What if you knew everything about color except what it looked like? You knew tomatoes are red, grass is green, and the sky is blue, but you had never experienced it for yourself. This is the basis of a thought experiment by Frank Jackson, called "Mary, the Colorblind Neuroscientist." Mary knows everything there is to know about color. She understands how the eye perceives color, she knows the frequencies of light associated with each part of the visible spectrum. And yet, she has spent her entire life in a black and white world, and observes everything on a black and white monitor. One day, a door opens and she steps out into the real world, a world in living color. What happens?

No amount of theory or abstract information about color can compare with the actual experience of color. It's not that Mary's theories about color are wrong; it's just that when compared to the actual experience of color, they're not practical. The same can be said about composite charts. The theory behind composite charts makes sense, but when it's applied to the actual experience of human relationships, it has no practical value.

What is a composite chart?

A composite chart is a technique used in relationship astrology that was first introduced in the 1970s. You combine the two natal charts of the individuals in the relationship to come up with a third chart, the composite chart, which is, in theory, the chart of the relationship itself. Traditional composite charts are midpoint charts. Each point in the composite chart is the average longitudinal position of that point in the two natal charts. For example, if John's Moon is at 15° Aries and Jane's Moon is at 15° Gemini, the Moon in their composite chart would be 15° Taurus, the near midpoint between the two natal planets. There's just one catch.

Traditional composite charts may not exist in reality.

Astrology charts are maps of the positions of the planets in the sky at a specific place and time. Composite charts look like an actual chart, but they're not. In reality, Mercury can never be more than 28° from the Sun, and Venus can never be more than 46° from the Sun. But a composite chart can include impossible aspects, such as Sun opposite Venus or Sun trine Mercury. British astrologer Ronald Davison proposed an alternative to the midpoint composite chart, known as the Davison Relationship Chart. Rather than averaging the positions of the planets, a Davison chart averages the birth data for the two individuals. This gives you a valid date, time, and location for the chart — even though the location may be somewhere in the middle of the ocean. So, you have two choices with composite charts. You can choose a traditional midpoint chart that averages the positions of the planets, or a Davison chart that averages the birth data. Either option gives you a chart that, in theory, represents the relationship. There's just one problem.

Relationships do not exist independently of the people in them.



A relationship exists between two individuals, but it doesn't have a life of its own. Relationships don't have personalities, desires, ambitions, or aspirations. And while relationships can be observed objectively, objective data about a relationship has no practical value. What matters in any relationship is the subjective experience of the individuals in the relationship. A composite chart describes a relationship in the same way that Mary, the colorblind neuroscientist described color. The difference is that Mary's ideas about color are sound. There's a fundamental flaw in the theory of composite charts.

Midpoints between two charts are not valid midpoints.



In the context of a natal chart, a midpoint is a sensitive point half-way between two other points in the chart. In theory, when that sensitive point is activated by a transit, progression, or direction, it will simultaneously trigger both points. Midpoints in a natal chart have some practical value, especially when working with planetary pictures and the 90° dial. But midpoints in a natal chart work because they're a part of a self-contained system, as it were. The composite chart is meant to be the chart of the relationship, but it's not experienced by either person in the relationship. A trigger to a planet in a composite chart, which theoretically activates some part of the relationship, may not be felt by either person in the relationship because it may not trigger either of their natal charts. The Davidson Relationship chart is even less practical. Yes, it's a real chart, but it's not the chart of the relationship. The actual chart of the relationship would be the event chart of the first meeting. That chart would be a valid chart of the relationship itself, but it's not practical because few people know the exact date and time they first met. As popular as composite charts are, they're not practical tools for understanding relationships.

So, what matters in a relationship is the synastry —the aspects between the two natal charts?



Synastry does play a role in relationship astrology, but, like composite charts, it doesn't do what most people think it does. Relationships occur between two individuals not between two charts. Synastry can give you an idea of the dynamic of a relationship, but that information isn't practical unless you can integrate it with how each individual will experience that dynamic.

Composite charts are just not practical tools for understanding relationships.



Human relationships are extremely complicated. Astrology can provide insight to understand and improve relationships, but only when the theory has a strong connection with the actual experience. The theory of a composite chart is that it symbolizes the relationship, but relationships don't have an independent existence. Relationships are subjective, not objective. Triggers to the composite chart don't necessarily affect either person in the relationship. You have to consider a relationship from the points of view of each of the individuals in the relationship. And you can't see any of that from the composite chart.

You can discover what matters to a person in a relationship by interpreting the natal chart.



And you can learn to interpret a natal chart in The Real Astrology Academy's Online Natal Astrology Class. A portion of the class is devoted to relationship astrology. You'll learn to identify an individual's relationship needs by exploring the Moon and Venus, and their relationship wants by considering the Descendant and the Vertex. You'll also learn how to spot critical patterns that may create challenges in relationships, and learn how to overcome them. You can attend the first class for free by registering at http://therealastrology.com.