Excerpt: Composite Charts: The Astrology of Relationships

Before getting into the "brass tacks" of the composite chart-what it is and how it works-it is important to lay
the groundwork for exactly why it works. This is not required for immediate practical application of the
technique, but when in-depth analysis is necessary and decisions of judgment need to be made in any
specific chart, it will be essential to refer back to this stable groundwork for reliable answers. So, this
chapter may seem a little on the theoretical side. You may for the moment skip to the next to get on with the
meat and potatoes of composite methodology, but you will find that you will have to come back here in the
end for the basic recipe.

Proposing a physical basis for astrology, and thus a structure in which to thoroughly ground the composite
chart, is a tall order. Where will it come from? For centuries astrologers have suggested various
explanations of how and why the planets might have an effect on earthly events, but there has yet to be an
explanation that will satisfy all the parties concerned, from the high spiritualist to the hard scientist. Yet, if
the effects of astrology are as real as they seem, there must be a description of how they occur that will be
satisfactory to all. The problem in the past has lain in the dichotomy of thinking between classical scientific
methodology and the more holistic spiritual and humanistic approach to reality. Each has staked out a
territory or paradigm of its own and believed it to be mutually exclusive of other approaches; however, the
expansion of science and mathematics in the late twentieth century into more rarified areas, such as chaos
and complexity theory, has suggested that there are scientific and mathematical models that may explain
seemingly mysterious events that were formerly beyond the pale of hard science. Similarly, events which
had been previously thought to be entirely religious or spiritual in nature (and thus not subject to concrete
description and explanation) are beginning to be seen as simply misunderstood natural events with lawful
natural causes. To plant astrology's feet on the ground, so to speak, what is needed is a set of concepts that
bridges the gap between hard science and the ineffable, while inclusive of both.

As a result of extensive work with astrologer, mathematician, and historian Robert Schmidt, I believe the
necessary pivotal concepts can largely be found in two places: in the visionary but virtually unstudied work,
Das Gesetz der Serie (The Law of Seriality), published in 1919 by biologist Paul Kammerer, and in the
burgeoning field of fractal geometry and chaos theory. We have published our findings elsewhere on the
remarkable paradigm for the organization of everyday reality that Kammerer suggested, a paradigm which
has much greater implications than in the field of astrology alone (Matrix Journal no. 1 [1989]; Fortean
Studies 1 [1990]). For astrology's purposes, suffice it to say that Kammerer searched for a true order of
causality behind regularities apparently due to random causes, while chaos theory and fractal geometry
have sought to give apparently irregular phenomena a causal basis. Kammerer's work is conceptually
consistent at the deepest level while remaining completely nonmathematical; chaos theory employs
elaborate descriptive mathematics, though its own conceptual foundations often seem incoherent. In many
ways, these two approaches seem to complement one another, and both have profound implications when
applied to astrology and modern science. Indeed, it is possible that what differences they have can be
reconciled and united under the umbrella of a greater unified theory which will, as far as we are capable of
conceiving at this point in history and time, literally explain everything. Here, in a nutshell, are the pertinent
concepts as they bear on astrology.

Since theoretical astrology, such as it has been in the past, so often leans quite heavily on Jungian
concepts in general and "acausal synchronicity" in particular, it is important to trace this latter concept to its
originator, Paul Kammerer. Jung credits Kammerer with this concept and incorrectly understands him to be
proposing a new principle of nature, co-existent with causality and finality, that would explain the apparently
random groupings of similar events that we call coincidences, such as runs of luck or the concurrence of
planetary patterns and human behavior. In actuality, Kammerer clearly and repeatedly stressed a hitherto
unsuspected side of the workings of causality itself, and sought to extend the range of accepted natural law
by its means.

When one event follows another event and resembles it without any visibly acting cause, traditional
causality teaches us to attribute their individual occurrence to special causes in each case, their
concurrence to chance. Kammerer's beautiful and simple idea is that often we should look to the
persistence of antecedent conditions instead, the tendency of any given system (a "complex of bodies acted
upon by a constellation of forces," as he puts it) to maintain its initial conditions after previous forces have
ceased to act upon it, as long as other forces do not intervene. This appears to be merely a restatement of
the law of inertia, stepped up to the systems level, but Kammerer asserted that the persistence in a body-
complex need not be uniform and rectilinear, as it would be for an isolated body. On the contrary, the initial
conditions would usually persist in a nonlinear manner. They would fade in and out in intensity, with the
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result that their complexity and manifestation would at times be beneath or above the threshold of our
ordinary ability to observe them directly. When they resurface to comprise an event similar to the first one,
their similar or even identical reappearance would only seem to be due to new and unrelated causes.

