Demystifying Astrology: What Is A Conjunction?
Astrology for beginners
When two planets are near each other as pictured they are considered “conjunct”. Last week I had a client who knew some astrology and was asking after her Venus which was in Pisces.
Her Venus was in Pisces but her Mars was also in Pisces and tightly conjunct so I had to explain that with planets this close together in a chart there is no way they can operate independently. It’s akin to being conjoined twins. Wherever one goes the other is there and this is case every minute of every day.
As an example, I have Mars conjunct Mercury which I mention on this incessantly. Mercury rules the mind and Mars refers to raw male energy. Mercury is already fast, Mars is like adding steroids and I cannot separate these functions. If you tell me to think (Mercury) slow, I will be pissed (Mars). My writing is masculine, it’s assertive and full of sex. I am not capable of cowardly thinking or writing like a girl.
On the flip when a person is angry they come at you with their Mars. In my case, Mercury is attached to Mars so I am going to attack you with my Mercury-ruled mind or my mouth. I am going to say things or write things. I may smash your vehicle, like I did the soldier’s motorcycle or perhaps I will run you over with mine. 
You know those women who grab onto a man’s car as he’s leaving (Oprah Winfrey tells a story of doing this when she was young)? Well I am not like that. I have actually kicked the bumper of a man’s car as it’s leaving ala “Get the hell out of here, you’re not leaving fast enough!”
Do you what I am getting at here? If I am going to fight (Mars), Mercury will be included in some form. There just no way to separate these functions so if you have a conjunction in your chart you have a situation like this as well. The energy of the planets involved in the conjunction are married to each other for good or ill and till death do they part and they do not function independently at all.
Can more than 2 planets be conjunct?
Of course! The planets were where they were when you were born and it they were right on top each other when you were born, so be it. I will discuss the orbs next. Meantime…
Do you have a tight (by degree) conjunction in your chart? Tell us about it!
pictured, Saturn conjunct Pluto in Leo and if you have read all these beginner posts you should have known that…
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72 Responses to “Demystifying Astrology: What Is A Conjunction?”
Mars conjunct Saturn (kind of wide)
Sun exactly conjunct Mercury
Also, Jupiter conjunct MC but I don’t know if that counts since it’s not a planet.
How big of orbs do you use? Do you use different sized orbs depending on what planet is involved?
Sun/MC/S Node are conj 1 deg.
Mars conj Asc
Merc conj Neptune - boy I’d like to trade your Merc conj Saturn for a couple days bew LOL.
Maybe for a couple of days, Jilly! But long term, you might find that you remain unknown. I “hide my light under a bushel.”
Elsa, I have Mercury conjunct Mars (like you) but also Mercury conjunct Saturn. Does Saturn’s restrictions negate Mars impact on Mercury?
Sun Conjunct Mercury 7°37
Mercury Conjunct Mars 2°48
Jupiter Conjunct Saturn 0°34
Is the orb what shows how close something is? If so, that would mean that my jupiter/saturn conjunction is the tightest right?
bew it does not negate it… you just have to blend all three. That combo is like a racing engine with the brake on.
Jilly, that will be the next blog.
none of the major bodies are conjunct.
have venus/eris
and the sun/south node
(in different parts of aries)
and loose conjunctions with the midheaven (jupiter) and the nadir (neptune)
but that’s it. no heavyweights pairing up. i hardly even have anything in the same sign or house (with the exception of the eighth/aries.)
oh, and saturn/pallas.
i have to resort to astroids and the like to find my conjunctions 
i guess maybe that implies a certain potential for balance? maybe
In the 5th house: Mars and N.Node in Leo conj. with Jupiter in Virgo
Asc. conj. Sun in Aries
DC. conj. Pluto in Libra
Since Mars was the example used for this conjunction… does this mean that when I get pissed, I tend to blow the situation up larger than it is (Jupiter is expansion, right)? I guess I must be pretty explosive as I have a uranus squaring this Mars/Jupiter!
I see - thanks Elsa. So, it’s like no sounds are coming out, even though my lips keep a flappin’ really fast.
Sun and Merc. conj. 4th house Scorpio.
