What is synastry?
Synastry is the branch of astrology that lays two birth charts over one another and reads the contacts between them. It is not only used for romance: the same method explains the dynamic in a friendship, a business partnership or a family, because it describes how two sets of needs meet.
The planets that carry the most weight
Sun and Moon
The Sun stands for core identity and the goals of the ego; the Moon for emotional need, the search for safety and the inner world. A supportive angle between one person's Sun and the other's Moon, a trine or a conjunction, tends to produce deep emotional recognition and the feeling of being at home with someone.
The dance of Venus and Mars
Where romantic and sexual attraction is concerned, Venus and Mars take the lead. Venus carries the love language and the values, Mars the passion, the drive and the physical energy. Contacts between one chart's Venus and the other's Mars are where the spark of a relationship usually lives.
Mercury, the planet of talking it through
Communication decides whether a long relationship stays workable. Mercury contacts between two charts show how well the pair follow each other, how they argue their way to a solution and whether they connect mentally as well as emotionally.
Are squares and oppositions bad news?
Contrary to the usual assumption, hard angles between two charts do not mean the relationship is a poor one. They bring friction, movement and shared tests that have to be passed together. Charts with no tension at all can settle into a stillness that eventually bores both people. What matters is whether there are enough supportive angles, trines and sextiles, to carry the pair through the difficult ones.
Reading a comparison honestly
Synastry describes tendencies, not verdicts. Begin with an accurate birth time for both people, since the Moon and the houses shift quickly; you can prepare yours on our birth chart page.
