PART TWO of Relationships : The potential of The Composite Chart/Report for a couple living with MCS

What is a Composite Chart?

Elsa Panizzon, author and creator of the astrology blog Elsa Elsa.com describes a Composite Chart this way,

"As for calculating a composite chart, there are various ways but most common is to take the midpoint between the two Suns and that becomes the Composite Sun. The midpoint between the Moons becomes the Composite Moon, etc. I like this method probably due the Libra in my chart as the two individuals meet in the middle and this becomes the relationship. :)"


Why Astrology?

The short answer is why not. 
Astrologer Liz Greene from Astro.co presented a seminar given on April 27, 1997  "One and one equals three Relationships and how to survive them."  I found the seminar in print while researching this article for VardoForTwo.  The entire seminar on The Composite Chart by Liz Greene can be found here.  Part of Greene's work is used here to set the stage for viewing the relationship that includes the challenges of living with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities).  Greene said:

The composite doesn't seem to describe what either person feels about the other...When we are looking at a composite chart, we are not exploring what two people activate in each other or feel about each other. We are interpreting the energy field they generate between them. The composite chart is like a child, a third entity which carries the genetic imprints of both parents but combines these imprints in an entirely new way and exists independently of either of them...

My motives for digging into the composite chart as a form of navigation stem from the very real and often times confusing cross-roads Pete and I find ourselves at over and over again.  One of my favorite readings from the book Courage to Change reminds me that confusion can sometimes be a gift. "Looking back on instances when I felt desperately in need of an immediate solution, I can see that often I wasn't ready to act. When I became fully ready, the information I needed was there for the taking."

We are not a young couple starting a new relationship.  We are instead a couple in our 60's who came together late in life, and with us we brought a life-time of energy and history, and modes of thinking and behaving.  Seven years ago, a boatload of challenges pulled up with our names on it.  The boatload is often more than we can understand or tolerate without help. 

It has been my choice to seek out astrology as a compass when inner guidance seems mis-placed.  Since the intent of the Composite Chat/Report is to 'interprete the energy field (two people) generate between them' I saw this as an opportunity.  All relationships generate an energy field between them.  The added dimension of a relationship coping and managing the effects of MCS with its changing manifestations deserves all the insight available.    Astrology and the Composite Chart of two people living with the choices of others (and who among us doesn't) is a means to make sense of things that are beyond our control, and like all spiritual paths, there are so many ways to get there from here. Rather like redirecting the energy we have used trying to fight the illness, tools like this Composite Report aids in recovering and shoring up from the effects of the illness.

The bones of this article is the Composite Report prepared for Pete and me by Elsa Panizzon from the astrology blog ElsaElsa.com.  Elsa did not calculate and narrate the report personally. She uses the software available to her to do the composite, and provides this service at a price affordable for many, including us.  I have culled the report and used particular aspects, planet positions and narration to shed light on the way our relationship might respond to episodes, exposures and challengres specific to our journey with MCS. 

Our journey in VardoForTwo is a boatload of experiences that could benefit  from insight we might otherwise mis-understand as oppression without cause.  The Composite Report that follows points out and lays out the combined energy and talents from a broad view.  It helps to see what others see in you, sometimes it's tough to get that vantage point when you're busy bailing water. 


A culled version of ...

The Composite Report

for

Mokihana and Pete

Compliments of ElsaElsa.com

Unless otherwise indicated, any 'ASTROLOGY GLOSSARY NOTE' is credited to the work of Elizabeth Rose Campbell's book Intuitive Astrology

Ascendent in Scorpio


Astrology Glossary Note:  Ascendent The ascendent describes how you 'dawn' on the rest of the world and offer a first impression. 

You will be extremely courageous, strong willed, sensitive, and emotionally deep inside. The capacity you have to overcome any obstacle or adversity that comes to you is unequaled by any other sign, especially the more time that you spend together.

