Uncategorized

How to read a Synastry Chart

The Synastry chart is one of the most important tools to use when assessing compatibility between two people.

The two areas you want to focus on are: house overlays and planetary aspects. 

House overlays

What are houses? Our natal charts are divided up into 12 houses, which each represent a different area of our life:

Here is a breakdown of what each house represents

  • The first house: represents the self, one’s persona, and one’s physical appearance
  • The second house: represents finances, income, material possessions, and self-worth
  • The third house: represents communications, neighbourhood, siblings, learning, local travel
  • The fourth house represents: family, home, past, ancestry, real estate
  • The fifth house represents: children, creativity, romance, fun, leisure
  • The sixth house represents: work, health, coworkers. productivity
  • The seventh house represents: partnership (business and romantic), commitment, sharing, equality
  • The eighth house represents: intimacy, death, transformation, other people’s money, taxes
  • The ninth house represents: travel, higher learning, philosophy, religion
  • The tenth house represents: career, social status, public reputation
  • The eleventh house represents: friends, groups, long-term goals
  • The twelfth house represents: spirituality, solitude, dreams, illusions

What are planets? Our natal charts contain 10 planets. Each represents a different aspect of our personality.

Here is a simple breakdown of what each planet represents

  • Sun: Your basic personality, ego, individuality
  • Moon: your emotional nature and what makes you feel secure
  • Mercury: your communication style and intellectual interests
  • Venus: your love style, what you find beautiful, your personal style
  • Mars: your determination, passion, and sex drive
  • Jupiter: represents expansion, generosity and luck
  • Saturn: represents structure, maturity, commitment, restriction
  • Uranus: represents instability, freedom, unpredictability
  • Neptune: represents illusions, compassion, sensitivity
  • Pluto: represents transformation, obsession, jealousy, power

When comparing two charts, you can see where each person’s planets land in another person’s chart.

For this exercise, let’s look at Kim and Ye’s Synastry. I generated this report on astro.com:

When assessing synastry, check to see where your personal planets fall in the other person’s chart:

  • When someone’s planet falls into one of your houses, they bring the energy of that planet into your house.
  • As you can see from their chart, Ye’s Sun/Jupiter conjunction resides in Kim’s 7th house of partnership and commitment– this is an excellent indication of compatibility and marriage. Ye’s Venus and Mars reside in Kim’s 5th house, which is a great indication of romance and having children.
  • Kim’s Sun resides in Ye’s 4th house of home and family. This is again a great indication of a long-lasting relationship

In a romantic relationship, focus on looking for overlays in the following houses:

  • The first house: another person’s planets falling in your 1st house indicate they are very attracted to you. This is especially powerful if the Sun, Moon, Venus or Mars are in another person’s 1st house, as they are deeply personal planets and increase attraction.
  • The fourth house: represents home, family, and emotions. When someone’s planets fall in your 4th house, they feel like family to you, and you enjoy spending time together at home. This is an indication of wanting to build a home and family together.
  • The fifth house: represents romance, children, and fun, so someone’s planets falling in this house is a great aspect.
  • The seventh house: represents commitment, partnership, equality, etc., so it is obviously a very important house to consider in a synastry chart. If someone’s planets fall in your 7th house, you feel compelled to partner with them. They teach you about compromise, relating, and partnership.
  • The eighth house: represents deep intimacy and bonding, so overlays to this house are very powerful and transformative. These types of relationships are not for the faint of heart, but are ultra intense and sexy (if you like that kind of thing).

Check out my articles on house overlays to learn more:

Sun in the Houses in Synastry

Moon in the Houses in Synastry

Venus in the Houses in Synastry

Mars in the Houses in Synastry

Jupiter in the Houses in Synastry

Saturn in the Houses in Synastry

Uranus in the Houses in Synastry

Neptune in the Houses in Synastry

Pluto in the Houses in Synastry

 

Planetary Aspects

After looking at house overlays, it is equally important to look at the aspects each person’s planets make the other persons’ planets.

To make things easy, you can generate reports in astro.com by clicking PDF Additional Tables after generating a report.

 

Reports like these make is easier to assess your planetary overlays with someone:


In this table, you might not recognize the symbols and numbers.

