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图片文字：互为六分相两颗星同时与另一颗星呈补十二分相，构成上帝之指

上帝之指（YOD）是一些占星师采用的相位。它包括了准确六分相两颗星，以及同时与这两颗六分相星呈补十二分相（150°）的一颗星。

A “yod” is an aspect pattern that some astrologers use.  It involves two planets in a close sextile (60°), with a third planet ‘quincunx’ (150°) to both of the planets in sextile.

事实上yod并没有非常重要，或者至少没有被一些人渲染的那么重要。

The truth about yods is that they aren’t terribly important, or at least not as much as they are made out to be by some people.

事实上，我甚至可以说yod是最被夸大的占星学配置之一，至少相对于它的实际价值而言。

In fact, I would go so far as to say that the yod is one of the most over-hyped configurations in astrology, at least relative to its actual merit.

Yod往往被冠以各种冠冕堂皇的口号，如“上帝之指”、或者“命运之指”。我不确定是谁首先用这种名称描述这一格局，但是我想指出的是，他们都是假的，原因如下：

Yods are often given all sorts of lofty sounding titles, like “the finger of god”, or “the finger of fate”.  I’m not really sure who first ascribed the configuration with these names, but I would like to point out that they are bogus, and here is why:

补十二分相
补十二分相不是一个相位。不是相位是什么意思呢？我是说它没有符合其他主要相位那样的标准，因此它不应有同样的重要等级。

The Quincunx
The ‘quincunx’ is not an aspect.  What do I mean by ‘not an aspect’?  I mean that it doesn’t conform to the same standard that the other major aspects do, and therefore it should not be attributed an equal level of importance.

相位的视觉元素
在现代我们习惯于简单的凭借几何距离关系来思考相位，但这并不是故事（译者注：指相位的内涵等）的全部。单词“aspect”来自拉丁文“aspectus”，它本身又来自拉丁文aspicere，意思是“看“。在较早的传统占星学里，相位是从视觉上构思而来的，他们表示行星有没有能力看着彼此，从而能够在对方做事情的时候发表意见。

The Visual Component of Aspects
In modern times we are accustomed to thinking of aspects simply as geometrical distances, but that is not the entire story.   The term ‘aspect’ comes from the Latin term aspectus, which itself is from the Latin aspicere, which means “to look at”.  In the earliest traditions of astrology the aspects were conceived of in visual terms, and they denoted the ability or inability of the planets to look at each other, and thus to be able to comment upon what the other was doing.

事实上这种视觉概念化可能部分是基于星体散发出的符合正多边形的几何射线，同时也有一种观点，星体为了能够见证其他星体，它们之间必须要有某种亲和力。周围的环境必须有助于它们看着彼此。

While it is true that part of this visual conceptualization was based on geometrical rays which emanated from the planets and conformed to regular polygons, there was also a notion that in order for the planets to be able to “witness” each other, they had to have some sort of affinity between them.   Their surroundings had to be conducive to their attempt to look at one another.

星座之间的亲和力
这里就要提起星座了，这也是现代占星的相探讨有关相位问题时至关重要的缺失。五大'托勒密'相位：合相，六分，四分，三分和对分，不仅是根据几何形状和它们对应的距离，他们也连结了在一起的星座，通过它们的性别（阴阳性），元素和形态（本固变）彼此共有一种亲和力。下面是分开讲解：

Affinities Between Signs
This is where the signs come in, and this is the crucial piece that is missing from the modern dialogue about the aspects.  The five major ‘Ptolemaic’ aspects, the conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition, are not just based on the geometrical shapes and distances that they correspond with, but they also connect together signs of the zodiac which share an affinity with one another through their gender, element, and modality.  Here is how that breaks down:

