The Third Quadrant, This is the one we’ve all been waiting for, haven’t we? What is the role of a relational house in a relational chart? Our eyes just naturally gravitate there, hoping to find a natural, naturally balanced two-ness in the seventh, or some sexual redemption and delivery in the eighth. And then–what the heck is the ninth house doing there, right after all that melding and merging?
The three together actually make more sense than we realize. In this quadrant we have taken our perfected (as much as possible) selves and presented them to ‘other.’ It’s the old one-two-three- of relationships: we come together in the seventh to see if we click, we merge in the eighth to test our boundaries and redefine ourselves through burning down and returning to ourselves anew, and then, in the ninth, we try to make sense of it all.
These houses describe a quadrant of the natal chart we all know well –but do they express the same things in a composite chart?
Yes and no. And it all has to do with the concept of ‘other.’ “Other” to a partnership is a different concept from ‘other’ to a single entity.
The Seventh House: The identity of a partnership, or how we define our partnership, belongs to the Ascendant (with the Sun almost tied for second place). It gives the general tone of who we are when we’re together, alone. So the seventh house of the composite chart takes us into some complicated territory. Who acts as partner to the partnership?
On the one hand, the seventh house in a composite can represent our awareness of who we are as a couple when we are relating to the outside world. It is our team ‘face.’ When we are dealing with the day to day as a union, we may come from our seventh house. That dynamic couple you meet at a party, who blow you over with their fiery Aries-style dynamic, may actually have peaceful Libra rising and not see themselves that way at all. When we have a packed seventh house in a composite, we are very aware of who we are as a couple and what we represent to others. There is usually a lot of charisma with couples who have a strong seventh house, because our energy isn’t wrapped up in ourselves, it naturally goes out to others, and they respond accordingly. If we have something fair-faced, like Venus there, or glamourous like Neptune, or electric, like Uranus–others will feel it. With a prominent Mercury in the seventh, we may be seen as intellectual, or at least, talkative. As with a natal chart, we may not be entirely certain of what we give off as a couple, and the seventh house of a composite is ripe for our composite projections–if we have Mars there, for example, we may be fairly aggressive in doing things our way, and yet it may feel to us that others are oppressive and difficult.
The seventh house can represent everyone out there who is close to us and with whom we have to deal on a day to day basis (outside of close relations and family, who are covered by other houses). In a composite chart, it’s whoever is ‘out there’ as opposed to ‘in here’ within the relationship. But in old fashioned terms, the seventh house used to be called the ‘house of open enemies,’ people who confront you and challenge you. The seventh house can show if a partnership is strong (Saturn there) or if you are subject to invasion from the outside, as when Neptune is on the Desc. Neptune or Jupiter there can indicate a partnership prone to being broken by third parties. As a couple, we may want to explore and have no boundaries as far as others are concerned. We may be generous to the point of fault, or we may be closed and suspicious of others (Pluto in the 7th). If the seventh house is packed, it may be that a great deal of our energy as a couple is involved with interaction of those we hold dear. We may be one of those people who are always tied up with others, for better or worse.
It gets complicated when we realize that the seventh can also describe our ideas of ‘other people’s partnerships,’ making us ripe for projecting our partnership issues on to other couples, or it can indicate the shadow side of our own relationship–the thing that can bubble under the surface, undermining us, without us knowing. This is the most important role for the composite seventh house to play. Neptune or Pisces there? Lack of boundaries, drugs and alcohol or a tendency for the partnership to drift and remain undefined may undo us. Scorpio? Jealousy, suspicion, possessiveness, power plays, all of the usual Plutonian suspects. Gemini? Too much connection (socializing) and not enough commitment (or too much talk and not enough action). Like the shadow in a natal chart, it sometimes takes time to grasp what the problem really is, because the shadow is elusive and the light ever-changing. If we have lots of planets on the Descendant or in the 7th, we may be the kind of couple that needs to go out and meet up with others all the time, and are unhappy alone in our homes. This might be fine for if both people are inclined that way, but it may be hell for a quiet Cancer or Virgo who just wants to stay home and cocoon with the partner.
The seventh house can also describe our style of give and take with the world. Are we open and friendly as a couple (Sag) or are we very selective about who we let into our lives (Virgo). Our Virgo shadow may cause us to be hypercritical of others, when we let ourselves off the hook quite easily (Composite Pisces rising). The sign on the cusp of the seventh represents what we expect when we reach out. If Mars is there, we may feel that other couples are sexually motivated, or argumentative, and we may feel aggressive and hostile to others without realizing it. We may get into fights with the neighbors or the doorman and never understand why we are so besieged. As with natal seventh houses, it’s easy to project planetary activity there, far more difficult to own it as a couple, but own it we should because we’re only at the beginning of this quadrant’s journey. If we are projecting an outer planet, rather than owning those tendencies, our relationship may blow up in our faces without us ever really knowing why.
