Orb

Orb is the allowable distance from an exact aspect within which two planets are still considered to be in aspect. Smaller orbs are tighter and more intense; larger orbs are looser and more diffuse.

When two planets form an aspect — a conjunction, square, trine, opposition, or sextile — they are rarely at the exact aspect angle. An orb is the allowable distance from the exact angle within which the aspect is still considered active. A conjunction at 3° apart is said to be 'within a 3-degree orb'; the aspect is in effect but not exact. Different traditions and practitioners use different standard orbs. A commonly used set for natal aspects: 8-10 degrees for major aspects involving the Sun or Moon, 6-8 degrees for major aspects between other planets, 3-4 degrees for minor aspects. Tighter orbs are typically used for transits: many practitioners consider a transit 'active' only within 1-2 degrees of exact, with the most intense influence at exact aspect. A planet that is 'applying' (moving toward exact aspect) is read as building intensity; a planet that is 'separating' (moving away from exact) is read as releasing intensity. Transits within tight applying orb are typically the ones most worth attending to. Wider orbs describe ambient symbolic atmosphere rather than acute pressure. In this reading, orbs are applied conservatively to keep timing signals meaningful. A transit reported as exact on a specific date is genuinely within a fraction of a degree on that date; a transit reported as 'in orb during this period' is within standard reading orbs throughout that window.

Not: Orb is not a hard cutoff. A trine at 7° apart is not categorically different from a trine at 9° apart simply because one falls inside a stated orb and the other falls outside. Orbs are interpretive conventions, not natural laws — they describe how strongly the aspect tends to be felt, not whether it 'exists.'

Orb conventions vary across traditions and have no empirical basis. The standard orbs used in modern Western astrology are inherited from centuries of practice, not derived from measured correspondences between aspect tightness and life events.