by Robert Wilkinson
Over the years I've been asked why some signs are more compatible with others, and why some signs seem to have a harder time with each other.
This builds on the material I introduced yesterday about the signs which square and oppose each other, since the dynamic relationship between the signs is the key to understanding all phases of our ever-evolving reality. This article elaborates on how we can best use those dynamic relationships. As it’s been over 3 years since we last explored this subject, I figured it was time to revisit the material. As usual, I’ve updated it and added explanation where needed.
The reason some signs get along better with certain signs deals with the harmonics of the holistic energy field. While all the energies exist within the larger field, not all energies in that field are harmonious with each other. We just need to see that all energies have their function relative to each other since all energy is interrelated.
In astrology, certain sign energies seem to be at cross purposes with each other. However, even the ones at cross purposes show the grounding, the balance, and the fulfillment of every other one. Each phase in any evolutionary cycle, whether building or breaking down, stabilizing or challenging, has its important function within that cycle, regardless of how that phase expresses itself related to the specific cycle.
Our chart shows our first breath when we popped into this “12 fold reality.” The planets we have in various houses shows us what we came in with, and what we’re here to master across the 12 Evolutionary Fields of human existence. Each planet in each sign will learn how to be its best manifestation on the material, emotional, mental, and spiritual planes of the personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal dimensions of human existence.
How well we succeed in using energies that are at cross purposes to each other depends entirely on how thoroughly we cultivate the strengths of each planet and each sign while overcoming the dysfunction of the planets and signs. Signs that are frictional to each other actually serve a good purpose since they are where we find our “checks and balances.” This ensures that whatever we’re trying to express is accurate, good, true, and the best possible manifestation of our Self, even in frictional conditions.
Though we all have our planets in specific signs, showing our approach to those planetary “departments of labor,” it's important to remember that more than just our planets in their signs, we all have all 12 signs in our charts. We all have somewhere that Aries is active, even if we don’t have a planet or angle in that sign. We all have Cancer dominating at least one house, even if it’s intercepted and we have no planets there. And because we are moved forward in our evolution by Electric and Solar Fire expressed in “frictional” conditions, it can get very intense in any sector of our map!
All our charts have various tendencies which do and do not get along with each other. Those are parts of ourselves that we do and do not get along with. And since the chart and our lives usually play out in our interactions, often we attract people with a strong sign emphasis who are there to teach us what we are harmonized with, and what we still need to learn how to deal with in a productive way.
The signs we have a problem with show us what parts of our own chart we need to correct, or make peace with, or transform so that the positive manifestations of those signs can come forth. An "affliction" in no way condemns us to misery or malfunction. As we learn to transmute certain frictional energies, we can be at peace with who we are and how we function best.
In our evolution, we learn to adapt and become wiser in our responses to our challenges and triumphs. As we learn what is right for us, we no longer have to take cues from others who may not know what they’re doing or saying, or may be on a different evolutionary path than we are. What works for one at one time may not work for another. That’s why our birth charts are perfect for us, since it shows us what we are mastering at each turn of the wheel of Life.
Our planets in their signs are key indicators of how well we get along with others’ planets in their signs. That's the foundation of Relational Astrology, and gets to the heart of how parts of our reality relate more or less harmoniously with other parts of our reality.
Our Sun sign shows how we are illuminated, and how we illuminate others. Our Moon sign reveals our primal needs and feelings, and the style of our “shell of personality.” The Sun is who we are, and the Moon is how we experience that in an “up close and personal” way.
Mercury is the coordinator of the various areas of Life and Mind, as well as "the Guide of Souls." Our Mercury sign shows us how we do these, and our receptivity to Spirit as it learns how to master matter, feelings, and the mind.
The sign of our Venus shows us our likes, whether people, art, food, or anything else there is to like, while the sign of our Mars shows us what aggravates us as well as what spurs us to direct action. These are the 5 primary “personal” planets of how we deal with our intimate life areas.
Mars also plays a big role in our social life, so it’s really a “personal-social” planet, and shows socialized desires as well as how we initiate action in the social world. Jupiter expands that into the social-cultural and philosophic realm, and the signs our Jupiter is in shows how we view an expanded universe, life adventure, and Truth. Our Saturn sign shows both what oppresses us as well as how we claim the authority of our experience and maturity.
Because of the signs these parts of us occupy, not all of these are harmonious with each other, which is part of the complexity of human nature. Simply put, it is why some parts of us are in conflict and harmony with other parts of us. It’s why we're illuminated by certain people and situations, and not by others, and why we really like some people more than others.
As we evolve through all kinds of interactive experiences, we find some signs seem to uplift us, while others seem to bog us down in major ways. Because we will inevitably go through all 12 types of experience as a function of transits, as we master all the elemental energies in their initiating, stabilizing, and distributive modes of expression, we find healthy ways to deal with all the friction we encounter in our search for meaning and purpose.
This is why all experiences, even our negative experiences, can show us lessons we need to learn about how we can best respond to all the sign energies, which is a life-long task. How we dance with the energies in our world shows us how capable and response-able we are or aren't, and what we're learning about wholeness and fragmentedness.
It is helpful to regard the 12 signs as 6 polarities. Any two signs that oppose each other are two faces of one coin, a polarity of the expression of each other. Thus they are natural mate signs, and why many Astrology texts say that opposing signs make for good partnerships.
While this is not an absolute by any means, there is a definite attraction between signs that oppose each other. Of course, an opposition may be productive of great give-and-take, or great battles, depending on a host of things.
As I introduced in yesterday’s article, another way knowing the traits of opposing signs assists us is that they externalize through the traits of each. That way we can see if someone is out of balance by examining the traits they're showing and seeing which sign axis is malfunctioning.
Signs that square each other are said to produce friction, but they can also generate great energy when the tension is used wisely. Usually the conflict and the solution to any conflict is found in the positive expression of the signs opposing those that square each other, since those are balancing forces to whatever is in energetic release.
For example, when we find an Aries square Cancer energy, then we must wisely apply positive Libra and Capricorn traits to express the square in a favorable way. If we see Taurus square Leo energy, then it is useful to apply positive Aquarius and Scorpio traits to ensure healthy balanced functioning. By studying the attribute of the signs you can learn a lot more about how these things work.
Fire signs are generally harmonious with Air signs. Water signs are generally harmonious with Earth. Sometimes due to being at the beginning or end of a sign, planets in signs usually disharmonious with each other can find harmony. And of course, as we evolve from our lower self to our Higher Self our sign expressions get better and better, and we bring the positive traits of those signs to situations in our lives.
On a final note, because all of our planets progress through earlier or later signs, we get to learn a lot from various experiences of those evolving planetary functions. Even the progressed inner planets which stay in one sign (through going retrograde at the end of its sign and staying in that sign throughout our life) show us stable elements in our learning experience by which we can measure all the other challenges and understanding which comes through the squares and oppositions to those planets.
[For astrologers: Examples of this include children born in early August 2015 who have Venus will be in Leo by progression for over 60 years, and those born in late August 2015 have progressed Mercury in Libra for over 60 years as well. Others include those born the second week of April 2016 who have progressed Mercury in Taurus for over 60 years, and those born the third week of May 2018 who will have progressed Mars in Aquarius into their mid-80s!)
By knowing the relationship of various signs to each other, we can understand our past, present, and future experiences better, especially if we know anything about the signs of the people we've danced with. We can take a new look at the relationships which shaped our responses, and understand which energies were in play. By seeing which energies were challenged and forced us to evolve, we can see how those experiences brought us to where we are now. We can see how we grew, and why we are more comfortable now when we deal with certain types of energy than we were in the past.
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
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