Introduction to Astrological Synastry
This article titled ‘Introduction to Astrological Synastry’ formed part of module 5 in a series of discourses on learning Astrology by members the Lifewave Light and Sound Meditation Group. It was written around the mid 1980s. The original document can be viewed below.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of these notes is to give you some basic ideas about what synastry is, and also what it is not! It is a subject that a lot is heard about in some of the “Astrology for the general public” type books. In these books it is the Sun sign only that is used to match up two people. There are two good reasons for this:
1) Everyone (well almost everyone) knows their own Sun sign. As a result they are interested in the Sun sign type books. Of these people very few know much about ascendants let alone the position of any planets as they have never had their birth charts drawn up. Therefore any reference to anything other than Sun signs is not information that they can currently make use of.
2) Using Sun signs only is much simpler, as we shall see when we try some real Synastry!
It’s probably about time you were given some sort of definition so here goes:
The word synastry itself comes from the Greek language, ‘syn’ is a prefix that means bringing together and ‘astron’ which means ‘star’. Synastry then is the art of comparing two astrology charts to see if there is potential for harmony between them. The word potential is used because even in well matched charts other influences such as a very difficult childhood will colour the person themselves. Even if we were to look for a marriage partner we could be disappointed since the necessary lessons to be learnt from that person may well only take a few months. So we should not expect that the person who matches our own charts is necessarily the one for us, since there would be little to learn from such a relationship. There is a school of thought which says that in marriage we seek completion. The missing part of ourselves, the attraction of male and female is indeed mysterious so read on to discover more.
The factors that are most important are the:
- Sun Signs
- Ascendants
- Seventh House
- Mars
- Venus.
- Aspects
As Sun sign matching has been well written about elsewhere (see Linda Goodman’s Love Signs) there is no need to cover it here.
1. THE ASCENDANTS
The ascendant can be regarded as representative of love and affection, the descendant is the marriage bond.
The following matches indicate some initial harmony between the partners:
1) The Sun sign of A is the same as B’s ascending sign.
2) A’s Sun sign is the same sign as that of B’s descendant.
3) The female sign is in the same sign as the man’s Midheaven.
4) The ruler of chart As ascendant or descendant is in the same sign as chart B’s is ascendant. i.e. if Sagittarius is rising or descending in chart A, and Jupiter (the ruler of Sagittarius) is in Gemini which is the ascendant of chart B.
5) The ruler of chart A’s ascendant or descendant is in the same or opposite sign in both charts.
2. THE SEVENTH HOUSES
This is also the house of the descendant, and as I mentioned earlier also represents the marriage bond. Any planets in this house are of particular importance as they indicate the people we are likely to attract and the type of relationship which we are seeking. If there are no planets in the seventh house then the descendants’ sign could be examined for this information. Also we should also consider the eighth house as this tells us about the sexual side of marriage.
3. MARS PLACEMENTS
Mars like the Sun is a masculine planet. The placing of Mars in a Woman’s chart would indicate the sort of man she is seeking. If a woman had Mars in Aries her man should shield him from the world and would be dominant in the relationship. She would be happy to play her feminine role to the full with such a red blooded he-man as her Aries male. Just one thing though, perhaps she might wish he thought of her and showed his feelings a little more often. He will, but she will have to keep reminding him because he is a little selfish at times.
4. VENUS PLACEMENTS
Venus like the Moon is a feminine planet. The placing of Venus in a man’s chart indicates the sort of woman he is seeking. So if a man had Venus in Gemini he would be seeking a bright intelligent girl to communicate ideas with who likes and seeks change, is quick witted and able to stimulate him with an airy kind of love and be two people for him, a lover and a friend.
5. THE ASPECTS
Always an important consideration in an individuals chart, the aspects give good indications about the strength and weakness of the charts being compared. The basic techniques for calculating the aspects is essentially the same as for an individual chart. One useful technique is to draw the position of the planets of the second chart on the outside of the outer circle of the first chart. Then you have to compare the position of each of the planets on this outer circle to each of planets on the inner circle. This means that there are potentially a lot more aspects that could be formed as the first Sun is compared with the second Sun etc.
The image below is a bi-wheel comparing Michael Douglas with Catherine Zeta Jones:
SUMMARY
As you have seen, synastry is quite a big subject. It really needs a course all to itself to go into the depth necessary. All I have been able to do in these brief notes is give you a few clues as to where to begin.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT
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