Category Archives: Love & Relationships

Weekly Forecast April 20: New Moon in Taurus; Mars and Venus enter Aries

Major shifts take place this week, and I’m sure all you sensitive folks with highly attuned antennae are going to feel it.

This is going to be the week we resolve an issue that has been hanging over our heads and holding us back. With that resolution, we can move forward into new territory and, if we look back at all, at least it will be with no regrets.

We begin the week with the Moon in sensitive Pisces, with Venus and Mars moving close to conjunction. That aspect is exact on Tuesday. For romantic relationships, especially, this is a moment of truth. What do we want from our partners? We have to start by being honest with ourselves about what we want and need. Do we long for the impossible, or are we not aiming high enough?

For me and for others who have experienced a soul union with another, only this deep level of connection will do. While that may be hard to find, settling for less out of necessity or for practical reasons would be equally impossible and could have disastrous results. This moment of clarity has come to me only in the past few days, and it has been accompanied by many tears, not unlike going away on a long journey to a new and exciting place, knowing that you are leaving loved ones and a way of life behind, perhaps forever.

Right after the Venus-Mars conjunction, the Moon conjoins Uranus and carries the energy of radical change forward to Venus, just as Mars is entering Aries and the new territory. The Moon meets Mars right after this shift on Wednesday, so be prepared for your world to be rocked.

Venus enters Aries on Friday, but due to her recent retrograde phase, she is moving far more slowly than Mars and won’t catch up to him for nearly two months. This in itself is a rare phenomenon, as Venus and Mars typically meet only once every couple of years. When they meet again in Taurus on the Summer Solstice, it will be their third meeting in less than a year. I do believe this is significant for love relationships and for correcting an energy imbalance on the planet.

Later on Friday, we have the New Moon in Taurus in a lovely earth trine with Pluto. This New Moon will be ruled by Venus, and since she will have just moved into Aries, we can look forward to new beginnings on many fronts. Of course, Neith will have more shortly, so come back and look for her post.

On Sunday, Mars squares Pluto, and unfortunately this raises the specter of raw power plays. Again, I think these will come out mostly in relationships. However, just remember that all conflict isn’t bad. If you can maintain your awareness, you not only can get through the storm, but you can learn important information about yourself and the other person or situation.

Wishing you strong hearts, with much courage and love.
Pat

Image: The Pain of Love, by William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1899.

Saturday Archives: The Inconjunct in Synastry

It's all about balance. With sentimental Venus in Pisces soon to conjoin Mars in Pisces in the sky romance is in the air, so I decided to pull this article on one of the more difficult synastry aspects to work with. Yes, rather contrary but I’m a Libra and like to present the other side of the story. :-)

There has been discussion about the Inconjunct (150° degree aspect) in synastry and soul mates but I’m not going to go there since this is outside my personal experience realm. I’m going to discuss the possibilities inherent in everyday interactions when people have the personal planets inconjunct by sign in synastry. We are under the aegis of earth now and it’s nuts and bolts, not ideology, that is asked for.

A reasonably typical scenario is when two people are attracted to each other with red hot chemistry shown by strong Venus-Mars aspects between them. However when we look at the way the Luminaries (the Sun & Moon) and Mercury relate we find the inconjunct showing up. Let’s start with what happens when the Luminaries are inconjunct.

If person A has Sun in Gemini and person B has their Moon in Scorpio, the Gemini Sun will feel like all their efforts to relate are falling into a black hole of the Scorpio Moon. Gemini likes to keep things light and chatty and someone with Moon in Scorpio goes for brooding and secretive. There is a stark difference in style here and the possibility of the Sun person inadvertently offending the Moon person just by walking their walk and talking their talk is high. There is a better chance for the relationship to succeed if person B’s Sun is conjunct, sextile or trine person A’s Moon because it will give them a way to work around the differences shown by the inconjunct.

