How Do Oppositions Work?

If a person has an opposition in their chart is is impossible for them to act both sides of it simultaneously.The reason is the energies are opposite each other. This would be akin to being generous and cheap at the same time. It can’t be done!

You can be generous and then cheap and then generous, though. This is exactly what people with oppositions do. They act one side of the opposition (projecting the other) and then they flip positions.

Years ago I attended a workshop with astrologer, Tracy Marks. She explained, if you acted one end of a person’s opposition, they would have little choice (it would force them) to act the other end.

For example, if a person has a Virgo/Pisces opposition and you start nit-picking, they will go all universal on you.

On the other hand, if you are all fogged out, they’ll start picking out the details.

This is disturbing but factual.

Do you have an opposition in your chart? Tell us about it.

149 thoughts on “How Do Oppositions Work?”

  1. Pluto in Leo in seventh opposes my Aquarius Ascendant. I have been known to burn relationships to the ground and resurrect them or sit on the fence and act out my distancing needs. Can’t breathe without freedom, yet don’t care for my partner to be too free of me. Being partnerless works well for me.

  2. I have some serious ones I think open for comment please Moon Neptune and Venus all opposing Saturn in Taurus. And Sun in Libra opposing Chiron in Aries. I know that my Venus is in Fall its in the third house with all those other planets and I’m well aware of the effects of a Scorpio Moon. I work on it daily!

  3. Aren’t there positive oppositions though? Like the green lines in astro.com are they positive oppositions I always wondered that?

  4. Interesting way to put it Elsa. Love the info. So, if one has Mercury in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra…sometimes they would be very chatty and direct in their communication, (the merc in Aries side), and then other times they would be very uncommunicative and stoic and not at all social (Saturn in Libra). ? Usually i would have looked at Merc oppose Saturn as someone who took communicating very seriously or was afraid to communicate, but that would be more of a conjunction, not an opposition. Am i on the right track?

  5. Venus opposition Neptune (yeah, I do a lot of unrequited crushing as an escape) and Jupiter in Virgo opposition Midheaven (always setting overly ambitious goals)

  6. “I have heard that a person with a chart without any oppositions will have a hard time seeing other people’s perspectives, has anyone observed this to be true?”

    Not at all the case with me. But then I’m a Pisces with too much Libra/8th house 🙂

    I only have one opposition in my chart, and it’s Jupiter in Scorpio opposite Chiron in Taurus. I read somewhere that this can make emotional pain sometimes unbearable to cope with? I find this to be true on occasion, but otherwise I’m not sure how to read this aspect.

    Any thoughts?

  7. How the heck did I miss this thread???

    Both of my oppositions is smack dab along the Horizon…. Pluto conjunct Ascendant to Moon-Chiron conjunct Descendant. Interesting food for thought.

  8. I’m thinkin my mars jup opposition pisces to virgo may get some middle of the road balance because of jupiter’s (in virgo) rulership of pisces. (And both mars and jupiter are in weakest position and have a fair spread of degrees.) If I am not connected to the depths of my soul my spirit will run amok. I’m working this. I think I can do it.

    It is a relief to know that perhaps I can give up on trying to balance the mh pluto opp to ic. That’s a rough one. It’s the fear I have about getting caught up in the busyness world again. I like to work. I like results. Deep into my work my spirit soars too. But I am afraid of losing touch with the soul journey by getting caught up in the busyness. And yes the drive can tear me away from home. I am searching for integration or a perspective on this. I have to maybe look at one supporting the other. Not sure. WIP as usual.

  9. If one has a grand cross, would the oppositions or the squares be stronger? I would assume that it would depend on the planets involved. In my case three personal planets and Pluto. As the chart ruler is involved I suppose that would have to carry extra weight, it is strongest by aspects.
    Anyone else with a grand cross? What’s your experience?

    1. Yes. Aquarius Saturn opposite Leo Moon/North Node, both square the opposition of Taurus Venus opposite Neptune Scorpio. Giving attention to one causes another to be neglected. Tough heart wounds growing up. With the Saturn/Neptune square, sometimes Saturn wins out and I get very responsible, mainstream, and “moral.” But when I go Neptune, boundaries blur, I may have otherworldly spiritual experiences, or just march to the beat of a different drummer.

  10. Tara Smith, are you talking about the green dotted lines on astro.com? Those are quincunx aspects, also referred to as inconjunctions.

  11. Saturn in Taurus (5th) opposite Moon in Scorpio (11th). I always thought of my Moon being dampened by Saturn (ex. depression being a common manifestation of this aspect).

