Kite

kyt

Definition

A Kite is an aspect pattern that starts with a Grand Trine — three planets each 120° from the others — and adds a fourth planet sitting opposite (180° from) one of its three corners. That fourth planet also makes a 60° sextile to each of the other two corners. All told the figure holds three trines, two sextiles, and one opposition, and it draws a shape on the chart wheel that looks like a kite or a diamond.

In Tradition

Most Western astrologers read the Kite as a more dynamic, more directed version of the Grand Trine. The opposing fourth planet gives the pattern a focus and a sense of perspective the Grand Trine on its own lacks, steering its easy, harmonious energy toward a specific goal or area of life.

In Practice

The planet opposite one Grand Trine corner is the focal point — astrologers read it as where the Grand Trine's talent finds direction, channelled through the house that planet sits in. Its two sextiles to the other corners offer stimulating outlets and openings for expression. The Kite keeps the Grand Trine's elemental flavour but adds, through the opposition, a capacity for social awareness. Compared with a plain Grand Trine, someone with a Kite tends to be more conscious of their own gifts — though the pattern still gives no built-in push to act on them. Orbs follow the parts: 6–8° for the trines and opposition, 4–6° for the sextiles.

Historical Origin

The Kite as a named figure is a modern Western idea. Its first use is uncertain, and it does not appear in classical or medieval sources — it is a 20th-century elaboration of the Grand Trine.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading