How do you calculate aspects?
Astrologers debate aspects: sign-based, orb, moiety, or fixed degrees. Cosmic Plumbing supports them all—instantly recalculated in your chart. How do you prefer to calculate?
Astrologers don’t all agree on how aspects should be calculated — and that’s part of what makes this so fascinating.
Some stick to Hellenistic practice, where the sign relationship is everything. Others lean on Renaissance approaches, where planetary orb and moiety rule the day. And of course, many of us come from modern astrology, where aspect definitions get tightened by aspect degree.
Cosmic Plumbing supports all of these. You can calculate by:
Planetary orb (e.g., Moon’s wide 12° orb)
Fixed aspect orbs (all squares = 9°, for instance)
Sign-based (orb by planet, but aspects must be in-sign)
And soon, Moiety (averaging planetary orbs)
And here’s the fun part: you can recalculate instantly. Change your settings, move through time, and watch your entire chart update in a blink. (Short clip below — yes, this actually runs in a browser!)
▶️ Watch the lightning-fast recalculation in 37 seconds
We also handle something most software doesn’t: one-way aspects, where one planet can see the other, but the planet can’t see back. That subtle asymmetry can matter if you’re reading through a traditional lens.
Now I want to know: How do you prefer to calculate aspects? Vote below! 👇🏾
Your input will shape how we refine these features for pros who need speed and flexibility.
Clear skies for you all,
Jake @ Cosmic Plumbing