This post is about the practice of Relationship Astrology and because I personally know Western Tropical Zodiac Astrology, that is the perspective I am coming from. I am writing this post because I want to state my opinion about oversimplification of Western Astrology, specifically around the technique of Relationship Astrology and the problems with doing so.
Who has read websites or books that state “You are an Aries Woman so you fit well with X, Y and maybe Z men (or partners).” Or to get into the Natal Horoscope a little more, there are always those recipe websites which say something like, “Oh your Saturn squares X’s Neptune so that is going to equal a betrayal of trust at some point [or substitute your own rigid interpretation here].” 🙂
When you read either of these sentences what goes through your mind? Is Astrology really a one size fits all modality? No, I don’t think so.
I want to introduce two things in this post: first the idea of frequency-based astrology and second, upon discovering the merits of frequency-based astrology, then we must go deeper into the charts and also go deeper into the client’s history. In the next post I will expound upon what is Relationship Astrology and how do we practice it appropriately.
First, frequency-based astrology. What is it? This is where we realize that due to varying karmic predispositions and backgrounds, we could have a similar chart to someone else and be having a completely different set of experiences and situations in life. Sometimes you will find really great people with difficult charts – take Mohandas Gandhi for example – he had a challenging (to say the least) T-Square in the Fixed signs. He had Pluto conjunct Jupiter in Taurus, opposite Mars and Venus in Scorpio with his Moon in Leo completing the squares. So due to the Fixity of his personality, once he established a belief, he stuck with it to the end. But he accomplished incredible results in spite of the strong Polarity in his chart. And of course with these extraordinary energies at work in his chart, to say he would be without idiosyncrasies would be a big mistake – because he certainly had a number. To make certain it is clear that I have analyzed his chart more in depth, he did have a Grand Trine in Fire signs (Saturn, Neptune, Moon meaning he could make his dreams a reality especially with the utmost perseverance from those Fixed planets mentioned above).
Nonetheless, you can easily find people with planets in a Fixed T-Square who have chosen to be criminals or who have chosen to continue having a victim-identity or another form of listless less-than-productive life (and productivity can take many forms, so know your capacity first and foremost before you take my words too seriously). And we can find many people with Grand Trines who just coast through life, evading challenges and responsibility. I personally know people with intense Fixed oppositions who manifest that incredibly overpowering energy with mild to severe mental health issues – maybe a personality disorder as some complex traumas have forced the individual to completely blank out a specific sphere of their lives. And yet, they may still accomplish a great deal of positive benefit for the world!
I want to be clear – having a Fixed opposition in your chart is not bad. In fact, I am a firm believer in the fact that we must have some difficult aspects in our charts to get anything accomplished in this lifetime. I have seen so many people with a double Grand Trine bouncing from activity to activity, rarely focusing and getting down to mastering anything. You must read and interpret your entire chart. We all have Fixed signs in our charts. You have to take your whole chart into consideration and be able to understand the intricacies of the signs, houses and aspects. Then we can make a judgement about our capacity – and we must also take the next step and take responsibility for our lives. No blaming our situation on our charts, no saying, “Oh, I’m a triple Pisces so I didn’t have a choice in the matter!”
So how do we know what someone will do with the energy of their astrology chart? We have to do a little interview – what is their history like? Do they meditate? Do they like to do yoga? If they do yoga, do they use yoga class as a competition or feather-in-their-cap type of dynamic? Or are they legitimately working to deepen their yoga practice in a way that is truly kind and compassionate to themselves? We can get a sense of where someone is at just from their voice on the phone – are they embodied? Are they timid or confident or apathetic, etc. But generally we need to have a little bit of information about where someone is one their path – whether it is mundane, spiritual, agnostic, whatever. When someone comes to you asking exclusively when they will get their next BMW, there is probably very little point in telling them about the subtleties of advanced meditation (provided you might know something about the topic and know when it is appropriate to share this information with others) – although I do know a couple of exceptions to even this rule!
There are many spectrums of life – spiritual, material, social, movement / rigidity / flow, aesthetic, etc. We need to find out what the client wants to know and then discover where they are on those spectrums.
Then we will have a sense of the frequency of the individual behind the energy of the chart. Why is this important for Relationship Astrology? What could be more pivotal?!?! If you have two charts that look pretty good, but then you meet the individuals and he is a yogi who has completed ten years of successful solitary meditation retreat and she is a hardcore Jehovah’s Witness… Just saying! Not that this relationship is a guaranteed failure. But the astrologer would have to search pretty deeply to find out where their interests intersect.
In the next section, I am going to elaborate upon Relationship Astrology and its ingredients: the idea of Natal Chart interpretation for Relationship needs, wants, capacity; Chart Synastry – comparing two Natal Charts; and introduce the notion of Composite Charts.
Thank you for reading.
Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation 