Opposites Attract: Finding the Signs that Complement You
Some of the most challenging moments for me as an astrologer have come when I’ve had to make judgement calls. There are times when there are several valid ways to read a placement, and I have to take a stand and choose one.
I ran into a situation like that while I was writing Finding Your Adventuring Party with Astrological Archetypes. I knew I wanted to write about the 1st house/7th house polarity, but I wasn’t sure how to present it.
In traditional astrology, the 1st house is you, and the 7th house represents other people. Period. I’m not wedded to traditional astrology, though, and modern astrology doesn’t always see things that way. I have the moon and Jupiter in the 7th house. Both of them are highly connected to other planets in my chart, and Jupiter is in a close square with my sun/chart ruler.
Maybe, I thought, I play for both teams.
Then I thought for a minute about the archetype of Aquarius, my 7th house sign. Am I a rebel? I was a punk in high school, and I have lots of antiestablishment thoughts, but do I really have the courage to stand up and say unpopular things? Or is it mostly an aesthetic that my Leo ascendant likes to wear to appeal to a certain crowd?
After a moment of thought, I reluctantly admitted to myself that I am not really as aquarian as I like to pretend to be. I need my aquarian friends to help my Aquarius planets dare to be present when I have hard things to say.
Opposites Attract
It is common for people to form relationships with people who represent the archetype of their 7th house. We have a natural instinct that we are not entirely complete in ourselves. We need people in our ensembles to balance out the things we lack.
In this post, I’m talking about those 1st house/7th house sign polarities. What are the skills that each side of the polarity brings to the table? How can they help and complement each other?
Aries/Libra: Warrior and Diplomat
On the surface, the Aries/Libra polarity is one of the hardest to reconcile. Warriors fight. Diplomats work for peace. How can these two ever work toward common goals?
Steven Forrest has an excellent video on YouTube on Mars and Aries as the archetype of the spiritual warrior. In the video, he points out that warriors don’t always need to be looking for conflict. Sometimes, conflict finds you, and you have to fight for peace. This is most clearly seen in the martial arts that focus on disarming your opponent and preventing them from causing harm. Sometimes, people are determined to be violent, and the Warrior needs to use force to create enough space for the Diplomat to step in and advocate for peace.
In everyday life, Aries and Libra complement each other by creating a balanced focus on I and We. Aries is excellent at seeing where boundaries have been crossed, and Libra counters that with an understanding of the other side’s point of view. Libra prefers whenever possible to be accommodating. The Warrior knows you can’t please everyone all the time, and there are times when the needs of the individual need to come before the needs of the group.
Taurus/Scorpio: Druid and Sorcerer
One of the nicknames for the Taurus/Scorpio axis is the Axis of Introversion. Half of the signs are introverted by temperament, but Scorpio and Taurus are all about the different ways of being alone.
Taurus is the peaceful solitude of a cup of tea at sunrise when you’re not thinking of anything in particular. You’re just sleepily enjoying the crisp morning air and the growing light on your face.
Scorpio is the solitude of deep introspection. When you are spending some quality time with your journal and really trying to hash out your issues, you’re in Scorpio time.
Scorpio and Taurus need the other to balance their need for depth.
On its own, Taurus would be tempted to bask forever in the material world. Taurus needs Scorpio’s reminder of the deep, dark depths of the soul.
Left to its own devices, Scorpio would get lost in the dark, forgetting about the simple pleasures of good food and a warm place in the sun.
Gemini/Sagittarius: Investigator and Philosopher
Gemini and Sagittarius share a desire for knowledge, but the way they define knowledge differs.
Gemini is all about the facts and cold, hard data. As an air sign, it likes to see the world through the lens of cold rationality. Gemini can tell you the final scores of every Super Bowl game that’s ever been played. It can tell you how the stock market is doing, and it knows everything all of its friends have eaten for breakfast this week.
Sagittarius is the sign of the student, but it isn’t so interested in facts. It sails like an arrow high above the earth, taking in the big picture. It doesn’t care about sports ball scores. It wants to know why you love football. What does it mean to you? What does football mean in the grand scheme of life?
On its own, Gemini is a trivia addict. Sagittarius has meaning, but can lose track of the facts when they don’t align with Sagittarius’s grand vision.
Together, Gemini and Sagittarius keep each other honest.
Cancer/Capricorn: Healer and Hermit
Cancer and Capricorn are all about work/life balance.
Cancer is all about caring for the self. If Cancer wakes up with a sniffle, it immediately calls in sick and spends the day sipping tea and reading trashy novels.
Faced with the same decision, Capricorn will suck it up and get to work. It knows that there is work to be done, and it’s made sure to have an office at home, so it never have to skip out on its responsibilities.
Neither sign’s answer is right all the time. There are times when self-care is more important than whatever is waiting for you at work, and nurturing yourself is the order of the day. There are also times when you decide that what you’re trying to achieve is worth a little discomfort.
Together, Cancer and Capricorn help you achieve your goals and make sure there is a person there to enjoy the fruits of your labors when you get there.
Leo/Aquarius: Bard and Rebel
If Taurus and Scorpio are the Axis of Introversion, Leo and Aquarius are the Axis of Extroversion. Both of these signs are about being heard and seen, but they have different desires and needs.
Leo is the crowd pleaser. It is the person at the party who can the vibe in the room and raise the energy to the rafters. Leo is ruled by the sun. Like the sun, Leo wants everyone to feel warm and happy all the time.
Aquarius is the rebel. It has a natural aversion to group think and the kind of go-with-the-flow group energy that Leo likes to cultivate. While Leo likes to stand out and perform, its desire to be seen is fueled by the desire to emphasize the things we all have in common. Aquarius also likes to stand out, but this desire comes from the need to emphasize the ways in which we are all different.
Leo’s ability to get people working together in groups is essential if humanity is ever going to manage to do anything difficult, but Aquarius’s need to go against the flow ensures that the ship of state doesn’t sail off a cliff of good feeling, and it helps society make sure that what is (or seems to be) good for the majority doesn’t come at the expense of the minority.
Virgo/Pisces: Hacker and Mystic
Virgo is one of those most difficult signs to classify. As an introverted sign, Virgo plays its cards close to its chest, and so people only tend to see the effects of Virgo’s thoughts, not the thoughts themselves. This gives Virgo a reputation for being a picky perfectionist, when Virgo’s desire is simply to see the things around them work properly, to manifest the ideal in the physical world.
This desire to manifest the ideal comes from the natural relationship between Virgo and Pisces. Pisces is the sign of the mystic. It lives in the realm of dreams and possibilities. Enchanted by the dreams of Pisces, Virgo is inspired to get down to brass tacks. It can see what needs to be done to bring these dreams into reality, and it is so charmed by the possibility, it is willing to do what it takes to see those dreams exist.
Without Virgo’s practical bent, Pisces’ dreams would stay dreams forever. Without Pisces’s inspiration, Virgo would be lost, seeing all the things that are wrong without a vision for how to fix them.
Now It’s Your Turn
What polarities do you resonate with? Do you find that you identify with one side more than the other?
I would love to hear about your experiences on Instagram. You can find me there @adapembroke.
