The time of the "I do's" is the point in the ceremony when the marriage becomes a fact in law as well as human custom, and so is irreversible. This above time serves as the basis for this chart. Anyone who has ever attended weddings knows that on average it takes about 20 to 25 minutes to get to this point.
Since this is a contractual relationship or 7th house question, this article will analyze the rulers of the ascendant and 7th house, as well as their corulers and their aspects. The 11:25 AM chart for the speaking of the "I do's" gives the chart 9:13 Libra rising, the sign of indecision and lack of commitment. The ascendant is conjunct the malefic star Vindemiatrix, star of divorce and widowhood, at 9:40 Libra. Diana was eventually killed while riding in a limousine driven by the drunk chauffeur of her latest lover, Dodi al Fayed. Vindemiatrix deals with family and business problems, secret affairs of the marriage partner, wanton folly and scandal. Not exactly the best possible degree for a marriage ascendant. The ascendant and its ruler Venus are the significators of the groom or Prince Charles, and the descendant and its ruler Mars are the significators of the bride Princess Diana. Venus ruler 1st is in its fall in Virgo in the 11th of friends, and the two were good friends before the marriage, but the negative essential dignity of the two rulers indicates the fragility of the marriage. Mars ruler 7th is in its fall in Cancer in the 9th, square the ascendant and Jupiter in the 12th. Obviously, Diana did not take very long to find out about Charles' continuing affair with his long time mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles, and the rest as we say is history.
The descendant is conjunct the star Algenib at 8:53 Aries, a star associated with misfortunes, notoriety and scandal, as well as bad morals, evil habits, lying and ill health. With the stage set by these fixed stars, the rest of the chart seems to follow with similar themes. While there are some obvious positive aspects, there are more liabilities than assets. Venus ruler 1st is in its fall in Virgo in the 11th house of friends, applying to a sextile to Mars, ruler 7th, in it's fall in Cancer in the lawyer 9th. Ordinarily, this would indicate marriage success, but the other problems in the chart manage to destroy it. The first two years of the marriage went reasonably well, but after the arrival of the first child the relationship just fell apart. Saturn ruler 5th of sex is in the 12th of secrets, and Prince Charles secretly continued his ongoing sexual affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles throughout his marriage to Diana, and she had many extramarital affairs to pay him back. There is no aspect between Venus ruler 1st and Saturn ruler 5th of sex and romance, nor between Venus and Uranus, co-ruler 5th. There was no love between Charles and Diana, this was strictly a marriage of duty to continue the dynasty. Uranus is at 26 Scorpio opposite the malefic star Algol, which causes relationships to run hot and cold. This is the 2nd malefic fixed active in this marriage chart.
Pluto ruler 2nd is in the 1st house and therefore corules it, with Mars ruler 7th in wide but applying square. The property and relationship issues will come to a head when directed Mars exactly squares Pluto in the chart. Mars/Pluto squares are life threatening issues, and the marriage failed to survive and was dissolved 14 years after it began, when Solar Arc directed Mars squared the chart Pluto. Pluto ruler 2nd in the 1st also suggests that Diana will NOT be separated from the royal wealth to which she had become accustomed.
Moon, coruler 1st is separating from a conjunction to Mars ruler 7th, and applying to a square to Pluto cosignificator of the 1st, showing that the partners will eventually go their separate ways after some very public confrontations. Jupiter natural ruler of lawyers is also in the 12th, conjunct Saturn ruler 4th of end of matter and family, indicating that the family issues will be settled through legal remedies. Mars ruler 7th is in the 9th conjunct the MC but squaring the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in the 12th. This indicates that the secret breaking of the marriage vows (Jupiter/Saturn in the 12th) will cause many public (9th house) scandals and legal problems. There is an eclipse of the Sun shortly after the wedding ceremony, which only proves the wisdom of the advice to never do anything close to an eclipse.
Mars ruler 7th of legal issues is in the 9th, separating from a square to the ascendant/descendant axis. This indicates that there will be serious confrontations and legal issues in this relationship. Moon, coruler 1st and ruler 10th of career and success is in the 10th, dignified by house and sign which is very fitting for a Royal Marriage. The Moon is applying to a square to Pluto ruler 2nd in the 1st, indicating that 2nd house money issues will become a problem. The last aspect made by the transiting Moon before it leaves the sign it's in is a trine to Uranus, ruler 5th of romance and children, indicating separation and divorce, but also a lasting relationship with the children. This last aspect of the Moon is about the only joyful factor in this chart, since it indicates no barriers to the parting. The Moon making a last aspect to Uranus ALWAYS indicates a separation, and the type of aspect merely indicates whether the parting is amicable or nasty. This chart makes almost every possible mistake, such as ruler 1st and 7th in their fall, and coruler 1st separating from ruler 7th. The eclipse within a day of the marriage is the final disaster, the straw that broke the camel's back. It is an excellent illustration of how NOT to set up a marriage chart, and its only positive feature is the Sun and Moon in dignity by sign.
