Man is a knot into which relationships are tied, according to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a Sun Sign Cancer and the author of The Little Prince, a well loved book about the nature of love and relationship connections (among other things). It's true that most of us, though certainly not all of us, need to connect with someone. That connection may come with a family member, with a friend or lover, with a belief in a religious system, or with a strong connection to a cause or ideal.

When you connect with someone, it's only natural that you are going to produce a certain energy between the two of you. That applies to your interaction no matter with whom you are dealing, whether in a positive or a challenged relationship. You have many relationships in your life, and the energy you have and feel in each one is different than the next.

If you have ever been involved with someone romantically, you know that there were some attractions you had that swept you off your feet, and some that were more placid in nature. Some couples produce a lot of chemistry together, and have a sparkle and oomph that happen between them when they are together. It's electric, and you can almost feel it in the air. Some couples exude a sense of togetherness, and a calm, quiet, and loving domesticity when they are together. After many years of being in a long partnership, some couples begin to blend together and become almost one entity.

That is because together they produce a composite energy of their interaction, and their relationship itself has become an entity. This is a force that can be charted astrologically, the same way an individual's life, or an event (as when a wedding or business opening occurs) can be charted.

This is called a composite chart, and it applies to every relationship you have, whether it's a one-night stand, an unrequited love, or a long-term partnership. It applies to you and your mom and to you and your dad, to you and your favorite aunt, and to you and your mentor. Coworkers, bosses, and neighbors produce energy with you, as do of course friends and acquaintances.

So what is a blended or composite chart, and how do you obtain one? First, you already know that a composite chart is a chart of the relationship that exists between two people. Now for the tricky part.

A composite chart is composed by taking the midpoints of the combination of the two people's corresponding planets. That sounds complex, but it's not. For an example, each sign of the zodiac is composed of 30 degrees, and they continue on with each succeeding sign of the zodiac. So for the purposes of a composite chart you take the whole numbers of the signs and add them up.

Aries is 0-29, Taurus is 30-59, Gemini is 60-89, Cancer is 90-119, Leo is 120-149, Virgo is 150-179, Libra is 180-209, Scorpio is 210-239, Sagittarius is 240-269, Capricorn is 270-299, Aquarius is 300-329, and Pisces is 330-359.

For example, if your Sun is at 16 degrees of Aries your Sun number is 16 degrees. If your partner, friend, coworker, next door neighbor or high school art teacher's Sun is at Sagittarius of 12 degrees, that translates into a mathematical number of 252 degrees. Add the two of them together, 16 + 252 = 268 and divide by 2, which equals 134. That means that the midpoint of your Sun and the Sun of the person you are in a relationship with is at 14 degrees of Leo. That is the Sun of the composite relationship chart you share, and it is the placement of the Sun for your composite analysis.

You can do the same for all the planets: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron, and the North Node. You can do it for your combined Ascendants (if you have the time of birth for each of you), and for the Midheaven, the Tenth House. Once you calculate all the above, you have a very detailed chart of the relationship you share with the person in question.

You can obtain the degrees of the planets, which you can get from an astrological ephemeris, and which lists the daily movements of the planets, either online via the Internet, through a search engine site by typing in "ephemeris astrological listings," through requesting an ephemeris through your local library, or buying one at a bookstore.

Please be very aware that a composite chart does not replace an individual astrological chart analysis for each of you, nor is it a synastry relationship analysis, which matches up the planets you each have natally with each other. For example, if you have your Sun in Aries at 16 degrees, and your partner's Sun is in Sagittarius at 12 degrees, you have a Sun trine Sun aspect according to your synastry chart, and that shows there is a very basic harmony and compatibility between the two of you. But a synastry chart cannot do what a composite chart can do, and vice versa.

A composite chart details the nature of the relationship your two charts have together as a blended entity, and it can give you tremendous insight into the very basic meaning of the relationship you have with the person you are blending your chart with.

A composite chart will enable you to understand a lot of important concepts about how you relate to the person with whom you have the relationship. What are the positive aspects of the way your relationship exists with this person? What are the challenges you need to be aware of, and deal with? Are there any weaknesses in your blended charts, or any pitfalls you might want to take note of, so that you can work on making your relationship stronger and more fulfilling?

There is a world of information for you regarding the relationship you share with the people you are closest to. You will be able to get a new perspective about your interaction with the people you deal with and you can even check out relationships you had that didn't work out in the past, in an effort to gain new insight into why that might have happened.

A composite chart will allow you to determine not just how you and your associate interact together, it will enable you to learn how the people around you view your relationship. You will also be able to judge the impact you are making on others. If you and your partner have your blended Neptune right on the first house of your composite chart, it’s possible that neither of you sees the relationship clearly. If your composite Neptune is in your tenth house of how others view you, those people may not see the relationship you share with your loved one the same way you do.

It's also true that not every relationship you have is a positive one, much as you might wish that were true. You may have an impossible boss or employer, and you could live next door to a very disagreeable neighbor, or have a sibling that causes you a lot of trouble, one way or another.

By charting the energy between the two of you, you may be able to come up with ways to deal with these troublesome and difficult people in your life. At the very least, you may gain a good understanding of why you are unable to interact with them in a positive and life-affirming way. Ego issues may be involved, or there could be a lot of discordant Mars energy between you that leads to power and control issues, for example.

If blended Saturn sits heavily on your composite Sun with your sister that might be one reason why you feel so exasperated by her and her behavior. You may have a lot of authority issues between the two of you, and just knowing that may temper your interaction with her. At least it might be food for thought, and a bit of analysis.

A new world of astrological information awaits you and your close associates, and what's best of all, you can do the analysis yourself, if you are able to obtain your associates' birth information.

Matching up the planets will take you a bit of time, but it can be a fun and enlightening experience, and one that will bring you a lot of insight into the true nature of your relationships, both intimate and professional.

It can also give you insight into how you and your partner relate to each other, why you stay together, and perhaps, if you are looking at the composite chart for a relationship that failed, what caused you to part. The more you know about yourself, and the people you deal with, the easier it will be for you to come up with good decisions, and to make positive and informed choices for yourself.