Grand sextile in astrology: six planets in sextile

A grand sextile is a configuration of six planets standing evenly around the chart wheel, 60° from one another. Each planet is in sextile to its two neighbours, in trine to the next two and in opposition to the one across the circle. On the wheel the figure looks like a six-pointed star made of two overlapping triangles, which is why it is also called the Star of David. It is the rarest of the known configurations.

How the figure is built

Place six points every 60°: 0°, 60°, 120°, 180°, 240° and 300°. Neighbouring points are in sextile, six sextiles in all. Points one apart form two grand trines: 0°-120°-240° and 60°-180°-300°. Opposite points form three oppositions.

Altogether the figure holds fifteen aspects: six sextiles, six trines and three oppositions. A grand sextile contains every harmonious figure covered in this section: two grand trines, six kites and three mystic rectangles. That is why it is sometimes described as the summit of the harmonious configurations.

Polarity and elements

A sextile links signs of the same polarity, so in a classic grand sextile all six planets sit in signs of one polarity. There are only two options:

Fire and air: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius.
Earth and water: Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces.

So a classic grand sextile occupies all six signs of one polarity, one planet in each. One of its grand trines sits in one element, the other in the second.

Why the figure is so rare

A grand sextile needs six planets, and all fifteen aspects must fall within orb. Six of the ten classical planets must stand exactly 60° apart, while Mercury and Venus never stray far from the Sun: Mercury no more than about 28°, Venus no more than about 47°. So of the Sun, Mercury and Venus at most two can take part in a grand sextile, and the remaining positions fall to the Moon, Mars and the slower planets.

In practice the figure is found more often when the Ascendant, the MC, the Node or Chiron are counted alongside the planets. It is more honest, though, to call such a figure a grand sextile with the angles or with the Node: without them it is not there. As with other configurations, exact angles require an exact birth time.

Orbs for a grand sextile

Each of the fifteen sides must fit the orb of its aspect, and the tightest of them are the sextiles, usually 4-6°. Errors accumulate: if each of the six neighbouring pairs drifts a few degrees the same way, opposite points no longer stand in opposition. So most astrologers accept a grand sextile only with tight orbs, and a figure where every sextile is at the edge of orb is more a set of separate aspects. General approaches are described on the orbs page.

How to read a grand sextile

A grand sextile is described as a figure of great potential in which every part of the chart is linked to the others. The two grand trines provide resources, the sextiles around the edge open opportunities, and the three oppositions keep those resources from stagnating: they set the axes along which the person acts. Compared with a single grand trine, which easily goes unused, a grand sextile has a built-in engine.

The order of reading:

Two trines. First read each grand trine as a whole: element, planets, houses. These are the two resources the figure is made of.
Three axes. The oppositions show what the person balances between. The most important axis is the one holding a luminary or the ruler of the Ascendant.
The weakest side. The widest aspect in the figure shows where it works least well. If that aspect is at the edge of orb, treat the figure with caution.

Like any harmonious figure, a grand sextile does not guarantee an easy life. It describes a chart in which the functions are well coordinated, and how much the person makes of that cannot be read from the figure.

A hypothetical example with degrees

Take a chart with the Sun at 10° Gemini, the Moon at 12° Leo, Mars at 9° Libra, Jupiter at 11° Sagittarius, Saturn at 8° Aquarius and Uranus at 13° Aries.

Neighbouring pairs are in sextile with orbs from 2° to 5°: the widest is between Saturn and Uranus.
The Sun, Mars and Saturn form an air grand trine; the Moon, Jupiter and Uranus a fire one.
Three oppositions: the Sun and Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn, Mars and Uranus, with orbs from 1° to 4°.

All six signs are fire or air. The air trine describes thinking, connections and words, the fire trine enthusiasm and action. The axes between them show what the person seeks balance in: Sun-Jupiter, across Gemini and Sagittarius, between detail and the big idea; Moon-Saturn between feeling and duty. The widest sextile, Saturn-Uranus at 5°, is at the edge of orb, so in a real chart with such a figure it would be worth checking whether it holds together.

How to find a grand sextile in your own chart

A grand sextile is easier to spot by sign than from an aspect table. See whether all six signs of one polarity are occupied: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius, or Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces. If each holds at least one planet, check whether their degrees within the sign are close. A spread of a few degrees is still acceptable; a spread of 10-15° breaks the figure.

Then check the weakest spot: the sextile with the largest orb. If it fits within 4-5° and all oppositions and trines are within the usual limits, the figure is there. If the Ascendant, MC or Node takes part, say so, and for the angles make sure the birth time is known exactly.

A grand sextile is built from familiar figures: two grand trines, plus the kites and mystic rectangles that can be found inside it. Its opposite in character is the grand cross: four planets linked only by squares and oppositions. A grand sextile has only three oppositions among fifteen aspects, a grand cross not a single harmonious one.

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