Since totally isolated systems exist nowhere on Earth, Kammerer took his line of thinking one step further.
When other forces do intervene, the formal aspect of the initial conditions-their temporal and spatial
organization-would not simply be dispersed, but would be transformed into self-similar configurations that
branch out into larger or smaller forms, or would even be seemingly absorbed into the background as part
of a more highly ordered structure, only to resurface later as close reflections of the original (or sometimes,
again, even the original itself), well after the track of the original had been lost to view. This would account
for repetitions of events that are more distantly similar-in many cases they are just transformations of the
original conditions where we are unaware of the intermediate links. Again, we need not invoke any new set
of causes to account for the coincidence, only Kammerer's ambitious generalizations of the law of inertia
and the application of it to whole systems and their parts, not just to isolated bodies.

Although he gave an elaborate, almost Mendelian, taxonomic explanation of how these interactions should
work that would explain most of the strange occurrences we attribute to extreme coincidence, Kammerer
admitted that it was impossible for him to trace the elaborate detail these transforming flow-lines of causality
would follow. Nevertheless, in theory, form or information put into the environment should mesh and fold
over repeatedly, and yet come back again nearly whole at various points at more or less the same time.

Kammerer's theory would, of course, explain all sorts of anomalies if true, but it ran into something that
would have made it completely unacceptable to scientists in 1919-the second law of thermodynamics,
which states that order tends to decay irreversibly into disorder. Nonconservative systems (i.e., most of the
systems we meet in daily life) decay into randomness (through friction, heat loss, and interaction with other
systems) and that's that. Sooner or later, randomness takes over and the universe grinds to a halt-a
conclusion which seemed to be justified from the observations of the time. As far as anyone had seen, once
turbulence and randomness occurred in a system, it was, by itself, irreversible.

The recent observations that have led to modern chaos theory have noted quite the opposite result,
however. Systems that have apparently, in the classical sense, become random show a high degree of
order when looked at by this new set of methods. Moreover, systems which seemingly become totally
random (untraceable even by chaos theory methods), often come back as a whole or in fractal permutations
of their original order when pursued further. In large part, chaos theorists, with the indispensable computer
tools that enabled them to do this work, brought to earth what Kammerer had theorized half a century
before. The only person of Kammerer's time to touch on this was Henri Poincar, whose topological
transform work displayed this long-term foldover and resurfacing tendency of form and information, much
referenced now but largely ignored in his own time.

Kammerer also envisioned a related extension of the law of causality that he thought of as a law of
"imitation." Any two proximate bodies or body-complexes tend to become increasingly like one another
through an equalization of their energies. This is not only true of their formal and material aspects. Any two
oscillating systems also tend to interact and imitate one another in their periodic or "serial" character,
growing closer together in their temporal organization over time, with the less regularly periodic tending to
assimilate to the more strongly periodic (just as larger gravitational bodies tend to increasingly control the
motion of smaller bodies).

This is the phenomenon called mode-locking or phase-locking, long known to science but still not well
explained. It was noted as early as the seventeenth century by the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens
(inventor of the pendulum clock) when he found that a room full of new clocks, if left alone for a time, always
ended up in perfect lock-step, no matter how out of sync they originally were. This same phenomenon is
found in orbiting bodies whose period of revolution is a multiple of their period of rotation (the Moon always
presents the same face to Earth, as does increasingly Mercury to the Sun, for instance), and in the behavior
of various waves (quartz crystals and radio waves, certain ocean and tide wave configurations, and even
coordinated firefly flashing). Although a variety of transfer mechanisms may be invoked in each specific
instance (sound waves through the walls for clocks, gravitational tidal pressure for the Moon), the principle
seems to hold-stronger, more regularly periodic systems tend to bring smaller, less regular ones into line.

