What Are The Most Challenging Combinations In Astrology?

Some people have natal charts full of ease. Other charts show tremendous conflict. There are certain combinations that come up in charts which are really confounding to deal with.

As an example, people with a lot of Cancer and a lot of Aquarius have a hard time being both attached and detached. It’s hard to find a comfort zone because once you have shocked your family and/or rebelled Aquarius)… you miss your home food (Cancer).

What combinations of signs or aspects do you feel are particularly freaky to deal with and resolve.

62 thoughts on “What Are The Most Challenging Combinations In Astrology?”

  1. Avatar
    acaseofsunburn

    For me, it has been my sun square moon. The continual internal conflict is exhausting and confusing. I have little patience for any conflict or negotiation out side of myself, because there is so much conflict and on-going negotiation internally.

  2. I have Cap sun exact square Libra moon. The thing is that my moon is also in the 12th. For years it was like being deeply conflicted without recourse because if you asked me I didn’t have any feelings or needs. There was a time in my life where I could have said this and totally believed it. Evey thing in life was serious and practical or it didn’t need to exist(Cap.) Come a long way since then. This was extreme self denial because I’m highly highly creative and feminine (venus conjunct ascendent) but I didn’t really allow myself that due to serious responsibilities in the home and family related burdens. Interestingly my ascendent is exact on the midpoint between the sun moon so for some reason it gives me hope that there is a way to integrate all the conflicted parts of self. I’m very interested in sun sq moon for obvious reasons and would generally like to learn more about the midpoint. I’ll say though…the transcendence vids are really hitting a nerve so I think that might be a big part of the resolution.

  3. acaseofsunburn, I totally resonate with the permanent internal negotiation. Its as if making a sold choice is a betrayal no matter how you slice it. I know we are to live the sun and satisfy the moon but it’s hard to grasp what that means in my context on some days.

  4. Taurus & Scorpio, Leo & Aquarius. I am on the fixed cross.

    Sun is in Taurus – so thinking of trying to buy a house and plant a garden ( i think it would help)

  5. that’s my spouse! 😉

    virgo ascendant/aries sun. gogogogogoGO!! …carefully… with precision… and planning… and don’t forget the details…
    the mercury/pluto one i don’t think i even recognize. taurus and libra. i mean, they’re both venus ruled, but…

    that’s the quincunx for ye, i guess. it makes a good combination, once one figures out how to appease both elements. i’ve got a better handle on the ascendant/sun one. probably because i’ve had to, mercury and pluto are just weird. but maybe i don’t notice the discomfort above and beyond the pluto itself. maybe that’s where i get the bad habit of blurting out those deep uncomfortable perceptions that unsettle people ;P

  6. “As an example, people with a lot of Cancer and a lot of Aquarius have a hell of a time being both attached and detached. It’s hard to find a comfort zone because once you have shocked your family and/or rebelled…quite surprisingly (Aquarius), you miss your home food (Cancer).”

    This totally describes me. I have both Cancer and Aquarius in the 4th house. I waffle all the time regarding my emotions concerning my family. My therapist said I go between rage and apathy and there is no in between.

  7. I have strong Uranus Aries placements…so I want to go, go GO all the time, but then I have my Moon in Cancer (12th) and Mars and Jup in Pisces that likes to feel, feel, FEEL all the time. It’s quite an interesting combination

  8. Cancer and Scorpio. Not so much that they are discordant, as they are apt to make a person extremely good at controlling and manipulating others. Any little perceived slight can set them off into making your life a living hell, all the while feigning innocence. Cancer and Sagittarius. Subjectivity combined with extreme outspokenness, not a good combo in my opinion. Aquarius and Virgo. Really anal and eccentric. On edge.

  9. Libra Scorpio is pretty hard. You want to get along but you know so much more than anybody is saying, so you feel like you have to pretend all kinds of things are true that aren’t, for their sake.