The symbols within the table show the aspect each planet is making to the other. For example, Ye’s Sun is square Kim’s Venus. Check out this article to learn what the symbols represent. The ones you want to focus on most are: Conjunction, Square, Opposition, Trine, and Sextile.

  • Sextiles and trines are nice, harmonious aspects, and are great to see in a chart.
  • Conjunctions are very powerful, and show compatibility between the energies each planet represents.
  • Oppositions can be problematic, but are usually very fascinating. This is a case of ‘opposites attract’.
  • Squares are considered the most problematic, as they cause friction and lack of understanding between the parties.

If you are looking to assess romantic, long-term compatibility with someone, it is very important to look at how each person’s Love planets are aspected in a chart.

Generally, squares from Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto are not looked upon very favourably, especially if they make an aspect to someone’s personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars).

Check out my synastry articles to read about specific aspects.

 

It is also extremely important to look at how someone’s planets aspect your 7th house ruler. What is your 7th house ruler?

  • If your 1st house is in Aries, the Composite 7th house ruler is Venus
  • If your 1st house is in Taurus, the Composite 7th house ruler is Pluto
  • If your 1st house is in Gemini, the Composite 7th house ruler is Jupiter
  • If your 1st house is in Cancer, the Composite 7th house ruler is Saturn
  • If your 1st house is in Leo, the Composite house ruler is Uranus
  • If your 1st house is in Virgo, the Composite house ruler is Neptune
  • If your 1st house is in Libra, the Composite house ruler is Mars
  • If your 1st house is in Scorpio, the Composite house ruler is Venus
  • If your 1st house is in Sagittarius, the Composite 7th house ruler is Mercury
  • If your 1st house is in Capricorn, the Composite 7th house ruler is the Moon
  • If your 1st house is in Aquarius, the Composite 7th house ruler is the Sun
  • If your 1st house is in Pisces, the Composite 7th house ruler is Mercury

In my opinion, this is the most important planet to look at when considering long-term compatibility.

 

All in all, synastry aspects and overlays are extremely important to consider in a synastry chart. However, I believe the Composite Chart is more essential to assess long-term compatibility. Click here to read my article on The Best Composite Chart Aspects.

Uncategorized

The Absolute Best Composite Chart Aspects

After doing hundreds of relationship readings, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a relationship work, and aspects and placements that tend to keep the couple together.

As I’ve said before, I believe a good composite chart can ‘make up for’ a ‘bad’ synastry chart, so today I will concentrate on the absolute best Composite Chart aspects.

Note: this is not an exhaustive list, and even if you do not see these aspects in your Composite Chart, it does not mean your relationship is doomed! You can generate your Composite Chart on astro.com.

Positive Aspects to the ruler of the 7th house

This is the first thing I check when reading a Composite Chart. If you are not sure what your Composite 7th house ruler is, see below:

  • If your Composite 1st house is in Aries, the Composite 7th house ruler is Venus
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Taurus, the Composite 7th house ruler is Pluto
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Gemini, the Composite 7th house ruler is Jupiter
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Cancer, the Composite 7th house ruler is Saturn
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Leo, the Composite house ruler is Uranus
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Virgo, the Composite house ruler is Neptune
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Libra, the Composite house ruler is Mars
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Scorpio, the Composite house ruler is Venus
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Sagittarius, the Composite 7th house ruler is Mercury
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Capricorn, the Composite 7th house ruler is the Moon
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Aquarius, the Composite 7th house ruler is the Sun
  • If your Composite 1st house is in Pisces, the Composite 7th house ruler is Mercury

It is extremely important to check the condition of the 7th house ruler. What aspects are made to this planet? Where is it located?

If the 7th house ruler receives a hard aspect (aka square or opposition) from an outer planet (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), there could be trouble for the relationship. For example, if Saturn is square the 7th house ruler, it can block a couple from being together. If Uranus was opposite a Composite 7th house ruler, the relationship might be very unstable and the couple will find it hard to settle down.

However, if it makes a ‘nice’ aspect (aka sextile, trine, conjunction) to another composite planet, such as conjunct the Sun, Moon, Venus, or Jupiter, this can be a very good indicator of love. For example, my sister and her husband’s Composite 7th house ruler is Mercury, which is conjunct the Composite Sun, Venus and Uranus, and sextile Saturn. What a fantastic connection they share.

Also look at the house placement of the 7th house ruler. If it is in the 12th house, for example, the relationship might be hidden in some way.