Neither of you are easy to understand due to your complex makeup....You live life to the fullest and dislike people who are superficial. Life has a certain passion and intensity that loves a good challenge, fight, or dare to do the unmentionable no matter where it may take you. For you the struggles in life and the pain it brings are normal daily occurrences and you take them in stride.

You go through life using an on board radar that defies explanation, as if you could, and that is the way it was meant to be.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:

We have indeed lived a life that 'defies explanation'.  MCS adds layers of decisions and choices that appear illogical to others; and as well to ourselves sometimes.  Still, we persist.  This is the life we have, so to get a bearing from above gives me support from a higher power.

On the Midheaven: How you are seen as a couple

Astrology Glossary Note:  "Midheaven"  The cusp of the tenth house is the midheaven and is at uppermost point of the chart.  Just as the Sun is directly overhead at noon, the midheaven correlates to the noon hour.


Midheaven in Leo

Since this is the most "visible" part of the composite chart, it represents how you are actually seen in the world by others. It represents your more outward or public face and where you are likely to encounter success, and your reputation in the world as a couple. Your mutual goals together, will be courageous, proud and somewhat egotistical. ...You are known for your courage and strength of character....

Yes, you are somewhat self centered and what mark you can make on the world in the name of self expression is your forte. Do the best that you can, and the world can use you as a model for their own gain and inspiration...

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:

That last paragraph including 'Do the best you can, and the world can use you as a model for their own gain and inspiration..." touched my calm button.  That's what we do and we blog about it here and on the other blogs as a way to do the work.  We get very little regular feedback on what we are doing and don't know whether we are seen as 'egotistical.'  Reading this though is rather like pulling an oracle email. 
The Aspects
ASTROLOGY GLOSSARY:  The Aspects (link here if you are a student of astrology and interested in reading about the Minor Aspects and research done on the subject with astrologer Donna Cunningham).  I have included only three Aspects in this article to give basic substance to the meaning of our Composite Report.  The three aspects are sighted in the following narrative, and the sense of 'flow' or 'difficulty' shows itself as you read the report. 

"Aspects are the angles between planets in your chart...Some planetary aspects are difficult and create issues that require concentration and creativity to resolve.  Others are more graceful and imply ease.

• Square aspects are always about learning to live your life more fully and richly.  However, this calls for patience, as you are learning a new skill that requires two steps backward to go one step forward."
• Trine aspects are examples of unimpeded flow.  Two trapeze artists who have rehearsed and mastered the moment of connection and exchange offer an image of a trine."
• Opposition  In opposite signs, the planets are two halves of a whole and deeply attracted to each other but radically different.  In childhood and young adulthood, oppositions can be trustrating ...with more life experience, we develop the skills to embody both ends of the seesaw, energetically promoting dual purposes that are two halves of a whole."

 Sun Sextile Mars
"Sextile is a 60 degree angle, or a half of a trine which is 20 degrees."
As a couple, you will be active, energetic, courageous and able to accomplish a great deal. You will find that just being in each other's company energizes you and inspires you to try and excel even more. Sports, physical activities and outdoor pursuits will be your strengths and you will find that you do very well in them.

You naturally inspire each other and become each other's confidence-builder, gently pushing the other to be more assertive. Not only do you support each other, but you take pride in each other's work, accomplishments and achievements.

As a couple, you seem to know the right course or path in life to take together and don't mind taking it. Any emergency situations that arise will be handled efficiently and with level-headed assurance, thus helping you stabilize each other and giving you tremendous strength.

