Yesterday I spent a few hours with Theresa working on composite charts, and it occurred to me that the potential for relationship insight that can be gleaned through such approaches is easily worthy of an article. Today therefore I would like to interpret the composite chart of Prince Charles and Diana, the results are almost uncannily informative and you will hopefully quickly grasp the value of such a study.
Technically, the composite chart is a midpoint, or halfsum derivation of two separate astrologies. Each point is taken from both parties, the longitudinal arc is determined, halved and that point is then plot for the composite; thus if person A has Sun at 10° Libra and person B has Sun at 20° Scorpio then the composite Sun will fall at 0° Scorpio. Every point, including Ascendant and midheaven is treated in this same manner, until a completely new chart is created.
At this point the normal process of interpreting the astrology can continue, with the only difference lying in the fact that we are looking at the character and destiny of a relationship as opposed to a person. Experienced astrologers will see immediately some of the more intriguing indicators within this astrology, certainly the overall ambience is easy – and if you read yesterday’s article you might see that there is a potential difficulty in this much ease – and we have a chart which evinces no oppositions and only a single square aspect. There is immediately a lack of challenge and drive within the marriage, and too there is an ongoing risk of isolation inherent too. Let us consider some of the key delineations:
- Ascendant in Aries creates a bold and fearless, if somewhat self-absorbed outward face. The rising sign of a composite really tells us something about how the partnership appears to the world at large, so in Aries, there is no sense of anything being in the background. The ruler of the chart therefore is Mars, which promises a certain element of upset and with Mars in Libra this is made even more awkward; Mars in Libra hates confrontation and tries to avoid outright hostilities. Mars too lies in the 7th and squares Uranus in Cancer. I would interpret this to say that the issue of wanting to be somewhere else, to live independently (Uranus in Cancer/4th) causes tension in the marriage which is never properly acknowledged (Mars in LIbra/7th) which builds gradually to an insurmountable difficulty. Of all indicators then, this seems to be the least favoured planetary ruler for the composite chart, and as with natal astrology, the chart ruler will always give an enormous insight.
- An absolutely partile conjunct of Jupiter with Chiron riding the Midheaven; fascinating. Ostensibly, Jupiter this elevated seems to be fantastic; it promises enormous status and the outward appearance of ease. The Chiron connection however creates a real underlying sensitivity that itself must eventually become obvious to the entire world. Capricorn too is a hard sign, not particularly sensitive or compassionate at its heart; thus there is an ever-increasing (Jupiter) and public (Mc) sensitivity to feeling unloved, left out, closed off and lonely (Capricorn); this became the overriding ambience of the partnership toward the end of course, and it was there for the entire world to see.
- Mars conjunct Neptune in Libra in the 7th tells a very pertinent story too. Mars must struggle madly here, in Venus’ house and subject to the dissolving influence of Neptune too, frustration must have become a subjective reality of the marriage – for both parties. This in itself implies an ongoing dissatisfaction with the marriage itself. It simply did not quite meet either of their needs.
- Peregrinated Mercury in its rulership is an intriguing note. It suggests an enormous communicative polarity. Charles and Diana would either have been able to talk about every minutiae of their lives together, or there would instead have been a wall of silence effect, and no middle ground whatever. I imagine that they would have experienced both extremes in the course of their relationship together.
- Sun is accidentally dignified, suggesting that they had the potential to have real fun together; they would have enjoyed each others company and had favoured children too, as is now self-evident.
- Now for the real clincher, Moon in Pisces and the 12th. Here is the true problem. The emotional substance of the relationship is suppressed, victimisation is a theme, the feelings are denied and ultimately the sense of disappointment becomes nearly palpable. The Yod seeks to address this, making continual attempts to adjust and remake things until a solution can be found, but in classic Yod style, no solution can be possible, acceptance is the only route out of adversity for this poor couple. The Mars Neptune conjunction feeds this unhappiness too, so it is clear, an inability to address the problems within the marriage simply exacerbate the sense of emotional isolation and disappointment, especially for Diana (Moon).
- A few other bit-players flesh out the sense of things. Sun at the Venus/Neptune halfsum indicates lovesickness and even the possibility of a secret love, while Sun = Mars/Venus promises procreation and a strong physical attraction between the couple, and Mars = Venus/Jupiter denotes a wedding and a fantastic sex life. Intriguingly Saturn in Scorpio in the 8th suggests that the end of the relationship is connected with themes of sexual control and power, with withholding sex, with constricting loyalties and cold, harsh relations with gradual and implacable withdrawal of intimacy; the sextile to Sun suggests that Charles had this power and chose to exercise it, leaving Diana isolated and confused (Mo/Pi/12).
All in all, a fantastic and entirely plausible insight, and yet another indication of the danger of too much ease, progress requires friction; going downhill requires no effort after all.
[Please note, I am reducing the frequency of my articles in order to try and concentrate on my work a little more; thus I will, from now on post articles only on Tuesday and Friday. I will happily answer short questions at any time, so feel free to ask. Help with relationships can be found here.]
