Astrology Readings

page 7

Opening your Heart

Ah, Love.... Songs, poems, novels, fairy-tales, movies all extol the power and pleasure of love - and for good reason: love is the food of life! There are many opportunities to love, in fact, a love affair with life is not a bad idea. But you also may need to "grow" love by sharing it, and therein is the seed of all relationships.

The planetary energies which are most usually associated with love are Venus and Neptune. Venusian energy radiates directly from your heart, from the center of yourself, where love resides deep within. Loving is an inner experience. The more you open to the love you hold within yourself, the more it grows. Your feelings of worthiness are represented by Venus, and as you grow to understand and appreciate your own value as a woman, it becomes easier to let this love energy flow through your life. Neptunian energy is Divine compassionate love - the love which does not judge and readily forgives. Neptune is the realm of romance, mysticism and heavenly perfection. Truly transcendent Neptunian love arises when you have healthy boundaries of your own, otherwise, you can become a victim of your own illusions!

You have a deep desire to know a true sense of unconditional love with Venus in Aquarius. This begins by developing self-acceptance and eliminating excessive judgment or prejudice toward others. To open your heart to love, you begin by creating a friendship. To sustain love, you need to know that you are always true friends. You may find it difficult to relate to a man who needs a mother, since you need a partner who can be your equal. However, you can be tender and loving, and may show your love most clearly when you help to foster and stimulate the hopes and dreams of those who share your life. You are usually quite clear about how you feel towards someone, although you may need to work toward developing a real understanding toward those who are more emotional than you. You may approach love in a "non-traditional" fashion, and may be capable of sustaining a relationship only if you feel that you are free to be yourself. By finding the flame of love within your own heart and reaching out toward others without asking anything in return, your life will undergo amazing changes.

You can be a bit frustrated by your love experiences with your Sun in semi-square aspect to Venus. Part of the problem resides in your impatience. When you have a strong attraction to someone, you may want resolution about the outcome immediately. If you can work toward maintaining a bit more objectivity when your heart begins to open to a loving relationship, you'll be more satisfied with the end results.

Conflicts in relationships may be more the norm for you than peace and harmony with Venus and Mars in square aspect to one another. You enjoy a relationship which is filled with passion and excitement, but it may take a while before you learn to discriminate between painful and positive forms of conflict. Beneath the surface you may feel a bit competitive with the men in your life. If you can find some manner of open competition with your lover or husband, whether through sports or games, it will help to diffuse some of the potential disagreements you may encounter in your relationships. Dealing with your own feelings of anger is also crucial, or you may find that you continually attract angry or violent men into your life. Once you learn that you do not really need to suffer in order to prove your worthiness for love, the entire nature of your relationships will change.

As one of the generation of women born with Neptune in Libra, you have been inundated with endless images, stories and myths about true love and romance. You've dreamt of the perfect marriage and may have believed that you would, indeed, be rescued by that perfect prince. But as you've grown up, you've found out that the prince may not only be late, but that he may not arrive at all! Hope springs eternal, however, and thanks to open discussion about relationship, you've also learned about addiction, codependency and dysfunctionality and some ways to get out of these patterns and traps. Rule number one: Create your own dream by understanding yourself and your needs. From that point, you begin to separate from the trap of the collective still searching for the perfect other, and from the beacon of your own soul, you send out a light that attracts someone who may, indeed, fit your needs quite nicely after all. Since you have Mercury in trine aspect to Neptune, you're the perfect candidate for creating wonderful representations of love and compassion through your words. Your lyrical abilities can extend to the way you talk and your mannerisms may be quite fascinating. You may actually attract more men than you realize, since you do spend some time in your own inner world. And it is that quality which is at work when you finally let go and share your life and fantasies with someone you adore. Promise yourself to always make time to get away with your lover so your dreams have a safe place to overtake your life - for at least a little while.

Jupiter's square to Neptune indicates a frustration between your ideals or beliefs and the essence of Truth. On an inner level you may feel that a particular path is right, but the teachings you've learned may not echo those inner feelings. It's like the discovery of hypocrisy from someone who speaks about one truth but lives a life which does not reflect that truth. You are struggling to integrate the truth with your beliefs, and your relationships may act as a catalyst which challenges you to explore those ideals further. You may also find that differences in spiritual practice are quite difficult to handle within your relationships.

