The T-square
A T-square is quite interesting as a chart configuration. It’s only made up of so-called “hard aspects” and although some people disapprove of labelling the square (90° between planets) and the opposition (180° between planets) “hard aspects”, the square and the opposition are undoubtedly representative of friction and imbalance.
There’s such a thing as struggle and conflict in life and it’s not of any use to try to deny the existence of pressure. When planets are square or opposite each other in the chart, there’s tension between the planets because they disagree and can't quite get on the same page. Having a T-square is going to manifest in life as a constant motivational force that will stimulate activity and push the individual to do something to solve the conflict. It’s often the case that the natives are very aware of the tug-of-war going on within their lives. The chart can help to pinpoint the conflict and perhaps provide some understanding of the basic energies and drives that are involved.
Let’s look at Marilyn Monroe’s chart as she has one T-square that’s easy to spot. The T-square is made up of Saturn squaring Neptune and the Moon-Jupiter conjunction. Neptune in turn, is in opposition to Moon-Jupiter. A T-square is essentially made up of planets 180° apart (roughly) and a third planet squaring both ends of the opposition. The planet squaring the opposing planets becomes the apex planet which is going to play a big part in trying to reconcile the polarizing influences by making an effort to “bring them together”. This work never ends and requires constant concentration on the part of the individual but it produces result and has the ability to be extremely fruitful in terms of concrete achievement. A T-square is not bad or negative, it simply pushes someone to get to work.
In Marilyn’s case, Neptune opposite the Moon-Jupiter conjunction suggests a polarization of dreams and her physical reality – she could abandon her soul (the lunar principle) for a more glamorous and romantic existence as a celebrity, ignore her instincts and become something for everyone to desire in favor of her own expansion and vision for herself as a real person with wants and needs of her own. Without Saturn involved in this configuration she might’ve oscillated endlessly between her dreams of becoming a glamorous star and satisfying her personal needs. Saturn functions as a focal point, an effort to “get herself together” to create some stability, to strategize and plan in order to get somewhere stable. Sometimes a person isn’t making very good use of their energies and simply avoid the planet at the apex because of the effort that’s necessary for it to express itself. It is, after all, being counteracted by two planetary forces – Neptune doesn’t want to anchor its elusive and far-reaching dreams and Moon-Jupiter doesn’t want to put its expansion and needs on hold. However, it’s very necessary. With Saturn being placed in the 4th house she was emotionally deprived. Without a solid emotional foundation, she found it hard to satisfy her needs and achieve her dreams. With Saturn in retrograde, she didn’t have much helpful structure and probably had a hard time relying on externals for stability and integrity. She had to find a deeper sense of strength that wasn’t dependent on external circumstances.
Marilyn needed relationships (Moon-Jupiter in the 7th house) in order to feel good about herself, to feel a sense of optimism. However, she also needed to be a dream, to become the image of something transcendent and magical in the world (Neptune in the 1st house). Because of her difficult childhood she would’ve felt it necessary to work hard to achieve these things. The T-square in her chart clearly defines the biggest struggle of her life, but also the success she achieved and everything that she manifested for herself.
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