Book excerpt: Illustrates how aspects can offer a profound depiction of an individual and his or her destiny. • Contains comprehensive sections full of interpretations for every planetary combination. • Concepts are explained through the use of actual birth charts and diagrams. • A core textbook at the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London. Aspects are an essential piece of the astrological puzzle when it comes to interpreting and using the information that astrology can give us. It is not enough to know the placement of the planets on the horoscope. It is the relationships between the stars and planets that let us grasp the destiny of the individual. Aspects describe the drama of our lives--the complex configurations that influence what will happen to us over time. Sue Tompkins, a fellow of the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London, shows how to interpret aspects when doing daily astrological readings. She uses the lives of real people to plot the aspects and offers examples of every possible planetary combination. Detailing the influence of oppositions, trines and elemental trines, and cardinal, mutable, and fixed crosses, Tompkins shows how aspects provide the energy in the chart that transforms the horoscope into something symbolizing an alive and vital human being. With Aspects in Astrology, Tompkins provides both the novice and the experienced astrologer the evidence and concrete methods needed to grasp the vast knowledge offered to us by our horoscope.