In astrology

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

, a sextile is an astrological aspect

Astrological aspect

In astrology, an aspect is an angle the planets make to each other in the horoscope, and also to the ascendant, midheaven, descendant, lower midheaven, and other points of astrological interest. Aspects are measured by the angular distance in degrees and minutes of ecliptic longitude between two...

 that is made when two planet

Planet

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

s or other celestial bodies are 60 degrees apart. A sextile is considered to be highly benefic, being the sixth harmonic (360 / 6 = 60) of the 360 degree zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

. Because the sextile is the sixth harmonic of the circle

Circle

A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....

, it takes on many of the qualities of the planet Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

, therefore bringing many opportunities to the native.

It is similar to a trine

Trine

Trine may refer to:*Trine , an angle of 120° *Trine , a 2009 video game by Frozenbyte*Trine 2, the sequel to Trine*Trine University, an institution of higher education in Angola, Indiana...

 in that it can bring out or accentuate the good characteristics in a suitable subject, although their influence is not quite as strong as a trine. It is one of the moderately powerful aspects.

An example of an aspect would be the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

 in 10 degrees Aquarius forming a sextile to Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 in 10 degrees Aries

Aries (constellation)

Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac, located between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. Its name is Latin for ram, and its symbol is , representing a ram's horns...

. In such an instance the native might have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm that he could use to make friends and advance himself.

Historically, Sextile was the ancient name of August

August

August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first...

, before its name change in honor of Emperor Augustus.