When the Moons are inconjunct, the greatest obstacle is the nature of the way the Moon operates in our charts. The Moon shows our habit patterns and our emotional response, often in an unconscious way. For instance, someone with Moon in Virgo is going to have difficulty living around a Moon in Aries person. Virgo is inclined to be very private about what they feel and slow to commit while fiery Aries just jumps right in and wants to know when they can move in! Earth and Fire have very different priorities around the home. Practical workarounds usually require lots of space, patience and negotiation. It’s also helpful if there are flowing aspects to the Moons from other planets in the synastry.

Mercury inconjuncts I do know a little about because that I have experience with. My Mercury in Scorpio is inconjunct my SO’s Mercury-Jupiter conjunction in Aries. The saving grace for me is Mercury is very strong in my chart and communicating well has been a long time focus for me, otherwise the frustration level would be much greater! Here’s an example: my mind is very slow to wake up, so telling me something important first thing after I wake up is usually not a good idea. Mercury in Aries wakes up totally engaged and ready to rock and roll. We learned to wait until I’ve been up for at least an hour before talking over critical matters – but it was tough to break our instinctive patterns of communicating.

Mars-Venus inconjuncts often indicates difficulties in timing. One person is exhausted, has other demands on their time or they just aren’t in the mood, etc. If the rest of the synastry is great, this can be consciously worked around even if it doesn’t feel very romantic.

Patience and a good astrologer can be very helpful when it comes to sorting out ways to work with inconjuncts in synastry. Knowing what’s going on is often the key to helping us be more understanding and considerate of each other. So if your lover is frustrating the heck out of you and you want to gain some insight as to ways to resolve it, collect your birth data and see an astrologer . . .

posted by Neith . . .

Image: Seeking to find balance is what this image portrays quite well.

Ask Real Astrologers: Why Does This Relationship Feel Fated?

This week’s question comes from Maya in New York:

I’m curious to know if there’s an important significance to having one person’s first house fall in the other person’s seventh and vice versa? My Ascendant falls in my boyfriend’s seventh house (conjunct his Saturn). While the degree of his Ascendant actually falls in my sixth house, the degree of my Descendant is intercepted in his first house. I don’t know what this means, but it seems like this should be significant. Our relationship feels highly “fated” to me.

Neith’s response:

Maya, the synastry aspects most associated with the feeling a relationship is “fated to be” are conjunctions involving the Saturn, Moon’s Nodes, and the Vertex. My personal preference is to keep the orbs small for all three of these – only two to three degrees as a general rule. These aspects usually ask us to pay attention and learn some things about ourselves via the relationship.

We are familiar with Saturn’s lessons of taking responsibility, being reliable, etc. Often, Saturn in synastry will bring us face to face with our insecurities, asking us to deal with them. As I’ve said before, hard aspects to Saturn are very common in lasting partnerships.

The Moon’s Nodes and the Vertex in synastry inform us of a potentially transformative interaction. Frequently, partners with synastry aspects to these points comment that they feel a sense of recognition and familiarity. Something else that can come into play is a deepening feeling of obligation over time, particularly if one person does all the giving, receiving little in return.

It’s also very common to see a combination of sweet and sour aspects in synastry – lovely Mars-Venus aspects along with kisses from Jupiter to sweeten the deal and make us want to stay around, backed up with the “fated” aspects. Other factors in our natal charts and in the synastry can help us determine our tolerance for accelerated personal growth. There is a very good reason Saturn is exalted in Libra, the sign of relating to others, because there is no better way to learn and grow than through actively participating in a long-term, committed partnership.

Good luck with this one, Maya!

Pat’s response:

Maya, this is a great question. You are right to suspect that flipped Ascendants and Descendants are significant in synastry charts. Alone, this isn’t enough to indicate an enduring relationship or a karmic connection, but if other aspects support it, it is certainly a major source of attraction. There’s a sort of mirroring effect, and often we look for partners that mirror who we are.

