Relationship yods – an unexpected fork in the road

Given the yod’s tendency to bring unforeseen alterations in life’s direction – an unexpected fork in the road – their presence in a relationship suggests the coming-together will be a catalyst for an unpredictable change. In certain cases it may feel ‘meant’ but the friction of disparate elements constantly readjusting to find balance won’t ever completely disappear if the relationship is ongoing.

  There are two ways Yods can appear in relationships. One is by synastry – when individual A’s sextile forms the base of a yod to B’s planet. Two examples below – one negative and the other not. The astrologer who triggered my later Astro-career completely out of the blue had two key planets forming two Yods with two of my sextiles.  Nothing in my previous CV would have suggested the career switch set in motion by the meeting was remotely likely.

  The other was Richard Nixon with an unmissable birth chart Yod of Saturn sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars in Sagittarius, and his Mars opposition Pluto. If there is a planet in opposition to the focal point it acts as a particularly sensitive reaction point. The two journalists who took him down had significant planets, firstly onto his natal yod – Bob Woodward has his Midheaven conjunct Nixon’s reaction Pluto. And Carl Bernstein has his Saturn sextile Jupiter inconjunct Nixon’s Capricorn Sun and his Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Nixon’s Venus – so forming two yods with Nixon’s chart – and they certainly changed the trajectory of his life.

  In the above examples the Yod does not appear in the relationship chart itself. Perhaps suggestive of the fact that there was no ongoing connection.

 A yod in a composite chart does suggest the the relationship can turn up suddenly and lead to a complete reorganization and sometimes an extreme alteration of the individuals’ lives. There is always a sense of accelerated change, not slow development.

  The famous examples of relationships yods – the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, Jackie Kennedy and Ari Onassis, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Donald Trump and Jared Kushner – all have an element of surprise and irrevocable life change when they got together.  They may not have been happy and contented, even the Newman combo, but with all there was a sense of unrecognized necessity as well as a nagging problem that never quite found a solution. (For Newman posts on behind-the-happy-façade see 30 October 2022 and 7^th July 2022 in search.)

  The Wallis Simpson/Duke of Windsor had a composite Uranus on the focal point of their relationship yod bringing drastic changes in both lives that did not bring fulfilment – perhaps because they never fully embraced/faced up to what their decision would entail. Yods are tough enforcers, even more so than Saturn and require not only acceptance but also constant adjustments.

 Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward’s composite Yod focused onto Neptune which was just as well since it soaked up some of its energy in the movie business though his alcoholism took its toll.

  Jackie and Ari Onassis – a composite Sun on the focal point of one yod as well as the South Node on the second yod – a fateful, ill-fated and retrograde attempt to bolster self-esteem.

  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have a wide composite Yod onto Saturn. Saturnine yods in an individual require hard work, inner strength and maturity. Mishandled they can be self-defeating and end with a sense of failure. On their synastry, her Gemini Sun sextile Moon are inconjunct his Neptune – arguably exacerbating his drink/drug issues. And two of his sextiles inconjunct her Jupiter Midheaven and Sun respectively.  Her success/ego/ambition were energy draining and unsatisfying for him so they did not function as a team.

  Trump and Jared Kushner’s exact exact relationship yod was Pluto sextile Mars (Neptune) inconjunct Mercury which suggests their interaction ramped up a scattergun, disorganized effect. If you remember Kushner became ‘in charge’ of almost everything at one point.

  On their synastry Kushner’s Pluto sextile Neptune is inconjunct DT’s Midheaven; and DT’s Sun sextile Mars are inconjunct Kushner’s Capricorn Sun – all ego and ambition-driven.

Yods are not well researched so require further exploration. But it is worthwhile if your own chart has sextiles to see who triggers a Yod focal point with you – or when transits/progressions hit that point which will for a brief spell produce the mood and catalyst of a yod.