"This is one of those inter-chart aspects no one talks about in synastry–the attraction of the Saturn/Saturn opposition between natal charts. It’s always been around, with couples, working partners, and friendships, but it seems to be more prominent than ever now. It’s turning up more and more in the synastry work I do, almost to the point where I can say it’s commonplace.

"It seems to me that the differences between Venus and Mars have become very blurred and we now look at Venus/Mars as one big sexual mish mosh. I think part of this is due to the fact that our sexual stereotypes have been eroding (for the better) and both partners are allowed to take both passive and active roles. But it gets confusing, because, while both Venus and Mars are about desire, their roles are very different. Venus is about what we desire, and Mars is about both how we desire and how we fulfill our desire.

"As we discussed in the Mars article, the markers of love and sex, Venus and Mars, are undergoing a slow evolution concerning the roles they play in our relationships. In the ‘old’ days, it was easy–Mars, men, sex; Venus, women, love. (It always seemed bizarre to me that no one accounted for the Moon in terms of sex, considering that the Moon rules the body and is also the seat of the psyche.) But the dance is shifting, things have been changing for a long time now, and it’s time to cast a fresh eye on Venus to see what rules still apply.

"The Neptune person can come on strong at the outset, and then slowly fade away, or in some cases abruptly leave. Most of the time, he or she hangs around, whether physically or (and most of the time) psychically. It’s hard to get the Neptune person out of your system, mainly because there can be a lack of closure, a lack of answers as to why that person “faded out”, became inaccessible, or disappeared."

"The only thing synastry can do is indicate some points of attraction and repulsion, areas where the two people can work together or tend to clash, places where the two of you can get along easily or need to work things out. Now this is important, but it won’t tell you if the two people will stay together or even get together. It also won’t tell you how the relationship affects each person individually. Please keep that in mind as you read through the following lessons which list the inter-horoscope aspects."

"When is the following declaration the saddest, bitterest thing you’ve ever heard? “I will always be your friend.”
Sweet words, most of the time. Real friendship is precious. But most of us have felt that terrible sting—the word “friend” when it comes out of the mouth of someone with whom we are in love in a romantic, mating way. Being downgraded to “friend” means rejection. Something upon which we have staked a big piece of our lives is taken away. We know it and our lover knows it too.

"As Alice, a new client, walked into my consulting room, it was immediately clear she was depressed. Her shoulders were hunched, her gaze tentative and erratic, her hair lank, her clothes utilitarian and shapeless. I was surprised. I had been expecting someone rather more confident and serene. Her chart showed an exalted Jupiter exactly conjunct her Cancer ascendant, a comfortable Taurus Moon, and Venus and Mercury atop the midheaven in Pisces."