    Haven’t thought about switching energies back and forth. I don’t really have a “feel” for Saturn in Taurus, whereas I’m very aware of the traits of my Scorpio Moon.

  12. OK I see that now I don’t use the default setting on the charts I use the astrodienst style. I think its much nicer. So that is an inconjunction. Thank you

  13. Question Pluto transit opposite my 10 house of Gemini. Can anyone shed some light? To me that sounds horrible yet I just became employed and I am doing fine with my new job. I thought that Pluto meant power over things but an opposition here would indicate the lack of power for this house?

  14. I have four, and pretty important too, from my Cap Sun and Venus conjunction to my Cancer Mars and Saturn conjunction (and all four form t-squares to my Jupiter/Juno exact, and to my Chiron, all in Libra).

    To say I can appear inconsistent (esp with Uruanus in Gem on the MC) would be an understatement. It’s very difficult to learn to work such a clusterfuck of oppositions.

    And it’s very hard to other people to understand that I can only be full on / full steam, or ‘resting’. As a result I could only work freelance – I can’t handle 9 to 5 salaried employment for very long: my energy comes in huge bursts then vanishes completely.

    I also have an exact opposition BML to my Moon, which I felt though all my sexually active years very keenly: what fed and satisfied my Moon rarely fed my BML, and vice versa…. difficult!

  15. Mars 0 degrees Gemini, Neptune 0 degrees Sag exact opposition. I vacillate between wanting to violently avenge injustice and Jesus-like forgiveness.

  16. “For example, if a person has a Virgo/Pisces opposition and you start nit-picking, they will go all universal on you.”

    LOL
    True. My ex used to smother and mock my Libra Moon and he earned a fair share of Martian rage in return (I have Mars-Moon in opposition). : (

  17. Taurus Venus exactly opposite Scorpio Neptune. When I fall in love, it’s all-consuming and overly idealized.

  18. I have a stellium in Scorpio (Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, plus Neptune 1 degree away) opposed by natal Saturn. I struggled for many years, but in the end it made me stronger. On A more positive note, one of my very best friends of over 25+ years is a Cancer sun which opposes my Capricorn sun, yet we magically understood one another and had an unbreakable bond. Opposites don’t always have to be bad. Sometimes they can complement one another.

  19. Sun, Saturn & Pluto opposite my Moon & the only oppositions in my chart.
    My femininity is not very expressive (even to me) & I’m not comfortable at all about it. Makes for a big lack of confidence in that area. (And I mean BIG)
    Luckily this Moon is trine Uranus & Mars, sextile Jupier. Otherwise, I don’t know how I could’ve managed this sh*t.
    (And even so, did not manage very well!)

  20. Venus and Neptune (Scorpio, 2nd) oppose Saturn (in Taurus). I also have Sun/moon/Asc/Uranus (Libra, 1st) in opposition to Chiron in Aries.

  21. Avatar
    James Slattery

    I laughed out loud at this being a Pisces Ascendant and South Node in Aries. I used to be universal and self directed but favour the nit picking and letting others take the lead as I get older! I attract who I used to be! Hilarious

  22. heck, i devil’s advocate myself. (uranus/mercury.) it helps keep me feel balanced. but drives some people crazy…
    i’m not really sure how the pluto/venus one works, though.

  23. Uranas with a strong opp. to Chiron. It says in my Time Passages app that I have a creative and inventor’s mind but I can arbitrarily change subjects in conversations and that I would be good in yhe healing professions but also get stuck in the worry of not fitting in and then will show flashes of conservatism. All true!

  24. I think it’s a helpful aspect once you’re older, myuch older and have learned to kick the knee jerk behaviour of ‘being the opposite’. Helps you have a very broad view. The opposition chart holders – as they start to mature- are forever trying hard to balance the scales of their opposite qualities to work with the changing external environment without creating internal imbalances, so that you either find someone to express the opposite or if you are ‘in balance’ then be forced to take the opposie stance as mentioned in Elsa’s post.
    But as kids a lot of them as considered flip-floppers because of this 🙂

  25. Saturn opposite Venus and Mercury, on the ascendant/descendant axis.
    Mars opposite Neptune. Lately misdirected anger or people pushing my buttons has been part of my daily routine.
    Jupiter loosely opposite Pluto, forming a loose grand square with Saturn, Venus and Mercury in the Cardinal signs. Showing people how sad, lonely, angry and heartbroken i am since my boyfriend and i broke up is not something i’ve been able or maybe willing to do.

