The Sun meets Venus

In an ongoing study, Australian astrologer Paul Westran says he continues to find statistical support for the relational roles played by the Sun and planet Venus as they progress through the birth charts of couples. Britain’s newest Royal couple, Prince Harry and his American fiancée Meghan Markle are the latest pair who demonstrate this effect.

Read more: 2017, When (Prince) Harry Met Meghan & Wallis, Edward

One of the principal methods astrologers use to evaluate couple compatibility is synastry. Here, astrologers compare and contrast the main angles formed between the Sun, Moon, and Mercury and Venus in the linked couples.

Some angles or aspects formed between planets in these charts are favorable, while others are hard. Astrologically favorable aspects are “easy” relationships. While “hard” aspects are challenging and show where the two will have more work in keeping their relationship together.

                                    Venus the compatibility Factor

But it is when Venus meets the Sun tin synastry charts where things happen. Westran studied1,300 public record relationships objectively and statistically showed when planet Venus becomes prominent in a chart, couples react to this emphasis in predictable ways. This trend Westran reported in the British Correlation magazine persisted even after the original dating moved into the relationship phase.

What Westran noticed was that favorable synastry aspects between the Sun and Venus turned up in the compared natal birth charts of romantically involved couples more frequently than expected by chance. Of course, this fatalistic aspect changed and developed through transits and secondary progressions, but it shows the importance of something greater than sheer romance that holds couples together.

What are secondary progressions?

Astrologers use secondary progressions to help time events in people’s personal lives by calculating how far the Sun, Moon and planets have progressed around the horoscope wheel using a day for a year formula. The progressions start twenty-five days after the person’s birth, and thus at that point show the effects of what will happen in natal’s 25th year of life, showing both trends and tendencies at that time. After that, the chart is “progressed” one day for each year going forward.

Because of their simplicity, secondary progressions are the most used in calculating forward events. Tertiary progressions count by lunar cycles and so are trickier. Tertiaries are also a much newer technique in the astrologer’s arsenal of techniques.

Westran thinks a plausible answer to this question continues to emerge from a systematic research effort aimed at merging synastry aspects with another well-established technique astrologers call secondary progressions.

When astrological students are first introduced to the subject, they learn that astrology deals with angles the Sun, Moon and planets form between each other as they hurtle through space at orbital speeds dictated by the varying distances between them. “Different angles symbolize different relationships, correspondences or outcomes,” he said.

                      “We often see relationships begin when this happens. Also, how long the progressed aspect remains in orb (operational) has been shown to influence the relationship’s longevity,” he added.“With an increased level of certainty. We can now say why couples become couples. We don’t know with certainty what keeps people together, but we have a better idea about what gets them together,” he said.

The research astrologer reports that aspects involving the Sun and Venus have turned up regularly in progressed synastry charts for couples in Britain’s Royal Family. For example, Prince Charles and Diana came together when Charles’ progressed Venus was forming a trine to Diana’s progressed Sun. However, the relationship unraveled once this aspect became exact and waned.

In contrast, for Royals, William and Kate, a long-lived trine involving Kate’s progressed Venus and William’s natal Venus was forming when the couple met in 2000. Because of  retrograde motion this aspect will not separate until 2030. At that point, the couple will rely upon other helpful aspects like the children growing up and William moving into a more prominent role in the royal family, but the key is the trine it will hold during the most fraught filled early years of their relationship.

Harry and Meghan also began their relationship under the same progressed Sun progressed Venus aspect when it was exact. These combinations “act like windows of opportunity for relationships to begin, but also fades when the when the Sun and Venus move on,” Westran said.                                         

Wallis meets Edward

Westran also commented that Wallis Simpson, an American, had already been married twice when she met Prince Edward Windsor in 1934. But when they met a progressed Sun—Venus conjunction in the couple’s progressed synastry chart was exact. Like Wallis, Meghan is an American divorcee, but Harry is far removed from the line of succession, still if history is a guide, the American could change the dynamics of the Royal Family. Perhaps, like his kingly uncle, Harry, is looking for a way out of the regimentation of his very ordered life and simply wants to do his own thing.

Additional examples for Royals, William and Kate and Charles and Diana can be found on Westran’s website: https://positiveastrology.com/ANS.asp

 Notes: This was updated and checked on June 3, 2023.