Winding down from Valentine’s Day and romancing the sun signs, I think it’s important to address compatibility in other areas of life.
I’m no expert at synastry, which is superimposing one chart on top of another one to evaluate relationships. But I’m confident about shared energies since it doesn’t involve crazy-looking double charts.
While I’m against using astrology as a shortcut to getting to know a romantic prospect, I think it can help you understand relationships you already have with family and friends you’ve known for years.
My house in Bloomington is a great example. I live with three other seniors. We were all born in the same year, so we share many placements in the signs.
Each planet moves at its own pace. While Mercury transits quickly and is never further than two signs away from the sun, the outer planets are much slower. They’re considered “generational planets” because they stay in the same sign for longer periods of time.
I remember seeing internet astrologers call March for Our Lives exactly what can be expected from “the Uranus in Aquarius generation.” No millennial, no Generation Z-ers — one birth chart placement shared by everyone born from 1997 to 2002.
My roommates and I share Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto signs. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are generational planets, while Jupiter and Saturn are considered social planets shared by narrower age groups. That leaves the sun through Mars, which are considered “personal planets” since they vary much more between individuals.
I’m focusing on the sun and moon — the core of the birth chart, the core of our selves.
My Aquarius roommate just had her birthday last week. Even though I’ve only known her a little more than a year, I liked her immediately. Her moon is in Pisces, 10 degrees away from my Pisces sun.
The core of my identity, my sun, functions similarly to how she relates to emotion, her moon. I don’t claim to understand her interior life, but I think we have a kind of unspoken understanding.
On the flip side, one of my Gemini roommates and I both have the moon in Virgo, the sign of self-critical nerds. We’re innately similar in how we process emotion and react to the world. One way I like to describe the moon is the way you are at home, alone. I go home to a Virgo moon echo chamber, where we both indulge in neuroses.
Check out your friends’ moon signs. It’s a great introduction to the rest of the birth chart and studying how other people embody the signs.
Transits for Feb. 17 - 23
Venus conjunct Saturn, Feb. 18: This isn’t a fun transit. I talk about the unity of sun-moon conjunctions as a strong, positive thing, but Venus and Saturn together aren’t nearly as happy. Venus rules our need to love and be a part of the world.
Saturn is solitary and reflects structure and discipline. It rains on Venus’ parade. If your thoughts turn to a dark, lonely place this week, look forward to Venus shuffling away from Saturn in a few days. It’ll be rough.
Mercury conjunct Neptune, Feb. 18: Mercury rules communication, while Neptune is the interior, our intuition and our impulse to give in to delusions. Like Saturn, Neptune is a downer.
Your expression and the way you receive information might be muddled by neuroses, your worst fears as represented and exaggerated by Neptune. Don’t trust your first impulse in social interactions. Neptune could be messing with you.
