All that matters in relationships
Some time ago, I sent an article about a particular relationship technique that I had been studying -and had been asked to write about- to major magazine. My paper was rejected by this journal but was published quickly afterwards by another magazine. Among the reasons given for the rejection was that I had “failed” to specify what kind of relationship I was referring to. Was it limited to hetero relationships? Would the rules apply to homosexual relationships, too? What about bi-sexual partners or transgender people?
I was surprised. And it got me thinking. Not about the astrology, oh no. There was no doubt in my mind. Rather, it was about the world we live in and the distinctions we make between things. It is my personal belief, that love is love, no matter whether the couple is hetero, homo, trans, bi or what have you as long as it is LOVE and hence consensual, non-violent and, I should add -considering the time we are living in and the news we are all reading- the partners are adults. In astrology, the question is simple: the querent is the 1st house ruler and the 7th house and its ruler indicate the partner, no matter what colour, gender, sexual orientation or papers the partner has.
But does the 7th house only show married couples? Of course not. Astrology is not interested in papers. Whether one chooses to exchange rings or not, whether a marriage lasts forever or a couple just spend their lives together or part of it, the symbolism remains the same.
Marriage and the kind of “permitted” sexual relationships have always been influenced by religion. And while astrology books are not free from it, astrology itself is. The authors of books have biases, personal opinions, a religion, are subject to cultural do’s and don’ts. There are many definitions of “unnatural” relations. But we must always read books in their historical context. Until not far ago, a homosexual couple could get arrested in not so free America, and still can in many parts of the world.
So no, in astrology, “marriage” does not require rings, papers of a particular combination of genders. It requires commitment. A specific technique such as the lot of marriage, for example, can therefore be applied to couples who live as if they were married, in a life-long (or so hoped-for) relationship. What the lot of marriage wants to tell us, is, in my humble opinion, if the person will have a life partner, that’s all.
And since we are talking about relationships, I should point out, that there are many techniques in traditional astrology that can give us insights in our relationships. Here are just a few:
7th house ruler, signs, houses and aspects
Lot of marriage (watch out for my upcoming article!)
7th house from Fortune
Sect
Venus’ heliacal phases. Since the Sun and Venus can be intended as a celestial couple, their relationship (in particular in horaries) is of particular relevance.
Of course, when the relationship does not work anymore, new questions come up, usually before it really brakes. There is the trust issue. Can I still trust him/her? Is he cheating? Does she have another? This brings us into the realm of horary astrology, which can offer many insides on the partner or the relationship itself. Here is a paper on this topic that I have just published: Aphrodite’s spell: How to detect if somebody is cheating.
Traditional astrology has often been accused of being old-fashioned, black-and-white, judgmental, and what not. There was a recent post by a modern astrologer claiming that dignities in traditional astrology present an overly simplistic division between good and bad. As an example, the author showed the charts of a few famous artists, all of whom had Venus in Virgo”. He pointed to their success, claiming that according to traditional astrology, Venus in Virgo (where she is in her fall) would be interpreted as expressing predestined failure. Hence, he concluded, traditional astrology does not work. BOOOM!
After reading this, I had to sit still and say a lot of times OMMMM. Well, let’s get over it and see:
In traditional astrology, we never ever judge anything just by looking at one particular detail. Venus in Virgo only describes a landscape. Nothing more. Of course, there can be landscapes that we prefer ( I love the sea!) others we would rather avoid to be (any place that is cold and damp, for example!). Venus in Virgo is in a place ruled by Mercury: numbers, skills, plans. These kind of things. Venus is not feeling too bad here: Virgo is cold, which agrees with Venus’ nature, but it is also dry and this crushes with her humid property. This means that exchange and sharing might be not as easy here as in other signs, instead her ability to focus might be increased. Virgo is also a female sign and therefore has a passive nature. That agrees with Venus, too. Of course people can be very successful with Venus in Virgo. But in Virgo, her creativity requires preparation, notebooks, routine, schedules, hours of exercise or objects like a microscope or a particular camera objective. These kind of things. An exalted Venus might be more of an improvisor, has less obstacles put in front of her, whereas the Virgo Venus in comparison, is an experienced problem-solver. This brings us to one of many things the author in question forgot to mention. There are no just “dignities”. There are
-essential dignities
-accidental dignities
Essential dignities are triplicity,-term- or house rulership as well as exaltation. In Virgo, for example, Venus has triplicity rulership by day.
Accidental dignities refer to the placement of a planet, for example, Venus in Virgo in the 10th house is essentially debilitated by her fall but had accidental strength by being angular.
This would make her actually very strong and productive, in particular if she were also in sect, another point that the mentioned astrologer forgot to notice.
And now, I’d like to make a toast to astrology. Not to one particular branch of it but to the entire, beautiful , brilliant language of celestial symbols that none of us completely masters but most of us wholeheartedly study.
© Tania Daniels 2026
Recommended articles cited in this post:
-https://www.taniadaniels.com/aphrodites-spell/
-https://www.taniadaniels.com/the-celestial-couple-venus-heliacal-phases/
More on Venus in Virgo:
It’s the time we live in Tania.
Marriage is a legally binding contractual partnership, so falls under the 7th house ruler & other related conditions. Love is covered in the 5th house. Sex- the 8th.
It’s funny Tania, & another sign of the times when the ignorant have nothing but time to denigrate with their inane opinions, so sorry they rejected- but rest assured: Astrology will be very helpful in the future, as those capable of understanding it will know & in many ways. The father of medicine (whom Dr’s still take the oath from) said you couldn’t be a good Dr. if you didn’t understand Astrology!
Carl Jung- from whom much of modern psychology has come from, also used Astrology to understand many different personalities & disorders etc.
it will be helpful in school for those who need help determining a career & many other things as it has in the East for marriages for thousands of years!
Thanks for the great rebuttal to their ignorance. And so glad it was picked up right away, thereafter. ;) 🤗