(This is a part of the “Astrology Of Love And Compatibility” series.)

The key to making any relationship work is learning how to compromise. We all have different needs and desires, and even the people we are “compatible” with are individuals with their own drives and viewpoints. If you’ve ever been in a relationship for any length of time, even a good one, you’ve learned this… and quite possibly you’ve learned it the hard way.

Astrology gives us insight into who we are, who the other person is, and how we can better speak each other’s language. The aspects between two people’s birth charts can sometimes blend harmoniously (the trine and sextile aspects particularly), and can sometimes cause difficulties (like the square and quincunx). It’s good to know what works in a relationship… but it may be even more useful to understand the sources of disharmony. Knowing where the conflict comes from can be the start of finding a resolution.

Aspects between two people involving the Moon often manifest as “security issues”… and specifically, they can cause conflict over matters related to food and nutrition. Case in point: I have Sun in Sagittarius, and my wife has Moon in Virgo, and they are square each other.

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As a Sagittarius, I like to keep moving with my busy day. Although I love to cook, there are plenty of times when I just want to cram something into my face and move on. This is why I have developed a considerable fondness for what I call “Nature’s Most Perfect Food”: The Pop-Tart. They’re delicious, they’re fast to eat, and they give me all the dextrose, palm oil, high fructose corn syrup, and monocalcium phosphate I need to keep me going. Plus, they come in a shiny package, so it’s like eating astronaut food, which is pretty cool I figure. These little miracles weren’t just baked… they were engineered! Besides, the content of just one package gives me a full 20% of my daily requirement for sodium!

My wife Aliza has Moon in Virgo. This means that she has a great interest in things I don’t understand or find terribly useful… things like “nutrition” and “health” and “trying not to die next week” that frankly I have little time for. Lately Aliza has developed a fondness for shiratake noodles. What, you may ask, are shiratake noodles? I looked them up and still don’t quite undertand them myself. They come from a thing called the Devil’s Tongue Yam and are packaged in a liquid that smells somewhat fishy… like Aquaman’s armpits, perhaps… and they have a rubbery texture that reminds me of that popular 70s toy, “Slime.” Remember the stuff that came in a plastic garbage can and basically did nothing except upset your parents and smelled vaguely unwholesome? That stuff.

Anyway, one you drain off the fishy liquid, rinse the shiratake thoroughly, then boil them, then rinse them again, then fry them with butter and garlic, you get little rubbery noodles that, if you’ve done it right, only taste like butter and garlic.However, they are soy free, gluten free, cholesterol free, and are a completely “cruelty free” food (not counting when you force someone to eat them, that is).

As you can imagine, this difference in our preferences could make for a great deal of conflict at meal time. Astrology may not make one or the other of us change who we are or what we like, but it at least gives us a basis for mutual understanding. Since I know that Aliza has Moon in Virgo, I understand that her telling me I should eat things like shiratake noodles is simply her way of caring for me. She does it because she wants me to be healthy. On the other hand, since she is aware that I am a Sagittarius, she knows I don’t take direction well and have little regard for my personal safety or well-being. Knowing these things about each other helps us appreciate and understand each other and strengthens our relationship. I understand that she insists I should eat things like shiratake noodles because she genuinely cares about my health. And she, in turn, understands that even if my diet lets me live to a ripe old age, my mentality will remain youthful and untouched by age and common sense for all my days.

Astrology helps us understand ourselves and each other, and helps us reach compromises where otherwise there might only be conflict.

Yeah, this could work.