Most of us are familiar with the horoscopes found in the daily newspaper, a significant portion have cast a chart, and a few may have learned how to read astrology charts and write interpretations. Very few of us have learned to read relationship charts, partially because it is a very complicated procedure (about four times as complicated as doing a basic astrological chart). This astrology of relationships, called synastry, is based on comparing the natal charts of two people and examining the picture formed for challenges, strengths, and potentials of the relationship.
While more commonly used to understand romantic unions, synastry can be used for any type of relationship, including parent and child, friends, and co-workers. The latest in Llewellyn’s "Astrology Made Easy" series illustrate this perfectly.
There are many neat elements to these books, the primary one being that they come with a CD-ROM that casts relevant charts for you. Without any prior knowledge of astrology, you can pop the disk into your hard drive, enter the birth information of two individuals, and generate an in-depth analysis of the relationship. I generated a report for my partner and myself last night, and it was extremely accurate--detailing 52 separate aspects of our relationship.
Another unique element is that this book and CD-ROM includes hard-to-find Chiron interpretations, as well as interpretations for the North Nodes of the Moon. The software gives you the choice of 12 different House Systems (I use Placidus, myself), as well as whether you want Tropical or Sidereal Zodiac. (And if none of that makes sense, don’t worry – it doesn’t have to in order to use this book.)
If you are a beginner who just wants to know what is going on, and or a more advanced practitioner looking to deepen your knowledge, both Mapping Your Romantic Relationships and Mapping Your Family Relationships will be useful.
~review by Lisa Mc Sherry
Author: Stephanie Jean Clement, Ph.D.
Llewellyn Worldwide, 2004
pp. 24, $19.95