Technically, you and your boyfriend do not have flipped Ascendants and Descendants, because, as you note, his Ascendant and Descendant fall in your sixth and twelfth houses, respectively. But your Ascendant and Descendant do fall in his seventh and first houses, and this is not a bad aspect to have, either.

The “Big Three” markers in any birth chart are the Sun, Ascendant, and Moon. When any of these are in a partner’s first or seventh houses, you feel a connection, and these configurations often are present in the synastry charts of committed couples as well as in the charts of long-term friends. As I mentioned above, there must also be other factors present in the synastry chart to indicate a strong romantic relationship.

Wishing you both much love and courage, and thanks for writing.

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. We are getting some really great questions but unfortunately can’t use many of them, as they are missing information. If you’d like us to consider your question for this column, you must include your day, month (spelled out), year, and place of birth, and time if you know it. If you don’t, indicate “time unknown.” Also, we must have your current location. This is not optional. Thanks!

Ask Real Astrologers: Will His Pluto Transit Wreck Our Marriage?

This week’s question comes from Cathy in the Philippines:

My question is basically about my marriage. I’ve been told my husband [has] a devastating Pluto transit going on in his chart and that it may very well get worse for our relationship … Will the stars be able to say if a permanent separation is possible? What’s the best way for ME to deal with this transit vis-a-vis my own? I’ve actually not had a look at my own transits in comparison to his.

Pat’s response:

Well, Cathy, we don’t have to look very far to see that there’s a lot going on in your life!

In your natal chart, you have a tight square between Pluto and Saturn, and these currently are being activated by transiting Pluto, which also happens to be on your lunar North Node. The New Moon in Aries yesterday formed the last leg to make a grand cardinal cross.

To translate, you are at a crossroads at which there are many changes ahead for you. The New Moon suggests that these will be positive new beginnings, although there’s a lot of heavy energy playing out in your life right now, so I don’t expect you’re feeling anything like “excitement about new adventures” and all that. By the looks of it, you may feel backed into a corner and forced to accept circumstances that you would not have wanted, given a choice.

At the same time, transiting Saturn has just passed over your Sun and is squaring your Moon in Sagittarius. Challenging Saturn-Moon transits can make us feel depressed, isolated, and alone, even if it isn’t the case, although unfortunately sometimes a key relationship does end under this influence.

On the bright side, Jupiter is making a nice trine to your natal Venus-Uranus conjunction and also to your Ascendant. I think this will bring you some relief. If your husband decides to leave, it looks to me like you will find someone else very quickly.

Other than that, I am not going to comment on his chart, as ultimately you don’t have any control over what he does or doesn’t do with his heavy Pluto transit. All you can control is your response to your own transits, and you have all you can handle without trying to look after him, too.

Although you are going through a hard time, I believe you are going to come out of this very well, and you will look back and see that the events happening now were necessary to get you to a better, happier place.

I wish you much love and courage.

Neith’s response:

Cathy, with your Libra Rising, having a partner is very important to you, and you obviously take holding up your end of the bargain seriously. However, Venus, Libra’s ruler, is tucked away in your twelfth house conjunct Uranus and blessing you with a naturally independent streak, as does your Sagittarius Moon.

As Pat noted, Pluto is exactly opposing your Saturn in Cancer now. Your Saturn is also conjunct your husband’s Venus, giving us a great example of how conjunctions in synastry affect both parties. The Saturn-Venus conjunction likes being married, and having Pluto opposing this conjunction is not comfortable in any sense. Pluto cares nothing whatsoever for conventions and is intent on slowing transforming your views in this regard.

You have an agreeable sextile between your Saturn in Cancer and Mars in Taurus, reinforcing the side of you that likes routine and keeping things simple. Combine this with Rising Libra’s well-known fondness for not rocking the boat, and it’s easy to see why you may feel split down the middle right now.

