A Sky Tutorial: Planets in Parallel
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This dramatic photograph from the evening of February 21, 2023 shows the alignment of the Waxing Crescent Moon, Venus (the brighter of the two planets) and Jupiter over Port Orange, Florida. The Moon was at approximately 25 degrees of Pisces in celestial longitude and 5 degrees of South celestial declination moving North, Venus was at 1 degree of Aries in longitude and half-a-degrees of South declination, also moving North, and Jupiter was at 10 degrees of Aries in longitude and 3 degrees of North declination, continuing to move North. The West-facing orientation of the photo is somewhat deceiving since one would expect Jupiter to be farther to the right (Northward) than Venus, but the explanation probably lies in: 1) the fact that the ecliptic or path of the Sun tracks at a 23-degree angle to the plane of the equator, and 2) Jupiter orbits at a vastly greater distance from the Earth compared to Venus, both of which might create an optical disparity.
Although the orbs for all three placements are slightly wide, the Moon and Venus in the South could be viewed as “parallel” in declination while both are in “contraparallel” to Jupiter in the North. The first is said to emulate a conjunction in longitude while the second is comparable to an opposition. Personally, I don’t draw a distinction between the two; all three of these planets are in close alignment in the sky and are bound to have some commonality of influence; in practice, conjunctions and oppositions are two sides of the same coin anyway. In modern terms, the Moon and Venus would be considered conjunct in longitude at only six degrees of separation with the Moon “applying” or rapidly overtaking Venus, but classical astrologers do not treat planets in different signs as conjunct no matter how little orb separates them. Jupiter at 10 degrees of Aries would not be conjunct with either of the others, so the parallel/contraparallel configuration is the closest aspect binding them while also speaking directly to the remarkable visual alignment.
