Opposition
HellenisticRenaissance & early modernModern WesternEditorial synthesisTraditional doctrine
Definition
An aspect of approximately 180 degrees: two planets facing each other across the zodiac circle. Traditionally read as polarity or confrontation between the planets' significations, seeking balance between two pulls.
In more depth
The opposition divides the circle in half, placing two planets in facing signs. Classical sources count it among the fundamental configurations, and the tradition (from the Hellenistic texts through Lilly's manual) reads it as the tensest of the 'regards' after the square, or the most confrontational outright, depending on the school.[1][2][3]
As with all aspects, the 180-degree geometry is measurable; the confrontational character is labelled doctrine, and the allowed deviation from exactness is a school's orb convention.
References
Numbered citations in the text link to the records below; each record links to the full source registry.
- Claudius Ptolemy. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, or Quadripartite: Being Four Books of the Influence of the Stars. J. M. Ashmand (translator). W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd, London. 1900. Historical primary source View source record
- William Lilly. Christian Astrology, Modestly Treated of in Three Books. T. Brudenell for J. Partridge & H. Blunden, London. 1647. Historical primary source View source record
- Chris Brennan. Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune. Amor Fati Publications. 2017. Modern practitioner interpretation View source record