Nuts & Bolts - Astrological Concepts

An explanation of some technical terms

Accidental Dignity | Astro*Carto*Graphy | The Asteroids | Chiron | Cycles | Eclipses | Electional Astrology | Essential Dignity | Fixed Stars | Graphic Ephemeris | Horary Astrology | Horoscopes and when Astrology is not just a horoscope | Local Space Astrology | The Lunar Nodes | Midpoints | Mundane Astrology | The Natural Zodiac | Receptions | Relocation Astrology | Retrograde Motion | Rulerships | Synastry | Transits, Progressions and Directions | Unaspected Planets | The Zodiac

Midpoints

Midpoints are at the middle point between two bodies. As we are considering a circle there will be two ways of going from one body to another, one shorter – the direct midpoint - and one longer – the indirect midpoint. For instance if we have a planet at 0 Aries and a planet at 0 Libra the mid point between them is 0 Cancer or 0 Capricorn. In this example you can choose which is direct and indirect as the distances are the same. If one planet is at 10 Aries and a second at 20 Aries then the direct midpoint will be at 15 Aries and the indirect midpoint will be at 15 Libra.

This is written planeta/planetb. The midpoint between the Sun and the Moon would be written Sun/Moon.

There is little qualitative difference between the two and you can expand this out to view all hard aspects to this point as equivalent. See Harmonics for further details. Most midpoint printouts use a 45° sort which uses the eighth harmonic.

As well as a list of all the midpoint combinations and their positions you will also see the position of the natal planets. Combinations of midpoints around the planets can give additional clues to interpretation. These are known as midpoint trees.

Consider the planets involved when using midpoints. The midpoint between two slow moving planets will move as slowly as they do. Midpoints using the angles move quickly, as do those with the Moon. Weight the speed of movement of the midpoints in exactly the same way you would with planets.

Midpoints are a great way of moving straight into information overload.

Two midpoints which should be considered are the Sun/Moon and Asc/MC. Sun/Moon gives a point which blends the energies of the Sun and Moon. Planets which are found here form an essential part of the life of the individual. Asc/MC is an incredibly personal point as it pulls the two fastest moving points together. Planets found here usually influence the vocation.

As always, tight orbs are important to keep things clear. An orb of 2° is a maximum, work with 1.5° and expand only if you see a tight pattern.

Midpoints can reinforce aspect patterns. For instance a very tight T-square will have the three planets also on each others’ midpoints. Looking at the midpoints can also show powerful configurations which could be dismissed by simply looking at the aspects. For instance a conjunction of three planets could appear to be quite wide but they could be tightly pulled together by a midpoint configurations. This also applies if you have several planets on one point of an aspect pattern. Looking at the midpoints will tell you which is most closely involved.