Semi-square

The semi-square places two planets forty-five degrees apart — half a square, and it behaves like one at lower volume. The friction is real but rarely dramatic: an itch rather than a wound, a recurring snag between two drives that never quite escalates into open conflict. That mildness is its trick. Because the tension stays below the threshold of crisis, it is easy to ignore, and what is ignored repeats. Worked with, the semi-square sharpens: its small, chronic pressure builds skill the way a whetstone does — by degrees, through contact.