Moon Sextile Venus

There is really a very kind, compassionate, loving and tender union between the two of you which will result in a very close emotional bond. You are willing to commit to each other fully and unconditionally, taking care of each other's needs and desires. When you are together you feel secure and protected and you will dedicate a lot of your time seeing to the needs of the other. It will seem that the desire to make each other happy is at the top of your priority list and you will instinctively know how to do just that.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
The two narratives describing Sextiles ... potentials for flow ... are the kinds of energy that fuel our daily doings and beings.  Pete's succinct post on RELATIONSHIPS is a sample of the way his love for me and our lifestyle is lived out.  "You are willing to commit to each other fully and unconditionally, taking care of each other's needs and desires."  Life in very small places compresses the consequences of ones actions ... you do this, and this happens.  The effects are quick, so it helps that we are aware and grateful.  MCS will tinker and tamper with your best instinct and when that does happen the 'night after' or day after the tinkering it's important to know where home is.

Moon Sesquiquadrate Mars
"Sesquiquadrate is a minor more like a square than not.  See the link to Donna Cunningham's research above."


Unless you are very careful, this relationship, that no doubt began like a bomb bursting in air, can end in disaster. The intensity and volatility between you is such that it can burn you up and consume you completely. Even if anger is not a part of your separate make-ups, this relationship may bring it out in both of you. This aspect tends to bring some really difficult confrontations and at times you will really aggravate and irritate each other, sometimes to the point of wanting to smack them up side the head. This, of course, would be totally ill-advised. If a fighting spirit is what you need and what you are looking for, then you have found the right partner. Just be sure to put your energies into something constructive rather than using them to "destroy" your partner.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
It's not all smooth sailing in any boat.  This 'minor aspect' is a great example of the challenging energy we create because of who we are in a relationship.  The Moon is the home of emotions and feelings, and Mars is the planet or aspect of ourselves that acts or acts out.  Even a minor square which is what a 'Sesquiquadrate' refers to is a good heads-up reminder.  When life gets tight, or an episode of toxic exposure or an over-load of any manner amps up life from VardoForTwo, I see this words to the wise.  Take care of what's important/who is important.

Mercury Trine Jupiter


This relationship should be a real education for you. Your being together will either help you explore views of the world that you may have never seen before or it will offer new intellectual stimulus for learning something new.

Mercury Sextile Uranus

This is a wonderful aspect for two people who are working as one, trying to come up with inventive, creative or technological ideas. Being together is sure to be a "way-out" experience for both of you. You will learn many new things from your partner and together you will search unknown territory.

The intellectual stimulus between the two of you will be alive and it should be very much on the same wavelength. You may even come to the point where you have a complete understanding of what the other is thinking without them ever having to express their thoughts. This is nice added support in any relationship.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
"Being together is sure to be a 'way-out' experience for both of you..."  YUP.  We have created this life from VardoForTwo in just this spirit.  Discovering how to reassemble life with the standards we have and the quirky (URANUS) way we think (MERCURY) results in things like a 7x10 trailer made with oak walls that wave after being in the rainy, rainy Pacific Northwest with golf umbrellas over the porch to keep us dry.

I would bet all couples or any two folk combining talents will find some aspects to use as a divining rod for the right action.  This example gives you a way to look at astrological aspects as potential divining rods.

Mercury Semisquare Neptune
"Semiquare is a 45 degree angle, half of a square which is 90 degrees."

You need to be very clear about what this relationship is all about because the tendency here is to get lost in miscommunication, lies, idealism, deception or illusion. Any hopes, dreams, fantasies or perceptions of what you think this relationship is likely to be are probably faulty.

There may even be intentional deception and lies, with one of you purposely using the other for their own gain. You need to be very careful. Even if both of you have your feet on the ground, you may still go around shaking your heads in disbelief over the whole relationship

There are going to be times when you don't understand each other and even downright confuse each other, purposely or not. At other times you will feel that you have communicated something correctly, only to find out that the other person did not understand what you said, refused to hear the incoming message, or heard something quite different entirely from what you said.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:

Neptune is the source of illusion and other-worldliness.  It's also the ruler of addictions and escape.  This aspect squaring between Mercury (action) Neptune (illusions-addition-escape) is something Pete and I have experienced many times during our life together.  When we were newer at this relationship, we really didn't know what it was all about.  Weathering the years and particularly the years with MCS, illusion vs. reality has been better understood.  It's like we see the 'Joker-Illusionist' for what he is ... most of the times, or sooner than later.