  10. Might not be as difficult as cancer/aquarius but having a lot of aquarius and a lot of leo is not exactly a walk in the park. Look at me! (leo) Leave me Alone!(Aquarius)

  11. I agree with eva “Libra Scorpio …”i hear it in my son who has a packed 12H Libra and Scorpio 1st H. When I hear him describe his conflicts it mirrors what I find difficult to understand about myself.

  12. Navigating a Sag moon and scorpio venus tends to leave me torn. Freedom needs versus the desire for total merging. The need to forgive and forget vs the ability to hold grudges into infinity. The contradictions go on and on.

  13. I second kr:

    “It’s interesting that the inconjuncts can be harder than the oppositions and squares.”

  14. I see a lot of conflict in my nephew as he deals with Aries sun and a Taurus rising sign. He truly seems like he can’t move forward for going slow, and can’t go slow for moving too fast. It’s hard to explain, but it seems to manifest itself most in a stubborn resistance to any suggestions that he is not the most special thing to ever special, and I don’t mean that in a vain way, but in a “‘here’s how you can solve this problem’ ‘no I can’t because I’m incapable of changing how incredibly particularly special I am in this way that causes me problems'” way. Uh, that was not eloquent, but hopefully you get what I’m saying.

    My other nephew, this one’s twin, is an Aries with Gemini rising and I’ve wondered if that has contributed to his mental illness. 🙁

  15. Oh, and I agree with eva that Libra & Scorpio in a chart is hard. You want to get along with everyone, but the Scorpio has that attract/rebel thing going on, so at first you’re like, “La la la, this person loves me, and yay we’re getting along,” but then the repel kicks in and it is hard for Libra to understand the injustice of someone suddenly hating them for the same reasons they’d originally loved them.

  16. Aries and Virgo.. @.@ speed cleaning, and Anthony bourdain has an aquarius moon cancer sun, think he figured that one out? 🙂

  17. Wow, that describes both of my best friends. One who is Aquarius with a lot of Cancer and one who is Cancer with a lot of Aquarius.

    @eva – yes, that’s not easy. I’m a Scorpio with a lot of Libra.

  18. My shocking Aquarius embarrasses my Capricorn frequently and Aquarius’s liking of being out of the comfort zone makes my Taurus cringe.

  19. Interesting Libra/Scorpio was mentioned twice. I don’t see it as difficult. More like, “I love you. And, now you must die.”

    For me its my Moon in Pisces inconjunct my Pluto in Libra. This gives me fits.

  20. Find Libra moon square Cap mars quite hard. Mars is friends with the heavy hitters in my chart; poor old moon turned up to the wrong party, wants to have some nice civilised fun but all her companions are intense, weird and tough.
    And Aqau/Virgo – yup, anal,eccentric & on edge. *blushes, waves freak-flag* 😀

  21. Challenging combos … I’ve got a few. Sun square Mars. Mars square Pluto. Saturn opposite Moon. And last but not least, the legendary Venus square Neptune.

    PS Love the pic!

  22. Maybe it would be of help if we understood that not being attached doesn’t mean being detached, when it comes to unifying the energies between Cancer and Aquarius? Maybe we free ourselves from “attachments” (need based), so that we can form “connections”(love based)instead?

  23. Avatar
    catatonia_ca

    Venus in Leo square Uranus in Scorpio… find it quite challenging deal with.Strong emotions and..hm. jelousy, not a good combo. I have to constantly keep it in check. And Aries moon doesn’t help either. This is why sometimes I thank God for my Virgo sun to bring some sanity into my world.

  24. Let see… Venus in Capricorn opposite MC and north node in Cancer square Mars Saturn Pluto ascendant in Libra is fun.. let me just tell you!

    also Moon conjunct Uranus in early Sag square Sun in late Aquarius is a breeze 🙂

  25. Hmmm….Mars in Leo opposite AC. Talk about having to prove myself! Oooof. Glad all the Virgo kicks in and tones things down.