With Uranus and Neptune in square aspect to one another, you are part of a generation filled with an uncomfortable concern for religious and spiritual ideals. You may not know whom you can trust in the worlds of politics and business, and are likely to struggle with your search for a meaningful spiritual path which is part of the framework of your life on its most intimate level. It's important that you learn ways to identify fanaticism, since you can either fall victim to others and their fanatical ideals or become too overbearing with your own. The influence of these energies can be problematic in relationships, particularly if you do not trust your inner voice and allow another to determine your needs in areas which you must discover for yourself. The houses in your chart which amplify love relationships are the 5th, 7th, and 11th Houses. Through the 5th House, you experience giving love. It is through this facet of yourself that you have love affairs, playful and recreational relationships and where you produce the offspring of loving. The offspring can range from artistic endeavors to children. But when dealing with relationships, this is the space which is usually occupied by loving another in an intimate sense.

The feeling of opening your heart to love brings pure joy with Sagittarius influencing your 5th House. You've experienced the transformative power of joy more than once in your life, and know that when you reach out and give of yourself to others, the energy you receive in return can be sweet indeed. You may attract a wide variety of relationships over the course of your life, and may be especially interested in relationships with men whose backgrounds are different from your own.

There's more adventure that way! You love to travel, and will probably enjoy sharing travel with your sweetheart (although sometimes, traveling alone makes your heart sing, too). When you fall in love, you really go for it; sometimes you may act too quickly, before you've had a chance to think about what you're doing. Just because the guy is gorgeous and knocks your socks off, that does not necessarily mean it's safe to change your life for him! Jupiter's influence here adds a confidence and enthusiasm to your approach to loving; sometimes it adds too much enthusiasm, so remember to take a deep breath and try to think before you leap from the cliffs of the heart.

You have no planetary energy in your 5th House. There is no need to be alarmed, because this does not indicate that you will be without love in your life. As you've seen above, you have definite inclinations in love relationships. To further understand what you need from a lover and how you can become more adept at giving love, study the planet associated with this house. The 7th House of your chart illustrates what you're seeking from a partner. More importantly, this part of your chart also tells a story about the kind of partner you really want to become. This is also the realm of social contact, and provides information about your approach to socialization. Although marriage agreements are shown through the 7th House, planets here (or a lack of planets here) do not "promise" marriage or its lack. But if your 7th House is highly activated, you may be more motivated to find a partner.

With the qualities of Aquarius filtered through your 7th House you are likely to attract a partner whose needs for independence and autonomy are as strong as your own. It is imperative that you connect with a mate or husband whom you respect and who will respect you. This will occur most readily once you have developed your own self-respect and when you know how to avoid too much self-absorption. Although you may think you want complete autonomy, you really do love the idea of attentive support from a partner. With the energy of Uranus driving your approach to partnerships, you will be most successful when you develop the experience of unconditional acceptance and learn to project that toward the person who shares your life.

Mercury's placement in your 7th House indicates your need for communication within the context of working partnerships. You require a partner who not only understands you, but who is interested in your ideas. You can be a more effective partner, giving more of yourself to the relationships, when you have a meeting of the minds. Open agreements and clarification about your different roles in relationship is necessary to your personal growth. You may also find that you learn a lot from the experience of partnerships, and that you can provide excellent feedback to your husband or mate, especially when you're really listening!

Venus energizes your 7th House with your needs for harmony, love and pleasure expressed through your connection to your partner. You can be a loving and supportive partner, and will seek the same from a husband or mate. You can create a very happy marriage, since you're willing to open your heart to your partner and allow love to carry you through the ups and downs of life. As a rule, you're more than happy to demonstrate your appreciation to your partner through affection, care and compliments. If you choose to remain single, you will still attract situations which provide positive support. You're likely to attract a mate whose financial support affords you the opportunity for an easier lifestyle. It's also easier to generate financial resources in cooperation with your partner through this energy.

It is through the 11th House that you learn about unconditional relationships, and where you open to receiving love and support from others. Here you find your friends, your supportive professional allies, and your community. Through this facet of yourself you develop your special interests. And here you set your goals for the future. It's wonderful the way friends can support your aims, provide feedback when you need objectivity, and comfort you when you're facing challenges. Your approach to friendship is also seen through this part of your chart. You have Gemini influencing your 11th House, signifying that your friendships are forged through a meeting of the minds. When you get together with your girlfriends, you always have a lot to talk about. You probably have friends from a variety of backgrounds and with myriad interests. With your closest friends you are drawn together because you think alike. Sometimes it may seem that you part and greet one another in mid-conversation, but that's okay. The mental link you have to one another probably keeps the connection strong enough that you don't ever really lose anything in your understanding. Mercury's energy influences your friendships by forging a bridge of understanding, and it is through developing your mental connection that you unlock the doors to your heart. You feel most supported when you know you have somebody who will listen. This is one of the best ways to allow love to flow into your life.

The lack of planetary energy in your 11th House can be indicative of your ability to accomplish many of your aims on your own. There is, however, no particular meaning which is related to a lack of friends or inability to create friendships. Look to the planet which rules this house to understand the qualities you will seek in your friends and the kinds of activities you might prefer to share with them.