Aspect Activations Study
An aspect between two transiting bodies matters more when one of them sits on a natal point, and an Aspect Activations study returns that combined condition rather than either half of it alone.
The study generates an event each time a pair of transiting bodies forms an exact aspect while at least one of them is within orb of a natal body. Every event records both transiting bodies, the angle between them, the natal body being activated and the moment the aspect perfects.
Create an Aspect Activations Study
To add an Aspect Activations study to the current workspace:
- Click Transit Studies → Aspect Activations on the menu bar.
Alternatively, click the Aspect Studies drop-down button on the toolbar and select Aspect Activations from its flyout.
The new study appears at the bottom of the Studies list and is selected automatically, so its settings open immediately. It takes its name from the study type.
What This Study Finds
Aspect Activations is an activation study rather than a transiting one, and the distinction decides what counts as an event. The aspect itself is formed by two transiting bodies in their own right, entirely in the sky. What makes it an activation is that one of those two bodies is conjunct a natal body, within orb, at the same moment, and it is that contact which activates the natal body. In a transiting study such as Transiting Aspects, by contrast, the natal body is one end of the aspect itself.
The angles the study looks for between the two transiting bodies are the cycle angles held in its Aspects table. That table carries angles alone and no orbs of its own, so an event is generated at the moment the cycle angle between the pair exactly matches one of the angles you have entered. The Transit Orb, on the Natal Data tab, sets how close a transiting body must be to the natal body for the activating contact to register. See Orb Settings for how the orb fields behave.
The settings column lays the study out on two tab controls. The first carries an Ephemeris tab holding the shared ephemeris settings and date-range panels, and a Natal Data tab holding the natal record fields and the Transit Orb. The second carries an Inner & Outer Bodies tab holding the two transiting body lists, and an Aspects & Natal Bodies tab holding the Aspects table of transiting cycle angles and the Natal Bodies list.
Events Table Columns
The events table shows the columns below. Several columns are hidden by default, as the table notes. Right-click any column header to show or hide a column, as described in Choose Events Table Columns. The headers of the coordinate columns follow the study's Reference Plane: they read Longitude and Latitude in the ecliptic plane, and Right Asc and Declination in the equatorial plane. The ecliptic-plane header text is listed here.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date Time | Date and time the aspect perfects, in the application's long date-time format. Always the first column, and it cannot be moved. Visible by default. |
| Inner Body | Name of the transiting body drawn from the Inner Bodies list. Visible by default. |
| Inner Body Longitude | Primary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Inner Body Sign | Position as degrees, sign and minutes of the zodiac. Visible by default. |
| Inner Body Latitude | Secondary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Inner Body Distance | Radial distance in astronomical units (AU). Hidden by default. |
| Inner Body Speed | Speed in degrees per day. Hidden by default. |
| Cycle Angle | The cycle angle that was matched between the two transiting bodies, in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Phase | Aspect phase: New, Waxing, Full or Waning. Visible by default. |
| Separation | Angular separation between the two transiting bodies, in degrees. Visible by default. |
| Outer Body | Name of the transiting body drawn from the Outer Bodies list. Visible by default. |
| Outer Body Longitude | Primary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Outer Body Sign | Position as degrees, sign and minutes of the zodiac. Visible by default. |
| Outer Body Latitude | Secondary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Outer Body Distance | Radial distance in astronomical units (AU). Hidden by default. |
| Outer Body Speed | Speed in degrees per day. Hidden by default. |
| Natal Body | Name of the natal body being activated. Visible by default. |
| Natal Body Longitude | Primary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Natal Body Sign | Position as degrees, sign and minutes of the zodiac. Visible by default. |
| Natal Body Latitude | Secondary coordinate in degrees. Hidden by default. |
| Natal Body Distance | Radial distance in astronomical units (AU). Hidden by default. |
| Natal Body Speed | Speed in degrees per day. Hidden by default. |
| Event Interval | Elapsed time since the previous event in the list. Hidden by default. |