Something I’ve found to be a good rule of thumb for evaluating if you have made a good choice for yourself is if the dominant feeling is one of relief. My hunch is that once you have come to a decision, you will be surprised at how much clearer you feel. The last week in May might be a good time to watch out for fireworks, when Mars in Aries crosses your Descendant and conjoins your husband’s Mercury-Moon.

Good luck and be well, Cathy.

Ask Real Astrologers: Freaked Out by Pluto

This week’s question comes from Danae in Wellington, New Zealand:

I’ve been quietly freaking out re: this whole Pluto in Capricorn thing and how it affects me, especially the relationship I’m in at the moment — intense, to say the least. Any advice or insight on what’s in store? Although I must say, I am struggling in so many areas of my life at the moment. Am I doomed?

Pat’s response:

Danae, it does look like you are getting hit doubly hard by this Pluto transit, but it certainly does not mean you are doomed!

Pluto currently is opposite your Sun in Cancer, although he will not form an exact opposition until next January. He’s about to go retrograde and will back off from your Sun until then. Still, he’s too close for comfort, and you apparently are feeling this.

The good news is that, unlike some Pluto transits, you do have a large degree of control over a Pluto-Sun opposition. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to ruthlessly monitor your own behavior to make sure that you are not trying to force other people to live on your terms. We can fool ourselves into thinking it’s “for their own good,” but more often than not, it’s because we want to remain in control, for whatever reason. Sometimes this transit can work the other way around — in other words, someone is trying to force you into their box. In this case, your job is to fight back, but in a way that allows you both free expression of your life purpose and highest potential.

Pluto also is creeping up on your Descendant, which is the beginning of the seventh house of intimate relationships. He’s currently a couple of degrees away, and once he turns retrograde, he’ll back way off and won’t cross your Descendant until 2011. However, you gave your birth time as exactly on the hour, and it’s rare to be born that punctually. I’m wondering whether you may have been born a few minutes before the hour. If so, Pluto indeed may be crossing your Descendant, which indicates that relationship issues are coming to a head.

Astrologers can use this kind of information to do chart rectification, a technique for determining your exact birth time. Unfortunately, in your case, Pluto opposite your Sun mimics some of the effects of Pluto crossing the Descendant, so we’d have to look for other clues.

In any case, there’s no need to freak out. This is a power transit, so use it wisely!

Neith’s response:

Danae, I’m going to respond with some thoughts about your relationship and the synastry aspects I believe are the source of the most contention.

As you may know, Pluto in Libra is square your natal Mercury in Cancer, bringing all his usual control issues and inclination to be obsessive with him. So when your sweetie’s Pluto is within a couple degrees of yours, his Pluto reinforces what is already happening in your chart.

Sure, his Pluto is exactly sextile your Venus in Leo – very good for passionate encounters – but his Saturn is also conjunct your Venus. This can result in a lot of mixed signals coming your way. On one hand, he obviously finds you very desirable, while on the other, he may be uncomfortable with your style. Venus in Leo does go for eye-catching after all. Your Pluto also falls right in there with his natal Pluto-Mars conjunction, adding to the powerful draw between you.

The question I have for you is this: what expectations do you and he have regarding this relationship and each other, and what expectations do you have of yourself? If you two can clearly define what’s going on here and continue to practice being as open as possible with each other, it will help! And I will add my usual caveat regarding Pluto, which is to work on detachment – always.

I would like to add, Danae, your overall synastry with this man is not bad at all. Good luck!

Saturday Extra: Tragic Love Stories

Hermia and Lysander, by Julius Simmons, 1870. Hermia and Lysander are lovers in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, from which we get the famous line, "The course of true love never did run smooth."

Libra Neith is usually the one who writes about synastry, so you might have expected that she would do our Valentine’s Day post. Well, Libra also is religious about taking turns, and this week it’s my turn!

