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Astrologer's Notes: |
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Synastry and The Second House
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by Basil Fearrington |
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Synastry is arguably the most popular area of astrology because it deals with the gauging of relationship potentials between two people. As much as 35% to 40% of my client calls have to do with questions and concerns about different variations of love potential. Every busy astrologer would agree that at least a third of their calls have to do with this very popular topic. Love is important in life and relationships are important for their fulfillment.
Through the years, astrologers have developed many techniques to use within a synastric context. Synastry must begin with the analysis of each individual's horoscope because we need to have our needs fulfilled and the analysis of the individual horoscope is the way to find out what those needs are. When two people come together for purposes of a romantic relationship, we want to see how their needs merge. When we look at each individual, we can make a determination about how two people might work out together. The analysis of each individual horoscope is the most important part of the process.
It is nearly impossible to read a text on synastry without seeing an awful lot written about Venus, the 7th House, and the important triad that is the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant. It is far less typical to see a mention of the 2nd House because it is more commonly linked to considerations of personal income and money. But think about it? In our western culture, discussions of money and income are dominant and emphasized. But there are cultures in the world and people in all societies who simply cannot relate to money as an important reality of life. If you go to Thailand and have a conversation with a Monk who has a loaded 2nd House, you cannot talk about money. The person spends all of his life meditating! But even within a spiritual posture, the Monk will have feelings about his worth. Every human being has an awareness or feeling about what they are worth. The feelings about worth play a direct role in one's self esteem profile. This is what the 2nd House is about, holistically speaking. It is how I value me.
It is very important to understand that the 2nd House is always square to the 5th and 11th Houses in the natural distribution of the Houses. This is the universe's way of saying that the ability to give (5th House) and receive (11th House) love works in tandem with how one feels about oneself in terms of worth and esteem. There is a natural tension between the self worth and the capacity to give and receive love so when we see a debilitation of the 2nd House, the esteem concerns that go along with it very often manifest in a difficulty giving love (which includes sex) or in concerns about how lovable or attractive one is. And these concerns naturally extend to relationship concerns so the state of the 2nd House becomes a very important factor to analyze when it comes to synastry.
It is the nature of intimacy to threaten insecurities. Under the spell of romance, especially when in engaging in sex, we are exposed and vulnerable. If you are feeling particularly bad about yourself in some way, sexual performance may be surrounded with tensions. One may not feel as though pleasure is deserved so sex is not pleasurable. There are some who do not at all like the way they look, for example. They don't feel lovable and when you don't feel lovable, it becomes difficult to believe in someone's love for you. Compliments are not accepted easily because "there must be a motive behind your compliment. After all, it is plain to see that I am not lovable just for me." There can be trust issues and so many other things that contribute to relationship difficulties and we begin to see these concerns in the self-worth profile of an individual. There is nothing known to mankind that reveals this drama as a horoscope does!
Determining Tension or Ease
The disposition of the 2nd House, as is the case with any other House, is determined by the aspect condition of the ruler of the 2nd House or a planet within the House. Aspects of tension include the square, opposition, the quindecile, and conjunctions that involve Mars or an outer planet (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto). Significator dynamics (see my essay on the topic archived in this web site) will suggest the areas of life that the self-esteem concerns will manifest in.
It is important to understand that there are more horoscopes with self-esteem concerns than not. The existence of these concerns is not the most important factor. The most important factor is how the concerns have been managed in the person's life. Unmanaged self-esteem concerns will almost always manifest in relationship issues but the big key is in finding out how the concerns have been managed.
Just sit back and think about your personal relationships. Think of the challenges and difficulties that there have been in failed relationships because of one person's self-worth-related issues. Think of a guy like Mike Tyson whose esteem concerns are so far unmanaged that you simply cannot imagine that any woman could be happy in a relationship with him because he has so many problems with himself. This is key. The degree to which you can love another is directly related to how you feel about yourself. If, in your heart of hearts, you are feeling worthless, the giving of self to others is extremely challenging.
The following examples will illuminate the importance that the 2nd House has in a person's relationship capacity.
Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis
This is the horoscope of the late Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis. There is an apparent Grand Trine. The Moon and Saturn trine the Midheaven. And no, this isn't super, wonderful luck because of the trines. Grand Trines are defensive mechanisms which, in this case (being in the Fire element), reflects Jackie's need to protect herself from the fear of being ignored.
Grand Trines are all encompassing. They represent defensive structures that are impenetrable unless another planet makes a square, quindecile, or opposition to a point within the Grand Trine. In such cases, the aspecting planet and/or the House it is in or rules, provides an escape valve opening for the defensiveness. In this case, Saturn Rx within the Grand Trine opposes Venus in the 8th House. Venus rules the 7th and 11th Houses. This tells us a lot!
By itself and on its on, Saturn Rx in the 2nd House highlights deep self-worth concerns related to the father relationship. In this case, her father, Jack Bouvier, was a womanizing, drinking, unreliable man. Jackie's parents were divorced when she was young and her father's way of showing affection to her was by bestowing her with material gifts. So early on, Jackie equated love with money.
