Being Venusian, I find synastry incredibly interesting – synastry is the astrological study of relationships; specifically of how the planetary energies in Person A’s chart interact with those in Person B’s to reveal potential points of harmony and/or contention. It’s super useful for teasing out the dynamics between individuals and pinpointing exactly where problems are apt to occur, and quite expeditiously at that. It also gives us great insight into the “purpose” certain people play in our lives, from lovers, to friends, to family and everyone in between.
I find the synastry lens tends to be my default “filter” setting when I look at charts – whether it’s the chart of a family member, a friend, or even a client, my eyes seem to be naturally drawn offhand to how the energies of their chart interact with my own; perhaps because I subconsciously yearn to understand my own role in their lives a bit better. I think this tool is most useful whenever we have a particularly challenging relationship of one kind or another on our hands, if for no other reason than it can help us to make peace with What Is while understanding it takes two to tango and the only one we only have control over ourselves & our own behaviors. How much do we want to contort ourselves to maintain a particular connection?
I have long thought about this question; specifically as it relates to family-of-origin since we have no choice at all regarding the relationships we are born into. For example, some of us are born into single-parent households, or are only children. Some are blessed with wonderfully loving and supportive families; others with emotionally distant, physically absent, or even abusive relatives. Some thrive under the care and protection of their parents; others wilt due to neglect. When family relationships are difficult, can they be turned around & improved? SHOULD they be?
It was a search for the answers to these types of questions that had me studying synastry at a young age. Pulling charts for both of my parents and comparing them to my own, it came as no real surprise to find prominent Uranus connections to my personal planets. A brief disclaimer is due because this is not uncommon whenever we are dealing with generational planets like Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto – these celestial bodies are slow-moving and therefore large groups of people will all have these planets at or near the same point if they are born within a given age range. But my parents were born 5 years apart, which put their respective Uranus placements in entirely different signs…far enough away that I theoretically should not have hit cosmic bingo the way I did.
Pronounced Uranus connections in synastry will tend to make a relationship anything but stable. In a positive context, they can be exciting and stimulating – they will most certainly foster our independence (one way or another) and this is often the hallmark of a type of relationship that is very “non-conventional” in one respect or another. These connections do help us to develop true individuality, but on the negative side this may also result from alienation and estrangement as detachment is a hallmark of Uranian energy as well. When put within the context of a parent/child relationship and specifically with respect to understanding that children psychologically look to their parents to provide some measure of safety, sanity, order, and security, one starts to see how this might be problematic. On the plus side, though, Uranus is the patron planet of astrology – it was the search to understand my tumultuous life/upbringing that first drove me to study astrology as an adolescent…I doubt that I ever would have become an astrologer without their disruptive (Uranian) influence activating my nativity. One thing is for sure: It absolutely did push me to be different and to do differently – Uranus always does, as it represents the evolutionary Quantum Leap.
Have you ever examined the synastry you have with your own parents?
11/27/2016
EmpoweredDestiny.com 
Having just spent another lovely Thanksgiving with my large family, Alethea, I have often marveled — and continue to do so — at the fortuitous legacy of a strong mutual love and respect my parents left us with. We’ve had our share of challenges but relatively speaking our abundant blessings far outweigh those. If you ever want to work on the continuing development your synastry skills, I’ve got nine family-of-origin birthdates you can practice on (2 parents, 7 children) with six of us still alive to corroborate your casting. 🙂
Wow, 7 kids is quite the brood, Meg! Interestingly, while there certainly may be some common themes among siblings when it comes to examining the nature of the parent/child dynamic, synastry also shows us each individual’s subjective experience of that parent as standalone. I am one of 5, and can attest to the fact that although we do have common themes, the major “issues” with each of us regarding that parent/child bond varies considerably and comes in different “flavors”. Like, we might all agree that it’s pumpkin pie, but one of us tastes more of the cinnamon while the other picks up on more of the ginger notes if you get what I mean. 😉 Which makes sense when we consider that each individual’s chart is wired differently.
What’s really crazy is when you start to spot astrological “themes” running in families; i.e. repeating energy signatures. Like several family members having the Moon in Cancer, or the Sun infused with Pluto energy – it’s really interesting to see and always makes me wonder why we would decide to incarnate as a soul group with a given energy signature….