Relationship Tips: A Planetary Cheat Sheet
It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to post articles on a regular basis. I’ve been writing an astrology book. It’s only taken me 5 years to get around to it, but it’s finally been written! (Thank you, Pluto.)
Now that I have a breather from that, I thought I’d post something in honor of Saturn in Libra, the planet trying to teach us all something about relationships. What follows is a planetary cheat sheet for relationships.
Here’s how to use it. Get out your chart and get out the chart of the person you’re interested in. That could be the chart of a love interest, best friend, spouse, child, boss, co-worker, etc. If you don’t know the birth time of the other person, use noon. You will need the day and date of birth. The place where the person was born is helpful too.
What you’re going to be looking for is the degree numbers in your chart that are close to or the same as the degree numbers in the other person’s chart. For example, I’m looking at my chart and a former boyfriend’s chart. I note that I have sun at 23 degrees of my zodiac sign and he has Neptune at 23 degrees of Libra. He has his sun at 14 degrees of his zodiac sign; I have Uranus at 13 degrees in its sign.
His Venus is at 1 degree; my Pluto is at 3 degrees. His Jupiter is at 12 degrees; my Venus is at 15 degrees. And so on, just looking for the aspects that are close in terms of degrees. Use an orb of maybe 5 degrees for this exercise.
For the moment, we’re not looking to see if the aspects are supposedly favorable (sextile, trine) or unfavorable (square, opposition). We’re not looking for what houses they fall into. We’re just looking for the planets that are activated by these aspects. (Don’t include planets that are one sign away from each other though, such as Aquarius and Pisces).
In my experience, here’s what the planets activated by aspect seem to correlate with in relationships:
Pluto: a powerful attraction or repulsion. Continuing feelings that don’t fade with time. ‘Karmic’ or important relationship with a purpose. Problems with outside circumstances.
Neptune: a romantic attraction. Tendency toward deception or a private inner life. Neptune person idealizing the other person. Infatuation, sometimes followed by disillusionment.
Uranus: instant attraction. On again, off again relationships. Emotional and mental stimulation. A need for space within the relationship.
Saturn: long-lasting relationship. An ability to solve problems in the relationship. Obstacles within the relationship. A practical ability to be able to coordinate the logistics of the relationship and get things done together.
Jupiter: compatibility. A point of easy contact and agreement between the two people. Shared sense of humor. An ability to get along regarding superficial issues.
Mars: sexual attraction. Ability to do things together. A point of friction that keeps the relationship interesting. Willingness to pursue a relationship.
Venus: a love connection. The ability to relax together. The feeling of being cared for. Physical attraction.
Mercury: the ability to communicate. Whether you find each other interesting. Understanding how the other person thinks. The ability to socialize with other people as a couple.
Moon: love. Emotional connection. Strong feelings for one another. Empathy.
Sun: compatibility. Ability to understand each other. Equality within the relationship. Long-lasting relationships.
This is a very superficial analysis and only the beginning of exploring the relationship through astrology (sometimes known as the study of synastry). But especially in the beginning of a relationship, it can be helpful to get a quick idea of what factors in each other’s charts are being activated. And let’s face it–inquiring minds want to know!
I’ve also started a weekly