Saturn and Uranus conj. 10th house Taurus.
Moon conjunct Neptune. Both in Scorpio. I could go on and on about how this manifests, for good and for ill, but lately I’ve been seeing in snippets how some of my visions, dreams, or flashes of insight tend to manifest for real years later.. hard to grasp and hard to explain this without sounding scary to others. Sometimes this conjunct scares ME! I feel like I have to be really responsible with this energy. Geez. I have one hell of a chart…
Fifth house:
Moon conj. Pluto
Moon conj. Saturn
Sixth house:
Sun conj. Neptune
Neptune conj. Venus
Venus conj. Mercury
Very tight saturn merc conjunction (they are right on top of each other)
Mars venus uranus conjunction, but with more space in between.
I LOVE this class.
Mercury conj. Pluto in Libra (1 degree apart) - I think about death, sex, my words are alternately hurtful or healing, I’ve been known to be obsessive and prying, but I feel like I have really good access to deep insights.
Sun (Libra) conj. Uranus (Scorpio), so applying. I have said before, I’m kind of thankful if being out-of-sign mitigates this one at all, because the flashes of autonomy are disruptive at times. I feel this one.
Mars conj. Asc in Cancer (1 degree apart) I’m still puzzling this one out. The Asc is supposed to be where you really identify with the quality, but I don’t feel so Mars-y. Maybe because it’s Cancer, all sideways-like.
this is interesting, because i never went to look specifically for conjunctions. thanks, e!
i’ve got a few…
merc conj. uranus 23d (weird ideas out of nowhere)
merc conj. pluto 58d
uranus conj. pluto 35d
mars conj neptune 26d (can’t stay mad!)
Jessica - I also have Mars in a water sign (Pisces in my case) and like you, am a Cancer Ascendant. I’ve seen Elsa describe Mars in Pisces as like shooting arrows under water (which fits for me.) Thus, I’d think you’d be right to anticipate that Cancer has some impact on how you experience your Mars, too.
SUN conj SATURN (Exact degree) - I have always been shy. Hate being on stage or public speaking or anything like that. Am really hard on myself, creatively. Rarely 100% happy with myself.
JUPITER conj NEPTUNE (1 degree orb) - in my first house. this is opposite my sun-saturn.. sometimes I can totally let go, be mentally/emotionally open and have wild crazy experiences. Also gets me into trouble when I cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
MERCURY conj VENUS (2 degrees)- on my descendant/6th house. I work as an artist. I don’t deal well with conflict or arguments.
Moon conj N-Node (2 degrees)- I am not sure what this means even after Googling it…
This is a great exercise!
Pluto conjucnt uranus in virgo 4th house.
oops. i put degrees and i think it should have been minutes. the ones i picked were all 0 degrees… sorry!
Sun conj Mercury - I talk/write a loooooooooooooooot!! lol (oh, and I really like the sound of my own voice, too…no surprise these are in Aries, huh?)
Venus conj Mars, which is also conj Saturn - The first part: I’m very passionate about everything; the 2nd part: I don’t always get what I want lol
Moon conj Pluto - I can be deep when I want to be; I like heavy-duty emotions; I’m attracted to people who are deep…or can provide me with “emotionally reaming” experiences (heh)
I forgot Uranus/Pluto. God forbid you ignore Pluto.
5th House tight Venus/Saturn, Mercury/Saturn conjunctions; Sun/Mercury a little looser, Venus/Mercury a lot looser. So restricted communication, though very honest. Really, it’s hard to pick apart which aspects of this stellium are firing at given moments. It’s fair to say that for me self-expression, love, and security all work together.
“Conjunction junction what’s your function?”
Sorry I just dated myself! LOL
Sun conjunct Mercury
Uranus/Pluto/Moon
Saturn conjunct Chiron
I have Moon-Neptune, which makes me a chronic daydreamer. And I usually have some kind of music playing around me. And the Moon-Neptune is conjunct my descendant. I also have Venus-Jupiter in the same degree in the 7th house. I guess this makes me really like people? Not sure… And I have Saturn-Vertex (not sure if that counts). I also have Moon-Mercury but they’re 5 degrees apart.
