← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 103/235
Biquintile
A biquintile is two planets 144° apart — two fifths of the circle, twice the quintile, and part of the same fifth harmonic. Johannes Kepler introduced both in the early seventeenth century. At four signs and twenty-four degrees, the biquintile has no fixed sign relationship. James R. Lewis calls it "under-researched", which is fair: it is used mainly by astrologers who work with harmonics, and most traditional writers do not mention it.
Its character is refinement. If the quintile is the knack, the biquintile is often read as what is done with the knack over time: seeing patterns, polishing, finding an unusual angle on something familiar. It refines, patterns and makes something of what is given. Some astrologers find it more inward and reflective than the quintile, a talent that shows in how a person thinks as much as in what they make.
Orb
Like the quintile, it is kept very tight wherever it is used, usually 1–2°. In the charts here it is capped at 1.5°; the bodies' own allowances only matter if they are tighter still. Its strength is how tight it is against that allowance, 1 at exact and 0 at the edge. See orb.
Ease or tension
The biquintile counts as a light ease in the ease and tension chart, the same weight as the quintile. It inclines toward skill and insight rather than events.
In a chart
Ask what the two planets refine in each other. The Moon biquintile Neptune might show a fine ear for mood and atmosphere; Mars biquintile Uranus, a talent for unconventional, inventive solutions under pressure. A biquintile rarely leads a reading, but it can add a precise, characterful detail to a portrait.
In transit
The transit lists here do not include biquintiles. Astrologers who use harmonics in timing treat them as subtle, mostly creative prompts.
Kinds and conditions
- Applying or separating, like any aspect.
- With no fixed sign relationship, the idea of out-of-sign does not really apply.