When we come to think of it, our lives revolve around relationships, non? Whether it is a relationship with a pet, or with our doctor or with our spouse/partner, with parents etc etc.
If we aren’t in a healthy relationship with ourselves, it translates into warped and twisted relationships with others. Sometimes, despite loving others unconditionally, some of us receive inadequate love in return. At other times, we may be the ones receiving far more love than we are able to return.
Society and media narratives have us believe in the idea of “one true love” or “the one”. That one magical relationship or person who will bring us ultimate joy and happiness and with whom we can build an incredibly fulfilling future. The metaphorical riding off into the sunset.
But, does this ‘true love‘ exist in reality or is this another media constructed narrative to encourage consumerism through books, movies and merchandise?
And are all of us meant to find that one true love and ride off happily into the sunset? And does that perfectly fulfilling relationship continue in that state of perfection when a couple descends into real life where there are snotty little noses to wipe, dropped off at school and grocery errands to be run?
Exhibit A
John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy
I picked these two because they were, to many fans, the couple or the 90s equivalent of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. As famous than their Hollywood counterparts in the 90s and widely considered American royalty, they were darlings of U.S. media because, well, look at them! Unfortunately, I can’t post an image because, even after all this time, their images are copyrighted.
They were (white) beautiful, affluent, style icons. They seemed right for each other, despite their explosive rumored fights and break ups and what not. Let’s take a look at their synastry to determine if their relationship, put under the astrological scanner, aligns with the media narrative.
Usual disclaimer: What follows is my personal astrological interpretation on the synastry of two strangers who I have never met nor ever going to meet in this lifetime. Kindly take this interpretation in good faith- a case study of a famous couple in a media fueled relationship.
The focus will be on analyzing the relationship through their synastry without venturing too deeply into their individual personal charts as this is a blog post. But, If two individuals were to approach me for a professional synastry analysis, it would involve a very comprehensive in depth study of their individual birth charts as well as compatibility analysis. Because the more self aware one is, the more successful the relationship would be.
I’ve posted both tropical placidus and sidereal whole signs as I prefer looking at both systems to gain a clearer picture. Often I find one system fills the gaps left by the other. I use rahu and ketu for north node and south node respectively.
His:
JFK Jr has his Rahu (south node) exactly, and I mean exactly conjunct his Ascendant. This gentleman likely had blinkers on when he decided he wanted something. Sort of a tunnel vision. It also suggests that he would have been focused on fulfilling and feeding ‘Rahu’ in his short life.
In the tropical chart, his Moon sits in his 6th in Aquarius along with Ketu in Pisces. The 6th, 8th and 12th are unfortunate placements for a sensitive planet like the moon. This particular placement is indicative of mental and emotional disturbances that translate into physiological disorders. Ketu or Rahu placed in the same house with the Moon destroys the emotional and mental peace and balance of the chart holder. Somewhat fortunately, for JFK jr, his moon falls in Dhanishtha nakshatra and ketu in Shatabisha. So he’s spared from the same rashi(sign)-same nakshatra damage of moon+rahu or moon+ketu.
A quick rundown of his other placements: Jupiter(mula nakshatra) and Venus conjunct Saturn (Purva ashadha nakshatra). Mars in Punarvasu Nakshatra, Mercury in Swati nakshatra, Sun in Anuradha nakshatra. The houses/signs between tropical and sidereal are different so I will refer to nakshatra’s to simplify matters. If 2 planets share the same nakshatra’s, they are considered to share the same sign and house. If one has to investigate exactly which house they fall in the sidereal, I would have to construct a chart called as ‘Bhava chalit’ chart. For now, I’m just going to state that his venus-saturn fall in the same nakshatra and influence both 4th and 5th house.
Hers:
A Capricorn(Aquarius in tropical) Ascendant in a very close conjunction with Mars and Venus in shravana nakshatra, the latter being retrograde. Shows a quiet force of a personality, rather unapproachable and stoic, yet charming and magnetic. The Venus Rx indicates an internal struggle with relationships. Can’t live with the other, can’t live without the other sort of energy. This is a challenging energy for relationships. Just as challenging as the Mars Rx in his chart. Just like JFK Jr, her Moon falls in her 6th house in Punarvasu suggesting a sensitive, gentle and private nature.
Ascendant lord Saturn in shatabisha nakshatra, Sun in Purva Ashadha, Moon in Punarvasu, Jupiter in Mrigashira and Mercury in Mula.
Both:
1.Where do their planets fall in each other’s chart?
His Venus/Saturn conjunction and her Sun are in Purva Ashadha, his Mars and her Moon in Punarvasu, her Saturn and his Ketu both in shatabisha, His Jupiter and her Mercury in Mula nakshatra.
Right away, the conjunctions in the same nakshatra between the inner planets imply a certain degree of compatibility. Her 12th house Sun and 1st house Venus/Mars conjunction fall into his 5th house. So, she fits his ‘type’ of romantic partner or the qualities he seeks in his love life.
But, majority of his planets fall into her 10th, 11th and 12th house. Interesting. It suggests he has an impact on her professional and public life, but whether the celebrity effect was positive or negative is debatable. From all media accounts, she seemed to have struggled with the incessant spotlight and attention.
