One of the main reasons a client comes to see an astrologer is in connection with relationships. It is not always easy to work out whether a new love will develop, or an old love will end using techniques like transits and progressions. However, if the astrologer uses the consultation chart, it is a lot easier. All the actors in the drama reveal themselves in the chart for the arrival of the client. Once you have identified the planetary significators for the players, you can simply follow the planetary movement, and the advice you are then able to give will be invaluable for the client.
Without the consultation chart, it is still possible to make an intelligent guess regarding whether a major relationship will arise using progressions, because progressions are like planetary DNA – completely personal to you, and intimately connected with the unfolding of personal karma. When the progressed Ascendant or Descendant aspect a planet, there is a strong likelihood of a relationship to a person described by the characteristics of that planet.
Another major indication of an important relationship is connected with progressions to the Ascendant and Descendant of the personal planets, preferably Venus. For example when Venus progressed conjoined the Descendant in Lady Diana’s chart she married Prince Charles. It is reasonable to assume, if Venus is in the 5th or 6th house, it will at some point arrive at the Descendant, and if the person is single and of a marrying age, then surely this would be the time for a marriage.
Also, when the Ascendant ruler or Descendant ruler aspect each other by progression, whether positively or negatively, it is indicative of a relationship, or a relationship change. There are of course other indications, like if progressed Venus catches up with and conjoins the progressed sun, but they are not reliable indicators of a relationship.
Transits to the Ascendant and Descendant will also indicate relationship change, but transits are normally dependent on the character of the people involved and the character of the relationship. If a couple really want to be together, they will simply adjust to the demands of the time – more space and freedom with a Uranus transit, more sensitivity and empathy with a Neptune transit, and the acceptance of transformative circumstances with a Pluto transit. However, relationships that start on the transits of the three outer planets – to the Descendant especially – tend to continue as they start and be too disruptive for permanence. But there will be exceptions. Jupiter tends to be a bit too lightweight when it transits the Descendant to indicate a big relationship change, unless it is ruler of the person’s Ascendant or Descendant, but Saturn may very well indicate a new long-term commitment… or the end of a commitment.
Transits and progression can give the overall picture, and can sometimes really confirm a hunch, but the most reliable indicator in the consultation is the relationship between the Ascendant and Descendant rulers for the horary chart for the start of the consultation. This chart will provide a wealth of detail based on the sign position of the rulers, and the aspects the rulers have recently made. The aspect the rulers will go on to make will show the course of the potential relationship, and this will apply for existing relationships as well as potential. It can get complicated, for what if there is more than one person – a partner and a lover, or a partner and an ex-partner? The horoscope will describe the situation one way or another. Often for example, two people together are simply shown by the ruler in close proximity to another planet… together.
In the consultation chart the sign position of Venus and Mars will often suggest a lot about the nature of a relationship, whether they rule the Ascendant/Descendant or not. As Mars and Venus traverse the 12 signs, they activate archetypal patterns which are played out on the collective scene. Back in May and June 2011, when Mars was (in exile) in Taurus, both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss Kahn were hugely embarrassed by sexual scandals for example, and generally when you follow celebrities and the news, you will see the focus changing for men and women sign by sign.
When using the consultation chart in this way, it is the condition of the planets which is crucial. Condition is judged by how strong a planet is in a sign, or how weak, and this is generally discerned by whether a planet is in its own sign – dignified – or in its opposite sign – in exile, or whether it is exalted, like Venus in Pisces, or in the opposite sign – in fall – Venus in Virgo (or Mars in Cancer, Mercury in Pisces, Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio).
Having drawn up the consultation chart, you will look for the rulers of the Ascendant and Descendant – the natural partnerships of Venus/Mars, Mercury/Jupiter and Sun-Moon/Saturn. The traditional rulers are used for Scorpio (Mars) and Aquarius (Saturn) and Pisces (Jupiter) – Uranus, Neptune and Pluto generally represent non-human forces. For Cancer it is worth looking at both the Moon and the Sun as ruler. However, as the natural partner for Sun and Moon is Saturn, and Saturn often brings challenges or fateful events, it is not sure that an approaching conjunction of the Moon to Saturn will bring anything good for a relationship. If a person comes to a consultation looking for love, then is it an excellent sign when there is a positive aspect between the rulers, and generally also when there is a conjunction, though a conjunction can bring the end of a cycle in an existing relationship.