  26. When one has the Sun and Mercury in Aries and Ascendant in Cancer; the Moon on the vernal point trine Mars on 28 Cancer square (albeit loosely) the Venus/Chiron conjunction on 4 Taurus, things look like complicated enough as it is. But no. Moon is in the 10th, conjunct the South node, and Pluto is in the 4th in Libra with the North node, opposed the Sun. Worse? Lilith conjunct the Asc. Even worse? Saturn in Leo (retrograde) square Uranus in Scorpio in the 5th. Even worse? Another mutual reception, Jupiter 29 Gemini in the 12th, and Neptune 17 Sag (retrograde) in the 6th.
    Not gonna state my whole chart here, but I would survive it all if it wasn’t for that Venus/Chiron in Taurus in the 11th square Mars, because of the Moon/Mars mutual reception enhanced by the Sun/Asc situation, and Lilith in Cancer on the Asc.
    It’s incredible how of all things, Chiron on Venus is felt the most (or simply expressed the most)…

    Well, now that I’ve noted it all, I can definitely see a pattern in my chart… :(((((((((((((

  27. Avatar
    Blessed Place

    Might not be as difficult as cancer/aquarius but having a lot of aquarius and a lot of leo is not exactly a walk in the park. Look at me! (leo) Leave me Alone!(Aquarius)

    Agreed – my last guy has Leo Sun in opposition to Aqua Moon. Very difficult, for him and for those who love him. Leo/Aqua is a combo which has always attracted me a lot, and I’ve seen this ricochet in a lot of men I’ve been close to. Never quite managed to crack it!

    I have a Taurus Moon, a Cap Venus sq Libra Neptune, and Uranus in Gemini… not exactly a consistent set of placements regarding my emotional life!

  28. Interesting comment about attachment and detachment. In general, Cancerians are patriotic and Aquarians aren’t, because they see patriotism as something that divides the oneness of the big group called humanity, and something that eventually creates wars amongst different sub-groups of humanity who are patriotic in their own ways. This is amusing when it comes to the chart for the USA, because the Sun is in Cancer, and the Moon (ruler of Cancer) is in Aquarius, and the USA is made up of all sorts of humanity and races of people, which would make the concept of patriotism more difficult to attain. But I think the Sun in Cancer wins out in the USA chart.

    Aquarius and Cancer are in quincunx relationship to each other in the natural zodiac, and I guess this difference of opinion around patriotic attitudes and non-patriotic attitudes demonstrates (one aspect of) the nature of the quincunx.

    Personally I have found that Mars-Saturn aspects in the natal chart are a difficult combination to deal with, because these planets are in square aspect in the natural zodiac, and Mars-Saturn people often act defensively (Saturn) and come from a place of aggression (Mars) to cover their fear (pre-emptive strikes in a war situation or perceived war situation for instance, e.g. “Weapons of Mass Destruction”). And sometimes the personal behavior of Mars-Saturn people is perceived by others to be threatening because of this defensive style of behaving, while in truth the Mars-Saturn person was not intending to appear as threatening, and is therefore mis-perceived.

  29. I have Gemini Moon and Venus Scorpio. They don’t aspect each other at all. They basically don’t talk to each other and operate quite independently which can be problematic as Moon “needs” chatty talk and Venus “wants” deep soul communion. Seems a bit at odds with each other!

    It is also not easy to reconcile Venus sq Saturn in a natal chart. Takes years and years. I think it’s somewhat similar to what Wizron says above about Mars-Saturn in that the intended action of avoiding rejection (ie Venus/Saturn) will appear cool when in fact the opposite is the case. Venus/Saturn is also mis-perceived as being disinterested when in fact is covering up a fear.

  30. @acaseofsunburn
    @AddyB
    @mrslilypond
    @von

    OH YES same here!!
    Aqua sun, Leo moon.

    Stop it I like it!!!

  31. Avatar
    pedro san pedro

    I don’t know what’s worse… my 0* aspect of mars(leo) squaring saturn(scorpio)… or my venus(chart ruler) squaring pluto. I’ll admit I can be very defensive at times… and almost always, vengeful. If it wasn’t for my family, I don’t know what I’d do. And as challenging as it is, it has to be overcome. I’ll be betrayed at some point and my vulnerabilities will be exposed. It’s only up to me to let it happen without fear and dig out and patch up those dark holes so that no one else will fall in.

