Quincunx: the 150° aspect in a birth chart

A quincunx is an aspect between two planets that stand 150° apart along the ecliptic. It is also called an inconjunct. Formally the quincunx is a minor aspect, but it is the most noticeable of them: it is considered more often than the others, gets a slightly wider orb, and is part of a well-known configuration, the yod.

Geometry: signs that share nothing

An angle of 150° equals five signs. A classic quincunx links planets in signs separated by four others: Aries and Virgo, Aries and Scorpio, Taurus and Sagittarius, Cancer and Aquarius. Such signs have nothing in common. The element differs, the modality differs, and so does the polarity. Aries is fire, cardinal and masculine; Virgo is earth, mutable and feminine; Scorpio is water, fixed and feminine.

Hence the name inconjunct. In the other aspects the signs share something: element in a trine, modality in a square and an opposition, polarity in a sextile. In a quincunx there is no common ground at all, and that is what defines its character.

The quincunx completes the semi-sextile to an opposition: 30° + 150° = 180°. If two planets are in opposition, a third in semi-sextile to one of them will be in quincunx to the other.

Why tradition did not see it

Hellenistic astrology defined aspects by sign, and not every pair of signs could "see" each other. Signs two, three, four and six apart are linked by sextile, square, trine and opposition. Neighbouring signs, and signs five apart, were said not to see each other. Modern translations call this state aversion. For an ancient astrologer, planets in Aries and Virgo were not in aspect at all.

The 150° angle entered practice later, once aspects came to be measured by the exact angle between planets. In the 20th century the quincunx gained real weight, and some modern astrologers rank it almost alongside the major aspects.

The orb of a quincunx

As a minor aspect the quincunx gets a narrow orb, though a little wider than other minor aspects: usually 2-3°, up to 3° with the Sun or Moon. Some writers allow more, but with a wide orb the aspect loses definition. The nearby angle of 144° belongs to the biquintile, so a margin over 3° begins to blur two different aspects.

Out-of-sign quincunxes

Some quincunxes have an angle close to 150° while the signs are not five apart. A planet at 28° Aries and one at 0° Sagittarius stand 148° apart, and with a 2° orb that is a quincunx, even though Aries and Sagittarius are both fire signs and form a trine by sign. Such an out-of-sign quincunx is read more cautiously: the geometry is there, but the complete mismatch of signs that makes a quincunx a quincunx is missing.

How to read a quincunx

Modern writing describes the quincunx as an aspect of constant adjustment. The two functions do not clash openly, as in a square, nor face each other, as in an opposition. They simply speak different languages, and the person keeps translating from one to the other. Hence the typical descriptions: a sense of awkwardness, a need to correct oneself, a choice between two things that can never be fully combined.

The order of reading is the usual one:

• Planets. Which functions lack a common language. A quincunx of Saturn to Uranus speaks of structure and change; one of Venus to Pluto, of attachment and control.
• Signs. How each planet acts. In a classic quincunx the signs are opposite in every respect, and that is worth spelling out for each pair.
• Houses. Where it plays out. A quincunx links houses five apart, so the two areas of life are also only loosely connected.

It is also worth noting whether the quincunx is applying or separating: an applying aspect is traditionally considered stronger.

Example: the quincunx in Barack Obama's chart

In Barack Obama's chart Saturn is at 25°19′ Capricorn and Uranus at 25°16′ Leo. The angle between them is 150°03′, an orb of 0°03′. Capricorn is earth, cardinal and feminine; Leo is fire, fixed and masculine: a classic quincunx between signs with not a single trait in common.

Tradition would describe the pairing of Saturn, the planet of order and continuity, with Uranus, the planet of rupture and the new, as an ongoing negotiation between the wish to preserve and the wish to change. In a quincunx this is not a conflict settled once and for all but work that continues. This describes a link between two functions of the chart, not a judgement of the person.

How to find a quincunx in your own chart

Some software lists the quincunx among the ordinary aspects, some does not. If it is missing from the table, the angle can be worked out by hand. Convert the planets' positions to absolute degrees: Aries 0-30°, Taurus 30-60°, Gemini 60-90° and so on to Pisces at 330-360°. Obama's Saturn at 25°19′ Capricorn becomes 295°19′, his Uranus at 25°16′ Leo becomes 145°16′.

Subtract the smaller number from the larger: here that gives 150°03′. If the result is over 180°, subtract it from 360°. An angle within 2-3° of 150° is a quincunx. For a classic quincunx there is a quick check: planets at almost the same degree in signs five apart, such as 25° Capricorn and 25° Leo or 10° Aries and 10° Virgo, are always in quincunx.

The quincunx in configurations

The best-known figure with quincunxes is the yod: two planets in sextile and a third in quincunx to both. The apex of the yod is the point where adjustment becomes the main theme. Add a planet opposite the apex and you get a figure sometimes called the boomerang: the opposing planet sits at the midpoint of the base and is linked to both its ends by semi-sextiles.

In celebrity charts

The tightest examples among the published charts.

• Bernard Arnault: Sun quincunx Pluto, orb 0°02′
• Barack Obama: Saturn quincunx Uranus, orb 0°03′
• Jannik Sinner: Jupiter quincunx Neptune, orb 0°08′

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