The novelty of Kammerer's understanding of these phenomena lies in the way that he saw an inertial
principle in phase-locking: eventually, the periodicity that the lesser system takes on from its surroundings
will become persistent; it will retain its new periodic character as something endemic even after its link with
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the larger system is broken.

By putting together his general principle of systemic inertia and his special understanding of mode-locking,
Kammerer began to make sense of a host of anomalistic phenomena: biological evolution (why it goes in
spurts); gambling (beginner's luck, or runs of luck); geology and mineralogy (crystal formation); medicine
(epidemic patterns); and even history (why major ideas surface together, or how wars evolve). Kammerer
only alluded to the possibility that his theories could supply a scientific basis for astrology, but here are how
his principles might be applicable.

The largest "proximate" bodies of concern to us on Earth are the Sun, the Moon, and the other planets.
Although their direct gravitational influence on individuals on Earth at any one moment is minuscule (as
scientific debunkers of astrology are so quick to point out), their effects on our planet as a whole are
considerable, to the extent of perturbing its very orbit through space. Thus, the entire planet is subject to a
series of strong, regularly repeating cycles or waves of gravitational pressure which should, under
Kammerer's principles, tend to mode-lock other large systems on Earth (tides, weather, geological cycles,
etc.). These systems, over the eons, continue to mode-lock downward to smaller systems. These cycles are
not experienced as a single homogeneous unit, but singly by planet, depending upon the nearest
associated frequencies (just as different crystals lock on to different radio wavelengths). Over millions of
years, multiple series of integrated systems are set up and continually reinforced.

According to the second law of thermodynamics, these smaller systems would tend to decay quickly
because of friction, heat loss into space, and so on, but if patterns and information, as suggested by
Kammerer and by chaos theory, are not lost but only diverge into related forms, the entire system and its
parts, no matter how detailed, would evolve directly in tandem (fueled by the pressures of proximate
planetary bodies). The original gravitational rhythm of each planet upon Earth would devolve into a
multiplicity of lesser systems originally associated with its frequency (somewhat like a harmonic overtone
series, but more pervasive), all of which interact into diversity but continually resurface in forms closer to the
original and in sync with it and each other. Thus, "synchronicity" is indeed a cause-and-effect situation, but
over time rather than space. One might say that when a planet, such as Mars, returns to a given place in its
orbit, Earth-based systems receive the effect from that event as a reinforcement of a pulse developed over
eons rather than just as a particular transit-the time of the current transit indicates the synchronization of a
particular set of Mars-related systems that will reinforce smaller systems with its step-down effects.
Naturally, under such a plan the effects of an individual transit would not always be instantaneous and
exact, but would be varying and approximate according to the developments of the stepdown systems-the
very inexact sort of reliability which is so often observed in astrology and which so befuddles astrologers
and comforts debunkers. It may, in fact, be a key to how the whole system actually works.

Imagine that you're lying in a tub of warm water. If you move your hands gently from side to side, not much
happens for a while, but before long, the water begins to roll from side to side, in time with your hands (and,
mathematically, in resonance with the dimensions and volume of the tub). If you then relax your hands, the
resonance built up will move them right along with the system. If you remove your hands entirely, inertial
resonance will cause the water to continue to slosh about for a good amount of time. The initial cause is
gone, but its main effects still persist in its absence. How much more powerful are the subtleties of a
planetary system built up over billions of years with its major players still in the game?

This approach would certainly allow for a profound cumulative influence of other planetary bodies upon
even the smallest of systems on Earth, both living and inanimate. What about a natal horoscope-how does
it explain that? What happens at birth that provides a basis for these systems to interact with you
throughout your life? The answer is found in Kammerer's theory of "persistence" or in plain old inertia. At the
time of birth (the first breath, in fact) the child becomes an independent system, a constellation of elements
and forces that tends to maintain the fabric of its initial conditions. Moreover, since life systems are
recursive (feedback systems that maintain themselves), the subsequent development of that system is
greatly more resistant to change than that of a nonrecursive system (such as a whirlpool). In fact, this
resistance to change would apply to any other system that is recursive, or that at least tends to maintain
itself, such as a ship, a country, or a corporation, for which horoscopes are also commonly used. Naturally,
transits are simply times when planetary forces overlap the initially established set of conditions and so may
affect that recursive system. (Furthermore, it can easily be seen from this perspective that otherwise
mysteriously invoked astrological techniques for various forms of progressions are simply another way to
view transits and their future implications through a single fractal transform-of a day equaling a year, for
instance-an approach that would be logical under either chaos theory or Kammerer's point of view.)