Composite Sun conjunct Composite Venus

This is a classic indicator of love and compatibility. The couple truly like being around each other, and will feel more loving and considerate when they are together. It feels natural for them to partner together. This is one of the most common aspects to find in the composite chart of a married or long-term couple.

It can also commonly  be seen in the charts of good friends. Check the house this conjunction resides to determine how this aspect will manifest in the relationship and what makes the couple feel more in love with each other.

For example, my sister and her husband have this conjunction in the 9th house, so they tend to bond and fall more deeply in love when they travel together. They both love to travel and explore, and make perfect travel buddies to each other. They have traveled frequently throughout their relationship, and that will continue in the future.

purple pink abstract galaxy universe astrology
Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

Composite Sun conjunct (or sextile/trine) Composite Moon

This aspect indicates a marriage of the yin and yang energies of a relationship. In this case, the couple feels like a team, and partnering together feels very natural. The couple feel supported by each other and feel stronger together than they do apart. They truly feel like they are meant together, and feel they are ‘going somewhere’ with each other.

Planets in the Composite 7th house (as long as they are well-aspected)

The 7th house represents commitment and partnership, so having planets in the composite 7th house indicates the couple work well together, and value equality and fairness in the relationship. The best planets to have in the 7th house are: Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter, as long as they are aspected well.

If the couple has Composite Venus in the 7th house, but it receives a square from Saturn, that might cause some barriers and obstacles to the couple formalizing their commitment. Saturn also works quite well in this house, as it increases the feelings of commitment and responsibility to each other.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto can also work very well in a Composite Chart, but definitely check how they aspect other Composite planets. For example, if your 7th house Uranus is square 4th house Venus, that could indicate some issues regarding commitment and stability.

Composite Planets conjunct the North Node 

The North Node indicates the direction and purpose of the relationship, so a Composite planet conjunct the Composite North Node can indicate the couple feels likely they are ‘going somewhere’ together. This might feel scary for both parties, but it also feels fated and meant to be.

Now, a lot depends on where the North Node is, and which planets are conjunct. Having the Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are great aspects to see in a Composite Chart, especially if they are in the 5th or 7th houses. If your 7th house ruler is conjunct the North Node, that is another excellent indication of love and commitment.

Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto can also be quite positive in this case, as long as they are well-aspected. In the case of Uranus on the North Node, the couple might run in to many unexpected and unpredictable events throughout their relationship, but it can work if the couple is ok with a bit of instability.

Either way, there is always a sense of progress or ‘going somewhere’ with each other. The Vertex conjunct the Composite North Node can also be very powerful in a Composite Chart, for it indicates a strong element of fate.

What about the South Node? These relationships can work, but the couple may feel drained and frustrated at the lack of progress in the relationship. As I said before, it really depends on the placement of the conjunction. If the couple has a South Node/planet conjunction in the 7th house, or the South Node is conjunct the 7th ruler, the couple may very well stay together. They have been together in previous lifetimes, and it feels ‘right’ to be together.

Good Aspects from each person’s Natal Chart to the Composite Chart

The Composite Chart represents the relationship itself, so treat it like a separate entity on it’s own. Composite Charts are so interesting, aren’t they?

It is very important to see how the Composite Planets interact with each person’s Natal planets to get more clues on how the relationship affects you. For example, in my last relationship, the Composite Saturn was exactly conjunct my natal Ascendant. This relationship felt very mature, but it also made me feel lonely and unappreciated.

In my sister’s case, however, her Venus and her husband’s Venus are conjunct the Composite Sun! This indicates the both of them love the relationship and love being together.

The Composite Chart will already tell you if the relationship will work or not, but comparing the Composite planets to the Natal chart planets give you clues as to who feels what. Say you have Saturn opposite Sun in the Composite chart: check to see how Saturn aspects the natal planets of the couple.

Say my Moon is conjunct the Composite Sun – this means the Composite Saturn opposes my natal Moon. I’m likely to feel emotionally isolated and unsupported in this relationship. If the Composite Saturn trines my partner’s Venus, he feels committed and supported by the relationship. So, it is obviously me who is feeling the weight of the Sun-Saturn opposition more than I am!

 

Again, this is not an exhaustive list, and I will continue to add to it as time goes on.

 

Click here to read The Synastry of Physical Attraction