2. Planetary interaction
Using the Sidereal chart, the technique suggests that if two planets from each individual chart are placed in the same sign or opposite sign, they are compatible and cooperate with each other. If they are positioned in signs that are 4 or 10 signs (clockwise) away from each other, they strongly influence each other and the effect of influence will depend on whether the planets are benefics or malefics. If they are situated 3 or 11 signs from each other and if they are situated 5 or 9 signs from each other, they are supportive and cooperative. But, if they are positioned 6/ 8 signs and 2 /12 signs, then these planets are adversaries, in conflict or non-cooperative.
Ascendant lords: Her ascendant lord (Saturn) is 4 signs away from his and his ascendant lord(Sun) is placed 10 signs from her. So, his Sun and her Saturn influence each others chart. This is evident from the tropical chart as her Saturn conjuncts his descendant and ketu and his Sun conjuncts her Midheaven (MC). Her saturn conjuncting His ketu and descendant is a powerful glue and explains their relationship longevity despite the media intrusion and spotlight.
Moon: Her moon is 5 signs from his and his moon is 9 houses from hers. This indicates that their emotional nature is compatible and cooperative. They understand each other’s emotional needs.
Venus (She has a retrograde Venus).His Venus is 12 signs from hers and her Venus is 2 signs from his. So the 2/12 relationship. Their approach to relationships is incompatible and might lead to friction.
Mars (He has a retrograde Mars): His Mars is 6 signs away from hers and her Mars is 8 houses towards his. 6/8 relationship which indicates incompatibility in terms of their individual drives, ambitions, how they approach conflict etc.
Sun: His Sun is 12 sign from hers and her Sun is 2 signs from his. Their identities and soul’s are on different journey’s and being with each other might feel each of them feeling invisible or not seen as they wish to be seen. Each of them might feel a loss of self with the other.
Mercury: Her Mercury is 3 signs from his and his Mercury is 11 signs from her. So fairly compatible communication styles.
So far so good.
Now, let’s only look at the relationship between Jupiter, the great benefic and the other planets. Note that JFK Jr has a Jupiter in domicile while she has a Jupiter in detriment.
His Jupiter to her Venus: 2/12 non-cooperative
His Jupiter to her Sun: Same sign, compatible and powerful influence
His Jupiter to her Moon: opposite signs, compatible and powerful influence
His Jupiter to her Mercury: Same sign, cooperative and powerful influence
His Jupiter to her Mars: 2/12, non-cooperative
His Jupiter to her Saturn: 3/11, cooperative.
Her Jupiter to his Sun: 6 signs away, 6/8 relationship
Her Jupiter to his Moon: 9 signs away, 5/9 relationship, cooperative
Her Jupiter to his Mercury: 5 signs away so 5/9 relationship, cooperative
Her Jupiter to his Venus: 7 signs away so opposite signs and powerful influence
Her Jupiter to his Mars: Same sign, cooperative and powerful influence
Her Jupiter to his Saturn: Opposite signs, cooperative and powerful influence
Given that her Venus is retrograde and in Saturn’s sign (Aquarius in tropical/Capricorn in sidereal) and his Venus conjuncts Saturn, it indicates that despite the seemingly incompatible Venus relationship between their charts, their ‘love language’ will be fairly similar and compatible.
3. Nakshatra compatibility or red flags (if any)
So far, their charts are fairly compatible going by sign and planetary relationships. Now, let’s look very briefly at their nakshatra ‘tattva’ or ‘elemental’ compatibility. Although Jyothish horoscope matching is highly sophisticated and analysis several other factors, for the sake of brevity, I’m just going to stick to analysing the nakshatra elements as I’m of the opinion that they possibly are a determining factor in the success or failure of relationships.
Note that: the individual charts of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessett indicate emotional fulfillment through marriage, so there’s that.
Their Moon-Moon and Sun-Sun nakshatra’s are compatible with each other. Her moon and his Sun are incompatible, her Sun and his moon are compatible. One can interpret this as: His identity as a public figure negatively impact her emotional well being.
Now, her Moon and his Mars are compatible, his Moon and her Mars are also compatible.
Their Venus’s are compatible with each other. Her Venus is compatible with his Sun, and her Sun is compatible with his Venus and Saturn, all falling in the same nakshatra.
BUT, Mars isn’t. His Mars isn’t elementally compatible with her Mars. This explains the infamous photos of that public fight in some park.
‘Rnunanubandhan’.
Even with a level of analysis that is limited in scope because it’s a blog post, one can see that these two individuals are fairly compatible. Despite being from very different background, they seem to have found their way to each other. Or rather, he seems to have found his way to her seeing as how his darakaraka (significator of spouse) is the Moon which is her atmakaraka (Significator of the soul). When one person’s dara-karaka is the other’s atma-karaka, the bond between the two is very strong.
There’s a deterministic phrase in Hindi that sums up this relationship: “Honi koh kaun taal sakta hain”. One cannot prevent or delay what has been destined or fated.
If one takes the deterministic approach to believe, that all close relationships are meant for a purpose/reason, a season or a lifetime; then these two individuals were meant to meet, marry and die together. Maybe because it is a pattern followed from past lifetimes. Or they had a debt to pay to each other. We can only speculate and engage in conjectures as there is no tangible evidence of past life or re-births or soul contracts.
So, is this a good example of true love? Maaaybe?!
They were, even from my cursory analysis, well suited to each other. And maybe would have had a long and happy marriage if their lives weren’t cut short.
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