Conjunction in astrology: when two planets meet
A conjunction is when two planets sit at nearly the same degree of the zodiac, 0° apart. Their themes merge, so you rarely experience one without the other. In our sample, 95.9% of charts had at least one, second only to the sextile.
Conjunction at a glance
- Angle
- 0°
- Symbol
- Two bodies at the same degree
- Hali’s orb
- 8°, or 10° when the Sun or Moon is involved
- Nature
- Blending, depends entirely on the planets involved
- Average per chart
- 2.9
- Most common
- Sun and Mercury, in 29.9% of charts
What does a conjunction mean in astrology?
It means two planets act as a unit. If your Moon is conjunct Saturn, your feelings and your sense of duty are tied together, and it’s hard to have one without the other turning up.
A conjunction isn’t good or bad by itself. It amplifies whatever the two planets share and forces them to work out what they don’t. Venus with Jupiter tends to feel generous and easy, while Mars with Saturn can feel like pressing the accelerator and the brake together.
How close does a conjunction need to be?
Astrologers allow some room, called an orb. Hali counts a conjunction when two planets are within 8°, widened to 10° when the Sun or Moon is one of them, because the lights are traditionally given more room.
The closer the better. In our sample, an average chart had 0.35 conjunctions within a single degree, so a very tight one is a genuine signature. Your Hali reading cites the exact orb, like “Moon conjunct Saturn · 1.4°”, so you can see how strong it is.
How common are conjunctions?
We calculated 20,000 charts for random moments between 1950 and 2009, using Hali’s orbs and the ten planets.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Charts with at least one conjunction | 95.9% |
| Average conjunctions per chart | 2.9 |
| Average major aspects of all kinds per chart | 14.8 |
These were the most common pairs.
| Conjunction | Share of charts | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sun and Mercury | 29.9% | Mercury never strays more than 28° from the Sun |
| Sun and Venus | 15.4% | Venus never strays more than about 47° |
| Mercury and Venus | 13.7% | Both stay close to the Sun |
| Uranus and Neptune | 13.6% | Generational, around the early 1990s |
| Uranus and Pluto | 10.5% | Generational, around the mid 1960s |
| Venus and Mars | 8.9% | A personal pairing |
The figures for Uranus, Neptune and Pluto depend on the years sampled. These slow planets spend years near each other, so a whole generation shares the same conjunction.
What is the difference between applying and separating conjunctions?
An applying conjunction is one where the faster planet is still moving toward the slower one. A separating conjunction is one where it has already passed.
Many astrologers read applying aspects as building and separating ones as fading. Hali’s engine tracks which is which for every aspect in your chart.
What about the Sun and Mercury?
Mercury is so often near the Sun that astrologers developed special terms for it. Within about 8.5°, Mercury is traditionally called combust and considered weakened. Within 17 arcminutes it’s called cazimi, “in the heart of the Sun”, and considered unusually strong. The same terms apply to Venus. Read more in Sun conjunct Mercury and Sun conjunct Venus.
Read more about this on the Mercury page.
What is a stellium?
A stellium is three or more planets in the same sign or house, often linked by a chain of conjunctions. It puts a lot of weight on one area of life or one style of expression.
Hali flags stelliums in your reading, because they tend to be one of the first things people recognise in themselves.
Which conjunctions happen in the sky?
The best known is the New Moon, when the Sun and Moon line up every 29.5 days. Jupiter and Saturn meet roughly every 20 years in what astrologers call a great conjunction; the last one was on 21 December 2020.
The slowest are generational. Uranus and Neptune were exactly conjunct three times in 1993, and Uranus and Pluto came together in 1965 and 1966. Everyone born in those years carries those conjunctions in their chart.
Is a conjunction an aspect?
Yes, in modern astrology it’s counted as the first of the five major aspects, alongside the sextile, square, trine and opposition.
Older Greek texts treated it a little differently. They described two planets in the same sign as being together, rather than looking at each other across the chart.
Frequently asked questions
Is a conjunction good or bad?
Neither. It depends on the planets. Two planets with similar natures tend to blend easily, while two with opposing natures make you find a way to use both at once.
What is the orb for a conjunction?
Hali uses 8°, or 10° when the Sun or Moon is involved. Other astrologers use slightly different orbs, which is one reason two apps can list different aspects for the same chart.
Can a conjunction cross signs?
Yes. A planet at 28° of one sign and another at 2° of the next are 4° apart, which counts as a conjunction by degree. Some astrologers give it less weight because the planets are in different signs.
What’s the difference between a conjunction and a stellium?
A conjunction involves two planets. A stellium involves three or more, usually in one sign or house.
Sources and methods
Frequencies computed by Hali from 20,000 random moments between 1950 and 2009, using the ten planets and Hali’s orbs (8° for conjunctions, 10° with the Sun or Moon).
Event dates from computed planetary positions. Combustion and cazimi limits from William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647). Our data is free to use under CC BY 4.0.