Grand trine (astrology)

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In astrology, a grand trine occurs when you have three planets or other points in the horoscope that are all separated by a span of 120 degrees. With the placement of the planets, the grand trine visually looks like a large triangle across the horoscope of the recipient. It is a special configuration that is thought to promote high ideals, insight, vision, creative expression and well being. It is considered to indicate self-confidence, self-assurance, optimism, expectation, a sense of pleasure, an easy flow of energy, inspiration, expansion of creative cognition, and a sense of inner hope and faith.

A hypothetical example of a grand trine would be a planetary configuration of the Sun being placed at 10 degrees Leo, the Moon being placed at 10 degrees Sagittarius, and Uranus being placed at 10 degrees Aries. This grand trine would be considered, under the terms of Western astrology, to be a fire grand trine, which means that a great deal of creative energy would flow through it. The native would be able to use his basic instincts along with his reasoning to come up with some really ingenious ideas. He might use these ideas to promote himself and those people who he is close to. He might get a lot of advice from family members on how best to proceed, but ultimately he would go his own way and do what he thought was best.

Although the grand trine is seen as highly beneficent, too many trines in the chart are thought to indicate a self-indulgent temperament that repeatedly avoids self-discipline and tries to avoid fulfilling one's responsibilities in this life. The effect of unmanaged trines and grand trine supposedly reduces an individual's potential and ambition, so he will not act out his life in a dynamic and productive manner. Trines that are poorly managed are believed to lead to the native adopting a false sense of security, which results in passivity and a lack of motivation to act upon those opportunities that are presented to him during the course of his life. In her book, The Astrologer Looks at Murder, Barbara Watters said that she thought many criminals, including murderers, have grand trines in their natal horoscopes.

People with grand trines in their chart are considered by astrologers to have most of their emotional, mental, physical, and familial needs met early in life and as a result expect that this provision of resources, acquired without any effort on their part, will continue indefinitely. These individuals are then thought to grow into adults expecting special treatment, seldom feeling driven to work for that which they desire. As a result of this, they may fail to develop the social and intellectual skills necessary to get on in life.

Multiple grand trines in a chart are thought to be especially debilitating to the person who has inherited it because more planets are involved in such a configuration. In such a chart, astrologers forecast that the native may become a drifter, someone who does not possess enough drive or ambition to accomplish anything of any significance. They believe that although the bearer has many talents and skills at his disposal, he often does not possess the motivation to utilise them and they lie inert within his psyche.