  32. For me it’s my t-square: taurus moon in 4/leo saturn in 8/scorpio uranus in 10.

    I have a freedom (plus sag rising can’t possibly help that) vs cozy home vs paying for it all issue. I fill up a house with cute things (and debt), get sick of it, and spontaneously move cross-country, giving away tons in the process. I’ve been in a moving phase for about 2 years, and desperately want a cozy home again.

    Yea, I’m all Sag & Aries, and Taurus, and that’s a weird mix. I’m stubbornly spontaneous about my travel? (actually, yes)

    Or maybe it’s neptune roughly conjunct my ascendant (people think really weird things about me, and I think really weird things about my partners.. ) 🙁

    Interesting that you mention Aquarius and Cancer — my mom’s a cancer, rising aquarius. She’s definitely a shocker, but a sentimental one. 😀 But she also has uranus in her 4th, so she doesn’t need (or maybe expect at this point) a stable home base?

  33. I think that I have a chart with a fair amount of challenge in it, yet when I see stuff like what you just said, Elsa (cancer with aqu) I think I’ve got it pretty easy. Or like my triple sag who’s all fire & air with mars in earth, sometimes she doesn’t even know what to do with that!!! I also think that leo to cappy is another one of those combinations, how to reconcile that playful/fun side with the responsible dutiful side (I’ve seen this done successfully and then not so successfully, it’s a fine line like any of the quincunx combos,
    Angie

  34. My grandmother who recently passed away had stelliums in both Cancer and Aquarius….although she devoted her life to family, she was impossible to get close to; her children and grandchildren were well-cared for but Grandmother had not a nurturing bone in her body….I think the only person who ever understood her was my grandfather (another Aquarius).

  35. Like Josephine (we have similar charts!) I have the Sun square Mars, Mars square Pluto and Venus Square Neptune and Sun conjunct Pluto. For me I also have Saturn in Taurus in the 6th (retrograde and singleton), I have been told this is a good placement but for me it is a challenge. I have to work hard to get what I need and nothing comes easy for me.
    Scorpio Rising (always a challenge) – but I would say most of my chart has planets in signs that are mostly harmonious – like My 10th house Virgo planets are sextile to my 1st house scorpio. I am glad that Scorpio and Virgo are sextile.
    I think my Virgo Libra stellium is a good thing – I haven’t noticed any major challenges for those with me because they seem to blend but I know stelliums can be challenges for some. My squares and my Saturn are the challenges for me.

  36. The effect of the Sun-Moon square was mentioned above as an impossibility of making the right choice, either choice resulting in a betrayal. I agree. The square makes it impossible for me to ever be truly happy or at peace.

  37. Definitely agree with the Libra/ Scorpio thing….where I am now ( after 2nd Saturn Return) – I’m finding I can’t do the Libra Asc. thing any more – my Scorpio Venus in 1st, and Pluto transiting 4th House for years now won’t let me sugar-coat anything….and I’m finding it harder to tolerate hypocrisy/ superficiality in others…have become almost a Hermit in fact – “Happy Days” a distant memory….

  38. Avatar
    the laughing goat

    I’ve been told that I am “too deep”. Capricorn Sun & Mercury 12H. Can’t help it… if the conversation is about make-up and getting nails done, I am gone. (Aquarius rising?) 😉

  39. Capricorn sun is ambitiously working towards a goal while parenting inappropriate men (Venus in Aquarius) while my Cancer moon wants to hijack Capricorn ambition for the sake of a happy home home life with these narcissists while my Scorpio ascendant throws energy at the mess and causes staid Capricorn to let loose with wild humor which might otherwise be repressed. Does Scorpio ascendant crave narccicistic men?

  40. Based upon my familiarity with my significant others full moon birth
    Aries Sun/Libra moon…anyone with a full moon birth chart. She is a warrior who wants to lead but is emotionally driven to please everybody. Could Trumps hyperbole be explained by his Gemini Sun/Sag. full Moon ?

  41. Anything conjunct the south Node, especially Venus or the Moon…..Chaos early and often in your relationships…

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