Why synastry—an ancient technique dating back to Neoplatonist times—is more reliable for relationship analysis, offering clear insights through permanent interaspects, much like ongoing transits. Discover how both partners feel the connection differently depending on chart prominence, planetary themes, and aspects. Composite charts, on the other hand, are newer (developed in the 1920s) and hypothetical—best used only after a relationship is well-established. Explore how to read love and compatibility astrologically with nuance and depth.

I am often asked whether reincarnation is real or possible. I assume this is because the the Hindu concept of Samsara is often nebulously applied in modern astrology, which, by now, seem almost inexorable from astrological interpretation. Any contacts to the south node, the imum coeli, Chiron, Pluto and so on are commonly explained with the simultaneously dismissive and weighty pronouncement: "it's a past life connection" or "it's karmic". Never mind the fact that "karmic" in these contexts is shorthand for "bad, toxic and abusive" while "past lives" can be translated to "twin flames". It's a mess.