The Moon will also have a lot to say in the process. When the Moon aspects for example Ascendant ruler, then goes on to aspect Descendant ruler, then that helps a relationship materialize. However the moon in itself is not a reliable indicator of a relationship, just because it harmoniously aspects the Descendant ruler. It is a good indication, but it is not a sure thing at all.
Although the principles of judging relationships from the horary chart are simple enough, It is not always easy. The following consultation chart was for a young person who was married with two children, whose husband had recently moved out, much to her despair. They had been together since they were teenagers.
HOROSCOPE: June 13th 2012. 10.33. Copenhagen AS 28.44 LE
Really the horoscope looked good for relationships, because the Ascendant ruler Sun was exactly trine Descendant ruler Saturn. But the husband had no desire to return, and after a year of separation, he finally told her he was living with another woman. He had previously claimed he just had a roommate. In retrospect the problem here was that the Ascendant was about to move into Virgo, which would make the Ascendant ruler Mercury in Cancer (having recently run into the Uranus/Pluto square and therefore traumatized). Jupiter on the other hand had just moved into Gemini (without dignity) going on to square Neptune, which was conjoining the Descendant. Which was a perfect astrological signature for his subsequently revealed behavior. In this case the late Ascendant showed that the relationship was in a state of transition… it had been stable, but now it was not. This period of chaos for my client corresponded with transit Neptune opposite her Moon, and more tellingly progressed Ascendant about to conjoin her Uranus, which under the circumstances indicated that the relationship was at an end, and that she had to begin a new independent life.
There are periods which are extremely auspicious for relationships because of the approaching harmonious aspects between planetary pairs. For example at the time of writing – May 2013 – Mercury enters Gemini, where Jupiter has been for many months. Venus is also in Gemini ahead of Mercury for most of the month, and then at the last moment, Mercury overtakes Venus and conjoins Jupiter – Mercury’s natural partner – on May 26th. In a situation like this, Venus can play a variety of roles. Initially it might look as if the person represented by Jupiter will have a relationship with Venus, but this will not happen, because Mercury gets there first. Another very likely scenario is that Venus plays a matchmaker, and clears the way for Mercury to meet Jupiter.
Consultations that take place at the end of May will play out this scenario in one form or another, if Mercury or Jupiter ruled signs are rising. It is also quite likely that sun sign Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will experience fortunate relationship developments at this time. Mercury will represent very gifted people who know exactly what they are doing and who control the situation, whilst Jupiter will represent a person who will be pretty exhausted from being in a weak situation – Jupiter has been in exile in Gemini since June 2012. Mercury and Jupiter merge and form a relationship under the terms of Mercury, which rules Gemini, and then they both move on into Cancer. This is a fantastic transformation for Jupiter – from exile to exaltation, so the meeting with Mercury will take Jupiter out of a weak situation and into a strong one. With Mercury later going retrograde in Cancer, this will mean a long-term relationship based on home and family.
And strangely enough the aforementioned client, who was deserted by her husband, has ordered a consultation precisely at this time. And she will be Mercury. Perhaps she will have recovered at this time and is about to find love again for her and her two daughters. Perhaps they will move into a big house too… Jupiter moving into Cancer.
HOROSCOPE: (Data confidential) 22.05.2013 13.30 Copenhagen (AS 13.35 VI)
Because the moon is in Libra, and has just trined the Mercury, Venus and Jupiter stellium, the indications are that there have been happy developments in her love life. Mercury is strong in its own sign and conjoining the Midheaven, though this is rather an intense spot to be, and the square to Chiron shows the wounds she carries, whilst the applying conjunction with Venus almost certainly shows her strong bond to her two daughters. If she is contemplating a new relationship, then the potential partner will be Jupiter, who can only benefit from the meeting. In that case her old partner would likely be Mars in Taurus (which he has in the birth horoscope). Mercury takes Venus into the conjunction with Jupiter, the relationship is formed, and happy family life is promised as they all move into Cancer. Of course it is not sure yet, but that is one possible interpretation of the favorable indications of this coming consultation chart.
Adrian Ross Duncan 20th May 2013