I started thinking about the greatest love stories of all time and then ran across a Live Science feature in the news headlines that began like this:

Nothing celebrates Valentine’s Day quite like a good love story. And by good, we mean tragic, of course.

How true! When you think of the greatest love stories of all time, do you remember the ones with the happy endings? Of course not. We remember those where the heroine poisons herself, the hero dies after one night of passion, or someone betrays the lovers, dooming them to remain separated forever.

The Live Science story cites five tragic tales from the history books, but fiction is just as tragic, if not more so. When we think of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet come immediately to mind. In Celtic mythology, we have Tristan and Isolde, and we might think of Lancelot and Guinevere as well. In contemporary film, there’s Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic, Nicole Kidman and Jude Law in Cold Mountain, and Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman in Dracula. Indeed, in Francis Ford Coppola’s rendition of that age-old tale, the hero is cursed with becoming a monster through betrayal that results in the death of his true love.

As an astrologer, I’m always looking for the astrological angle in these stories. Are there markers to indicate a tragic love? Unfortunately, our fictitious lovers don’t have birth charts, nor do we have precise data for couples from ancient history. However, I’ve seen enough charts to make some observations.

Venus rules love, while the Moon rules emotional attachments. For sexual desire and passion, we look at Mars and Pluto. Any of these planets in conflicting aspect to Saturn in a synastry chart between two individuals can mean trouble, as Saturn limits and also carries karmic implications. So, for example, a conjunction of Saturn and Venus might indicate a love affair that is hindered in some way. Likewise, a Moon-Saturn square could indicate great emotional suffering, while a Mars-Saturn square might indicate a violent breakup.

It’s also useful to look at the lunar nodes and chart angles, including the Vertex. For chart angles and also for the exact degree of the Moon, we need a birth time. The nodes and the Vertex in particular give us an indication of karmic connections; in other words, whether these two are soul mates.

As I’ve commented many times before, having a soul mate may sound romantic, but it’s hard work. Add to that the potential for a tragic ending, and you may start wishing that you never meet yours!

Happy Valentine’s Day.
Pat
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Happy V Day from Neith
Happy Valentine’s Day from Neith

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Saturday Archives: Saturn in Synastry . . . Neith’s Take

folk's wedding in 1944 Pulling a post on Saturn in synastry from the archives for Saturday (Saturn’s Day) seems like a good idea. It is also important to remember Saturn aspects in synastry can provide the foundation for a lasting relationship . . . not such a bad guy after all?

A friend requested my take on how Saturn works in synastry between the charts, and as a true Libra Sun person with a life-long fascination with how relationships work, how could I say no?

Over the years, I’ve done a lot of reading relating to synastry, and I’ve looked at a lot of different relationships plus my own — especially my own! When it comes to Saturn, I still favor Steven Arroyo’s work in this area. He is a fellow Libra and has done extensive astrological relationship counseling over the years. Another favorite, Liz Greene, has what I consider The Book on Saturn: Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil. Between these two astrologers and my own experiences, Saturn in synastry is simply not the bad guy that traditional astrologers have made him out to be.

This is not to say there aren’t synastry aspects with Saturn that are not tough to deal with; there are. Saturn forming squares and inconjuncts to the Moon and Venus in particular can be difficult to resolve. However, conjunctions and oppositions, as well as squares, show up with great frequency in chart comparisons of couples that have been together — and happily — for many years. One of the key factors may be that most of the time there has been some kind of formal documentation of the relationship, such as marriage, wills, etc. Saturn likes it very much when both partners sign on the dotted line and announce to the community that they are a couple.

Conjunctions, trines, sextiles, and oppositions between Saturn and the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ascendant, and Descendant are all aspects that can indicate a durable relationship. Saturn acts as a stabilizing element and helps ground the relationship in time and space. When the synastry has loads of Jupiter and Uranus intra-aspects for fun and freedom, I like to see a good solid Saturn aspect to provide some balance. If I don’t see one or two, then it’s likely that the relationship will burn brightly, and then both partners will move on.

