What is a sextile?
It is 60 degrees: a sixth of the wheel. The two planets fall in elements that go together — fire with air, earth with water —, which is the same combination as the opposition, only a sixth apart instead of half a turn.
An aspect is the distance between two planets measured on the wheel of the zodiac. When that distance falls close to an angle the tradition recognises, the two are said to form an aspect — and that is what links one part of the chart to another. The whole logic is in what an aspect is.
How common the sextile is
I measured 200,000 charts drawn at random between 1930 and 2025, with the same orbs this site uses to cast charts and with the engine’s own rule: each pair of planets forms one one aspect, the tightest one.
| Aspect | Angle | Average per chart | Charts that have at least one | Of the five major ones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | 90° | 2.90 | 93.5% | 23.4% |
| Sextile | 60° | 2.82 | 94.1% | 22.8% |
| Trine | 120° | 2.68 | 92.9% | 21.6% |
| Conjunction | 0° | 2.47 | 93.9% | 19.9% |
| Opposition | 180° | 1.52 | 73.0% | 12.3% |
| Quincunx | 150° | 0.93 | 58.2% | — |
It is in second among the five, with 22.8%, and at the same time it is the one that shows up in more charts: 94.1%, more than any other. It is no contradiction — the sextile has the tightest orb of the five major aspects (six degrees with the Sun or the Moon, against eight for the square and ten for the conjunction), so it forms less often per pair and still reaches almost everyone, because 60 degrees are two places on the wheel.
And there is a number the table shows that almost no astrology text says out loud: 94.1% of charts have at least one sextile. Having one distinguishes almost nobody. What distinguishes is WHICH planets it links, and which houses they are in.
How the sextile feels
The sextile opens the door and pushes nobody. It is the aspect of opportunity, and opportunity is something you can miss: it describes an ease that only exists if the person takes the step. Unlike the trine, which delivers, the sextile offers — and whoever does not accept spends a life without knowing they had it.
The limit is worth saying: these are tendencies, not a verdict. An aspect describes how two functions of the chart talk to each other — it does not foretell events, diagnoses nobody and decides nothing for you.
Four sextiles that show up a lot
The aspect on its own says almost nothing: what gives it a subject are the two planets. These four pairs are among the most common, and they show how the same geometry changes face:
| The pair | How it usually shows up |
|---|---|
| Sun–Moon | identity and need help each other when the person lets them; it does not happen on its own |
| Mercury–Mars | thinking and acting join up well, and the joining has to be done on purpose |
| Venus–Saturn | affection gains structure if there is a choice; without a choice, it turns into mere caution |
| Moon–Neptune | sensitivity has access to imagination — and it sits still if nobody uses it |
Notice that the angle is the same in all four and the subject is completely different. That is why "I have a sextile" is not a reading — it is the start of one.
The pairs that never form a sextile
Only two pairs never form a sextile, and it is the shortest list of any aspect. Mercury does not get 27.8° from the Sun and Venus does not pass 47.2°: neither of them reaches 60 degrees. Mercury and Venus between themselves reach 73.8°, so those two do form it — and Neptune with Pluto, which have formed nothing else for a century, form exactly this one: they spent a hundred years between 42.6° and 65.3°, and the sextile is the only aspect in that band.
This is not a rule of one school: it is the orbits of the planets. And it is a useful check at home — if a site shows one of those pairs with this aspect, it is not calculating the sky.
The orb decides whether it counts
Two planets almost never fall on the exact angle. The orb is the leeway allowed: how far off the angle the aspect can be and still count. And it does not belong to the aspect alone — it depends on who forms it.
This site uses a wider orb for the Sun and the Moon, a narrower one for the outer planets, and takes the average of the two. Measured across the same 200,000 charts: when a sextile happens, the average distance to the exact angle is 2.30°. That is, the tight aspect is far more common than the one on the edge — and your chart shows the exact distance of each, instead of only the name.
See the sextiles in your chart — the chart is free and comes out at once, with date, time and city. It lists every aspect with the two planets, the orb and the exact distance. Generate my chart for free.
The sextile in your chart
The question that matters is not how many you have: it is where they fall. An aspect between two planets in the 10th house speaks of work and reputation; the same aspect between the same planets in the 4th speaks of home and family. The house depends on the hour and city of birth, and it is what turns geometry into a reading.
The two texts that carry on from here are what an astrological house is, which explains the twelve areas, and what the birth chart is, which puts the whole picture together.
Frequently asked questions about the sextile
What is the difference between a sextile and a trine?
Both are comfortable and the difference is one of effort. The trine links planets of the same element and delivers without asking for anything; the sextile links elements that go together and offers an ease that only exists if the person takes the step. Tradition sums it up like this: the trine is talent, the sextile is opportunity. And there is a difference of measure: the sextile has a smaller orb, so it has to be closer to the exact angle to count.
How many sextiles does a chart usually have?
On average 2.82, measured across 200,000 charts drawn at random between 1930 and 2025 with the orbs this site uses. And 94.1% of charts have at least one — which means that having one distinguishes almost nobody; what distinguishes is WHICH planets it joins.
What is the orb of the sextile?
It depends on the two planets, not on the aspect alone. This site uses a wider orb for the Sun and the Moon and a narrower one for the outer planets, and takes the average of the two. When a sextile actually happens, the average distance to the exact angle is 2.30° — well inside the limit, because a tight aspect is more common than one on the edge.
Does the sextile show up in everyone’s chart?
No. 94.1% of charts have at least one, so 5.9% have none — and that is real information about the person, not a flaw in the calculation.
Questions for people just starting out
The sextile in brief
- Angle 60 degrees
- Average per chart 2.82
- Charts that have it 94.1%
- Of the five major ones 22.8%
- What it does opens the door and pushes nobody
The sextile opens the door and pushes nobody. What it links is what decides the subject, and that your chart answers. See yours free here.
