What Sign Will My True Love Be?

Boy, do I get asked this one a lot! I'm having a conversation with someone who knows I'm an astrologer, the subject of romance arises, and they ask, "What sign should I look for?"

If only it was that easy! The Sun sign is always an important factor in any person's chart, but it's rarely the most relevant for romance. Venus, which carries relationship as a core part of her archetypal energy, is usually much more important. For women, Mars represents an essential part of the energy of her romantic partner, and Saturn and the Sun can also be worth a look. For men, I might look not only at Venus but also at the Moon. For each of these planets, I would also consider its sign, house and aspects.

And that's just the beginning. When describing a person's ideal long-term partner from their own natal chart, it's also essential to look at the signs ruling the seventh and eighth houses, the rulers of those signs, and any planets in those houses. And that doesn't even factor in the critically important natal aspects between all these planets. And don't even get me started talking about the transiting and progressing planets that might be temporarily stimulating everything we've been talking about so far!

Is your head spinning yet? I hope not because, believe it or not, even that isn't the whole story. When looking for compatibility between two people, I take all the natal factors discussed so far and cross-correlate them between both charts. The "moment we've all been waiting for" of a relationship consultation is a deep analysis of a 256-box grid which shows how all of one person's planets and sensitive points interact with those of their current or potential partner.

Bottom line: relationship astrology, like relationships, is complicated. The question of what astrological energies a person should seek in their ideal partner can never be boiled down just to a Sun sign. in fact, considering only the Sun sign could cause you to weed out someone who might, when all the astrological energies are factored in, turn out to be a virtually perfect match!

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not dissing Sun sign astrology. Heck, I feel very fortunate to be able to write a triannual Sun sign column for Aquarius Magazine, and send my sincere blessings to all the other Sun sign writers who do so much to keep astrology alive in the public mind. But, since any statement about a Sun sign has to be true for 1/12 of the world's population, one has to stay very general when working at this level. And, since one has to do the opposite when seeking a life partner - move from the general to the minutely specific -- working only from a Sun sign doesn't tell you enough to even start making a decision!

So if you're going to use astrology to help you choose a partner, be sure to learn enough about the numerous relationship factors in your own chart to do it properly. Otherwise, you're really better off consulting with an astrologer who already knows the ropes.

Or, if all else fails, you can always follow your heart.