The most noticeable ones for me are Moon-Neptune-Descendant and Venus-Jupiter.
Let’s see here:
Capricorn - 5th House
Neptune Jupiter and Venus strung together in a funny little threesome.
Neptune Jupiter 2 degrees
Neptune Venus 9 degress
Jupiter Venus 7 degrees
Then in Scorpio - 3rd House
Pluto Mars 9 degrees
Mars Saturn 4 degrees
LOL Tam, I dated myself too, by enjoying that…
ah yes, bew!
Uranus conj Saturn in the 12th house, Uranus = 29°42′ Sag and Saturn = 0°26′ Cap
Mercury conj Venus in 6th house Gemini, Mercury = 26°24′ and Venus = 27°17′
lol new, flapping lips.
I have Uranus conjunct Jupiter (1 degree apart) in the 5th house in Cancer. Uranus/Jupiter conj. has been referred to as the “thank god aspect” in a lot of the books I have read and I think it is very true for me. It means that when I am in some kind of gigantic icky mondo mess (whether or not of my own creation), right at the very very Very last minute, something jumps in there and saves me in a flash. And in a real major way. This aspect really is the saving grace of my chart (according to me, lol)
NN is conjunct the MC and the point of fortune, all very close together in Sag.
Dec. is conjunct vertex 1 deg
Mercury and the sun are conjunct in the second house about 6 degrees apart, but still close enough for mercury to be combust by the sun. I have all kinds of issues with speaking (merc)
oh yeah and south node conjunct the IC (4th cusp). I have moved hundreds of times already.
Loon - South Node and IC conjunct here as well, and LOTS of moves.
Moon conjunct Jupiter (0°18) in Aries in 7th house – I feel lucky in love. Throw in a conjunction (6°16) to Chiron and a wide (9°36) and out-of-sign conjunction to Mars, and the situation gets a bit confused. When my emotions are involved, I tend to get combative (Mars) to cover up my wounds (Chiron).
Pluto conjunct Ascendant (4 degrees) – I am EXTREMELY private. My worst fear used to be inviting someone over, because I was afraid they’d never leave. And then what would I do?
me three. that was funny! no planet conjunctions- the heavies mostly sit at the angles… mars ic, saturn dc, pluto or uran mc (depends on house system??) and venus ac. so conjunct planets would be like kinetic energy vs. angles conj. planets are like static + kinetic taking alot of initial force to get them moving? as by the planets conjunct not tied to angles are just dancing?
mercury conjunct pluto in scorpio(1 degree)/12H:
I have a lot of difficulties verbally expressing my thoughts. I get tongue-tied when i’m under the spotlight. And i prefer to have intimate conversations between 2-3 ppl, rather than talking in a big group about nothing much. My mercury feels like a nocturnal animal. I also like to look for hidden messages behind what people say (even when there isn’t any).
saturn conjunct asc(6 degrees):
I never think i’m good enough, one little thing can bring me down.
moon conjunct uranus/1H:
My mind is restless. I always have thought roller coasters in my head.
moon conjunct neptune/1H:
I live in my head a lot.
Sun conjunct Mercury in Gemini/9th by about 2 degrees. Can be summed up with lot of writing, a bit of over-thinking because what the hell is true?
Mars (in 12th) conjunct Ascendant in Libra by a degree. I’m tougher than I look. Impatient and easily disgusted. Would rather hang out with guys. Hate being compared to anyone else because I’m a motherfucking individual. Music galore.
Moon conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio/1st by a degree. I’ll be in my spaceship watching Ghost Hunters, thanks.
Came in late to this but I have mentioned this before. I have Venus direct conjunction Uranus in Leo. I also have sun leo but not conjunct these two planets. I think my life should be a little more interesting with this aspect, but well, it is not. Sigh.
I have Mars-Venus-Pluto all within six degrees of each other. Mars and Venus are one degree apart.
My Sun-Merc-Saturn are within eight degrees, although Saturn is out-of-sign and sometimes house depending on what system you use.
