Astrological Compatibility – The Astrology of Relationship, Element I – Elements
Astrology can teach us much about our relationships with others if we spend some time obtaining to know the symbolic language on the a lot more intimate level. Normally when persons speak of astrological compatibility they are speaking of their sun signs only. What you’ll usually hear is “I am a Leo and I typically do not get along with Scorpios” or “I am a Virgo and Pisces people really drive me crazy.” What’s missing here, of course, is an understanding of what it is about other people that very challenges us on a deeper level
To get a clearer understanding of astrological compatibility it’s necessary to delve into two facets of astrology: the elements and also the aspects. The points we use in zodiac sign compatibility are fire, water, air and earth. Each astrological sign falls into a single of these categories. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are the fire signs which are typically associated with our capacity to perceive on an intuitive level. Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are water signs which relate for the emotional aspects of our being. Libra, Aquarius and Gemini are all air signs and correspond for the mental or intellectual plane. And finally, Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo are the earth signs and relate towards physical or sensate qualities we possess.
The aspects are the interrelationships or dynamics that exist in between the elements. The aspects determine the relative ease or “dis-ease” in which the issues will operate. For example, in Figure A single I have laid out the issues in their natural relationships. As it is possible to see fire and air and water and earth oppose each other (180 degrees apart). In addition every element is squared (in a 90 degree relationship) with each in the other elements. These a couple of relationships, the opposition and square are probably the most tough of the aspects between the elements. Does this mean then that if you happen to become an Aries (a fire sign) that every earth, water and air sign you meet will probably be a challenge for you in some way? Fortunately not!
In Figures 2, 3 and 4, I’ve laid out 3 diagrams of how the signs aspect or interrelate with each other. To interpret these examples all you do is discover your birth sign and compare that from the other signs on your particular diagram. With the Aries birth, for example, you would find that your relationships with Cancer, Libra and Capricorn would be challenging. Another water, air and earth signs during the remaining diagrams would not be as challenging and, in most cases, would be fairly smooth going.
This is because as an Aries you would be in certain aspect (trine) in the other fire signs and sure aspect (sextile) in the other air signs outside of the diagram. Similarly, if you are a Taurus you will discover it a lot more complicated being around Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius and simpler being for the other earth signs and water signs outside of your very own diagram.
To demonstrate how these principles operate inside a relationship I’d like to share with you the dynamics of the couple I worked with a few years ago. She was a Scorpio with 5 of her ten planets in that sign and he was a Taurus in the exact same quantity of planets in Taurus. As it is possible to see within the diagram Taurus and Scorpio are opposite each other and theirs was a conventional illustration from the opposition relationship. In such relationship, that is certainly quite common, (remember the old adage, opposites attract?) the couple always draws the opposite to them for ones purpose of healing and becoming whole. What happens several times though, is that the couple ends up spending most of their time creating another person’s truth wrong!
In this case she was the emotionally expressive one in the relationship and tended being kind of “spacey” and very ungrounded in her body. He was the epitome of the “classic” rational “I don’t consider it unless I see it” sort of guy. He wasn’t interested or ready at the time of “being with” her deep, emotional material and she wasn’t in a position to see the certain aspects of his earthy qualities. This really is not to say that the opposition relationship won’t work. It is just more challenging as it requires that each horoscopes compatibility partners honor and accept the gift that their partner is offering them. It also takes excellent discipline to consciously develop the parts of ourselves that’s more than developed in our partner so that we do not need them to be whole ourselves.
The square relationship can be quite favorite and I call it the “growth via confrontation” relationship. The crux of this relationship is that each partner challenges another to preserve growing often through confrontation and conflict! From the square relationship it always looks how the couple undermines and thwarts the most intentions of every other. The certain side of this kind of relationship is that it provides plenty of energy and motivation to break out of old ways of relating. The only problem is that it truly is really painful for all of those people involved. Nevertheless, for people that are extremely committed to growing each individually and like a couple and who being a good deal of fireworks in their relationship, the square relationship can also be very dynamic and can create many breakthroughs.
The conjunct relationship, or relationships that share the same sign, are one of the most rare and probably the most challenging. Since every partner is similar in many methods there’s a compelling pull to merge in the other and to blur the boundaries that give rise to individuality. Objectivity tends to acquire thrown out the window and it becomes quite hard for your couple to distinguish where they stand in relation to every other. The reward of this balancing act is really a relationship that reflects a singleness of purpose, and an intensity that provides motivation for accomplishing much together.
Interestingly sufficient the “easier” relationships, the trine relationship (both partners from the same element) and the sextile relationship (fire with any air outside one’s unique diagram, or water with any earth element outside one’s unique diagram) are not as popular as the additional challenging relationships we’ve been discussing. Perhaps this accounts for the high divorce rate that exists in this country! Perhaps we select the challenging relationships to move beyond what our familiar patterns of relationship have been. Since one from the gifts of getting in relationship will be the opportunity to grow both individually and in relation to others maybe we require that extra challenge to extremely motivate us to improve and grow.


