Square
The square is, in astrology, an aspect formed between two planets separated by an angle of 90 degrees (with a variable orb). It belongs to the major aspects and is classically considered tense, carrying friction and challenge.
Origin and etymology
The square is one of the five major aspects codified by Claudius Ptolemy in the Tetrabiblos in the 2nd century, along with conjunction, sextile, trine and opposition. In medieval Latin it is called quadratus, translated into French as carre. The term refers to the division of the zodiacal circle into four 90-degree quadrants. The medieval Arab tradition, notably Al-Biruni in the 11th century, took up this terminology. Renaissance astrology with Johannes Kepler, in Harmonices Mundi (1619), confirmed the central place of the square in the classification of aspects, assigning it a character of productive tension.
Evolution and tradition
Traditional astrology considers the square a malefic aspect, a source of obstacles. This binary reading was nuanced in the 20th century. Dane Rudhyar, in The Astrology of Personality (1936), rehabilitated the square as a driver of growth and crystallization. Liz Greene and Stephen Arroyo extended this re-reading: the square is no longer a curse, but a point of friction necessary to the emergence of consciousness. The orb of a square varies by school, generally between 6 and 10 degrees. T-squares and Grand Crosses are multiple configurations involving several squares.
Practical use
In a natal chart, a square between two planets signals a zone of inner tension between two different psychic functions. For example, a Sun-Saturn square evokes the difficulty of reconciling vital drive with limitation. In predictive astrology, transits forming squares to natal planets are moments of challenge, questioning or growth. On Tarotoui, chart calculations include the identification of squares. Many modern astrologers see the square as an invitation to integrate what resists, rather than to endure it.
Going further
The reading of the square as solely negative is outdated. The astrological psychology of Liz Greene has shown that a chart with no tense aspects often produces a life with little relief or movement. Note also that the quality of a square depends on the planets involved and their sign: a square between slow planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) marks a generation more than an individual.