The thing that I want to convey is that these "hard" aspects can be used in positive ways, and that they give "good" energy when understood.  I get really tired of so many believing the hard aspects to give nothing but problems, struggles, doom and gloom.  An opposition helps to resolve differing points of view, and gives the keys to how to do that!  The square gives wisdom and confidence when the energies are used!  Positive thinkers like to say to 'look at problems as opportunities'...these hard aspects do exactly that!  Without them, we'd all be lying around without the energy to get out of bed!   They are necessary to life, and when understood can work to benefit the person, not just cause problems!  

Semi-Square
Keyword:  Frustration

A semi-square is when two planets are at a 45-degree angle to each other.  This is half the number of degrees of a square which is 90-degrees.  Because this aspect doesn't have a lot of energy, the orb is usually limited to 2-3 degrees.  

In many ways, the semi-square is the weaker version of the square.  This is not to say that there will be the same kinds of situations and emotions and personality types involved.  A good example of a semi-square is that you are late to an appointment, and this is when you get stuck in traffic, or all the traffic signals turn red just before you get to them.  Mild irritation and frustration.

In the natal chart, unless with a strong mutable placement, shows someone who tends to be inflexible.  Minor obstacles seem to get in the way of life in the area represented by the placement.  They key to using this energy is simply to plan ahead (continuing the example above: leave your home with enough time to get to your appointment without hurrying) and also to be willing to adapt to changing circumstances.  The lesson of the Semi-Square is that there is more than one way to get things done...be open to different ways because the square will certainly show you that "your" way of doing something isn't always the best or easiest way to do it.

Like the semi-sextile, the effects are mild, and the energy requires a little bit of effort and changing one's viewpoint or position to overcome the effects of the Semi-Square.

The semi-square is also a "trial run" or "dress rehearsal" for the approaching full square.  If the native is having a lot of difficulty with the energy of the semi-square, then the full square that involves the same planets, Sun Signs, or Houses is going to produce a more difficult time for the native.  Learning how to handle this energy when it is still weak will go a long way to helping the native handle the full square in a positive and productive way.

Inconjunct (or Quincunx)
Keyword:  Karma

You will see the names Inconjunct or Quincunx used interchangeably.  To be accurate, this aspect isn't an inconjunct or related in anyway to a "conjunction."  Only this kind of energy would sometimes use a name that is completely wrong!   

Both the "Inconjunct" and "Quincunx" mean when two planets are at a 150-degree angle to each other.  Maximum orb is no more than 2-3 degrees, although if there is another planet that makes an aspect to one of the planets in an inconjunct, the orb can expand inexplicably, including the weaker aspects like the sextile.

This is my favorite aspect!  This is the Trickster of astrology.  I find it enormously amusing to see and experience its effects.  This aspect proves that the universe has a sense of humor, although you may not always be laughing too much with this aspect.  This aspect turns everyone into the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (of the Pink Panther movies).  Traditionally, this isn't the typical interpretation for a Quincunx, but it's my experiences and observation of it.

This is what happens when you put two things together that are totally incompatible.  It's putting someone who can only speak Spanish in the same room with someone who can only speak French, and then telling them to solve a problem together.  It can be hilarious.

This is the energy that whatever you do, it will be the wrong thing.  If you are driving down a road in a strange town, unsure of how to get where you are going, this energy will make sure that you are headed in the wrong direction, and you won't figure that out until you've wasted the entire day and all the gasoline in your car.  This certainly can produce a lot of frustration, anxiety, and problems.  Or, you can just laugh that this was inevitable when trying to go anywhere under a Quincunx.  Don't bother taking a compass with you!  It won't work right under a Quincunx.

In a natal chart, look for ways that the native has no clue about themselves, no insight or understanding whatsoever.  The truth is usually unknown to the native just as the true direction was unknown to the person driving in a strange city in the example above.  What's worst, no one else can figure out why things usually turn out poorly for the native, either!  The areas of life represented by the placement can give valuable clues about what usually goes awry for the native.  If you are doing an interpretation for someone else, don't be surprised if they tell you that you are totally wrong!  LOL!

Most astrologers say that the Quincunx always influences health and financial matters.  I can guarantee that as soon as you get the idea in your head that this is all that a Quincunx affects, it will change its sphere of influence behind your back, while you aren't watching. And, once again, you will have no idea what's going on.

If 150-degrees is divided in half, it is 75-degrees.  This is approximately the angle of the Quintile (which is a minor aspect of 72-degrees).  When anything energizes the Quincunx by being inbetween the two planets at the midpoint, or at the Quintile, you can expect the Quincunx to have an extra dose of energy, magnifying its effects.  Since this energizing point is so unusual, and rarely used much in astrology, naturally you will have problems figuring out why this Quincunx got energized!  

So, if the energy of a Quincunx is so amorphous and difficult to understand, then how do you ever overcome its effects?  Well, that happens when a third planet makes a sextile to the Quincunx.  This forms a configuration that resembles a "Y" with the long arms of the Y being the Quincunx and the short distance between the upraised arms of the Y being the sextile.  This configuration is called a "Yod."  The Yod looks like a skinny triangle.  

When a Yod is formed, the native has the opportunity (by using the effort required by a sextile) to understand this part of their psyche and personality.  When a Yod is formed, the native has an unusually great opportunity to resolve lifelong problems, hidden factors that have influenced them perhaps for many lifetimes and certainly since childhood.  The flash of understanding that a Yod can confer is staggering!  Of course, the amount of healing that is possible far exceeds the apparent "energy" that would be expected by this placement or the Yod, or far exceeds any compensation for the frustration, confusion, and conflicts that the native may have endured with this kind of energy.

When, by transit, this configuration is there, the potential for growth and self-understanding, and resolution of a myriad of difficulties in the native's life is possible (even some that are not represented by the Yod placement).  In this way, the Yod has the potential to give far more in return than could ever be imagined.  It can bump the native into another realm of karmic growth and understanding.  This is when the Trickster becomes the "Finger of God" which can heal the native from many difficulties and afflictions.

Who else but the Trickster would devise such an aspect for us?

This concludes all the aspects that I'm going to discuss in a beginning astrology class.

This chapter of yours is a masterpiece !