COMPATIBILITY VS. COMBATIBILITY
What’s the difference between compatibility and combatibility. Well, one comes with a pat and the other comes with a bat. Seriously though, compatibility is a factor in a budding relationship that, if not examined carefully, can lead to much heartache down the road. One of the risks involved in beginning a new relationship is that it might not work out and you would then be faced with the unpleasant task of breaking up. When I set out to find a mate, I placed a personal ad in the newspaper describing myself and asking interested parties to please send me their birth date, time and place. I wanted to compare the astrology of respondants to my astrology to find a compatible wife. Out of thirteen responses, only one was fairly compatible, so I called her and arranged to meet her at a local restaurant. However, the night before we were to meet, I was at a church service and met a woman, who I was so attracted to that I made a date with her on the spot. I hadn’t a clue what her astrology was; I was going on pure intuition. It turned out, after our first date when she gave me her birth information and I stayed up the rest of the night constructing her chart and comparing it to mine, that we were highly compatible. Two weeks later, I proposed and three months later we were married and will soon celebrate eight years of wedded bliss. The moral of the story is that even though astrology can help you avoid the uncertainty involved in finding a compatible mate, you should listen to your heart as well.
What kinds of relationships are there? Using the analogy of fire, there are three possibilities: 1) a wet log that never quite catches; 2) a firecracker; or 3) a blazing fire in the hearth. Some people may settle for the first. A few crave conflict and excitement and would prefer the combatibility of the second. But most people want the compatibility of the third because that’s the only kind of relationship that’s comfortable and long-lasting.
How can an astrologer help you find your comfy hearth and avoid the wet logs and firecrackers? He compares your chart with that of another to determine the number, intensity and nature of aspects (angles) found between planets. The more aspects and the closer they are, the more varied and intense the relationship will be. With few aspects or aspects that are far apart, it is unlikely that a couple will form a relationship. However, this sometimes happens when progressed planets make exact aspects to natal planets in the other’s chart, which creates a temporary attraction. When the progressed planets move out of range, the attraction fades, leaving two people wondering what they ever saw in each other.
The type of aspect is as important as the number and closeness. The angles can be stressfull, such as a square or 90 degrees or harmonious, such as a trine or 120 degrees. Stressful aspects between the charts of a man and woman can result in intense attraction, especially if the planets involved are Mars and Venus. The relationship would be very exciting for awhile, but eventually the couple would experience the other side of the coin, conflict. Intense love/hate relationships are characteristic of casual love affairs brought about by stressful aspects. Another indicator of excitement and instability in a relationship would be a stressful aspect involving Uranus.
A compatible relationship requires harmonious aspects between Mercuries (for mental rapport); Moons (for similar likes and habits); and Mars and Venus (for satisfying roamnce and sex). Harmonious aspects between Saturns and between Sun and Moon are also indicative of stability and longevity in a relationship. Sun - Sun aspects are not very important in a relationship.
If a chart comparison shows nothing but harmonious aspects, the relationship may seem ideal at first but may become too dull after awhile. Thus the ideal relationship would have a few stressful interchart aspects for excitement and challenge and many harmonious aspects. It would be a blazing log in the hearth that occasionally flares and pops.
