Quincunxes and Semi-sextiles: The Relationship of Non-relationship

I like to call quincunxes and semi-sextiles the Post-Modern aspects in Astrology. That’s because they describe the relationship of non-relationship. Planets that quincunx or semi-sextile neither love or hate; they’re not indifferent nor do they identify. Separated by 30 degrees (a semi-sextile) or 150 degrees (a quincunx) planets in these signs either don’t “see” or “get” one another, but rather than dismiss each other outright, the planets will struggle to find a fit. The planets will never find that fit, but they won’t give up trying either. And this is what makes them different than the Ptolemaic aspects. The Ptolemaic aspects settle into grooves; ways of relating that are knowable and comfortable like a conjunction, opposition, square, trine and sextile. Quincunxes and semi-sextiles are regarded as problematic because they are “unrelatable”, yet they can be enormously creative and improvisational as long as you’re open to the idea that they will…