My SO’s Saturn is conjunct my Moon-Neptune, which falls in his seventh House — a classic aspect for the long run. Traditional astrology says I will experience this as oppressive and run into lots of resistance to the natural expression of my emotional nature. I will own up to some of that, but after 17 years of being essentially happy and comfortable together, my overriding experience has been one where I find him emotionally dependable, and this creates a feeling of security for me. OK, I have Taurus on the cusp of my seventh house, so I like a partner who others may find boring, but that’s the beauty of astrology: we can determine what type of partner best suits us.

While we love to look chart comparisons, I feel I must reiterate — one more time — that chart comparisons start with the individual! And if as an individual you are not yet in a place to be a good partner, please acknowledge that to yourself if no one else. My Libra side tells me the willingness to compromise is a very important aspect of being a good partner. To make healthy compromises, we need to know exactly what is and what is not negotiable. This goes right to the heart of being a good partner . . .

posted by Neith . . .

Image: This is the wedding photo of my Libra mom & Cancer dad . . . they were married just a week shy of 63 yrs when she died March 2007. One of the reasons I believe in the possibility of lasting reasonably happy relationships!

Ask Real Astrologers: Will Pluto on Venus Improve My Love Life?

Our question this week comes from Tarja in Finland:

I have been reading a lot about meeting someone and that when it usually happens both have the same sort of planet situation. So if my Pluto is conjunct Venus will his be as well, or what does it mean? And can one see that in one’s own chart?Also everywhere the Pluto on Venus is said to be very strong (like a big bang, unavoidable) but usually nothing happens to me, so how sure it is that anything will happen at all?

Neith’s response:

Tarja, with Libra rising in your chart, gentle Venus plays a larger role than she usually does. You have Venus in Capricorn natally square to Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, inclining you to be cautious and somewhat conventional about love. At the same time, your Venus forms an out-of-sign square with very unconventional Uranus creating the potential for an inner conflict between desiring a committed relationship and needing your freedom of movement.

Pluto-Venus synastry aspects do create the potential for a deep, powerful connection, but with your Sun and Moon in Aquarius and Libra rising, an all-consuming love affair may not be for you. Moon in Aquarius in particular is often detached and quirky when it comes to love. Yes, Libra rising does incline a person to enjoy having a partner, but here again, the sharing is less about emotions and more intellectual in nature.

Pluto will be conjoining your Venus by transit starting the first week of March, lasting all of April and into the second week of May, so you will have plenty of time to get acquainted with the effects. If you meet someone during this time, you could end up obsessing about them endlessly! Another effect is learning what has lasting value to you and a willingness to discard what does not. This may be a case of being careful what you wish for!

Best of luck to you and remember to always be as honest with yourself as possible!

Pat’s response:

This is a great question, Tarja!

There are almost always astrological markers for the first meeting between two people who eventually become involved in a meaningful relationship, whether that union lasts for one night or a whole lifetime. These markers have a wide range and generally indicate the type of relationship as well. For example, a Venus-Uranus transit in one person’s chart might indicate a head-over-heels reaction that burns out just as quickly. The indicators are not always present in both people’s charts. Powerful indicators in one chart alone are enough to trigger a meeting. That said, it often happens that the meeting takes place or the two people “click” when a transiting planet crosses a shared degree in their charts, either a key planet or a chart point, including the Vertex.

Pluto-Venus transits are usually about sex. If a relationship does come into your life at this time, physical love likely will be the focus, and as Neith writes above, it likely will have an obsessive quality to it. Intense passion can be extremely uncomfortable for many people, and I agree with Neith that it may throw you initially. It likely will be a learning experience for you more than anything else.

Note, however, that Pluto will not be in exact conjunction with your natal Venus until next year. He gets very close this March but then turns retrograde and backs off. In 2010, you’ll have three passes of Pluto on your natal Venus between January and November. Perhaps events in your love life this spring will reflect this “almost,” and that could be a learning experience, too. I couldn’t agree more with Neith that looking into your heart and being honest about what you really want and need would be enormously helpful to you at this time.

