Three Shades of Outstandingness

[Patrick Machado]

Until a few weeks ago, when Jim posted about his Outstanding Returns options file for TMSA, I had held for a while, perhaps a couple of years, the notion that the criteria for an "Outstanding Incident" in a return chart was a partile aspect between planets with partile angularity also. I could have sworn I had read that somewhere around the site. Now I think I know where I got that from. Let's go back to the words, oft-quoted by Steve, from Interpreting Solar Returns:

It is when angularity and aspect partility coincide that outstanding incidents are most likely to come about.

Simply put, I read that as "angularity partility" and "aspect partility" coinciding, not "angularity (any orb)" and "aspect partility," which seems to be the way Steve read it, going from a recent discussion elsewhere on the forum, if I understood him correctly. Jim then said he meant close angularity.

I don't see why we'd need to be too stringent about these rules, but I found this amusing, and thought it could be informative also.

[Jim Eshelman]

Agreed. In fact, I meant something slightly different than Steve took it to be, but that doesn't really matter.

The real intent - understanding that angularity and aspects rise and fall in waves - is that the aspect and angularity "waves" crest essentially together.

And for sure, if you can get all three of them partile, then you've really got something! I have two lunar returns in the next 6 months with Moon, Mars, and Neptune in partile (one) and partly partile (the other) mutual configuration exactly on angles. I'm travelling for both returns (even though the first one in October is really inconvenient, just a couple of days before we're flying away for a week).

[SteveS]

It is when angularity and aspect partility coincide that outstanding incidents are most likely to come about.

The way I have always interpreted Jim’s above words: The closer a planet is to an angle associated with partile aspects, the more noticeable the “outstanding incident” will be experienced by the native. Without partile aspects being associated, the closer a return planet being partile conjunct a return angle the stronger the effects of that single planet in the return period. Also, there are two kinds of angularity and aspect partility with return charts; one with return planets only and one with return planets to natal planets. I treat partile aspects of angular return planets to a natal planet as a very special transit, because there have many times in my life where I have seen a transiting non-angular return planet partile aspected to a natal planet with hardly any noticeable effects.

All I know for sure is Jim’s above quoted words are the single most important guideline I have learned in my life studying astrology with return charts. This quideline when in effect carries the native outside normal everyday living--- encountering special "out of the ordinary" incidents in life for the native.