Friday, January 27, 2006

A look at astrology and homosexuality

It is expected that this post may be somewhat controversial. Many of the methods in this post may be seen by some as outdated and I will explain why I think that the older methods are still relevant today.

I have done a large number of charts for young adults including a number of gays and lesbians. One of the questions that many such people have is "is this something that I am going to outgrow? Or is this just the way I am?" This is a difficult situation for these people as they often feel pressure from family and society to just "be normal." Yet this is a question that most modern astrologers avoid answering because it goes away from the concept of free will under the influence of the stars. Deep-seated personality traits are somewhat taboo by the crowd that believes that the stars impell rather than describe in abstract terms.

The Ancient Methods

Ptolomy suggests that predictions of sexuality in general is derived from looking at Venus, Mars, and Mercury. In this analysis, Venus represents the femine, Mars represents the masculine, and Mercury represents their integration. Serious affliction to any of these planets can cause people to have trouble with love and sex in general, and the specific nature of the affliction may or may not indicate homosexuality.

Some may wonder why I see homosexuality as indicated by affliction on the planets. After all, we live in a society where homosexuality has lost much of its earlier stigma. However, the fact remains that most gays and lesbians I have talked to feel that things are harder for them solely on the basis of their sexuality. So affliction here is not intended to be a moral judgement, but rather a statement of hardship in general. Many such gays and lesbians have said to me how much they either wish or used to wish that they could "be normal." So this article is designed to help astrologers council gays and lesbians about their love lives and help answer the troubling questions that they may raise.

In general, I have found homosexuality indicated when there is an affliction of one of the gender planets (i.e. Mars or Venus) combined with an affliction of Mercury. For purposes of this analysis, I consider Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto to be among the malifics, and when these planets are involved, homosexuality may be more strongly indicated.

However care must be taken not to overstep the case. One cannot consider planets either in mutual reception with others to be afflicted, nor can one consider those afflicted by planets in mutual reception to be truly afflicted.

What to look for in a Natal Chart

As noted above, one would generally look at the luminaries, Mercury, Venus, and Mars, note afflictions and the nature of the afflictions, and see if the case is made for homosexuality to be prominent in the natal chart. Common types of afflictions include:
  1. Harsh aspects with a number of malific planets.
  2. Beseiged (i.e. last aspect completed is with a malific, and the next aspect to be completed is with a malific).
  3. Paran with a malific star (such as Algol)
  4. Mercury/Uranus conjunctions depending on other factors, Mars/Pluto conjunctions depending on other factors, and Venus/Neptune conjunctions. These are because these are octave interactions and can indicate like resonating with like.
  5. Isolation. For example, if Venus exists without other Ptolomeic aspects to other planets or luminaries in a man's chart, one would assume that this man has difficulty connecting with women. If Mercury is afflicted and Mars is conjunct Uranus or Pluto, one might begin to argue for natal-chart based homosexuality.
  6. Weak essential dignity
Finally one should be careful in this analysis. It is possible for psychological needs to be indicated in a chart that are later satisfied by the hardships inflicted by being homosexual. Progressions can trigger these.

If there are strong predispositional indications in the natal chart, then one can still offer counselling with regard to the love life, but one of course needs to take the approach that this individual is going to be at his/her best when with someone of the same sex.

What to look for in the Progressed Chart

Even if planets are protected by mutual reception in the natal chart, they can move out of that protection in progression. For example, suppose you have Pluto in Libra but Venus in Scorpio. Pluto and Venus are both protected in the natal chart by mutual reception but if Venus progresses into Sagittarius and into a conjunction with Neptune, this may (depending on other factors) indicate a homosexual relationship, especially in a woman's chart, especially if it occurs in a house such as the seventh associated with relationships. While the aspect is active but applying this may indicate a desire for such a relationship, and while it is separating, it may indicate a period of getting over that relationship.

The next point to note is that this is just the beginning of the analysis. The next stage is to go back to the natal chart and look to see what sort of hardships are being satisfied by the homosexuality. This can include rising and culmination parans between the luminaries, mercury, venus, or mars, and malific stars, etc. If there is no other indication of homosexuality in the chart other than a tangental hardship and a progression, then the individual is free to decide what he/she really wants from a love life and astrological counselling can be effective in helping make sure that this is channeled in directions which are ultimately in line with the direction that the person may feel that he/she needs to take. Some of these people may find that they remain gay or bisexual. Others may become straight and channel these needs for hardship in other directions.

In the end, this sort of analysis makes some people uncomfortable. I usually don't look into it unless asked by someone whose chart I am doing or unless the general indications are so strong one way or another that they are worth mentioning.


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