Category Archives: Ask Real Astrologers

Ask Real Astrologers: Sun Signs in Synastry

 This week’s question comes from Angelica in Samoa:

Virgo is compatible with Taurus and least compatible with Sagittarius, right? Well, I’ve been in a two-year relationship with a Sag, but have been having feelings for a Taurus man. I know that the stars say I would do better with this Taurus, but my Sag boyfriend just won’t let me go. And I am also finding it hard to let go. He’s been more than faithful and I truly feel he is the one. One of my fears is that later on, the predicted bachelor side will eventually kick in and he’ll have the urge to explore love elsewhere. My other fear is that my Taurus friend won’t wait much longer. Who should I go for: my faithful Sagittarian or my dearest Taurean?

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

If we go just by the Sun sign, then Virgo would be more compatible with Taurus, as both are earth signs. However, there is a wealth of other information to help determine compatibility between individuals using the whole natal chart based on time, place, and date of birth.

When we find ourselves connecting to someone who Sun sign astrology says is not a good match, it’s often because we our Moon, Venus, or Ascendant is in the same sign as our significant other’s Sun. For example, your Sagittarius sweetheart may have the Moon in Virgo or some other earth sign, giving him a means to relate to your Virgo Sun.

Traditionally, Sagittarius is the sign associated with unwillingness to commit, and Taurus is seen as stable and predictable. But other factors in the natal chart can cause them to behave just the opposite.

Right now, Saturn is transiting through Virgo, causing many of these somewhat solitary types to take a long look at the idea of committing and settling down. If you were born early in Virgo (birthday in late August) then this may be happening to you!

In this instance, you would benefit more from having one of us do a paid report for you going into more detail.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s Answer:

Angelica, a decision as important as choosing a partner merits deeper exploration into their character than looking at stereotypical Sun sign traits. I would go so far as to say that Sun sign compatibility is almost meaningless. If we accomplish anything here on Real Astrologers, I hope it will be putting this common astrological misconception to rest.

I couldn’t agree more with Neith about the need to have a complete compatibility report. I’m not just saying this because we want your money. Astrological compatibility is truly complex and intricate, and I wouldn’t dream of giving you incomplete information when you’re about to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life.

Along those lines, I agree with Neith that we just can’t answer your question in enough depth in this column. We can answer general questions here, but questions about overall compatibility with a specific person need to be addressed in an individual report. We’re working on putting up sample reports so that our readers can see what you’ll get with each of our compatibility options. I also do telephone readings and am working on getting up to speed with Skype to extend this service internationally.

If we can be of further help, please contact us. Meanwhile, best of luck to you in finding the true love that you deserve.

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Ask Real Astrologers: Moon’s Nodes in Synastry

 Our question this week comes from Jennifer.

How would you recommend someone handle synastry where someone’s planet is conjunct another person’s node? Even though it’s not a romantic relationship, somehow this makes me feel extremely obligated and bound to the person, and I don’t quite know what to do about it. With the people who are bugging me, one has Venus conjunct my South Node (and conjunct their North), the other has Venus conjunct my North Node. Even worse, that one’s my mother. I am constantly irritated with her, but it feels like I’m married to her! I think we reinforce the bad traits in each other somehow.

Libra ponders . . .Neith’s answer:

Jennifer, awhile back I waded through a bunch of family birth dates to look for reversed nodes patterns. The most reversed nodes were between mother and child for some reason. Reversed nodes are not easy to live with, because the nodes represent a strong theme in our lives and in the case of reversed nodes, very simply put, you are going in opposite directions. Most often the child moved far away from the mother as soon as possible because of the irritation factor.

With a planet or planets conjunct a node, they act to amplify the nodal energy. Even Venus, who has a reputation for being pleasant, can come off as cloying. Jan Spiller, in her book Cosmic Love, suggests the South Node person may feel a sense of indebtedness to the Venus person, who is inclined to be overly permissive in this instance. The Venus/North Node conjunction is about helping each other with self-worth issues.

In the case of the North Node/Venus conjunction, finding a balance between being supportive and nurturing oneself may be easier to sort out, because we are usually more detached when it comes to the North Node. However, the South Node/Venus conjunction may take more tact to handle. If it were me, I’d opt for distance. Then, I’m a Libra and not fond of confrontation!

My mother’s North Node was in Libra conjunct my Moon/Neptune. In the end, I had to move out of town for several years to help separate my emotional baggage from hers. We were always close, but it was my choice to keep a measure of distance between us. Otherwise, I ended up feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s what we need to do to preserve our sanity with nodal connections . . . maintain some distance.