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A further corollary of Kammerer's view of systemic inertia that is implicit, though not specifically stated in his
work, is that the longer a system remains intact, the greater its persistence. Thus, planets, which have
maintained their relatively stable orbits for a very long time, have a quality of persistence disproportionate to
their mass. This concept was also proposed, though never proved, by Einstein. A commonsense
explanation for this might be that time is the fourth dimension of a system or an object. The longer that a
recursive system exists, the larger it gets, at least as measured in the temporal dimension. At the seemingly
trivial level, everyone knows that the longer a bureaucracy (or a personal habit) persists, the harder it is to
dislodge. The implications of this upon composite charts are quite profound, as they seem to pick up
strength and inertia the longer the relationships which formed them persist.

As earlier described, the composite chart is a horoscope made up of the mutual midpoints between the
natal charts of two persons-the composite Sun is located at the midpoint between the two natal Suns, the
composite Moon is at the midpoint between the two natal Moons, and so on. What results is a new,
mathematically produced horoscope that literally describes the interface between the two personalities: the
shoreline, as it were, where one leaves off and the other begins. Like any coastline, it may be even and
easygoing at one point and convoluted and forbidding at another. Like any shore, it is subject to fair and
stormy weather.

This astrological "weather" consists of the repeating transits of the planets and the lights that, as in the case
of physical coastlines, have literally created the shape of the coastline from the beginning (figure 1). It is a
mathematical phenomenon, described by the numbers that are used to construct the composite chart that
combines two personalities. For instance, we know each person experiences regular daily, monthly, and
yearly transits to his or her natal Sun, giving that point a rising and falling rhythm. The composite Sun is
precisely the point at which these rhythms shift over from one person to the other, and shift from relative
increase to decrease and vice versa, one to another. It is really a critical, phase-shifting point where one
person (usually unknowingly) hands the ball to the other with a mutual shift of energy and responsibility. It is
a point of mutual empowerment, the swing point where one gives over to the other at the most primal level.
As the transits roll by, the individual solar rhythms continually pass over and reinforce this transfer point,
establishing a separate, mutual rhythm unique to the relationship. This happens not only to the two
individual's natal Suns, but to all their other natal bodies as well; when you assemble all the points, you
begin to describe their composite shoreline.

This physical and mathematical combination takes on a life of its own that may be quite different from that
of the two individuals from which it has sprung. Two persons who both have easy aspects between the
lights may find they have a composite Sun-Moon square which may be quite difficult to deal with-difficult in
ways with which the two are natally quite unfamiliar and that makes them wonder just what is going on.
Conversely, persons who may have quite a struggle by themselves in certain areas may find that the
relationship by itself seems to magically free them to function better than either could alone. It is here that
the relationship does indeed become revealed as more than the sum of its parts.

Since the composite chart and, by extension, the relationship itself, is created by the combination of
repetitive individual cycles and their mutual exchange, the longer two people are together, the stronger and
more complete the effect of the composite chart is as it ingrains itself and achieves a momentum of its own.
Essentially, this chart is the center point where Kammerer's "imitation effect" pushes the relationship over
time. As it solidifies, the cumulative effect of persistence, or systemic inertia, grows and strengthens. This
makes good aspects more reliable and makes bad habits repeat themselves, and very much contributes to
the long-term strengths and weaknesses of a relationship. Since both strengths and problems in most
relationships tend to sustain themselves at an unconscious level, and are thus often difficult to control or
change, the composite chart becomes a matchless tool for throwing light on the workings of the relationship
and opening it to conscious development and growth. It is probably the first thing both partners should look
at when establishing a relationship, because the composite is a template for the future and is as much a
prediction of how things must become as how they are when they begin. Partners should continually refer to
it as time goes by. They can become much more in control of how their relationship develops and will be
less likely to be carried away by circumstances outside of their understanding.