The marriage ended in divorce with substantial property settlements going to Diana, and shared custody of the Royal children. The marriage ended because of secret affairs on both sides, with public scandals and revelations being paraded in the press.
This marriage chart and other data I have collected proves that synastry is NOT relevant to marriage success, and therefore is a total waste of time. Synastry is great for comparing people in a non sexual relationship, such as friends or relatives, but it is useless once the relationship becomes sexual. The data I have collected of people who have been married for more than 30 years clearly shows that the marriage chart determines the outcome of the marriage, not the synastry.
SYNASTRY GRID FOR CHARLES AND DIANA
There are 39 soft aspects and 27 hard aspects between Charles and Diana's charts, for a total of 66 aspects. I use Ptolemaic aspects and 8 degree orbs. This comes to a ratio of soft to hard aspects of 1.45, which is really quite excellent. This merely proves that a bad marriage chart can destroy a relationship with very good synastry. The cosmodyne analysis does a very similar job to the synastry grid, except that this is a computer program which does all the work for you, so there are no human errors.
COSMODYNE ANALYSIS
As the above data clearly shows, Charles and Diana could have had a joyful and harmonious marriage, if they had married at an appropriate time. The contacts between the charts are numerous and powerful, and mostly of a harmonious nature, as is shown by the very positive Harmony numbers. The Power numbers indicate the number of aspects between the charts, but the all-important aspect ratio is indicated by the Harmony number.
Below are the natal charts of Charles and Diana. Using classical analysis, it is clear that Charles is a very poor marriage risk. The Sun ruler of his ascendant is in wide applying square to Saturn ruler descendant. This indicates fights and confrontations with the marriage partner. The Sun is in applying quincunx to Uranus coruler descendant, NOT a classical aspect, indicating that there is nothing to bring him together with the marriage partner. Pluto in the 1st is cosignificator of the 1st, but makes no aspect to Saturn or Uranus. Mars ruler 5th is in the 5th, and Pluto coruler 5th is in the 1st, indicating a very active sex drive.
Diana has Jupiter ruler of the 1st in separating quincunx to Mercury ruler 7th of the marriage partner. This is not a classical aspect, and therefore indicates she should not get married. Mercury is combust the Sun so she will choose a very powerful marriage partner who will burn her up and destroy her. Mars ruler 5th of sexual affairs is in the 8th of sex organs, conjunct Pluto, which corules the sex organs. Diana has a very, very powerful sex drive and will be very unhappy in a marriage where she plays second fiddle to a mistress, and where her physical needs are only occasionally serviced.
Below is a composite of Diana and Charles. As can be seen, Venus ruler ascendant and Mars ruler descendant are in separating square, indicating the marriage will separate after enduring for a few stormy and difficult years.
I have often been asked whether or not one can contradict the synastry and have a good marriage anyway. There is good documentary proof that this can be done, and is in fact very common. You can have very difficult synastry and still have a good marriage as long as the marriage chart is good. This merely proves that synastry is NOT relevant to marriage or romantic relationships. Below is the marriage chart for an old acquaintance.
This chart has Sagittarius rising, Jupiter ruler 1st of the groom is in its detriment in Gemini in the 7th house of the bride. This allows the woman to be somewhat in charge of the relationship. Mercury ruler 7th is peregrine in Leo in the 8th, trine the groom ascendant. Mercury is in wide but applying sextile to Jupiter, indicating that the two partners will remain together for a lifetime. The Moon has separated from a square to Saturn and is next applying to an opposition to Mars. These planets are additional significators of the groom and bride, and they are also in applying sextile, but Mars is in peregrine in Leo, and Saturn is in its fall in Libra. The last applying aspect of the Moon is a trine to Saturn ruler 2nd conjunct the benefic fixed star Spica, indicating this marriage will last a very long time, and it has lasted 50 years so far. Unfortunately, the synastry is just awful, so the marriage has been quite challenging. The negative harmony of -75 is the lowest I have ever seen between two marriage partners, but despite this the marriage survives to this day.This just proves that synastry is not the least bit relevant to the success of romantic relationships.
As can be seen, the success of a marriage can be definitively and accurately determined and predicted from the natal chart and from the marriage chart. The final piece of the puzzle is the composite chart. ALL the longterm successful marriages I have in my chart files follow the pattern of having natal charts that indicate marriage success, good marriage charts and good composites.Below is the composite of Edith and her husband.
Ron Bippus is a professional Astrologer with 25 years experience. Ron has gained recognition for his expertise in Rectification along with his research on the physical and psychological characteristics of the Ascendant. Ron has also written a complete textbook on Horary Astrology, the "Horary Handbook", a modern translation of William Lilly's "Christian Astrology". This book is available from Ron for $35 plus shipping. Ron has included a chapter on the Horary Moon and a chapter on Elections, and suggestions for applying these classical rules to natal charts. He teaches a yearly horary course in the Toronto area.