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六分相的星座有同性（阴阳性）间的亲和力。所以，白羊座和双子座都是阳性星座，这也是他们所共有的亲和力。
四分相的星座有相同的形态。所以，金牛座和狮子座都是固定星座，这也是他们所共有亲和力。
三分相的星座有相同元素的星座也有同样的阴阳性。所以，巨蟹座和天蝎座即是水相星座，同时又都是阴性星座，所以这是它们的亲和力。
对分相的星座具有相同的性别，虽然它们也因为所处宫位的极性而具有特殊的联系，因为这些星座的主宰历来都截然相反但在性格特点上具有互补性。

Signs that are sextile share an affinity through the same gender.  So, Aries and Gemini are both masculine signs, and that is what they share in common.
Signs that are square share the same modality.  So, Taurus and Leo are both fixed signs, and that is what they share in common.
Signs that are trine share the same element as well as the same gender.  So, Cancer and Scorpio are both water signs and they are both feminine, so that is their affinity.
Signs that are in opposition share the same gender, although they also share a special connection through the polarity of their domicile lords, since the rulers of those signs traditionally are diametrically opposite but complementary in their characteristics.

次要相位缺乏黄道上的亲和力
正是由于星体具有星座之间的亲和力以及几何上的距离关系，才使得主要相位十分特殊。这就是次要相位缺少的，尤其是梅花相位（补十二分相）。梅花相位是相隔5个星座的相位，尽管你会注意到，这些星座并没有以上所说的亲和力，不管是性别、元素还是模式。这些星座没有共有的亲和力，因此他们不能被称为真正意义上的“相位”。

Minor Aspects Are Lacking in Zodiacal Affinity
It is this affinity between the signs that the planets are placed in, combined with with the geometrical distances, that make the 5 major ‘aspects’ special.   This is what is missing from the minor aspects, and in particular the quincunx.  The quincunx is supposed to connect planets that are five signs away, although you will notice that these signs shares none of the affinities mentioned above, neither by gender, element or modality.  The signs share no affinity at all, and therefore they cannot rightly be called ‘aspects’ in the truest sense of the term.

这是非常简单明了的，特别加入你是来自太阳星座占星学的黄道框架的话。那么，为什么有那么多的现代占星家假设梅花是一个相位，并进一步说YOD十分特殊就因为它是一个双梅花？

This is pretty simple and straightforward, especially if you are coming from the largely zodiacal framework of Sun-sign astrology.  So then why do so many modern astrologers assume that the quincunx is an aspect, and by extension that the yod is special since it is essentially a double quincunx?

约翰内斯•开普勒和现代相位理论
答案可以在引入了梅花相位和六分相以及其他次要相位的17世纪著名天文学家/占星学家约翰内斯•开普勒身上找到。如你所见，开普勒是真的痴迷几何学，他认为这是占星术的优点之一。他没有对黄道星座有较高的关注度，并试图在他的占星工作中边缘化它们。

Johannes Kepler and Modern Aspect Theory
The answer can be found in the guy who introduced the quincunx and the semi-sextile, as well as a host of other ‘minor’ aspects, the famous 17th century astronomer/astrologer Johannes Kepler.  You see, Kepler was really into geometry, and he thought that this was one of the strong points about astrology.  He wasn’t as impressed with the zodiac though, and he sought to marginalize it in his astrological work.

开普勒敢于打破传统的相位体系的原因是，他只关注单纯的几何学并且不被黄道框架所束缚。现代的相位很大程度上仍是植根于开普勒的这种观点，这也是为什么现代相位只考虑单纯的几何学，而不管黄道星座在占星学的构建中仍然扮演至关重要的角色这个事实。

This is the main reason why Kepler was ok in breaking with the tradition by introducing aspects that were entirely geometrical in nature and not tied at all to the zodiacal framework.  The modern conceptualization of aspects is still largely rooted in Kepler’s thinking on this matter, and this is why aspects are thought of almost entirely in geometrical terms, despite the fact that the zodiac still plays an integral role in the astrological construct.
作为一种中点模式的Yod
那么，这对于yod意味着什么呢？如果梅花在技术上不是一个相位，或至少它不是一个真正代表所涉及的两个星座之间的连接，那么这意味着yod是不是一个真正的相位。它实际上是一种别的东西：一个中点格局。

The Yod as a Midpoint Pattern
So what does this mean for the yod? Well, if the quincunx isn’t technically an aspect, or at least it isn’t actually representing a connection between the two signs involved, then that means that the yod isn’t really an aspect pattern at all. It is actually something else: a midpoint pattern.