It is said that some marriages or partnerships were meant to be and others are not. Composite charts most
certainly indicate this immediately. The use of composite charts at the beginning of a relationship gives both
partners a kind of control they previously would not have had. It enables them to alter and repair, to some
extent, that which should otherwise have been avoided and to maximize benefits that might otherwise have
been taken for granted. It enables both partners, if they are willing to take individual responsibility, to not be
controlled by the strange third party that a relationship itself becomes, but to step in and out of it to their
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mutual advantage. This is actually quite a modern, revolutionary idea, particularly where marriages are
concerned.

In the past, both partners were deemed to be lifelong slaves in a marriage, however it worked out. More
recently the message has become: if it doesn't work out, divorce (even if there is something worth saving,
throw the baby out with the bath water).

Yet, there may be a third approach, facilitated by the composite chart and the phenomenon it represents.
This new view of relationship recognizes that any two persons are dealing with a powerful but
manipulatable third party-the relationship itself. The knowledge that a relationship is made up by the
interaction of the two of them, allows both to slip in and out of parts of the relationship and become
individuals when it is better to do so and to ride the power of the relationship when both will benefit. Just as
the composite chart itself describes the subtleties of mutual empowerment, the use of the technique further
empowers those involved individually and allows them greater control over their lives. In astrology, as
elsewhere, knowledge is power: blind fate is the child of ignorance, and destiny is an afterthought of what
you should have considered (and acted upon) in the first place.

1. Venus
Here are some keywords to assist you in better understanding the energy of the planet Venus:

Love, feeling, harmony, relationships, ability to give and take, longing and desire for union, sensory
pleasures such as in five senses, beauty, sensuality, aesthetic peception, art, talents, good taste, the throat
and neck, being vain, temptation, focusing on external factors, what we value, money and how we earn it.
Venus is the feminine energy principle in the birth chart.
2. Saturn
In traditional astrology, Saturn is considered to be a malefic planet and tends to operate through our fear.
Saturn is considered to be thrifty, tactful, disciplined, stern, cold and severe. When Saturn transits our chart
he usually brings some kind of limitation to our lives. Frustration and hard work is expected from Saturn. If
you have met the challenge and worked through a Saturn transit, you will often manifest wisdom and
benefits from your hard work. Sometimes when Saturn transits your chart decisions are made or finalized.
On the positive side when you are self-disciplined and self-directed at a task, accomplishment and financial
gain is your "Saturnian" reward. If you have Saturn strong in your chart, you may be drawn to antiques,
ruins, ancient times and even collecting old objects of substance and worth.

Saturn and the sign of Capricorn reside in the 10th house of the zodiac and starts at the cusp called the MC
or Medium Coeli. The 10th house is typically linked to structures, real estate, your public reputation and
work in society, timing, cycles and wisdom earned as a result of difficult tasks. The 10th house, the ruler of
the 10th and planets in the 10th are also symbolic of the mother, traditionally, or the parent who was most
influential in your life. Saturn is a tough teacher and taskmaster, if you will. He sets limits, boundaries and
obstacles for us to overcome. Depending on how well we do, he may grant us a "reward"a reward for our
hard work. In Karmic Astrology, Saturn plays an important role and represents cycles of time. When we are
in a "karmic" relationship, there is a feeling of lack of control over the events and circumstances within the
relationship. Through these circumstances and events, we develop a new self-awareness, a new
understanding of the person we are involved with and also how we relate to the environment. Saturn will
often present us with someone approximately 7 years older or younger than ourselves. "When the student
is ready, the teacher (Saturn) will appear." Some karmic relationships are teacher/student, parent/child or
counselor/patient. There is something which must be taught and something which needs to be learned and
understoodby both participants.

Martin Schulman, in his wonderful Karmic Astrology series states: "Every time our unconscious is working
something out, it calls into our lives the people who have within the pieces of the answer we are seeking."
What he means is that you may find that a certain type of person or situation repeatedly enters your life.
Just as you end a relationship with one person with a particular problem, another enters your life, often
disguised, with a similar problem! (that is if you haven't worked out the last difficulties) Oryou may meet
several people consecutively with the same sun sign or the same hobbies. There is something the universe
is pointing you towards and you must pay attention to what is being presented for you to learn. This is
Saturn - the wise teacher.

