Grand Trine

Grand Trine

A trine aspect is a 120° angle between two planets in an astrological chart. When a third planet on the other side of the chart makes trine aspects to the two planets forming the first trine, the resulting configuration is called a grand trine. Because astrological signs at 120° angles to each other belong to the same element (earth, air, fire, or water), grand trines tend to involve planets in all three signs of one element. Thus, grand trines can be classified as grand earth trines, grand air trines, grand fire trines, or grand water trines (grand trines that involve planets in signs of different elements are referred to as mixed grand trines).

Because trines are soft aspects, a person with a grand trine in her or his natal chart tends to be unusually lucky, particularly in matters related to the houses and signs affected by this configuration. However, unless there are also some hard aspects in the chart, such individuals are often not presented with enough challenges to develop strong wills. Thus, this seemingly beneficial configuration can actually handicap the native. A more ideal configuration is a kite, which is a grand trine plus a fourth planet that makes an opposition to one of the other three planets.