Squares are hard. They're hard to understand, they're hard to handle, and they're tricky to learn about. It's the one aspect in astrology that I think is met with such great strife and confusion that it's worth covering in-depth by element, mode, zodiac sign, and house. The key to any astrological chart is interpretation, so it's important to understand the aspects in astrology with precision and clarity.
Let's start by breaking the square down to it's bare bones. The elements. We have four elements in astrology - air, fire, earth, and water. Trines and conjunctions involve the same elements. Oppositions involve the opposite elements (so air is always opposite fire, water is always opposite earth), as does the sextile. But the square differs from other aspects in this way, as it forces elements to encounter other elements they would have otherwise never interacted with.
Air has to work with earth. Water has to work with fire. Air has to work with water. Fire has to work with earth. It's like landing on an alien planet where you don't know the customs, you don't speak the language, and you stick out like a sore thumb.
In the opposition of air opposite fire, there is a mutual understanding. Air feeds flame. Flame creates smoke. Air can feed a flame or blow it out, and flame can suck all the oxygen out of the room. There is an underlying level of understanding there, a push and pull, a give and take, even if neither sign wants to acknowledge it.
No such thing concept exists with the square. Suddenly, air meets earth. Just what is air supposed to do with earth? Ideas and logic are anything but grounded, and certainly not in reality. The trick is bringing ideas into reality. The same goes with water and fire. Initially, the two elements have nothing in common. But emotions are some of the strongest motivators known to man. Emotions aren't meant to be bottled up, they're meant to be expressed. Once you find a way for the aspect to work, you're golden.
That is why squares are so tricky and classified as a hard aspect: you must come to a compromise in a place where mutual understanding is not an option. You have to find a way to make it work anyway. Squares are hard because you must come to an agreement where there is none, at least initially. But just because something isn't like you doesn't mean you can't make strides to work together. That's another reason why squares are so hard: they require effort. A lot of it.
Because chances are, if you're willing to work on something, you'll get a lot further than if you were going to give up at the slightest inconvenience. Effort can take us a long way. And as we journey on that path, the squares teach is another thing: perseverance and strength. The energy of the square creates friction, so why not fight for something, rather than against it? Why not work with yourself rather than against yourself? Life becomes a lot easier when you lay down your sword, and accept that sometimes you've been fighting the wrong battle.
The square creating conflict is a common notion in the astrological community, but we need to acknowledge that conflict usually only leads to two things. Resolution or more conflict. Squares aren't bad, we just need to learn to work with them rather than against them. Learning how to work together, despite our differences, and not give up in the process is another gift the square gives us. This especially becomes the case in a t-square, as there is a lot of tension in that aspect pattern. The t-square is a post for another day, but let's get back to squares and how to interpret them.
