In previous blog posts, I’ve been writing about the cast of characters within each of us, and their competing needs, wants, and modes of operation. It’s a complex situation, as heart and head, gut and genitals all voice their opinions…

There’s a fine line between consideration for the other - particularly your partner - and recognition of your own wants and needs. It’s a delicate balance that is perhaps best handled by the careful scales of Libra, yet we need to approach it with the warrior energy of Mars.

In the past few blog posts, I’ve been talking about our many conflicting needs in relationship. Yesterday, I described how our relating function - symbolized by Venus - can challenge our sense of self and life purpose, indicated by the Sun.

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote about the competing voices we often feel when we consider our wants and needs in relationship. Today I want to get a little more specific, and talk about the function of the planet Venus.

You can read that a few ways. It might be something you ask someone who you’re not too happy to see. It might be something you ask your partner. Or it might be something you ask yourself.

We often wish for a happy relationship without really considering what we mean by the term. Just what is a ‘happy relationship’ for you? There are layers of experience and conditioning - from family, society, religion - that can shape your image of relationship. But is that image what you really want?

In last week’s blog, I wrote about the ‘other’ relationships that astrologers work with in addition to personal and romantic connections, but I saved one of the most common and important forms of partnership for today.

Creative and business partnerships can often be treated almost the same way as personal relationships. In fact the lines can be quite blurry, as there is often a very strong personal component involved. All of the techniques that we would use in any other relationship consultation can be applied, from basic synastry (comparing birth charts) to relocating the composite chart (a blend of the two charts, moved to the locale of the business).

It isn’t always.

As relationship astrologers, it’s true that the majority of our work is with relationships that are romantic in nature: spouses, lovers, and such. A majority, but not an overwhelming majority or even a large majority.

I thought that in today’s blog we’d take a look at some of the other types of relationships we see in our work.

Just how do we approach the astrology of relationships? There are a number of techniques that we use, and each of them has many variations. Two of the basic building blocks are synastry and the composite chart.

Synastry (literally, ‘to bring the stars together’) is a time-honored technique of chart comparison in which we see how one person’s chart impacts the other person’s. Through synastry, we get a sense of how two people dynamically interact with each other. Does your Sun charge up my Venus? Does my Mars irritate your Moon?

Tomorrow at noon Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting married in Windsor. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Royalty in this day and age, for many, the wedding of a Prince and an American actress, represents both a challenge to the well-known conservative nature of the British royal family and the pleasure of witnessing a real life fairy tale. Somehow the possibility that ‘love wins,’ in spite of practical challenges, becomes more real with this wedding.

The coming together of these two planetary energies brings to the fore the following themes in relationships:

1. Our search for our spiritual partner – also known as our twin soul.

2. Our desire to connect emotionally with a significant other.

3. Our relationship with the realm beyond.

4. Inspiration and enjoyment through our imagination and creativity.

5. Unconditional love for ourselves and others.

Remember that holidays tend to be stressful for many people, whether you are in an intimate relationship or not!

With the Moon in Pisces today, it’s an ideal time to explore how we can recognize ‘sensitivity and empathy’ astrologically and their importance in relationships.

Jupiter moves into Scorpio on October 10th, 2017, beginning a yearlong stay (until November 8, 2018) in the sign that we associate with the process of decay and regeneration.

With the start of the Sun/Mercury in Libra conjunction yesterday, our Facebook blog was about communication. Today this same energy continues – with some additional intensity in our relationships, as the conjunction to Pluto becomes exact.

With the build up to the Aries Full Moon on Thursday, there is quite a degree of stress and distress in the world. Undoubtedly this can put a strain on all our relationships. However, although the sign of Aries is best known for its warrior skills, what’s often forgotten is that it is one of the most playful signs of the zodiac.

With Jupiter currently quincunx Chiron and almost opposite Uranus, (the exact opposition is on Wed/Thurs – depending on your time zone), there is a lot of volatility, fear and angst in the collective.

Relationships are such an intrinsic part of our human existence that we often take them for granted. We assume that they will continue, often with minimum care and attention, regardless of how much pressure they are under.

Substance abuse plays a key role in many relationship breakdowns – either visibly or invisibly! Either way, over time it can corrode even the strongest relationship, if left unaddressed!

With many cities throughout the world celebrating LGBTQ Pride this weekend and many more being blocked from doing so by their governments, this is an opportune time to mention sexuality in the context of relationship astrology.

In many parts of the world today, the archetype of ‘father’ is at the forefront individually and in the collective, as we celebrate ‘Father’s Day’.