The 8th House: The eighth house is the most natural house to experience in a composite. The entire house is about merged energies, whether they be sexual or financial. On the surface, it’s about our style of sharing–how we use what we own as a unit. The eighth house will, to some extent, give a sense of the sexual ‘style’ a couple has, and planets there will describe how we accomplish our merging. The Sun there will describe a partnership that possibly revolves around sex and inner transformation. (Or you could go the traditional route and speculate that, depending on other aspects, it may be all about money, or possibly sex for money). It can be a deep, intimate, psychologically-directed house, where our most intimate vulnerabilities are exposed, or it can be primarily about how we use our resources. Note I say ‘use.’ The resources themselves will be shown by the 2nd house, but how we handle what we have belongs in the eighth. This can get very interesting when we’re not dealing with polarities. For example, a couple can have Venus in conservative Capricorn in the second, but have Gemini ruling an empty eighth house. Their nest egg might be solid, but they may tend to spend it on a whim, or may be addicted to buying the latest phones and video games. They might be the kind of people who value conservative spending but just can’t seem to do it themselves. If it were flipped, and Gemini was on the second and Venus in Cap in the eighth, this couple would carefully share their ideas and their connections with the outside world. They would take care of their Gemini resources, whatever they might be. This might be the couple who knows everyone on the block and makes sure that the older people across the street get dug out of the snow. They also might be carefully generous with local charities.
If a couple has a packed eighth house, there is a need for intimacy and deep exchange within the partnership. This might be okay for the half of the couple that is more Plutonian or depth-oriented. If the other partner is more air/fire this may make the relationship difficult–we will feel as if we are struggling to breathe every moment, while the relationship keeps pulling us underwater. This is true for any of the water houses (4, 8, 12) but is exaggerated in the 8th, which has a thrust to intimacy all its own. Even for those of us comfortable with transformation, this kind of intensity may not seem right for us at this moment, or with this person. This composite house isn’t about the dissolve (that comes in the 12th) but is about our ability to burn to the core of our known selves and come back to ourselves renewed. When this house is emphasized in a partnership, the fire may just be too hot. Outer planets or Saturn here may indicate a problem with intimacy within the partnership if fears and defenses are allowed to take over. The problem here would not be due just to one partner’s reluctance or resistance, but to both people feeling wary of losing emotional ground. The answer here is to look back on the second house and see what we really gain (and can get hold of) when we are together—something that neither party can obtain alone.
I’m going to switch gears on you and next time discuss why the 9th house is in this quadrant, then move on to the 10th and 11th. The twelfth house deserves space of its own.
Details for the upcoming summer classes, “Deep Cuts” and others, will be announced tomorrow.
Painting, oil on paper, ‘ancestors of the future, series: unborn, 2012’ by Hildy Maze. Please click the photo to see more of Hildy’s powerful work. The painting is copyright 2012 by Hildy Maze and cannot be reproduced without permission.
can’t hardly wait to read the next. 🙂 I have sent you the email about your class. thnks, btw, I hv the sag cups on 8 house and Neptune is sit there on my composite chart, what’s that mean?
Hi Dawn,
Thank you for writing this post! It’s intriguing and eye-opening, as always.
When you say “The identity of a partnership, or how we define our partnership, belongs to the Ascendant (with the Sun almost tied for second place)”, would that mean that a couple with say, Composite Sun in the 11th house be always just friends? And this couple I’m looking at, they have their Ascendant in Gemini, with Jupiter conjuncting AC, both Venus and Mars sextile the AC as well. All I found on other websites is that AC in Gemini means the couple acts like siblings, so again, does that kind of define their relationship as platonic in nature?
Hi Jess. It’s important that we learn all the different house meanings, because otherwise we can’t see all of the potential in the chart. An eleventh house Sun need not only be about friendship. Remember that this is the chart of the relationship itself, not the way two people interact. So it’s possible that between charts, there are lots of indicators that the relationship is very steamy, but if the composite Sun is in the 11th they’ll be able to maintain the essence of a friendship when they’re together. They may be a very social couple, or a couple who works for causes and is very community oriented. As for Gemini rising indicating a brother-sister relationship, that’s just plain silly. With Gemini rising a couple may seem very active and alive, always making contacts, keeping things moving, learning new things. They may give off a vibe of being less passionate than other couples, but that is most likely just a front. A couple with Gemini rising loves stimulation and will seek it out. As with all charts, you can’t just the intensity of the partnership on just one or two placements–the whole chart must be taken into consideration.
Next week, I have an article on Composite Sun going up in my Synastry Studies column for Sasstrology.com. I’ll alert everyone when it comes out, because I think it answers a lot of questions about the Composite Sun. And we will go on exploring the Composite Ascendant and other composite factors here, so stay tuned.