When I interpret a relationship/compatibility chart, I always pay attention to the contacts Saturn makes to
another's chart. Saturn contacts between charts are binding and are usually symbolic of a long term
relationship or, at the very least, an important relationship. When Saturn does not make any significant
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contacts to another's chart, the relationship could be wonderful and romantic but when difficulties surface
thre may not be the drive or ability for the two people involved to work on the relationship to keep it together
over the long term.

THE WORLD Card - Number XXl or 21

The World card in the tarot deck is card #21 and is symbolic of Saturn. This card depicts a naked
woman draped in a bright red flowing scarf. She is surrounded by a green oval-shaped wreath, with
red ribbons. The wreath is reminiscent of a Christmas wreath which some display during the month of
December as a celebration for the end of the year. The four fixed symbols (Bull-Taurus, Lion-Leo, Eagle-
Scorpio and the face of a blond haired man symbolic of Aquarius-The Water Bearer), of the zodiac are
located in each of the four corners of this card. It is the last card of the Major Arcana and in the Fools
journey. His wisdom and experience is now complete and he has accomplished his purpose. This card
signifies fulfillment and the final completion of time in our human experience and the culmination of a long
journey. The World is symbolic of fulfillment after accomplishing your heart's desire.

3. Pluto
The Devil Card in the Tarot deck is symbolic of some of the types of feelings we have when in a relationship
with someone when we have a Venus/Pluto Conjunction. We may feel so completely bonded to this person
in an almost obsessive way. Because of this obsession we will often feel tied down or stifled by the intensity
of this energy almost as if it is against our will! We often merge with this person on a very deep level losing
our independence and allowing ourselves to be controlled and enslaved to this addictive feeling of sexual
love. When we become addictive in our love patterns we often get caught up in appearances and the
physical part of the relationship. We begin to limit ourselves, choosing to stay in the dark about other areas
of the relationship. When we neglect seeing other areas of the relationship we can start to think negatively
about seeing the relationship without this passionate energy and the intensity of the connection. We can
become stuck in fear and doubt at this point.

I have had my own experiences in relationships with Venus Pluto contacts and if you read Linda Goodmans
Relationships Signs books she emphasizes Venus/Pluto as "soulmate" or "twin soul" aspect...there is a very
intense and deep love between the parties. It isn't only the Venus person who is doing the loving..the Pluto
person is loving the Venus person but with a more "transformative" and intense/possessive love..usually the
Venus person is overwhelmed, allured, attracted, consumed, and petrified all at the same time!! It is a vey
intense and passionate encounter. When Venus Pluto conjunct in synastry usually other people "see" how
in love the two are without any words between the couple..they could walk down the street and others will
simply be envious and take notice!! It's an amazing thing!

Pluto connections are always intensely transformative. When we are in a relationship with another where
there is a Venus/Pluto conjunction...our lives, for better or for worse...will never be the same.

Here are some keywords to assist you in better understanding the energy of the planet Venus:

Love, feeling, harmony, relationships, ability to give and take, longing and desire for union, sensory
pleasures such as in five senses, beauty, sensuality, aesthetic peception, art, talents, good taste, the throat
and neck, being vain, temptation, focusing on external factors, what we value, money and how we earn it.
Venus is the feminine energy principle in the birth chart.

Here are some keywords to assist you in better understanding the energy of the planet Pluto:

Deep transformation, the depths, darkness, the source, underground, beneath, psyhological forces, our
instincts, power, control, helplessness, dependency, intensity of strength, drive for far reaching and deep
changes in self and in others, healing forces, hypnotic, destructive, sadistic, sexual organs, sex, the
occult,compulsions, obsession and emotional entanglement. Pluto's deep transformative energy principle is
responsible for making long lasting and much needed changes in our lives.

4. Chiron
Chiron is a planetoid which orbits between the path of Saturn and Uranus. He was discovered in 1977. I call
him a "he" since Chiron relates to the Wounded Healer - The Centaur. A Centaur is a mythical creature that
is half man and half horse and he is symbolic of the sign of Saggitarius. It is said that Chiron had aimed his
poison arrow outward and was accidentally wounded by his own dart. Because of this, he had a wound that
would not heal. Very often when we receive a wound in childhood, or have a painful experience, we can
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repress that pain and carry it with us throughout our lives. Often we are able to transform that pain or hurt
as a lesson we needed to learn. As a result of these painful lessons, we are later able to utilize this
knowledge to help or heal others who have experienced a similiar wound or pain in a particular area of life.
For example: A woman who is raped becomes a Rape Counselor helping other women deal with their
betrayal. It could be the child that everyone teases in school, the "nerd" who develops a unique idea to win
wordly praise and recognition. It is often what we repress that propells us.