I’m not bothering with the angles here, even though they do count, just because I don’t want to list it all. *lol*
Sun/Mars in Leo, two degrees
Venus/Pluto in Virgo, four degrees
Venus/Uranus, out-of-sign Virgo/Libra, six degrees
Moon/Jupiter in Libra, nine degrees
Jupiter/DSC, exact
Lis, I’m curious about that Jupiter/DSC contact. Would you say you get relationships easily or that your relationships tend to expose you to new things?
That would be the cookbook explanation, yo.
What all that means: I’m bossy, sassy, speak my mind; fall in love deeply but can’t be around the one I love all the time or I go nuts; generous with affection and the ones I love, sometimes too generous. All of these conjunctions fall in the 5th and 6th houses, except Jupiter, which is just into the 7th.
*LOL*
Nevahmind, Lis. hehehe…
Comment down! Send all available units! *snicker*
Let’s see. Yeah, that Jupiter also explains why I had a lot of relationships instead of just one steady one that lasted for years. How was I going to try anything out if I was in something like that?
I’ve also seen Jupiter there described as the “freedom/closeness dilemma”. People who have it want to do their own thing while having a relationship. It doesn’t make much sense, but that’s definitely me. Put this together with Venus/Uranus, and I need an unstructured relationship. I would have gone bananas if I was in one of those “I married my HS boyfriend” deals.
I’ve also had friendships and relationships with men from other countries (also falling under Jupiter’s rule). They were fascinating, very eye-opening, and expanded (Jupiter!) my views.
I have Sun conj. Mercury in Leo in the 10th. I’m an overthinker for sure. What to say next? How will I present this? What is the best thing to say to get my message accross, without offending/hurting anybody’s feelings? I think a lot about the future and my place in this world. And with these two conjunct in Leo, I am crazy animated when I talk.
My husband has Sun and Venus right on top of eachother in Aquarius in 7th. He’s very idealitic and passive. But I have Venus sq. Neptune, so we live in lala land together lol =)
Thanks!
Whew — something must be sinking in, finally.
Aww…I just noticed, my daughter has sun and venus right on top of eachother in the 7th house just like her daddy. Pretty cool.
Oh! and thank you so much Elsa!! You’re amazing and I <3 you to pieces. Or you’re hollogram at least! haha…see, I’m learning a lot here.
sun conj. merc. conj. venus in Cancer.
I guess my mind and my attractiveness and my money issues AND my man issues are all tied to a bigass Ego. And it’s all so weepy lol.
mars conjunct mercury in leo,
And saturn conjunct venus, in gemini for me,
I’m dating someone who has mars, uranus and pluto conjunct in the 7th… oh help! He also has sun conjunct mercury and jupiter in gemini, that’s the best part! And saturn conjunct his pisces asc.
My children’s charts are conjunction rich and stellenium city:
my youngest has my mars/merc, but in her fathers sun sign of virgo, and moon/jupiter in virgo as well, She also has venus/asc. and that lovely glow
my middle child has 5 planets in the 7th house, (including her sun.)Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury are conjunct in Gemini… her sun is a little scooted down so she is a taurus (aww…cute)
My oldest has moon/pluto/venus conjunct in Sagg, (as the mother I take a couple deep breaths over this) and his sun and merc are conjunct in Capricorn.
God that was fun! Thanks Elsa!
Ooooooohhh… I am just putting together the pieces of my conjunctions, and I finally understand the bloody Neptune transit conjunct my sun that I’ve been stuck in for years. I can’t wait for the orbs dicussion.
Pluto conjunct Jupiter in virgo-2 degrees
8th house-(this doesn’t sound good)
Sun conjunct Saturn in Taurus-a little farther 7
degrees, oh and in the third house.
My kids have:
My son has Sun/Merc in Cap, square Jupiter. He has boundless energy and overthinks everything. He also has Venus/Pluto in Sag.
My older daughter has a Sun/Merc/Pluto conjunction in Sag. All three are opposite Saturn. She’s very intense, a very good artist, and painfully shy.
My baby daughter (she’s 5, the baby of the family ) has Venus/Pluto in Sag, which is in a t square with a Mars/Jupiter opposition. She has tons and tons of energy, and is a joy to be around.
