“The most highly charged relationships occur when unlike seeks unlike, not when like seeks like. The ancient Greek god Eros was depicted as a prime creative force in the universe because he created the universe by bringing together chaos and matter, two very different things.The 7th house is traditionally called the house of the “not self “as well as the house of marriage. It’s as if we want to marry what isn’t in us.” Richard Idemon
“Spiritual practice is really about weaving a network of good relationships.” Dhyani Ywahoo
In astrology the elements- earth, air, fire and water govern the different aspects of perceiving and experiencing life. For instance someone with a lot of fire could take a very adventurous orientation towards life and tend to leap excitedly into new circumstances. Someone with a predominance of water would have a more sensitive, emotional approach. Someone with a lot of the air element would tend to analyze and assess things from a cerebral viewpoint.
Everyone has a blend of elements and many people have an imbalance. This can result in behavior that tends to either overcompensate for the lacking element – often quite successfully – or to seek it outside of themselves in partnership when they see it in other people. So for example a person who is reclusive by nature may be drawn to a partner who is outgoing and can develop a social life for the partnership. But when the sociable person leaves the alliance, the other person often returns to the more solitary state.
Often with highly charged relationships there is a karmic component – i.e there was an agreement of some kind made before this lifetime that when the two people were to meet again – often under the most common of circumstances – the purpose of the connection would be to work on some form of healing of old wounds. There can be an ancestral component too – some desire in the family lines to work on and make progress with an old issue that the family has struggled with over time. This is a difficult task – especially if interpreted initially as indicating that a serious long term marriage may be on the table. Relationships like this may have trouble with endurance due to the intensity and can blow apart.
Some astrologers have said that 2018 is not a good year for marriage because the planets of the lovers – Mars , governing the Masculine (drive, ambition and how we move forward in the world ) and the Feminine (justice, soulfulness and a holistic approach) both transit retrograde this year. Venus retrograde can represent a fearless warrior goddess. And Mars retrograde can be related to retreat, aggression or passive aggressive behavior in situations related to the use of power.
With Mars and Venus transiting retrograde in the course of the year,this re-balancing process of power and the use and abuse of power – will be a theme both personally and collectively as a new and more harmonious balance is striving to be born. Needless to say this elicits inner and outer conflict and push back and it’s wise to exercise patience as new perceptions are being born and seeking to be integrated both personally and collectively.
I don’t necessarily agree that 2018 is a bad year for marriage in general. I think partnerships established in this time will contain this seed of seeking a new kind of power balance as they move forward. It can create conflict obviously but can result in evolution as well. It also bodes well to take into account the balance of the elements in each chart.