Libra, Love, and Astrology

The houses in astrology are like little rooms for keeping track of planetary and sign placements. The house divisions have been in existence since ancient times. No one really has a good explanation for the symbolism of the houses, but they must have some useful function since they are still around.

Each house is ascribed with the name of a sign as an overall characteristic of that house. The seventh house is ruled by Libra, which signifies relationships.

The Astrology Symbol - Scales of Libra and the Keeper of the Relationship

Having married later in life, the relationships I stumbled through during the single days were quite a lesson. Then, as if overnight, I found myself in a new life cycle of being in a successful, long-term marriage relationship. Side by side these two life periods could be a reflection of one another in terms of reaping life's wisdom.

What I always say to single people, who are in that phase of searching for the right mate, is that the search is somewhat a matter of odds. A certain amount of wrong experiences increases self-knowledge, and provides a clearer picture of what to look for in that special significant other, too. When Libra astrology is anywhere in a chart it has a significant impact.

In that search for the perfect mate, I had two problems. The uppermost problem was being too trusting. The second problem was in always feeling that I had to prove myself to a potential significant other. In retrospect, I see a third problem to add to the list.

The first two factors combined and resulted in me taking on the responsibility of being the caretaker of the relationship. Here's what such a responsibility entails:

1.) Rush in and solve all the problems. Put out fires before they happen.

2.) Do public relations to make sure that all interactions have a smooth flow.

3.) Spend a lot of mental energy analyzing, watching over, and keeping all aspects of the relationship in tact.

After so many failed relationships, I got angry. In turn any prospective suitor went under the harshly lit glare of my critical assessments.

Whenever they showed me the slightest error of their ways, they were cast from "grace." Show up late for a date - goodbye. Don't put the napkin in the right place when dining out - nevermore. But I had gone overboard with assertiveness.

At some point after this, I magically met the love of my life. He saw me in the driveway fixing a rusty part of my car with epoxy resin. Auto body repair was my learn-something-new-challenge, and I had never done this before.

When he stopped to talk, I found him quite charming. He touched lightly, like a butterfly and was soon on his way. Long story shortened - we became husband and wife not too long afterward.

It takes two - one on either side of Libra's balanced scales. Astrology helped with learning these things about myself.

For the better part of the marriage I stayed in the habit pattern of feeling that I had to be the caretaker of the relationship. Some of this may have come from cultural conditioning.

Growing older, I was struck by the realization that there were more important issues to address in the scheme of things. I gradually started dedicating my energy to other areas - things that I wanted to do before my life is over. It felt as though I had more or less pulled the rug out from under my husband. Or so I thought.

He was a little befuddled about the change, but surprisingly, he adapted well. He may have been a little lost, when he came into the room one day announcing how many years we had been married. In anticipation of our upcoming anniversary - he was the one who reminded me!

Gradually, the care taking responsibility became balanced. Nothing is ever an exact fifty-fifty situation in a relationship, but the point is that it is now a shared responsibility. From the first anniversary reminder, he kept finding more and more ways to contribute to the well being of our matrimonial union.

Of course, practice makes perfect, but I believe the reciprocal factor actually contributed to self-esteem on both of our parts. For me to take up the entire caretaker role, I must have made him feel like a bit of a slouch. More than this I was inadvertently indicating that he didn't have the ability to contribute to this end.

Astrology elements of Venus, the ruling planet of Libra, and the balancing scale help to sort out thoughts at the very least. The seventh house is fascinating no matter how nebulous the house system of astrology may be.