example is Algol, which is always at 26 Taurus.
    No.5-As far as orbs having to do with a Stellium (and what a Stellium is), I have another post on this for your reading pleasure.

    I also have a few different guidelines for different types of charts, as you will see below:
    **For Transit Charts, I do use the same guidelines for orbs listed above for the Natal Chart, but I use them slightly differently. For planet to planet connections, I use the 5 degrees before the transit planet becomes in exact aspect with the natal planet (ascending), and the 5 degrees after becoming exact (descending). For example, if you have your natal Moon at 20 Libra, transit Pluto would be considered to be in opposition anywhere from 15 to 25 Aries. And with the transits, the more exact the orb, the more the particular transit will be felt (usually).
    **For Synastry Charts, I use the same ascending and descending orb mentioned above, but I really like synastry aspects to be a little tighter. I usually will only go to a 10 degree orb with the luminaries, around 7-8 degrees for the planets and Chiron, with the Nodes, Asteroids, and Fixed Stars remaining the same.
    **For the Composite Chart (midpoint method), I really like to see even tighter aspects (since this chart is based off of the midpoints between both people’s charts). For the luminaries I usually try to keep it an 8 degree orb, and for the planets and Chiron I try to stay around a 5 or 6 degree orb. I like to keep the aspects made to the Nodes at 4 to 5 degrees. With fixed stars, I really want them between a 0 and 1 degree orb, and for asteroids, around 2 degrees is good with me.
    **I tend to keep the aspect’s orbs the same as the Natal Chart ones when reading Draconic Charts…..since it is essentially a type of natal chart itself, just the chart of the soul across all incarnations (in this dimension, in this plane. I won’t go into what I mean about that right now. That’s another post for another day). For even more reading pleasure, here is my post on Draconic Charts.

    Just thought I’d throw my own hat in the ring on this subject. What rules for orbs do you personally go by, and why?