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We use ray-trace equations for uniaxial birefringent materials to derive third-order estimates for aberrations that are produced in imaging through uniaxial plates and horizontal–vertical (HV) depolarizers. An HV depolarizer is a spatial pseudodepolarizer; it converts a uniform input polarization state into a continuum of spatially varying polarization states in an output beam. An HV depolarizer consists of two birefringent wedges whose crystal axes are crossed at 90°. The interface between the wedges is inclined, which leads to a spatially varying retardance that provides the spatial pseudodepolarization. In HV depolarizers, spherical aberration, astigmatism, and image doubling are the principal aberrations for on-axis objects. Only spherical aberration occurs in isotropic plates, while the presence of birefringent wedges introduces astigmatism and image doubling. It is shown that image separation is proportional to the …