Interestingly enough, her Mars/Jupiter opposition is in the same signs as her dad’s Mars/Jupiter…Mars in Pisces, Jupiter in Virgo. Perfect example of aspects being inherited. Same with Venus/Pluto…I have the conjunction, and Dad has the square.
She also has a Moon/Saturn conjunction in Cancer. I was worried about this, but it’s part of a Water Grand Trine (Mars and her Scorpio Sun). She’s a really sweet, loving girl, behind her wild side (her t square), and this is where it comes from.
Sun conj. Jupiter: 0°35
If Juno matters then:
Juno conj. Venus: 0°46
“Uranus/Jupiter conj. has been referred to as the “thank god aspect””
Though I have not heard this before I concure.
I have a stellium in Scorpio, of Sun (3deg), Mercury(5deg) and Pluto(9deg), 8th house. I talk alot but perhaps write better than i talk. People often talk of the Scorpions as revengeful, and well if i’m to take revenge, its to be in my Plutonic words. =P
Another stellium in 10th of Neptune, Uranus and Moon. Saturn widely conjuncts MC (9deg) and Uranus too. All in 10th. Its seems kinda complicated and i dont really understand the effects of this conjunction.. but Well my chart looks pretty simple >__<
(with only Jupiter as singleton in the bottom half..)
Apparently my sun and Venus conjunct mars. My sun is in Pisces, my Venus is in Pisces and my mars is in Aries, all tightly clumped together in the 9th house.
Don’t know what this means, other than that….whatever I do, I do with 100% intensity, maybe?
Luci, that sounds like it could be a very very spiritual combination in the 9th house. does that fit? Are you one to travel a lot, or yearn to travel?
I’d love to travel, but unfortunately, my finances and responsibilities don’t allow for it right now. 
Sun pluto uranus conjunction in Virgo in the 10th. Also Neptune in Scorp conjunct ascendant in Scorp. Not your ordinary everyday shiny happy over here.
sun conjunt moon in 6th pisces
saturn in cap conjunct jupiter in aqu. in 4th
wondering about saturn/jupiter…does this mean luck lightens duty or does duty damper luck… and the fact that they sit right there on the 4th 5th house cusp in cap and aquar….so this is it, joined at the hip …be serious, get a life…i guess it’s the balancing act….(your cap. henry on his hands brings a smile now)
& thx 4 all these beginner blogs!!
Lindsey - saturn/jupiter is a big deal. It is a teacher/preacher aspect and there is a whole book (transcript) by Arroyo and Liz Greene from a conference during the conjunction.
Saturn and Jupiter are a natural pair and people who have this conjunction invariably have something to say.
Hey, I have jupiter and saturn conjunct 1 orb (did I say that right?) I didn’t think it meant anything..lol. Interesting, I’d like to learn more about it.
loons thanks for pointing out the SNéIC conjunction (sorry I canèt work this keyboard out). I have a zillion times, ugh.
mars and venus are 3 degrees apart. for me having a sexual connection with my SO is a requisite for happiness as being a part of a couple (otherwise Ièd just be your friend!)
Uranus conjunct Midheaven, um 3 degrees apart I think. Definitely a wild card in a lot of ways, though my earth keeps me from being too crazy.
Mercury 5 degrees conjunct Chiron in Taurus. No surprise the best compliment in my life was from a stranger who told me that they could really feel like I was listening and cared about what they thought. People talk to me about what is important to them and Ièm happy about it because I genuinely love people. I am very interested in people cultivating self-love.
i meant iève moved a lot. i hate this keyboard and mercury rx!!!
I have Sun/Saturn at 2 degrees in 1H
Whee!
Mars conjunct Ascendant/leo, uranus conjunct pluto, jupiter conjunct chiron, mars conjunct north node. hmm, uranus has to operate with pluto in virgo - what does that mean? and Jupiter has to operate with chiron, no idea.
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Venus conjunct Jupiter, both in Aries
Sun conjunct Mars (both in Pisces)
Mars conjunct Mercury
Mercury conjunct Saturn