If there ever was a couple whose synastry was defined by the inconjunct (150°) aspect, this is it. These are two strong-minded individuals, he with the Sun, Moon, Pluto, and Uranus in Virgo, and she with the Sun, Mars, and Saturn tightly conjunct in Aquarius.
In this instance where we have no good birth times to work with, we can only speculate about their chart wheels and the possibility that Sarah’s Moon may be in late Capricorn rather than early Aquarius. A late Capricorn Moon would be much happier with Todd’s Virgo Moon and Venus-Mars in Cancer, but we may never know. And it’s doubtful we will ever have a good birth time for Todd. He was born in Dillingham, Alaska, in 1964, the year a 9.2 earthquake devastated the Anchorage area.
Since both of them likely have their Sun, Moon, and Mercury in the same sign, it is the essential differences between Aquarius and Virgo that are highlighted. Aquarius is fixed air and is noted for being quite stubborn about their quirks, while Virgo is mutable earth, a more subtle, service-oriented sign. The key to understanding how these very different people have sustained a marriage lasting 20 years with five children may be in the known conjunctions in their synastry chart.
The nitty-gritty of any compatibility chart comparison is to be found in conjunctions, a major indication of shared experience. Todd’s Virgo stellium is conjunct Sarah’s Uranus and Pluto. Her Sun, Mars, and Saturn in Aquarius form an out-of-sign conjunction with his Saturn in Pisces. Over the course of the next few weeks, Saturn in Virgo will continue transiting their shared planets in Virgo, an indication of the stress of being in the public eye.
Because of the role Neptune has in both their individual charts and in their synastry, their Neptune in Scorpio conjunction moves beyond a generational aspect in importance. Neptune squares Sarah’s Sun and is sextile Todd’s Sun. This means they have a Sun-Neptune intra-aspect. An intra-aspect in synastry is one with the same planets from both charts in aspect by degree, e.g., her Sun is square his Neptune and her Neptune is sextile his Sun. Their shared religious beliefs are one of the important factors in their marriage. This intra-aspect can create a sympathetic bond and soften the edges of the harsher differences.
Another intra-aspect with Neptune involves Mars. Since Todd has a Venus-Mars conjunction in Cancer, and Sarah’s Mars is in Aquarius and her Venus is in Aries, they can use a little help from Neptune’s rose-colored glasses to keep the romance alive. Cancer and Aquarius are also inconjunct and have about as much in common as apples and oranges. Neptune may create illusions, but also may represent strong religious beliefs that have kept them from straying.
Of course, one can never underestimate Saturn’s role in supporting a lasting relationship. She has a natal Sun-Saturn conjunction, and he has a Mercury-Saturn opposition and his Saturn conjoins her Aquarius stellium. They have a Mars-Saturn intra-aspect, underlining their need to honor their vows and behave according to the “rules.”
The transpersonal planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) have a fascinating role in this chart comparison. In Sarah’s chart, Uranus and Pluto do not form aspects to her personal planets, but Todd’s Sun is conjunct both of those planets as well as being square to Neptune. As often happens, when we have unaspected transpersonal planets, we meet those archetypes in the form of another person. It is very possible Todd has a powerful impact on Sarah, although neither may be consciously aware of it. He is her means to tap into the darker side of her nature.
The picture of this relationship I see emerging is of Saturn and Neptune playing key roles – Neptune in the form of their common faith, and Saturn with his insistence on following the rules and respecting legalized bonds. Otherwise, these two would have gone their separate ways long ago, because practical earthy Virgo has little patience with airy Aquarius visions for humanity. It is easy to see Todd as the ultimate self-sufficient Alaskan happily spending hours in the solitude of the back country, a natural for Virgo. And it is also easy to understand Aquarius Sarah wanting to be deeply involved in her community, working with like-minded people for what she sees as the greater good.
posted by Neith . . .
Verified Birth Data: Todd Palin 6 Sept 1964, Dillingham, AK; Sarah Palin 11 Feb 1964, Sandpoint, ID
RealAstrologers 
Neith, this is a perfect illustration of why an accurate birth time is so important. If we had it for even one of them, some of the mysteries would be solved. With a birth time for both of them, we would understand exactly why they are together despite conventional astrological wisdom. At the very least, this shows the silliness of giving any credence whatsoever to Sun signs as the basis for compatibility.
Without accurate birth times, essential information is lacking. For starters, we don’t know their Rising signs, which could make all the difference in the world. We also don’t know the exact degree of their Moon signs, and in Sarah’s case, we’re not even sure whether her Moon is in Capricorn or Aquarius (I’d place my money on Cap). We don’t know where the planets of one fall in the houses of the other, which can be critical. We also don’t have some of the finer details, such as the Vertex or Sun-Moon midpoint, which can indicate the strength of a relationship, karmic connections, and durability.
Whatever you think of these two, they are a fascinating case study in synastry. Thanks for a revealing post. Would love to see something on Barack and Michelle. :-)
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I have a post on the Obama’s in the works and the first intra-aspect that jumped out at me was a Sun-Saturn. No wonder Barack refers to Michelle as “his rock”. Interestingly, they also have an inconjunct aspect between their Suns – his in Leo and hers in Capricorn.
It would be WONDERFUL to have accurate birth times for all these people. :-D
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Very interesting insight into the charts of these people. The other night on the television someone was asking about him becoming the “First Dude”. Their relationship reminds me of many marriages I grew up around, which I always saw requiring adjustment and yet persisted because of strongly held ideals. Of course I suspect those couples ideals were tempered more by the balance of Libra.
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