Both Pat and I do synastry work (check out our reports on Love and Relationships) and either of us would be happy to offer more feedback based on the rest of the charts of the individuals involved.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s Answer

I’m not sure I can add much to Neith’s response, as she was very thorough. Two things do come to mind, though:

First, a relationship is never based on one aspect, dramatic though it may be. Chances are, you have lots of other things going on between your charts, and these are feeding into your Venus-Node discomfort. If you have to interact with these people on a regular basis, you might want to order a compatibility reading to help you determine where you might be able to connect positively.

Second, while there are often cases of simple “bad chemistry” over which you have no control, that the nodes are involved with these two people tells me that there may be a valuable lesson for you if you stick with the relationship. I believe this is especially true with your mother, since it’s your North Node that’s involved here.

Not everyone is amenable to having heart-felt discussions, and you may not trust them enough to want to reveal your innermost fears and vulnerability. But at the very least, have that discussion with yourself. How do these two people reflect what’s going on inside of you? In the case of your mother, did she project her issues onto you as a child, so that now it appears that they’re yours? If so, might she be reinforcing them? My therapist in the late 80s called this the “family trance.” No matter how much we grow and evolve or how aware we are of childhood programming, when we get back together with family, we’re somehow sucked back into the old patterns.

Good luck, Jennifer!

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Ask Real Astrologers: Why Does This Capricorn Feel Like a Sagittarius?

This week’s question comes from Leah in Hilo, Hawaii, who asks about the differences between tropical and sidereal astrology.

“I was born a Capricorn, tropically. Now I am informed I am a Sagittarius, since I am now 53 (I think the Sag started when I was 45). Should I be reading only the Sag sign info or both the Sag and Cap? I definitely feel the difference from Cap to Sag. So I am thinking there is something to this type of astrology. Any thoughts?”

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s answer:

This is a great question, but unfortunately not easy to answer, since it is very complicated.

Astrology as most of us in the West know it was developed by the ancient Babylonians. At the time, Aries was on the eastern horizon at sunrise on the spring equinox. However, due to the way the Earth spins on its axis, this has changed over the millennia, so that we now have about 5 degrees Pisces on the eastern horizon on the equinox. This phenomenon is called precession.

The Greeks dealt with precession by dividing the sky into 12 equal parts and assigning one sign of the Zodiac to each sector, starting with 0 degrees Aries on the spring equinox. The exact dates change from one year to the next, but the equinox generally is around March 20. This is the Western tropical system of astrology that you’re referring to. When you say you’re a Capricorn, what you mean is that the Sun was moving through the tenth sector from 0 degrees Aries on the day you were born.

Vedic astrology, which is the system developed in India and other Eastern countries, doesn’t correct for precession. This is the basis for sidereal astrology, which is used by a small number of astrologers in the West. So while your Sun is at 19 degrees Capricorn in Western astrology, it’s at 25 degrees Sagittarius according to the sidereal system. Proponents of sidereal astrology argue that this system more accurately reflects the positions of the planets against the backdrop of the constellations.

According to the sidereal system, you were born a Sagittarius, and that has not changed. In other words, you didn’t go from a Cap to a Sag around age 45. It appears that you may be confusing sidereal astrology with the Western technique of chart progression. I will turn you over to Neith to explain more about this, since she works with chart progressions more than I do.

There is another explanation, however, for why you feel more “like a Sagittarius.” In your birth chart (Western tropical), you have 17 degrees Scorpio on the Ascendant, with the first half of Sagittarius in your first house. Pluto, the planet of transformation, was in Sagittarius throughout your 40s, so you no doubt went through a change!

I always advise my clients to read for Rising sign first, then Sun sign. In your case, either Scorpio or Sag might work. Eventually, Neith and I will do Rising sign horoscopes, which I believe most of you will find to be a much more accurate reflection of what’s happening in your daily lives.

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

Leah, after spending some time looking at your progressed chart using the year for a day method (count one day for each year of your life), I may be able to shed some light on why you relate to Sagittarius more. Your Scorpio Ascendant progressed into Sagittarius many years ago but there were a couple of serious transits to it enhancing the Sagittarius energy.

At about 30, you experienced a conjunction of Uranus and Venus on your progressed Ascendant in Sagittarius. A couple of years earlier, Uranus transited your natal Venus in Sagittarius, just as you were having your Saturn return. It’s very possible that with Saturn conjunct your Ascendant natally (and ruling your Capricorn Sun), you may not have acted on the more extreme notions Uranus inspired at that time.

In January 2000, Pluto and Venus met at the same degree of Sagittarius that Uranus and Venus occupied when you were 30. Both of these events occurred in your first house and resonated with your natal Venus – more Sagittarius.

