How Does Karmic Astrology Work?
If everyone we meet is karmic, then how do the planets play their roles? When it comes to relationship compatibility, the person who is the outer planet is the lesson/teacher. But it's not that cut and dry. For instance, if you have Venus conjunct Saturn in your synastry chart, the Saturn person is coming to teach a lesson to the Venus person. The challenge is to get the Venus person to express all the qualities of their Venus at the highest level. However, suppose their Venus is afflicted (meaning it's making a hard aspect such as a square, opposition, or conjunction to other planets in their birth chart). In that case, the lowest vibrational energy can come out. This is why I stress the importance of doing shadow work.
How this works is the outer planet person triggers the inner planet person's deepest fears, insecurities, and wounds. This can come from childhood or previous lives. The test is whether the inner planet person can overcome those karmic lessons or continue a pattern that has been going on for a very long time. To use the earlier example, can the Venus person healthily express their love or will they succumb to self-sabotaging behaviors to protect themselves? It's a choice as to whether we want to be happy in relationships or continue to suffer with karmic partners and patterns. For some people (and I am one of them), there are a lot of lessons to learn and being stubborn can block progress. It might take a couple – or several – karmic connections to realize that YOU are the problem.
Since I'm a Love and Relationship astrologer, let's look at some Venus aspects and how this can play out.
Venus is known as the planet of love and relationships, but she does not rule long-term connections. She represents how we show affection, what we find attractive in another person, our tastes (and this applies to clothes, home décor, hairstyle, and spending habits), and what we value. I often say one of the reasons there are so many karmic relationships these days is because people don't value themselves.
These are all general placement information as the whole synastry chart has to be taken into consideration.
Many of the pop astrologers will say a Venus-Venus aspect (especially the conjunction) indicates a loving relationship that can stand the test of time. But not if the Venuses are afflicted. Let's say there's a conjunction involved, but it's making hard aspects to an outer planet. Like Venus conjunct Venus in Taurus opposing Pluto in Scorpio. Taurus and Scorpio are Fixed signs who don't like change so the relationship can last a long time, but will it be happy? We all know karmic relationships can last for years – decades even – so this is why cherry-picking certain aspects isn't a good idea. There would need to be other harmonious aspects in the synastry and/or Composite chart for me to say this connection has the possibility of working out.
The pop astrologers also say that a Venus-Mars aspect is good, too. One of my astrology books calls it “the classic romantic aspect.” The sexual desire of Mars combined with the loving energy of Venus CAN be a good combination as long as it's not afflicted. For instance, Venus conjunct Mars in Cancer squaring Uranus in Libra would make me go hmmmmmm. When the conjunction is between Venus in the man's chart and Mars in the woman's chart (this is what I have), then the man can get in touch with his feminine side. The woman can do the same with her masculine side, but if she's already in her masculine energy (like so many single women are), then it can flip.
I will agree with the pop astrologers that a Venus-Jupiter combination is good as long as there are other harmonious aspects to back that up. It's not going to do a couple a bit of good if one of the karmic/malefic planets – Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, or Chiron – has more aspects. (Neptune can go either way, so it will depend on the aspects it's making). For instance, Venus conjunct Jupiter in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio can indicate a relationship that's easy, breezy, optimistic, and generous. But if this example had a square to Neptune in Sagittarius, there can still be a lot of happiness and pleasure, but also some laziness. This often manifests as being apathetic when the tough times hit or just not communicating until “better” times roll around.
When it comes to Venus-Saturn, this is a karmic aspect but Saturn can act like glue and keep a couple together longer than they should be. With Venus trine or sextile Saturn, the Venus person accepts the discipline and structure that Saturn is bringing. This can indicate a couple acting more like parent-child or there is a significant age difference. But when it's a square, opposition, or conjunction, the Venus person often finds the Saturn person to be too serious, and the relationship becomes heavy. Both partners may feel they need to stay together out of duty or obligation (children are a big one), and any love and happiness that was once present is offset by those responsibilities.
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Venus-Uranus often indicates a relationship that starts out of the blue, it was love at first sight, or it's an unconventional connection. This could be a same-sex relationship where the Venus person never explored that side of their sexuality, being part of a throuple, a large age difference, or dating someone that's completely out of character. There can be an emotional intensity, but it likely won't last or it's otherwise unsustainable. (A perfect example of this is a vacation fling). Therefore, there have to be other aspects that indicate it can survive long-term or it will end as fast as it began.
I have this in my synastry chart, and it means we had a relationship in a past life that ended without becoming permanent. He has Venus in the 8th house so I tell him that one of us died – probably more than once – in the name of love. He does not like hearing that lol. We have a pretty solid Saturn in our synastry chart which we desperately need; otherwise, this connection would've been short-lived like all the others in past lifetimes. It has helped us build the foundation needed before we make things more permanent.
Uranus is a planet that enjoys freedom so if you're a clingy person and you have this aspect, it's not going to work out well. I'm Plutonian with a Venus-Pluto aspect (luckily, it's only 7°), but I tend to be jealous and a little possessive. I have to learn how to give my love freely without expecting him to stick around on my terms.
Venus-Neptune is considered a soul connection, and there's often telepathic communication which makes many of my clients and followers think they're in a Twin Flame relationship. The Venus person is encouraging the Neptune partner to love on the 3D, while the Neptune person is encouraging the Venus partner to love on the 5D. But once again, if there are disharmonious aspects, the relationship quickly falls into codependency.
I often find with Venus-Neptune that the couple had a fairytale-type of existence in a past life. This would be an affair with one or both partners being married to other people, spending blissful hours in the meadow, dreaming of a life together that never materialized. The same thing can happen in this lifetime where they were each other's “one that got away.” They can either yearn for what was or what could've been with no contact or there's an emotional connection that never grows physically.
Venus-Pluto is a very deep and intense karmic connection, otherwise known as a Plutonian relationship. There is often a strong sexual desire and that can be how the relationship started or the connection is sexually-based. (This can be a situationship but Venus-Pluto often makes a couple consumed with each other and Pluto demands loyalty). The Venus person often finds the Pluto partner to be irresistible and no matter how hard they try to stay away, they just can't. With the trine and sextile, this can be a relationship of mutual healing, growth, and transformation but there have to be other aspects that reinforce that. With the conjunction, square, or opposition, the connection is often filled with jealousy, manipulation, control, possessiveness, and trust issues. This can come from either partner, but usually it's the Pluto person. Many of my clients and followers who have this in the synastry chart find it VERY hard to break away, even when they know they should. There is often some kind of FAFO needed before that happens, and it's never pretty.
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