  26. I have Pluto/Saturn opposite Venus. I find that the trine my Venus makes to Neptune (saturn/pluto would be sextile making a wedge formation) really helps to soften up the harshness with this aspect. It’s like a saving grace…it helps the energies blend together. Nit to say that I don’t experience whst comes with that opposition. There has definitely been some themes in my life where I put off the blame of “they’re too cold, harsh, tyranical…etc”. I just think Neptune really helps me disolve the projections easier (I tend to go all spacey and “forget”) and makes my partners a little nicer in general…def not pure tyrants…there is a sweetness or dipomatic way about them too.

    Anyway, if you have an opposition, check if the planets make other aspects…there could be an outlet or another planet to help keep them more in balance

  27. This is a good point, la_sirena.

    “Anyway, if you have an opposition, check if the planets make other aspects…there could be an outlet or another planet to help keep them more in balance”

    I have Uranus conjunct SN in my 10th house opposed to NN conjunct Chiron in the 4th. There has always been a competition between my professional life and my home life. Both had demanding obligations and it was tricky to find a balance between them. It was always a see-saw.

    Here’s an example of the problem. I have Thanksgiving in my home (4th house) every year. I have 15-20 people. I take that week as vacation and have people to cover for me. One year, things went wrong at work and they needed my help at the same time I was cooking dinner. They lost out, I mean, what else could I have done?

    This is where another aspect in my chart came in to save the day. It was my Mercury trine that Uranus in the 10th house. They were angry I didn’t drop everything, but I did come up with another solution to their problem.

  28. lol i have the virgo/pisces opposition ;p that makes sense, i nitpick and then go universal LOL i even have the 12th/6th house too.

  29. Pisces Sun conjuct Aries Mercury opposes Neptune in Libra, 5 degree orb). Yep! I nitpick and go universal. But doesn’t everyone? Is it avoidable, for reason alone that we cannot but think inductively and deductively? Saying this, I do not mean to be funny. Seriously. 🙂

    1. I get it. So if someone is being all universal you can go detail and if someone is coming onto you swallowed in detail you can go universal. It sounds like it keeps self and others balanced from going too far afield in either direction? So I take your comment seriously.

  30. Transits must work differently? Pluto has been opp to natal Venus. Back and forth for sometime now. Unbeknownst to me It has been slapping me from all directions until finally yesterday I got the message. This transit was in the back of my mind and I thought I was missing it. Just took a lot of scrubbing to realize what has been transacting. It’s a tendency I have and that tendency needs some tending. Very purifying.

    1. So appreciate your comments, Notch. “Allowing” for the back and forth on issues may be one of the greatest finesses we get to deal or ‘tend to our tendencies’ as you put it. My natal tendencies had no oppositions (so that would be the most 60 yrs of my 73 yrs.) The universe was getting me ready for this 30 yrs (progresses generally taking 30 yrs to move a sun sign etc…) But now, I have 8 oppositions going on. At first, and for awhile that totally FREAKED ME OUT (I’m Scorpio Fixed and Aquarius Fixed in progression Sun). But, recently the situations in my life are presenting the need to tend to those oppositions as a “this” AND “that” approach; like night does follow day and day does follow night applied to all those oppositions. It’s just not one set of opposites.
      Gravity. Just what makes it possible? Oppositions.

      1. Pluto oppositions to personal planets seems like a lot of pressure. Forceful. Heavy. When Pluto goes to Aquarius will opp Uranus. Not sure what that will be. Uranus opp Pluto almost killed me. Hang in there. We are tough old broads, right?

  31. Virgo Moon in 5th opposes Pisces Mars in the 11th. They t-square square chart ruler Gemini Venus in 2nd. 3 of 5 personal planets. Tend to back off, detach, discern and overthink. Mars grand trines Sun-Saturn. Moon trines ascendant. Venus trines Neptune. I can brush off nit picking as small or a bad day and try extremely hard not to do it myself.

  32. OMGosh, I’ve got Saturn in Capricorn (10th) opposing my Moon in Leo (5th) – O GOSH – DOES A LIGHT TURN ON FOR ME even to realize this. and then
    And old Jupiter in Capicron (11th) is opposing everyone almost: Uranus in Leo (6th), Pluto in Virgo(6th) and Venus in Virgo (6th).
    What does it mean – that I am one hot mess?

  33. Moon in Capricorn opposite Uranus in Cancer.
    I need a big traditional house (Jupiter in Capricorn in the 4th), but feel trapped if I have to stay home! (9th house Uranus)

Leave a Reply to Dawn Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Scroll to Top