Melisa, I realize that you are not asking for a synastry reading here, but in case you did so in the past and got no reply....
I think the problem is that forum members who do synastry get overwhelmed by the frequent requests for readings. These are often for "blind" readings with no sense as to what the person is most concerned about in the relationship, for someone whom the poster has barely met, and then oftentimes with little thanks after the chart-reader has devoted considerable time and energy to reading the charts. Even, worse, I've found that if certain people are happy with my synastry readings, I get bombarded by PMs everytime they think they are interested in someone new. I am not saying you are like this, but it may explain why requests for synastry readings get few replies.
Fortunately synastry is pretty easy to learn. If you can afford a few books, I recommend Robert Hand,
Planets in Composite, and Steven and Jodie Forrest,
Skymates vols. 1 & 2. Stephen Arroyo,
Person-to-Person Astrology and Penny Thornton,
Synastry are also really good. Hopefully you can find cheaper used copies via
www.amazon.com or a used book seller on the Internet like
www.abebooks.com .
Just basically I would recommend that you:
1. look at the two charts separately, to see what kind of people these are. They will bring their strengths and weaknesses to the relationship.
2. I find those popular Astrodienst bi-wheels very hard to read. Usually I will just look at the two charts side-by-side. Then my "gold standard" for a romantic relationship is:
a. suns trined, sextiled, or conjunct (ego compatibility)
b. moons ditto (emotional compatibility, feeling "at home" with someone)
c. "reverse" Venus/Mars conjunctions, sextiles, or trines. As in her Venus conjuncts his Mars.
d. Look for positive inter-aspects: as in his moon trines her Venus
These are the main ones: the more the better. Squares and oppositions in Mars/Venus can generate a lot of passion, but these aspects are ultimately stressful. For a long-term relationship it is important for the people to be best friends, not just sexy lovers. Few couples have all of the above, but if you have a relationship where they are all present, keep it!
e. Then go through the rest of the planets and ASC for their meanings. Jupiter is a super "feel good" asset in a conjunction, sextile or trine. Mercury indicates the quality of communication. Don't bother with outer-outer planet synastry--it's generally conjunctions anyway if the people were born close to the same year. An outer planet aspecting the other person's inner planet can be important, however. The north node indicates where the person's growth lies, so conjunctions in synastry show what the NN person is learning from and gaining out of the relationship.
I don't bother with "my sun falls into his 7th house" stuff, but some astrologers find this important. Also you can't use houses if you do not have an accurate birth time for both people.
3. Run a mid-point composite chart. This shows the relationship of a couple, not two individuals. (available on the free charts pp. of
www.astro.com ) There are other sorts of composite charts, however, and they do give different results. So maybe start with a relationship you know well, and see which type of composite chart you like the best. Sometimes you will get synastry (comparing 2 charts) that looks so-so or even poor, yet the couple are happily married and their composite chart looks great! Seemingly some people gel as a couple in ways they don't do as two side-by-side individuals.
Good luck with your studies!
Linear Mode