Saturn's opposition to Venus tells us that her need to relate was aware of a control factor that is directly linked to her concerns of worth as they relate to her father. She could not function in a relationship in any other way, which is why she married men like her father. And with Venus' rulership of the 7th House, this father-related control factor emphasizes relationships in a dramatic way. Not to be left out, Saturn quindeciles Jupiter, linking the deep self-worth concerns to relationships in an obsessive, compulsive fashion. Jupiter, of course, rules the 2nd House!
In an imaginary consultation with young John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier, I would begin this way: "……..the astrology here certainly reflects the kinds of ties that manifest in the relationship that you are developing with each other. John, I need to talk privately with Jacqueline, please………Jacqueline, it is very important here that we talk about the suggestion in your horoscope of a control factor of some kind in the way you need to relate romantically and sexually. This control factor appears to be dramatically linked to an important missing dimension in the relationship with your father and it manifests in upsets within relationships. I must tell you that the man that you want to marry is very highly charged, sexually speaking. Your self-worth-related relationship controls can be a challenge for his intense sexual nature………." And, of course, that is exactly what happened.
The point here is that Jackie's 2nd House tensions dominated her life. Her relationship choices were strategic, not emotionally based.
Inhibited Love
The horoscope shown in this example has a decided northern hemisphere emphasis, calling attention to the concerns of the formative years of development.
The 5 planet stellium in Cancer emphasizes emotional security needs dramatically.
For purposes of synastry, your eyes are led to Mars which is placed very strongly and aspected smoothly in Scorpio to the Sun-Venus conjunction (their conjunction suggests romantic and social idealism). The man has a communicative skill in the arts that he is able to impress the public with easily. But relationship ease is another story.
Looking closer, we see that Saturn (ruler of X....brings a parent into this particular equation) squares the Sun-Venus conjunction. This suggests a control (Saturn tension can symbolize the sense of being controlled, as is the case with inhibition or the idea of having to control another. We never know which way it operates before the fact) factor tied to the base of his life-energy and to the way he needs to relate romantically and/or socially. Venus rules the 2nd and 7th Houses, suggesting that the control factor manifests in the areas of life that have to do with self worth and relationships. The Sun rules the 5th House - the sexual identity. This portion of the horoscope is suggesting that relationships and sexuality are challenged in connection with a depressed sense of worth, all related to a parental dynamic, which is what the hemisphere emphasis in the first impression suggested.
The man is so shy, so inhibited that even beyond the age of 50, he still does not know what relationship or sexual fulfillment are like. He sees himself as being unattractive and undesirable so he stays away from social situations that expose him to attracting that which he desires the most - a no holds barred, emphatic, no doubt about it, secure, solid relationship with all of the emotional recognition and expression possible. The key to all of this is that his sense of esteem is depressed, all due to unresolved parental tensions from the formative years of his development. His home is his castle where he secludes himself from the dangers of any woman confirming his own self beliefs about his lovability and inferiority.
Marilyn Monroe
I have written about Marilyn Monroe in practically every MetaArts essay that I have written because her horoscope reflects the life that she lived almost perfectly.
Saturn Rx in the 4th House dominates (the handle of a powerful bucket handle configuration) as the symbol of the father and solid formative years of development that Marilyn never knew. Feel this symbol weighing down (and pushing up) the dominant upper hemisphere emphasis, pushing Marilyn out into the world to find an identity that was not given to her by a parent. Through this thrust to find identity out in the world, she allowed herself to be shaped by her environment, subsequently becoming victimized by it. The key, without any question, is Saturn Rx!
Saturn is quindecile Mercury. Any hard aspect contact of Saturn to Mercury threatens to over-control the mind to a point of a depression. In this case, the quindecile of Saturn to Mercury suggests an obsessive, compulsive mind tuned into the problems with the father. It was as present as an aching tooth.
Mercury rules the 2nd and 11th Houses, which tells us that this father depression affected her, manifested in deep concerns linked to how she felt about herself in terms of lovability and, most importantly, in terms of self worth. Anyone reading this essay knows Marilyn's story well - the rapes, the foster homes, etc. Growing up in such an environment through those circumstances HAS to affect one's sense of worth. The question becomes one of how well the tension is managed. To what degree does it exist? These are questions that have to be answered before her horoscope is compared with another for purposes of synastry because the other person's horoscope will not matter if she doesn't manage the central issue that so devalues how she feels about herself.
In my practice, I tend to pay closer attention to the dimensions of the 2nd House than I do to the 7th House because success in the 7th House is exceptionally difficult when the matters related to the 2nd House are not managed. This is always a very important consideration when analyzing an individual's horoscope for purposes of synastry and I hope that it helps you in your work with synastry in astrology.
Copyright © Basil Fearrington 2003
All Rights Reserved
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Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
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Basil Fearrington is the author of "The New Way To Learn Astrology." He has been a professional astrologer for 22 years.
Basil's articles have appeared in the leading astrological publications around the world. He was the Inaugural Chairman for the MilleyDome project in Johannesburg, South Africa and taught astrology there for one year.
Basil has twice been a faculty member of UAC and spoke at Astro 2000. In addition to his work in astrology, Basil is a professional musician who has toured with and/or recorded for artists such as Stevie Wonder and George Benson.
He was on a team of composers who did the music for a network show called "New York Undercover." The same team won a Grammy award in 1980.
bfearr@aol.com
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