Deb,

I've been away from this for a while and my brain has turned to mush. Please forgive me. Pretend I got hit on the head and that I have one of those cartoon bandages wrapped around my head.

What confused me wasn't your post here but the article that you wrote where you talk about the two concepts of dexter/sinister and what planet dominates. I've re-read both and I think I got it, but this is new information for me. It's great info but I have to re-learn what I though I already knew.

I had always thought that a dexter aspect was good, or strong and direct, while a sinister one was bad or weak. Now when you add in the idea of the dominating planet, it seems to matter more what planets are involved and the nature of the question.

This comes in handy with a chart I just did last night. I asked, "When will X call me", November 28, 10:44 PM, Falls Church, VA. I am the Sun, and X is Saturn, 7th house ruler. The Sun applies to Saturn by a dexter trine. The way I was thinking before was that in a dexter aspect, the one applying was the stronger one, so I read that to mean that I would break down and call X, whereas I promised not to. The way that you explain things, since Saturn is the dominant planet, it has more to give to me, so that shows that X, Saturn, will call me. Is that right?

In the same question, suppose that Saturn were in Aries and not Leo and the Sun applied to it, then the Sun would dominate, how would that effect the outcome? The Sun would apply by a sinister aspect, so maybe X, Saturn, would feel pressured to call. Does that make sense? I usually need examples from charts to help me understand something. If the question is when will X call, the applying trine sure would show a contact, in this case a phone call, but with Saturn less able to give what's wanted, how would you describe the phone call? The only thing I could think of was that X would feel pressure or reluctant to call.

Again, the fault was not yours, but my tired and aging brain.

Another great post, lots to think about.

The dexter quality adds an element of vigour into the aspect (consider my example of the Sun and Moon). It?s like a finer stroke of detail. But I don?t think it is appropriate to use it as you are doing here. It?s a much more reliable principle that the planet forming the application signifies the person making most of the moves. Saturn as the superior planet is going to respond to the Sun, and that?s not likely to change because of the dexter/sinister definition.

Deb,

Advancing senility is causing me a great deal of trouble. When you say,

that the planet forming the application signifies the person making most of the moves. Saturn as the superior planet is going to respond to the Sun, and that?s not likely to change because of the dexter/sinister definition.

what does that mean as far as a phone call? Who will call who? And are you saying that if the Sun were in Aries, there would be no difference in how to read the aspect? Thanks for your patience.