How Astrology And The Solar System's 'Combust' Planets Affect Your Love Life And Relationships In A Significant Way
There's so much more to it than sun signs.
getty Astrology is full of interesting terms, jargon, and phrases to describe various astronomical and astrological phenomena. Unless you've studied astrology, chances are you've never heard of most of this astrological lingo before.
So today, we're having a "lingo lesson." We'll be looking at the word "combust" which has a great deal to do with relationships. When a planet is very close to the Sun, it's what's called "combust" — aka "kopa" which means "angry" in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. Kopa also means "the state of being in contradiction with, or incompatible with."
When a planet gets very close to the Sun, it becomes invisible in the night sky, harming its ability to send its "good vibrations" our way. All of the planets in our solar system go through this at some point or another.
Much of the time, the planet Mercury is combust because of its close position to the Sun all the time. This is not very good for relationships because Mercury is in charge of the most important thing in relationships. No, not money. Not sex. It's communication, which could explain why understanding how to communicate is so darn complicated for so many of us. You see, many of us were born when Mercury was combust, which makes it especially hard to make requests or ask for what you want.
The other planet that is most often "combust" is Venus, the planet of love and romance, which helps to explain why the topic of love makes so many of us angry. And stymied and flummoxed and feeling catty wampus. (Okay, we don't have to have more crazy words than you can handle — I'll try to stick with the astrology lingo, as promised.)
You see, once a planet becomes combust, it's as though it's not able to fulfill its role in the celestial order of things. This makes it feel frustrated, and as I've said — angry, and more likely to resort to not so great means to achieve its goals. This is how we all get when we feel we've been depleted of our power, which is why the state of a combust planet is actually referred to as "robbed." Are you following?
While Mercury is communication, Venus is all the sweet things of life — things like love, sensuality, pleasure, playfulness, affection and joy. In relationships, Venus helps us to feel all those yummy things. But the energy of Venus does something just as important — it allows us to evaluate if things are good or bad. With Venus on your side, you can tell if a choice you're making is good for you.
When Venus is "out of gas" in the sky (so to speak), it's harder to do this. It's harder to stay confident in your choices and to know what's best. When you try to communicate from your highest feelings to build closeness and connection with the people you care about, it can come out all wrong.
For Venus to be combust, debilitated and eclipsed all at once is extremely rare and bad. This can make us all a bit blind in love, unable to see things for what they truly are, and more likely to base our decisions on faulty information, and misread the behaviors of others, and have our behaviors misunderstood.
So be careful of making any rash decisions — especially in love. Please don't marry or break up with anyone on a whim. And get to know new people slowly.
And remember, combust planets are "angry," so watch out for speaking too harshly, or responding to the people in your life without your usual affectionate style — and don't take it so personally if they're not their usual affectionate selves, either.
So, let me explain how this "combust" situation occurs in the case of Mercury and Venus. These two planets are inside the orbit of the earth, since they're situated between the earth and the Sun. All the other planets, on the other hand, are not.
Mercury and Venus are combust when they are closest and nearest to the Earth. Sometimes, when they are in what's called "superior conjunction" they are actually behind the Sun from our vantage point. So, not only are they visually blocked by the rays of the Sun, they are physically behind the body of the Sun itself.
When in "inferior conjunction" they are blocked by the rays of the Sun, but not hidden by the body of the Sun itself. Isn't that interesting? So if you find yourself feeling extra insecure or vulnerable in your communications with others, or fail to have the impact you'd like when asking for anything, that could be why.
Now, if you were born with Mercury combust in your astrology chart, chances are you feel that way most of the time.
Each zodiac sign has thirty degrees, and for Mercury to be combust, it has to be within 14 degrees of the Sun. For Venus to be combust, it has to be within ten. The Sun can be in the same sign, or the sign before or after the sign that Mercury and Venus are situated in and they can still be combust if they are within that many degrees.
In other words, the Sun might be at the end of a sign, and Mercury and/or Venus might be at the beginning of the next sign, and they can still be combust, and conversely, the Sun can be at the beginning of a sign, and Mercury and/or Venus can be at the end of the sign before, and they can be combust.
You have to know the order of the signs to be able to tell. So look up your Mercury and Venus, and then see. If you can’t figure it out, don't worry about it. Just notice how you feel. You might have some of the issues above for other reasons.
Whatever the case in your stars, be gentle and kind to yourself and everyone else. And know that this, too, shall pass.
Carol Allen is a Vedic Astrologer, Relationship Coach, and former radio show host. She has been featured on Lifetime Television, E! Television Network, “Bridezillas,” CBS News, “EXTRA,” Dr. Drew’s “Lifechangers” and others.