Lastly, in January of 2007, Pluto and Mars conjoined on your progressed Ascendant at 28 degrees Sagittarius. This conjunction was also trine to your natal Pluto in Leo, adding up to a lot of powerful fire energy affecting you. No wonder you felt far more like a Sagittarius than a Capricorn and far horizons were calling you!

Ironically, Leah, your Ascendant is now progressed into Capricorn and is within a couple of degrees of the progressed North Node, so you may find your Capricorn side beginning to reassert itself once more.

Hopefully we have helped clarify matters for you! My advice would be to choose one system of astrology and stay with it because they each are a whole system unto themselves, and you only get confused if you try to go back and forth between the two.

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Ask Real Astrologers: Yods

This week’s question comes from Coco.

Please explain about Yods (also called the Finger of God) and how that relates to an astrological chart. Is it common for someone to have three Yods? I have three in my chart, I have been told, but I don’t know how to utilize them. Ideas?

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s Answer:

A Yod is comprised of two inconjuncts (150° aspect) with a sextile as the base as you may know. The planet sitting on the point or apex of a Yod is the obvious focus of the energy.  Yods are not a particularly common pattern in charts and only occur when during periods when the planets are spread across many signs.

The inconjuncts are the key to Yods, in my opinion, and create a state of tension with erratic release. In very simple terms, the planet at the apex of a Yod is often like a sore thumb sticking out and whenever it’s conjuncted by transits you feel it. In fact, you may learn more about how your Yods function by tracking the times when the Moon conjuncts the apex planets.

Good luck!

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s Answer:

Although astrologers refer to the Yod as the “Finger of God,” the letter Yod in the Hebrew alphabet is a symbol for “hand” or “consciousness” (according to some texts, it’s the male organ, which could lead to an interesting interpretation). But we’re pretty much in agreement that it is a pointer, and that the thing being pointed to is the planet and house at the apex of the Yod, as Neith suggested. The two planets in sextile, rather than interacting only with one another, are manifesting their energy through that third point, which can be interpreted as a destiny point in the chart. You might think of it as the “hand of God.”

In calculating Yods, I look at only the eight planets (including Pluto), Sun, and Moon. Depending on the chart, I might include Chiron, but only if there’s a compelling reason to do so. Chart points, lunar nodes, asteroids, Arabic parts, and so forth, can’t form a Yod.

To determine the meaning of a Yod in the chart, it is essential to get a reading from a real astrologer and not a computer-generated report. I don’t know of any computerized reports that include Yods anyway, but even if there were, it wouldn’t give you the holistic interpretation that a Yod requires. This is all the more true if you’ve got more than one Yod. I don’t do traditional birth chart readings, but any of our exclusive forecasts would examine a natal Yod and transits that could propel its energy into play in your life. 

I join Neith is wishing you the best of luck!

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Ask Real Astrologers: Midheaven in Synastry

                                             
Readers often write to ask us questions about their individual charts or specific situations, so we figured it’s just natural to start a regular Q&A feature.

Since we have two different approaches to astrology, we thought it would be fun if we both answered the same question. As we like to say around here, two heads are better than one!

Our first question comes from Bridget in Milwaukee.

Hey, I’m just wondering what your general take is on one person’s Midheaven conjoining another person’s first house/Ascendant (not necessarily conjunct the Ascendant degree). I am not finding much out there about this synastry aspect and would love to hear your take on it!

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

This is a great question! There is definitely a public aspect to this partnership, because both the Ascendant and Midheaven are indications of how we project ourselves visibly into the world at large. In fact, this particular synastry aspect is one Pat and I have (my ASC and her MC), and we have gone into a very visible partnership via our website, Real Astrologers.com. That’s not to say it’s uncommon in personal relationships, just that there is a good possibility the relationship will have a public component.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s answer:

I concur with Neith that this aspect in synastry tells us something about how the two partners will interact in public. The first and tenth houses are angular houses and therefore action-oriented. The Midheaven person likely will be the one who initiates the action, brings the Ascendant person into the activity, or raises the Ascendant person’s visibility. Now, I do think there’s a possibility that these two could be competitive, but that depends on the sign of the conjunction and also on what else is going on in your charts. In a romantic relationship, if your Sun-Moon and Venus-Mars signs are compatible, then you should be fine. If competition does arise, it can be mitigated by agreeing beforehand on the “rules,” respecting each other’s opinions, and knowing yourself well enough to know whether underlying emotions are clouding your judgment.

Send us your questions! We will pick one or two a week to answer in this column. If your situation is involved, please consider a full reading by Neith or Pat, which will give you far more information than we can provide in a short Q&A format. Remember, Real Astrologers reports and forecasts aren’t generated by a computer but always written from scratch, exclusively for you!

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.