Many blessings to you on your search for love, and thanks again for writing!

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Saturday Archives: Saturn in Synastry – Natal Chart

The World by Toni Allen (represents Saturn) The more I work with people on their synastry with another, the more I realize it all comes back to the natal chart and learning what Saturn has to teach us about loving and accepting ourselves as we are BEFORE we embark on a relationship with another human being.

Saturn has gotten a lot of bad press over the years yet he has been my saving grace more often than not when Neptune, Uranus or Pluto embroiled me in their fun and games. As an astrologer, I look to Saturn in the natal chart to show how the individual handles their responsibilities to others and themselves. In fact, if we don’t learn to be responsible to ourselves first, the chances of us being there for others is not too great.

As a person with a natal out-of-sign Sun/Saturn square, I grew up with one or the other of my parents (Saturn) keeping my nose to the grindstone. We had a small family farm and we all had lots of chores to do. In general people with Saturn in aspect to their Sun, no matter the nature of the aspect, are often given responsibilities at an early age and are pretty much going to be made to attend to them. The effect of a Sun/Saturn aspect on how we relate as adults is often dependant on other aspects to our Suns. If we have a Jupiter or Venus aspect to the Sun natally, we will tend to develop a more optimistic outlook, and be less likely to choose a “parent” for a partner. If not, it may take several Saturn cycles including the Saturn Return to help us realize how valuable we are.

The Moon in aspect to Saturn has a sobering effect on our emotions and habits. We are often like Moon in Capricorn, very cautious and aware of where we fit into our social group; and likely to be “old” when we are young and “young” as we age. With a natal Moon/Saturn sextile myself, I know this pattern well. Saturn can have a dampening effect on the Moon, making one lean towards choosing friends and lovers based on whether they are reliable rather than exciting. That is unless Uranus is also aspecting the Moon, then all bets are off!

Venus in aspect to Saturn?! I have one of those too. With Venus in Sagittarius in the 1st House, having Saturn trine to it probably keep me from doing too many wild and crazy things. However, it’s possible with Venus in aspect to Saturn to be so conventional and hedged about by the need to fit in; all the fun can be drained out of life. This aspect is the one most associated with undervaluing our feeling of being desirable. Here again if we are patient with Saturn’s lessons we can learn how to unfold our wings and transform our self-image. People with Venus/Saturn aspects are sometimes the ones who undertake a healthy diet and exercise program to very good effect – mostly because they stay with it long enough to see real results. We attract partners who appreciate someone who demonstrates reliability, not very romantic but good for lasting relationships with others.

When it comes to Mars/Saturn aspects natally, I have to go with what I’ve observed in others, like my sister who has Mars conjunct Saturn in Cancer. She can work longer and harder without letting up than anyone I know – except for others with Mars in close aspect to Saturn. This aspect can cause deep frustration of the need to act but at the same time it gives great endurance. Mars/Saturn aspects function similarly to Mars in Capricorn, one of the placements of Mars said to give one a steady sex drive but very controlled. This aspect suggests this individual is going to take their time before committing to a relationship but if they do, they’ll be around for the long haul. Sometimes Saturn can give Mars a fear of taking action and lead to a situation of complete impasse.

With an accurate birth time, we can also find out if Saturn is conjunct the Ascendant or Midheaven in the chart. Those with Saturn on the Ascendant tend to present a dour face to the world even if they are fun loving and sociable in privacy. If we wish to draw a partner more in tune with who we are at home, we need to keep in mind to show this self more often. Saturn on the Midheaven is an indicator of someone who is all business on the job even if they are a party animal away from the office. In both these cases, it usually pays to take the time (Saturn) to get to know them in different settings.

