Updating astrology for the modern world is an ongoing enterprise.
At one of my professional astrology discussion forums online, someone posted the following question: “I have many clients who are Gay. They are always asking me what are the indicators of Gay people in a chart. I know a few that I have seen such as South Node conj Mercury and Venus retro, but I know there has to be more. Does anyone here know of any other indicators that would show a person would be Gay?”
I just want to say “No, no, no, no, no!”
To start with, a few years ago, I posted a blog (http://wp.me/pJ9hq-2T) discussing gender, and pointed out “there is nothing in the chart that indicates the client’s gender. A man’s chart looks exactly the same as a woman’s chart.” So if that’s true, then how could a chart indicate same sex preferences, when gender isn’t even addressed?
Part of the issue here depends on whether being homosexual is still regarded as “not normal” culturally. As I understand it, the Ancient Greeks did not even have a word for “homosexuality,” which implies they felt sexuality was sexuality, regardless of the gender of the people involved.
Traditional astrology regarded the placement of Venus in the 12th house (unconscious awareness, secrets, hidden enemies, etc.) as a potential for “hidden love.” Years ago I had a gay client who was pleasantly surprised by that information (he had a 12th house Venus) but he was 75 years old at the time and had lived through almost his entire life having to keep his love hidden. But if society shifts enough to accept homosexuality, it is no longer a “love that dare not speak its name,” so that will change what kind of indicators to look for. Going back to the earlier example, a Venus in the 12th house can also imply love relationships that are not free and open for many other reasons. Perhaps a person is in love with a partner married to someone else and can’t get a divorce, or a partner that is incarcerated for 20 years, or a partner in another country that cannot immigrate.
Among other subjects, traditional astrology regards Venus as symbolic of the type of one-to-one relationships and/or partners a person will seek out. Mars represents the physical, sexual side of relationships. Neither of those planets suggest the gender of the people involved, whether male/female, male/male or female/female. We can tell who and why and what a person wants from love & sexuality, but not what sex they are. That alone is a telling concept about what we consider male and female roles in society. If we strip away all the cultural significance attached to the expected behavior of males and females in society, we would find two strong, intelligent capable sexes, with the only real differences being biological, not emotional or intellectual.
It is also my belief that we cannot find indicators of homosexuality in a person’s chart because there is nothing abnormal or deviant about it.