Shared Degrees are one of basic pieces in the puzzle of synastry. The short version is simply when the same degrees show up in both charts or in the charts of several individuals these are “Shared Degrees”. Sun Sign based astrology for the masses often points to a certain segment of the population with say the first 10 degrees of a Sign as a clue to the effect of transits – for my purposes I going to narrow that down to around 6 degrees.For example, I have Venus in Sagittarius at 2 degrees in my First House. This is a friendly, cheerful placement of Venus . . . ***waves & smiles*** I would not be at all surprised to find planets and major angles from zero to six degrees in the charts of my faithful readers. And when Saturn moved into Virgo at the beginning of September in his usual relentless fashion, he squared my poor little Venus. At the same time all those people out there with planets, Ascendants and Midheavens from zero to six degrees also went “Whoa! Saturn is in the house!!” And we’ve all been paying a lot of attention to various tasks related to where Saturn aspected our charts.Because we usually share several points of contact between the charts of those we are drawn to, we are often affected at the same time by a transiting planet. If it’s Venus doing the transiting or Jupiter, the effect is often upbeat and positive. Mars can be energizing to the point of igniting yelling matches or, if you are lucky, great sex! Saturn transits often point us in the direction of picking up neglected responsibilities and so on.

My point is this: Because we share degrees with our friends, lovers and associates, we will be affected by transits at the same time. Those shared experiences can either draw us together or drive us apart. Often it’s difficult to assess exactly what the result will be except with good old 20-20 hindsight. That being said, a good astrologer can be very helpful in alerting his or her clients to upcoming transits and what to be aware of . . .

This is the Lover’s card from the Osho Zen tarot deck.