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中点是星盘图中的敏感点，是通过测量两颗行星之间的最短距离，然后找出他们之间的中点而定义出来的。
举个例子：月亮在白羊座13°，太阳在双子座13°。那么它们之间的中点是金牛座13°。

A midpoint is a sensitive point in the chart that is determined by measuring the shortest distance between two planets and then finding the degree that is midways between them.
So, in the example to the left the Moon is at 13 Aries and the Sun is at 13 Gemini.  The midpoint between them, then, is 13 Taurus.

在两者之间的中点，往往是在星盘中承担这两个行星的组合意义的敏感点。例如，一些占星家使用，太阳和月亮的中点作为研究一个人生命中的关系的重要度数。这是可以做到无论是通过研究行运星到这一点，或者更重要的，通过研究本命行星与它的硬相位配置之一（即合相，四分相或对分相）。当第三颗行星是严格的处于其他两颗行星间的中点，这将创建一个“中点模式”或“中点图”。这就是yod的来源。

The midpoint in-between is often a sensitive point in the chart that bears the combined significations of those two planets.  For example, a number of astrologers use the midpoint between the Sun and the Moon as an important degree for studying relationships in a person’s life. This can be done either by studying transits to that point, or, more importantly, by studying natal planets that are configured to it by one of the hard aspects (i.e. conjunction, square or opposition). When a third planet is closely configured to the midpoint between two other planets, this creates a “midpoint pattern” or a “midpoint picture”. This is where the yod comes in.

你会发现，这里的例子中的两个行星是六分相，这是组成一个yod的2/3。大多数人说，yod配置必须做到真正的严谨- 即行星必须在1或2度的容许度内它才是一个真正的yod。这样做的原因，我认为，是因为yod只不过是中点图，包括在两个六分相行星的中点对顶点的行星。

You will notice that in the example here the two planets are in sextile, which is 2/3 of what it takes to make a yod.    Most people say that a yod configuration has to be really tight – that the planets have to be within 1 or 2 degrees of orb for it to be a true yod.   The reason for this, I would argue, is because a yod is nothing more than a midpoint picture that involves the planet at the apex in opposition to the midpoint of the two planets in sextile.

因此yod不是一个真正的相位格局，更大程度上是一个中点格局。它被划定的方法是通过确定两颗六分相的行星的中点的意味着什么，然后当第三颗行星的紧密的位于该中点时会发生什么。有许多书籍给予中点组合定义，最有名的是莱因霍尔德•艾伯丁的《行星组合的影响》。

So the yod isn’t really an aspect pattern so much as it is a midpoint pattern.   The way it can be delineated is by determining what the midpoint of the two planets in sextile is supposed to mean, and then what happens when a third planet is closely configured to that midpoint.   There are a number of books which give delineations for midpoint combinations, the most famous being Reinhold Ebertin’s The Combination of Stellar Influences.

不相信炒作！
即使作为一个中点的模式，Yod并不一定将是非常重要的，至少不应该被冠以冠冕堂皇的名称，在星盘图中被给予这样一种特殊的地位。

Don’t Believe the Hype!
Even as a midpoint pattern though, a yod is not necessarily going to be terribly important, at least not to the extent that it should be given some sort of special status in the chart, along with esoteric sounding names.

虽然它可能意味着你的星盘中一些对你生命的性质和进程有意义的东西，而且它肯定在某些类型的行运中有敏感度，在星盘中也有很多其他重要的事情要注意。所以在一些占星家试图夸大Yod时不要盲目相信。

While it may mean something significant in your chart about the nature and course of your life, and it is certainly going to be sensitive to certain types of transits, there are a lot of other important things to pay attention to in the chart as well.  So please, take any statements by astrologers who try to hype the importance of yods with a grain of salt.