Jupiter Opposition Uranus


If you are looking for a stable relationship where home is a quiet and secure place, well, this may not happen with this aspect. Instead, your relationship will likely be totally wacky, unpredictable, full of surprises and full of upsets to your daily routine, but probably for the better. Should you make plans together, you can expect them to be changed, altered or non-existent by the time they are ready to come to pass.

If you are looking for a totally adventuresome, playful and fun relationship, then feel free to indulge. Yours may not be a very enduring relationship unless other aspects support it, but you owe yourself the opportunity to totally enjoy and experience each other in the time you do spend together.

Along the way give each other some elbow room in order to minimize any tension that might cause one of you to want to break away from the other.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
This one's a tough one to swallow, especially when I'm in the throes of just wanting to 'settle down already.'  Astrology is not destiny somebody said.  So this is not what MUST BE.  It is however, the energy we do generate ... there's an impatience or itch to move that does reside in a wanderer(Jupiter). Uranus is the planet of sudden, so here we are settled into our quonset, Pete doing settled folk things (filling out his timesheet) and I'm writing about energy(Jupiter).

If only we had MORE ELBOW ROOM!


Jupiter Trine Saturn


This is a stabilizing configuration that lends positive support to your relationship. You will instinctively know how to effectively plan your future together for long-term success. This is an indicator of longevity for the two of you as a couple. One of your most fortunate attributes is that you will be able to wade through the bad times and have faith that everything will be all right.

An excellent place to put this patience and stability would be into business, where you can keep any extravagance in check and lend support to the other in difficult times. This aspect combines the generosity, faith and luck of Jupiter with the discipline, practicality and steadfastness of Saturn in a balanced way that will strengthen your relationship.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
Saturn is the planet and aspect of long-term character development, and when I was younger I was ignorant or arrogant of this aspect.  In recent years I have embraced Saturn as my friend.  Long haul partnership is what Saturn demands.  Saturn doesn't ask, it just keeps the lessons coming in all manner of episodes, speed bumps etc.

Look to your placements of Saturn and consider the partnership you have with this time-keeper.


Saturn Semisquare Neptune


Yours may not be a very positive relationship, instead it may be fraught with confusion, deception and instability. You may find that you cannot rely on each other in time of need or support. This stems from the fact that you have difficulty deciding what your relationship is all about. There will seem to be a bond that puts you together, yet through your interaction you will discover the weaknesses, fears, insecurities and inadequacies the two of you have as a couple, even if you do not have these qualities as individuals.

You may feel that you are controlled, manipulated and exploited. There may be self-doubts, even if you never experienced them before. If there are enough positive aspects elsewhere to counter this negativity, then this aspect can be helpful in finding out about yourself. ..

This relationship is going to challenge everything you believe, both materially and spiritually, and you will have to back up your ideals or let them go. Confusion may enter the picture as well. There may be a constant battle in knowing what is real and what is not. Unless honesty is adhered to, mistrust may be the underlying factor in the relationship's end.

There is a stronger desire to make a family unit with this aspect and also a strong desire to make a home life together. This aspect is a very strong indication of a very loving relationship which will help you in a great many ways. Especially when times get tough, this aspect will see you through the dark days together. Yours should prove to be a very lasting tie.

NOTE FROM MOKIHANA:
whew!

There are excellent sites to learn more about astrology or Composite Charts/Reports.  Here are three I find consistently useful:

Astro.com  Free Horoscopes and Charts, articles, consultations, readings
ElsaElsa.com Elsa Panizzon and Community Astrology blog, community network, reports, consultations
Skywriter Donna Cunningham Astrologer Articles, Education, information and links for astrology, healing, writing

Aloha,
Mokihana