Hi Dawn,
Could you briefly comment about the meaning of the moon conjuncting the descendant in a composite with Cancer rising?
I suppose it would indicate a couple that comes off as nurturing to others, but how would the couple themselves be affected?
Thanks,
Ula
Hi ula. This could be one of those relationships where they felt like family to one another from day one, settled down early, then spend a lot of time nurturing and guiding others. However, in the process of this guidance they may discover their individuality, which may threaten the relationship. Or they may want to cocoon but are continually thrown into situations where they are responsible for others. A great deal of energy may be spent on discovering what the underlying, unconscious threats to the relationship are, and this may possibly come through their attitude towards authority figures and responsibility itself. My next piece for Sasstrology will be about the Ascendant and the role of the chart ruler, so you may want to take a look at that when it posts at the end of the month.
This is one of the most enlightening articles I’ve read on the composite!
I like what you said as to how the second house shows what neither individual can obtain in their own but only through that particular relationship, what’s brought forth fr the eighth houses.
If the moon and juno are found in the second house ( where Saturn and Jupiter are in the eighth) would you say that the couple experiences comfort and nurturing (moon) and a stability ( 2nd house) that they cannot attain on their own but together?
Yes, that’s the gist of the contact. They feel like a natural couple and naturally support one another, and they have similar ideas of what a partnership should be.
Hi Dawn! loooooooove reading your blog, you are so insightful. I was wondering if you can tell me your thoughts on a leo rising composite with a large stellium RIGHT on the IC and 8th house moon….the stellium is partly in libra and partly in scorp even tho i know that sign doesn’t mean too much in a composite chart. the sun and jupiter are conjunct the IC at 23-26 degrees libra and then merc/pluto/venus conjunct at 9 degrees scorpio. hope thats not TMI! XD thanks so much, you are amazing!
With so much surrounding the IC it’s very easy for the two of you to feel ‘at home’ together and to build a solid foundation. The problems may come from the outside–fitting in socially, other people interfering, or the two of you deciding that you need more time for self-development. There can be stagnation and restlessness, even complacency and boredom, with too much on the IC, so be aware that you will eventually need to work at being stimulating to one another.
Hi Dawn,
I just came across this post after generating a composite with someone I recently met online. We have sun conjunct mercury conjunct Venus and Chiron (those two are exact conjunct) in Aries in the 8th. Uranus in 2nd in libra. Mars in 7th.
I don’t even know this person really and it already feels intense… And a bit frightening yet compelling. I have Venus opp Pluto and Pluto aspects his sun and moon, so we are both intense people. I just wondered about your thoughts.
Ascendant in Virgo, cancer moon in 11th. Thanks!
If the Uranus is opposing the Venus/Mercury/Chiron, it’s going to cause trouble of the on-again, off-again nature, or a tug of war between what we own together and what we do with it. Since you are both Plutonians, the lesson may be to learn to let go a little, which the Uranus will compel you to do.
That doesn’t sound bad to me, actually. The intensity frightened me a bit. He also has Uranus conj his moon, and I have Uranus opp Venus, natally. We met today in person and really enjoyed each other’s company. Glad to come across your blog!
Dawn
Does the projection of the composite 7th house reduce or something if one of the 2 ppl have their lights in the composite 7th.. :-\. You know like in a natal chart a 7th house Sun person is more likely to own his energy.
Contrary to popular belief, having planets in the 7th does not decrease the tendency to projection, it increases it, particularly if a person doesn’t ‘own’ those planets fully. It’s very hard to own the Sun–that’s something we grow into over the course of time. A 7th house Sun is very ‘other’ oriented and will learn from partnerships, but only experience will sort out truth from projection.
Another very interesting post. What is your feeling about reading a composite when the relationship has not yet been established. For example, when a client is in love with someone who doesn’t return their feelings and requests a composite reading? I tend to think it would give insight into the potential of the relationship if it were to develop, but on the other hand it seems to be jumping the gun a bit, especially when the synastry and natal charts indicate many obstacles to be overcome before the two can merge into a couple. I’d appreciate your thoughts….
Hi Faith. You have to put the natal chart around the composite chart and see how that reads. Normally, one person is minimally invested in the relationship where the other connection might be very intense–Natal Sun on composite Asc, for example, or Moon conjunct composite Sun. Often, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto is conjunct an angle. You can usually easily see which one is ‘obsessed.’
