Robin and Maurice Gibb

Charts of twins (or of time twins) have always been a problem for astrology. Especially in our day and age that, due to the fact that caesarian sections have become very common, twins are very often born perhaps less than 4 minutes apart, the time required for a change of one zodiacal degree. It is one of the arguments people very often use to discredit astrology.

So what do we do wih these charts? Even fixed stars seem unable to solve the issue in many cases, if we allow a small orb. We don't get much help either from twins themselves, who insist (sometimes too much) that they are completely different. There have been some approaches suggested by various astrologers (for example, in a chart with a Moon/Saturn opposition one twin tends to play the part of the Moon and the other the part of Saturn), but the validity of these theories remains to be seen.

In the case of the Gibb brothers we have no such problems as they were born 35 minutes apart. (22 December 1949, Douglas, Isle of Man, 03:15 -Robin and 03:50 -Maurice). Maurice died on January 1st, 2003 and Robin died yesterday. Both brothers died of problems with the intestines. Virgo and the 6th house rule intestines in astrology and in their charts, the 6th house is in Aries and its ruler, Mars, is in Virgo. Mars in Virgo, in general, is also associated with the belly (and legs). The fact that this Mars is at the end of Virgo makes it even more dangerous (see Richard Saunders).

What's even more impressive, is that both brothers - although nine years apart - died at the exact astrological time, when secondary progressed Ascendant was at 12o Sagittarius and progressed MC was conjunct Neptune! We can make an argument out of the Neptune/MC conjunction (Neptune is against material reality), but still it's not very convincing as a stand-alone factor. Even in modern astrology, we would have preferred Pluto, for example, who, by the way is conjunct the natal MC of the two charts.

What about the progressed Ascendant degree? What's so special about it? It's still quite far from squaring Saturn and it sextiles natal Venus, Robin's 8th house ruler, but not Maurice's, whose 8th hosue ruler is Mercury. Even if that were the case, a simple sextile isn't much of a testimony.

The interesting thing about that degree is that it's the degree of the Nodes. The natal Nodes are on the Aries/Libra axis and there's a theory that says that the degree of the Nodes is generally critical/important in all of the signs.  I haven't tested this theory and I cannot vouch for its validity. The twins' progressed Ascendant trines/sextiles the natal nodal axis.Wouldn't a conjunction be preferable? Probably.

Still, it's pretty impressive isn't it? The "coincidence" of it!

Venus in Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - the air signs

Venus is not averse to air. The element of air contains moisture - hence a desire and an ability to connect - and the goddess of love is all about connection, bringing people or things together. Venus is not in detriment or fall in any of the air signs, but, in fact, rules one of them, the sign of Libra. So, is this not a bad Venus to have? It depends on what your views are about love.

Venus in Libra: This is what relationships are, at least that's what astrology tells us they are. I know many of you don't like it, but this it. Suck it up. A relationship has nothing to do with passionate love either of the firey excitement kind or the watery emotional kind. A relationship is about two people who are attracted to each other and decide to sit down and talk about their separate needs and wants, trying to meet halfway. Excitement quickly passes and so does grand passion, which leaves you no option but to walk out on the other person when all this is spent. No, Venus in Libra doesn't want that. "Can I make a relationship last?" That's what she asks herself. "Why should I go from person to person having the same result every time?" Excitement doesn't work, neither does passion. What does work? Rules. Libra is the sign where Saturn is exalted and loves the laying-down of rules, which, if respected, can make sure a relationship lasts. And the two most fundamental rules of all are communication and compromise, because this means that you love the other person enough to want to know how they feel and to be willing to make some sacrifices for their sake. Passionate love is very self-centred and equals ignorance, because you are not really in love with the other person, but instead you are in love with how they make you feel. According to Venus in Libra, that's not love.

Venus is Aquarius: Here communication and compromise take precedence while attraction is not that important. In Aquarius, Venus becomes much more impersonal. Both Libra and Aquarius have a problem with the Sun. The Sun is in fall in Libra and in detriment in Aquarius. So there are no "special people" for these two signs. However, Libra is ruled by Venus and at least Venus there says "You may not be someone special, but I"m attracted to you specifically", Venus in Aquarius can't say even that. The problem with this Venus is that for quite a lot of people love requires a consious choice of another human being and this is very rarely the case with Venus in Aquarius. It may be objective in a sense (What's so special about any of us, after all?), but when you get involved with this Venus, after a while you start resenting the fact that you are just "any other person" and that you don't seem to be high on your loved one's list of preferences. If he/she has one, that is. The problem quite often is that other people feel duped. Venus in Aquarius wants to connect (Aquarius is a moist sign) and it's a fixed sign, which means that she's not against lasting relationships. So, there is indeed a willigness to form relationships. Still, this very annoying air of detachment that this Venus carries, make other people wonder: "What the hell do you want a relationship for?"  

Venus in Gemini: Of the three airy Venuses, this is perhaps the most problematic. Venus can become friends with Saturn, but not so with Mercury, Gemini's ruler. It's a "better" Venus than the one in Virgo, where Mercury is particularly strong, but still, she doesn't feel at ease in Gemini. Gemini is about communication, but without the rules. Mercury is famous for his lack of morality, which is a valuable asset when it comes to knowledge (there is no right or wrong in knowledge and everything should be accessible to everyone), but in relationships this can be a problem, because there is no sense of commitment. Venus in Gemini is curious about love. Not in the same way as Venus in Sagittarius wants to experience love (as part of a greater scheme of things), but knowledge for knowledge's sake. Gemini is famous for wanting to learn as many things as possible, but doesn't want to do anything with them afterwards. Unlike Virgo, Gemini doesn't want quality, but quantity. So, Venus in Gemini often finds it difficult to stay faithful, because there are so many other people out there! Which also means that she 's not interested in learning everything there is to know about the other person. Knowing something in depth requires so much time and effort that Geminis prefer to spend it somewhere new.