http://tribes.tribe.net/astrologer/thread/958c8240-e7a6-46af-bc25-5f1f0c0b9df4
Distinguishing between these reminds me of philosophical application of "synthesis" and cycle through aspects that might be at play.
If a conjunction is thesis and an opposition antithesis, then 90 degrees is the squaring off of any two concepts or theories. Moving from aspect to aspect, there is a harmonizing or synthesizing process at work between two dichotomies.
Because synthesis requires balance, the opportunity for a positive opposition experience is possible if conflicting ideas can each be given their due. (I always think of my philosophy professor who said philosophers tend to agree to disagree.)
The inconjunct aspects, both quincunx and semisextile (see link), are a stage of the process immediately preceeding resolution of conflicting energies whether through balance or synthesis.
This stage is recognizable by a kind of panic brought on as an effect of change. We all experience a love/hate relationship with change, and it is this very ambivalence that defines the aspect.
How do we create a positive experience from ambivalence? Embrace the change. (Think of the Hanged Man and his opportunity to see the world from a completely new perspective.)
My experience has been that if we don't embrace the change, we will be forced (Tower) to abandon ship and shipwrecked we will have to begin the cycle all over again.
