posted September 01, 2004 08:49 PM         

i've been struggling to interpret the synastry and composite charts of this relationship, and while i understand a lot of the individual aspects, i can't really put it all together... a lot of it seems to be conflicting.. and it's confusing the heck outta me!

here's the synastry chart +
here's the aspect grid, and
here's the composite

the aspects that stick out to me most are the pluto aspects and the neptune ones, as well as the sun/venus conjunction (both ways)

what i can't figure out is whether this is destined to be a romantic relationship or what...

There's a Sun/Venus conjunction in both the synastry (both ways) and the composite, which I would think would make a really strong love connection... BUT, considering the eleventh house placement and the trine to Neptune in the composite, could it just be a strong friendship?

Pluto is very strong in this relationship...
in the composite, it's in the first house, CONJUNCT the MOON
in the synastry, it SQUARES VENUS
...This would mean that this is a very important, emotional connection... or would the square mean it's an obsession, or unrequited love?

Then there's the Neptune aspects...
In the composite, it TRINES both the SUN and VENUS
...is this indicative of a true love, or a platonic relationship?
Neptune also SQUARES the ASCENDANT
...is this the reason i'm asking all these questions!? ;-)

posted September 02, 2004 02:45 PM         

Pluto squaring Venus is a very rough aspect - this can mean that the Pluto person tries to control or dominate the Venus person, usualy beginning with subtle power plays or manipulations that may go unnoticed at first, then snowball into more overt gestures of dominance. This can be found in abusive relationship synastries (in natal chart it is often has a kind of self-sabotaging affect on a person's relationships). With this affecting the overall Plutonian energy of this relationship, there's more cause for concern about that Pluto-moon conjunct in the composite.

Just those two aspects would scare me considerably. Even if there's Sun-Venus conjunction both ways (sounds like too much of a good thing to me however), moon aspects are more vital to the overall health of a relationship, regardless if this a romance or a friendship. If the moon aspects are strongly afflicted, then there's going to be problems, and possibly very hurtful ones. Furthermore, those "good" Sun to Venus aspects make keep people together longer than they should if their moon aspects are hurtful.

As for the Neptune aspects, Neptune trines can be good or bad depending on the other aspects of the chart. When affecting the Sun, moon or Venus, if other aspects in the chart are bad, there's a tendency to be unrealistic and to resist any impetus to assses the relationship realistically (like an armchair astrologer telling you "ahem, these over here aren't good aspects"). If the aspects of largely good and harmonious, these trines can add a sense of fanstasy, imagination and romance to the relationship. Neptune by itself isn't an indicator of romance or lack of - it's always highly influenced by how it is aspected and by other aspects in the chart.

Because there's a Neptune square the ASC, I suspect that Neptune's not going to be working on their side without a lot of help from other aspects. Neptune squares in composites almost always make it difficult for the two people to be realistic about a relationship, and with it squared the ASC, this may mean they project their illusion of how well things are going onto the psyche of others around them, so others don't notice what's really going on. With a very problematic Pluto aspect in the 1st house, I think this likewise is cause for concern (Pluto, by the way, easily dominates over Neptune's energies - not unlike the way Scorpios can easily dominate over a Pisces - and can use those Neptunian energies for its purpose, even if Pluto and Neptune aren't aspected between each each, because there's a strange affinity between these two planets. If you have both an afflicted Pluto and Neptune in a composite, chances are this will not be a healthy relationship regardless to how you juggle any positive aspects in either the synastry or the rest of the composite).

Who the heck is this for? If you're doing this for someone other than yourself, I suggest you proceed with caution. I've found myself doing synastry for someone who said they were in a realtionship with someone, and upon finding similar alarming aspects in the charts, discovering there's no "relationship" but an obsessive, predatory or stalker-type situation, in which the person is using astrology to better understand their "victim" (for lack of a better word).

posted September 02, 2004 03:36 PM         

and Gemini Nymph, first of all, thanks for taking the time to write up all that stuff! and second, WOW! that's really alarming stuff. this chart is for myself and a friend of mine, we have a definite attraction, but nothing's ever come of it relationship-wise, and I wanted to see if it was worth it to go forward in that direction... and reading what you said I think it's probably in my best interest to step back!