It is no "coincidence" that we tend to attract people or experiences to us who have either suffered the same
issues or experiences as ours if we have not resolved our own painful experiences. Sometimes, though, we
are meant to assist others, once we have completed our own internal work. Have you ever noticed that we
tend to attract the same kinds of experiences and people to us?? They are only disguised differently!

Planets, asteroids and the like are usually disovered synchronistically during a time when it is symbolic of
the collective and outer worldy events happening during its' discovery. The discovery of Chiron was no
different as he was discovered during the beginning of our moving into the direction of a more healthy and
holistic lifestyle. Energy workers, massage therapists, and astrologers abound! There were new
technological discoveries...a bridge between the old and the new.

Chiron is considered to be a "bridge" between the symbolism of both Saturn and Uranus. Between the old
structures of principles of our lives and the innovations of the collective. When I look at the glyph (picture
symbol) for Chiron, I also see a small key....a key to "unlock" a door. Chiron can also be considered to be a
key or knowledge to unlock something within us as individuals or a bridge or key to another person or to the
collective.

I have seen some interesting dynamics between birth charts of individuals who have Chiron contacts
between them. Chiron seems to be a teacher of sorts and he prefers that we take responsibility for doing
our homework. In fact, he makes sure we do by "keying in to" or bridging us to the people we need to meet
in this lifetime, that we need to work with. He seems to have the sage-like wisdom of Saturn yet is able to
transform that wisdom into something unique, and new and useful for today and in the future...just like Mr.
Force - us - to Change, Uranus!

What should be noted is that Chiron has a few faces. He is the "wounded" one for certain and from that hurt
he is capable of being a great the teacher to heal others because of his painful experiences. However, he
can also wound others, hurt others with his knowledge or pain if he has not resolved these issues
successfully in himself.

It has been said that "When the student is ready, the teacher appears". Where is Chiron located in your
Birth Chart?

6. The Vertex
The Vertex is not a planet. It is an intersection of the ecliptic with the prime vertical (Nadir) in the West. In an
astrological Chart, The Vertex always appears in the Western Hemisphere of the chart, usually through
Houses 5-8. Because of the location of the Vertex in the West, the nature of the Vertex is about the
"relating" principle. The house the Vertex is located in your own birth chart will define the types of
relationships you seek or draw into your life and how you utilize the principle of relating in all of your
relationships.

When people you meet have planets conjunct your vertex or visa versa you will see something special
about them...and you do not usually forget the person. There is an instant connection on some level and for
some specific purpose. The nature of the relationship can be intense and have a sense of fatedness. It
seems that the vertex attracts important or fated people and events into our lives. Examples: If ones
person's Mars is conjunct (the same astrological degree) your own Vertex you will probably think that
person to be very sexy/sexual and connected with their dynamic energy. The may either incite or excite you!
When a person's Saturn is conjunct your Vertex, they may be somewhat "stabilizing" or offer some sage
advice to you. You may look up to this person for the discipline, lessons or structures they bring into your life
or visa versa. We do not always welcome the lessons or Saturnian energy one brings to a relationship.

I once had a job applicant I really liked! I ended up placing him in a job and earning a nice commission from
that placement that year. We never met in person and asked if he would share his birth data with me. His
Jupiter was conjunct my Vertex in my 8th house..he brought me luck in financial matters by allowing me to
earn a commission off him. I receive commissions from Clients (my Venus in the 8th)!
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I love using the Vertex in chart comparisons and compatibility. If you look back to significant people and
events in your life you will find connections to your Vertex and Anti-vertex, the point opposite the Vertex. In
some ways the energy seems to be similar to that of the nodal axis...but the Vertex, unlike the Nodal axis,
doesn't store past memory or talents and abilities. It serves to draw the necessary people, events and
learning experiences into our lives. When it does those people and experiences are significant in some way,
as indicated by the house placement and sign. There is a fated quality to these contacts.