The opposition aspect is something people kind of dread. It's hard to understand, but understanding the synthesis of the aspect is even harder. It represents conflict, differing sides, and varying ways of expression. Like a fraternal twin, the opposition reminds us that things can be the same, but completely different at the same time. Twins may look and act differently, but are still held together by their birth. This is the nature of the opposition - seeing what we are, what we are not, and all the things we could be.
I'll be honest, the opposition didn't make much sense to me until I realized that each aspect is held together by a theme.
The theme for Cancer and Capricorn opposition, for example, is community. One represents inner community, family, those in our inner corner, to whom we can tell our most secret of thoughts. And the other, Capricorn, represents our outer community, such as colleagues, those who keep us in check, etc. Those we can be ourselves with, and those who we must present a rocky exterior to. We could also apply nurture as a theme for this axis. Cancer is the soft side of nurture, while Capricorn gives us the structure we need to grow.
The Gemini and Sagittarius opposition represents the exploration of hearts and minds. Not quite exploration in the Sagittarian sense, of exploring the world and beliefs. But also not quite the Gemini exploration of people. What binds people and beliefs together? Their thoughts, hearts, and minds.
Some themes are easier to spot- such as the ones between Taurus and Scorpio. Love and money have their own power.
Through these themes, we see how we can create balance in the polarity. When we see what ties them together, we can strike peace. From an elemental standpoint - air and fire depend on one another. Water is it's own separate element, but also exists in the ground and forms tiny grains of sand. Soil needs fire to fertilize it, and wind to carry seeds. The elements show us that nothing exists completely in isolation. They are separate and can stand on their own, but coexist. They are interdependent and work in cohesion with one another.
The opposition shows us how we need one another, what we lack, and successful integration. I think I'd like to touch on the lack for a minute. In a birth chart, two planets in opposition would mean that a person obviously embodies both traits. But in the case of synastry, or a stellium, we can see (or are told) what we do not have.
This aspect can also act as a source of conflict in how we do things. Pisces and Virgo are tied together by idealism, a way of seeing how things could or should be, but how they go about implementing this is very different. And that way of being (or rather, action), is the source of conflict. We each have a different way of thinking how things should go.
Mars may shout, "Let's do this now!", while Uranus in opposition may reply, "But wait! I'm not finished with all these ideas!" But what is an idea without action? And what is an action without a purpose? Near meaningless, but each carry hope. So the opposition is rather not in lack, but in successful implementation of both aspects in each sign and house. They are not enemies, but rather friends who just happen to get on each other's nerves sometimes. When Mars and Uranus learn to have a process to filter and carry out all these ideas, that's when the ball gets rolling. And that is successful integration.
In the case of a stellium, we embody a lot of a sign's themes. When faced with what we are not, it's important to remember all that we are. I think that a lot of stellium people, whether subconsciously or intentionally, embody the nature of the axis. My cousin, for example, has five planets in Capricorn. His dream has always been to serve in the military. He's also always been a family man. He embodies both sides of the axis. My sister has seven planets in Taurus, but ever since Jupiter entered Scorpio, she has been focused on her Scorpio ruled sixth house of health, routine, and wellness. I have five planets and my south node in Pisces, and couldn't plan for anything until my nodal return. Then I became very Virgo, embodying the north node, seeing what I lacked, and started to plan things in my life (heads up: I'm still bad at it).
The point is - people with stelliums, whether by transit, inherently, etc, have to make an effort to incorporate both ends of the axis. But some people flip between the signs of this axis naturally. For those reading this with stelliums worried about "Oh my god, how am I going to embody both signs?" Do not worry. It will happen, and it will happen naturally. Whether you realize it or not, you may have already uniting the opposing sign in your own special way. It could be something intrinsically in you, or something activated by a transit, progression, etc. No need to search it out or try to make it happen. You will fulfill your chart in your own time, in your own way, without even realizing it.
Thanks for reading! If this article helped you or interpret these charts or taught you something new, please consider subscribing to the newsletter. Or, if you would like to support my work without a subscription, please click here.
Much love,
Abigail