Thanks Dawn… You probably won’t be surprised to hear that with regards the chart which inspired my question the client had their north node on the ascendant of the composite…
Hi Dawn,
I’m interested in more info about the 7th and 8th house and how that energy plays out. I have a composite with an individual who I care very much for. Our Composite Jupiter (in Sco) and Pluto are in the 7th. In fact Pluto is Conjunct the DC and is also the 7th house cusp. How does that manifest with Jupiter being open and then Pluto being closed? I can see there is a distrust of others with both of us in terms of our natal (he is an Aqua Sun/Mer Square Pluto, I’m a Cap Moon and Leo Mer Square Pluto). Also how does 8th house planets manifest when the energy is different as well. For instance we also have Saturn and Uranus in the 8th. There is a fear to getting involved that I can’t put my finger on.
Pluto will dominate, being angular and (I’m assuming) in Scorpio. Jupiter will play second fiddle unless it’s the chart ruler. I would think that the Jupiter/Pluto combination would emphasize the loss aspect of Jupiter rather than the openness. Remember that the seventh house is also the shadow side of the relationship, and unconscious or subconscious tendencies will show themselves here.
Hi Dawn,
You’re amazing.
Any thoughts on a composite chart that has one person’s natal sun conjunct its ascendant/Saturn, and the other person’s natal sun conjunct its descendant/Pallas?
I’m specifically interested in differences between how each one is likely to experience the relationship.
If these help you grok:
– Composite sun (chart ruler) falls in 10th/Taurus
– Capricorn rules the 6th
– Orb between composite angle & natal sun is tighter for the asc person (2 degrees) than the desc person (6 degrees).
Thanks!
Oh my gosh. I’m sure you’ll notice this right away. But I only just did: Since the descendant is in Aquarius, that means its co-ruler is conjunct the composite’s ascendant (and Person 1’s natal sun).
Which is kind of weird, because the DC’s primary ruler Uranus happens to be smack dab on the composite IC.
So one composite DC ruler is right on the AC, and the other is right on the IC.
What on earth does one make of that? Would it signify that Person B (whose natal sun conjuncts the composite DC) is likely to cheat?
(Possible grok-helpers Part 2:
– Uranus on the IC opposes Mercury-Chiron near the midheaven
– Both Saturn-ruled houses, 6 & 7, are empty … with the exception of the smack-on DC/Pallas conjunction.)
hi dawn- amazing article!
….do transit’s to composites have effect?
for example transit pluto squaring the sun venus mars stellium from composite 5 th house- will end the merger? …. money problems?…..
thank you
Yes, absolutely. And to progressed composites, too.
***transit pluto in 5th squaring stellium sun venus mars in 8th
correction
thanks!
Dear Dawn,
Thank you for your insightful article. It’s been very helpful as I was researching the 7th house of the composite chart. My composite chart with my partner has Gemini Descendant (Sag rising). We however have Chiron in Cancer in the 7th. How should we best own the Chiron in Cancer energy here as a couple (we each have Chiron in Cancer in the 4th and 10th houses of our own.)? What should we watch out for in our tendency to project with Chiron there? We’ve individually been involved in energetic healing work, meditation, retreat and going within quite a lot over the past 2 years.
Additionally, our composite also has Jupiter in Gemini in the 6th (not tight but around 6 deg orb to the DC) opposite Sagittarian Mercury in the 12th and square (although not a tight orb) our Moon exactly on our IC in Pisces in the 4th.
We are sure lacking commitment at the moment (Gemini DC, Sag Rising), but with our composite Moon on IC in Pisces there, would building a home together help us more in stablise our energy as a couple? How could we overcome Jupiter there, as it’s also our composite chart ruler (although it’s not a tight orb)?
I’d very much want to hear your take on this and appreciate your insight. Thank you for reading my questions.
Asteria
I’m sorry, but there are far too many questions for me to handle properly here.
Your composite series has been (and continues to be) extremely enlightening, Dawn. I have bookmarked this series and find myself continuously referencing it when interpreting composites.
I wanted to ask, what kind of experience would a couple have when their composite Aries Sun/Venus/Vertex all tightly conjunct their DSC? Their Vertex and DSC are both at 2 degrees, Sun at 3 degrees in the 7th and Venus at 0 degrees in the 6th. I ask because the composite 7H is already a bit confusing to me, but adding these tight conjunctions threw me for a loop. Any insight would be appreciated 🙂
Looking forward to more posts on composites <3
Dear Sarah, unfortunately Dawn passed away in the end of 2017 so she is not here to answer questions anymore. The composite houses is one of her classic writings that, as you sate, is a trustworthy reference whenever dealing with (progressed) composites. As a student of Dawn, I will try to answer your question. The seventh house in composite charts deals with the outside world (others) so a Sun Venus Vertex DC suggests a couple that derives a fundamental and necessary part of their love energy from the exchange with other people (family, friends and such). As a couple it is beneficial to engage in an active form of companionship. The placements of Mars in the composite and the progressed composite supply some deeper layers in how to work this potent Sun Venus exchange. All the best and keeping coming back to the Inner wheel whenever you feel like. Robbert