Aspect Basics

Heir of Breath.

Seer of Light.

Knight of Time.

Witch of Space.

Titles like these are the foundation that make up the Homestuck Classpecting system. These titles can also be called classpect titles or classpects. To understand how this system works, one must understand the purpose of these titles. Each title is made up of two components: Aspect and Class. This page focuses on the Aspect part of Classpects.

Aspects' Purpose

The Aspects are twelve categories that reflect a lot of different things. The Extended Zodiac calls them "cosmic properties" that are "the ruling force over your personal narrative...the source of your power, [and] the way you move through the world."

What aspects represent is not always straightforward. According to Calliope, the "sUrface meaning of classes and aspects can be deceptive" (Homestuck, page 4564). Kanaya supports this, noting that she "Somehow Came To Understand Space [As An Aspect] Meant More Than Just Space/Like Not Just/Physical Room And Dimension For Stars To Occupy" (Homestuck, page 7637). Thus, one could conclude that aspects do generally have several consistent themes that may not obviously relate to the aspect’s namesake at first glance.

There are many instances where a character's manifestation of their aspect has been likened to magic or magical powers. Example: calling a Breathbound's powers "magic cyclone powers" (Homestuck, page 3025) or a Voidbound's powers "magical void powers" (Homestuck, page 4513). Using one's powers has also been referred to as doing "the [aspect]y thing" (Homestuck, page 7032).

The Aspect Wheel

There are 12 aspects in total. A character with an aspect can be called a 'hero of [aspect]' used in Homestuck or '[aspect]bound' used by The Extended Zodiac. Starting from the top of the wheel and working our way clockwise, the aspects are Breath, Blood, Life, Doom, Light, Void, Time, Space, Heart, Mind, Rage, and Hope.

Aspects come in pairs, with each aspect in a pair being "in opposition to each other". These pairs are arranged on a wheel, with paired aspects being set across from each other. Thus, the pairs are Space and Time, Mind and Heart, Hope and Rage, Breath and Blood, and Life and Doom.

Since opposing aspects are set as far apart as possible on the wheel, it can be inferred that aspects set closer together are more similar to each other. However, it is also possible the order was somewhat or entirely arbitrarily and/or was decided based on what looked aesthetically pleasing.

Conclusion and Further Reading

Aspect is only half of the equation and does not paint a full picture of what someone is like. As Calliope puts it, "one can hardly draw many conclUsions aboUt a player by aspect alone" (Homestuck, page 4513). To understand classpecting, one needs to also understand classes. Here's my Class Basics page.

And that's the basics of aspects! If you're curious about learning more about a particular aspect, check out my Classpecting 102 pages.

I hope you enjoyed! Go forth and classpect~