This is more or less the cliff notes version of how Saturn works natally. I highly recommend getting a hold of a copy of Liz Greene’s book, “Saturn: a new look at an old devil”. Almost every astrologer I’ve ever talked agrees this book is the definitive source of information on Saturn. My copy is well read because it’s a staple reference book in my astrology library.

posted by Neith . . .

Saturday Archives: The Natal Chart in Synastry, Part 5 – Jupiter

Jupiter - Wheel of Fortune card from Celestial Tarot Today Venus moves into Sagittarius and I decided to honor her with a post from the Archives about Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius.

Just as Saturn tends to get undeserved bad press, I feel Jupiter is on the receiving end of too much good press. My position may be influenced by my Libra tendency to bring balance into everything but my experience with Jupiter inclines me to be more cautious in his praise. That being said, a strong Jupiter influence in the Natal chart does help a person bounce back from Life’s disappointments.

Sun/Jupiter aspects in the Natal chart do make for someone who will keep on looking for that special person to share their lives. I have an out-of-sign Sun/Jupiter conjunction (Jupiter is in the 12th House) and lord only knows, I needed that inner optimism because it took my Libra Sun/Moon self a looong time to find my partner – past my Uranus opposition cycle. The “hard” aspects (square and inconjunct in particular) can lead the Sun to unfounded optimism, leading to the occasional brutal smack of hard, cold reality but these folks are the “cock-eyed” optimists and will soon be chasing another rainbow.

The Moon in aspect to Jupiter, especially by square and conjunction, are those who like to inject some emotional drama into their lives and the lives of their loved ones. This I know because I live with someone who has Moon conjunct Jupiter. Fortunately his conjunction is in Aries, so the drama explodes on the scene in typical Fire sign fashion and dissipates just as quickly. Moon/Jupiter aspects do give an emotional resiliency, especially the trines and sextiles. The worst case scenario I’ve seen is a Moon/Jupiter/Pluto conjunction where the individuals fears (Pluto) were magnified by Jupiter to the point they practically immobilized themselves because they were so afraid of everything!

Mercury/Jupiter aspects can make a person a very good teller of tales or so prone to exaggeration you don’t know what the truth of the matter is. If Mercury is in a Fire sign, the result may be someone who blurts out whatever crosses their minds regardless of the impact of their words. Intent plays a big role with this aspect because it can cause us to laugh or create a great deal of pain as the result of the distortion of the facts.

When Jupiter goes dancing with Venus, we can expect the high, wide and generous romantic gestures. A man with Venus in aspect to Jupiter may be attracted to very voluptuous women and a woman with this aspect will really appreciate being showered with gifts and affection in the grand style. The conjunction, square and inconjunct can lead to living beyond one’s means because the hedonistic pull can be very strong. We tend to like people with Venus/Jupiter aspects because most of the time they know how to enjoy themselves . . .

Moving on the Mars/Jupiter aspects where the extreme expression is the daredevil. This person may create scenarios where he or she can be the hero/heroine riding to the rescue. Mars/Jupiter conjunctions in particular have great physical endurance and if you are not a hardy sort yourself, you may want to consider the ramifications of what it means to be around someone like this! Here again Jupiter “magnifies” the existing energy of the planet.

With an accurate birth time, we can also find out if Jupiter is conjunct the Ascendant or Midheaven in the chart. Those with Jupiter on the Ascendant tend to present a fun loving and sociable face in public even if they are very private people by nature. Jupiter on the Midheaven can be someone who excels in selling themselves or their ideas with flare and verve. Many of us are very different people when we are at home then out in the World and it pays to get to know someone in both settings.

As I was writing this I realized once again why discussing your natal chart with a competent astrologer who can see how the patterns in the chart all tie together is so important. The “cookbook” style on individual aspects just does not allow for the synthesis of information needed to see the whole person – and when we relate to others, the need for a balance, informed perspective is even more important.

posted by Neith . . .

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