A regular comment made by men, especially when at the 13th (14th or 15th) ‘watering’ hole, is that they do not understand women; when women hear this they shake their heads in despair and frustration, wondering what it is about them that is so unfathomable. At the outset it is necessary to stress that both genders discussed in this article are assumed to be of sound mind, possessing a relatively high level of EQ: we are not addressing the (majority) of the population that is neurotic, addicted to something-or-other, co-dependant, emotionally unstable, commitment phobic or simply foolish. If you have a sincere desire to understand the female species and wish to enrich your romantic relationships you should find this insight beneficial; but be warned: action is called for.

Individual Requirements

The most common questions received by astrologers are those pertaining to matters of the heart; everyone wants to know when, why, if and how this segment of their life will bear fruit. There are many angles to consider when addressing this area of investigation and it is not as straightforward as some astrological texts depict. Love is a many-splendored thing and each person possesses certain quirks when it comes to the laws of attraction: specific buttons or triggers that can only be activated by distinctive potential partners. These button-pushers are not always clearly depicted in a chart; too often it is the most obscure planet, the one that appears to be doing the least that has the most say.

Much can be gleaned however from assessing the essence of what makes that individual tick (their Sun, Moon, Mercury interactions combined with their overall temperament), and then overlaying this on what causes the hearts of their specific gender to quicken – because after all, no matter how we are gilded, man is man and woman is woman.  One only need cast an eye on the greatest romances of all time to acquire an understanding of what this is for a woman: it explains why you see an exquisite long-legged beauty on the arm of an unattractive man (remember we are addressing people of sound mind, not those with avaricious motivations) or why an intelligent, successful and prominent woman is married to a man who never graduated from high school.

The Greatest Romances

When we read about these love affairs, be they fiction or non-fiction, one theme is paramount. Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Napoleon and Josephine, Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson, Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet, Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler, Tristan and Isolde, Prince Khurram and Mumtaz Mahal Begum (and many more), and my current favourite Bella and Edward from the Twilight Saga series - all depict what every man should heed if he wishes to acquire the unswerving, indissoluble, infinite, tender and adoring love of a woman. “…..husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself.” Ephesians 5:28

The Dragon Slayers

It is unnecessary to even pry into successful relationships when the question can be posed (and answered) as to why Mills and Boon and the novels of Barbra Cartland are still best sellers in today’s modern times. They all depict the same masculine type – that of the hero. This is possibly where men lose the plot: no intelligent, self respecting, emotionally stable woman would ask her man to lay down his life for her - but she wants to know that he would! Would he pick up his sword (or his latest Apple gadget) and launch himself into the world to defend her honour, fight to the death to protect her from all those nasty dragons the world throws at her because he believes she is worth it.

A woman would not consciously select a dragon slayer to impregnate her because offspring are not the sole motivating force behind romance; she needs to know that her man would do anything to be with her, that he lies awake at night with his head and heart bursting with desire for her, that he believes nothing else on earth is more beautiful than she is and that he would move mountains for her. It really is as elementary as that and has nothing to do with logic.

Logic dictates that the corporate man attends a board meeting at 7pm on a Friday night or that the pilot is away from home for weeks, even months on end, and while she understands this (and has no problem with it), her heart says that you choose something else over her. All it takes is a two minute phone call to convey the longing and the regret, and the potential landmine is diffused. Become a dragon slayer for your woman and you will be rewarded with the most tender, poignant and unselfish love in return – even if your wife is the CEO of a multi-million rand company and you are unemployed.

Edward and Bella 

It is fitting that Edward is a vampire: any non-vampire male telling a woman that he is unable to stand too close to her because her scent makes him want to eat her, would initiate a charge of obscenity and sexual harassment at the local place station. But it is this that proves my point and it is why the Twilight Saga is repeatedly viewed by mature women. Edward, when he first gets the scent of Bella in the science laboratory, is tormented; every cell in his body aches for her; it is her, and only her who is able to instigate this violent reaction. Yet he is man enough (a hero) to resist the basal temptation to devour her for dinner, and thus places her before himself: he sacrifices his needs for her wellbeing.

He is constantly at her side (no real life woman wants a man at her side 24/7, but the message of his devotion and complete love for Bella is thus conveyed in all its beauty to the less astute viewers) and Edward himself states that his primary purpose is to protect her from harm at all times; he even watches her sleep - creepy yes, but he can be forgiven because he is unable to sleep being a vampire.

This romance which causes that dull ache of longing deep down in the belly conveys the true essence of what every woman desires: a man who longs for her, completely and utterly, to the exclusion of all else. Transpose the message of this love onto real life and you have a recipe for success.

The Sun/Moon Symbolism

The Sun and the Moon are the true archetypes of the masculine and feminine principles; the supreme symbols of men and women, not Venus and Mars. They are, however, so much more than that and are quite difficult to define with great exactitude based on the very nature of what they rule. The Sun is also the Lord of Light with the Moon, who has no light of her own and is only able to reflect the light of the Sun, as his handmaid. This is directly linked to the following quotation from Genesis 2:21-24: “Yahweh God fashioned the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: ‘this one at last is of my bones and flesh of my flesh! She is to be called woman. Because she was taken from man.’ This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh.” The worst place of affliction for any planet is combustion and the second worst place of affliction is when in opposition to the Sun: refer to a previous article here for additional insight.

The Edward/Bella relationship depicts the Sun/Moon relationship poignantly: when Bella and Edward are apart (in opposition), it is Bella who is more deeply affected; she suffers a severe breakdown in the second film, so much so that she manifests a death wish. When they are together (in conjunction, thus she is combust), she is in danger as there is always the risk that Edward could surrender control and harm her by succumbing to his vampire nature; being in close proximity to him also exposes her to the blood-cravings of the rest of the Cullen family.

In the birth chart of Twilight, film one, Bella is signified by the Moon which in the chart is in opposition to the Sun and the Moon is posited on Caput Algol, the most malefic fixed star in the heavens and strongly highlighting the desire nature of man. The masculine principle in the chart which is the Sun is posited on the fixed star Bungula – a little bit of ‘human’ won’t hurt. However the close proximity of Bella and his fervent love for her causes Edward agonising pain, just as the poison arrow tormented the centaur when it penetrated his flesh in the mythology with which this fixed star is aligned. It makes me wonder if a traditional astrologer had a hand in the election of the film premiere or if the heavens simply co-operated – nothing is coincidental in astrology.

Conclusion

When it comes to matters of the heart, especially a woman's, men are urged to set logic aside. This doesn’t mean that a woman is incapable of critical reasoning or that she doesn’t grasp the specific practicalities relevant to certain circumstances; it means that you cannot placate a woman in emotional distress using the persona of Socrates when her heart is calling for Lancelot or John Wayne. If a man is sincere in his desire to understand the female heart, he should forgo an afternoon at the 13th hole and rent some DVD’s instead. He could also ask the woman of his affections who her favourite heroes are and why – this would tell him more about what she yearns for than anything else could. It is not difficult to understand the essence of a woman’s love and the machinations of her heart and head; the difficult task is asking whether or not you are man enough to accept the challenge.