Karmic Relationships

by Martin Schulman

How often do we find ourselves in relationships that echo the past , that recapitulate familiar but destructive patterns? How often have we tried to analyze an unhealthy or unhappy relationship from a psychological perspective, only to find that this kind of interpretation doesn't "feel" right? Martin Schulman suggests that we can reach a deeper and more constructive understanding if we search out the karmic layers in our relationships - those attitudes, behaviors and beliefs which are residue from past lifetimes, and which stand in the way of our achieving harmony and balance, the prerequisites for enduring relationships using a karmic lens. He compares every possible combination of the major aspects, showing the reader how one facet of personality (represented by a planet ) compares to planets in your partner's chart. Where are the points of stress in your relationship? The capacity for ease? What are the lessons which can be learned as a result of this relationship, and what are the optimum ways to learn them? By viewing our relationships karmically, we can grow both spiritually and emotionally.
For those who believe that the way we love is the most important measure of the way we live, Schulman offers new tools which can help sustain us on the path to inspired, delightful, abiding love.

Genres: Astrology

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schulman's book is a useful but not infalliable guidemap to how charts intertwine. The book is nicely arranged so you can look up aspects to the Sun, to the Moon, to whatever. His interpretations are kind of flat footed (this will do that) but work as a starting point for the astrologer new to synastry. I don't know if there are later editions (mine is from the 80's) but my edition is absolutely hetero-centric. Thus if you are interpreting synastry between a couple who happen both to be men or both women you will need to think more about what you are doing and seeing.

Which, to my mind, you ought to be doing in any case.

[Yitzchok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isaac: While most of this book is a cookbook style of interpretation of astrological synastry aspects, I found the introduction, which explains romantic relationships on a deeper level, very meaningful and enlightening. While many of us grew up with the notion of finding a soulmate who we can enjoy life with, it’s helpful to understand that relationships are primarily about our growth. Having another person push our buttons helps us reveal things about ourselves that are normally hidden from us. Unfortunately, this may lead us to blaming our partners for the strife that ensues. The well-known analogy of when you squeeze an orange what comes out? Only orange juice. No matter how much you squeeze you won’t get apple juice or pineapple juice, only orange juice. The same thing is true of us, when we are challenged by our relationships, when people provoke us, its opening up worlds in our subconscious that were hidden from us. The question then becomes, do we have the maturity to see and accept this as part of who we are and areas that we need to grow? That is the challenge of relationships.

Enjoy the excerpts.

Excerpts from Karmic Relationships by Martin Schulman

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When we enter a relationship, it is often because we unconsciously see something in the other individual which can help us to resolve a karmic problem. In other words, we attract who we need at a time in our life when we are ready to understand. Thus, the ancient adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher is there.” Pg. 6
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The roots of any relationship are nourished by the unconscious qualities and patterns developed through years and lifetimes. Carl Jung, the noted psychologist, spoke of an anima and animus figures in the unconscious.

…Sigmund Freud noted that a male child first learns about love from his mother. As the child grows, he retains the unconscious memories of her love as a symbol or model of what he will ultimately seek from a relationship. Through the years fragments are added to this unconscious picture in a similar manner to the tree annually growing more roots. As more impressions are collected from various people who show the individual love, he begins to slowly fill in the details of what he will come to need in a companion. Perhaps a female teacher with dark hair rewarded him for a scholarly achievement. He may unconsciously remember dark haired females as somehow enhancing his intellectual abilities. Perhaps at some time a woman with a soothing voice calms him from some temporary fear. He may remember this tone of voice as being symbolic of a sense of security. At another time he may meet a woman who gives him the care and attention he needs. Her characteristics are added to the unconscious construct of his “perfect woman” image. The unconscious needs of each person develop naturally, much as the roots of the tree grow in the direction promising the most water and nourishment. When all the different aspects of love, protection and strength are gathered together, the “anima” figure is formed. From this construct the male develops his taste for what he wants of a female companion. And he will compare any woman he relates to with this image.

The female builds a similar type of construct. She will collect all the qualities of males, including the father, who have shown her love during childhood years and she forms her unconscious “animus” figure. In any relationship she forms she will compare the real life qualities of the male to this idealized conception. Pg. 8

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Relationships are the result of the ways in which individuals flow. There are no parents or children, husbands or wives, relatives or friends. We are all teachers and students – sharing, giving and learning as we flow through the stream of life. The superimposed roles often hide the essence of a relationship. If we can see these roles and realize the reasons for their existence, we can unfold the meaning and reasons for any given relationship.

…As we go through life we are walking through an endless learning experience. Every time our unconscious is working something out, it calls into our lives the people who have within the pieces of the answer we are seeking.

…When an actual relationship or marriage is formed, the lesson to be learned are bigger ones and require a much longer time period and with more intimate contact. There are usually many lessons on many levels. The duality of the mind is brought to harmony through controversy. Mixed feelings are confronted, and as a result, each individual grows more in touch with himself. Questions of spiritual significance, opinions about ones place in the world, the battles that take place in the ego, all surface. Sexuality is understood on deeper levels. The totality of ones being is put to the test of how much it can expand and grow while retaining a modicum of harmony with itself, and the universe through which it sees its reference points.

We should understand that evolution occurs through friction. Criticism, altercations, difference of opinions and ideas are the catalysts. The essence of harmony does not mean the blissful ideal that we may imagine to exist in the “perfect” relationship. Bliss is not growth. It comes in moments as the result of struggle. Harmony can exist with the friction needed for their unfoldment, for people can disagree with each other and yet their different ideas can be void of hate. People can criticize each other and still feel an overall harmonious flow on greater levels which override momentary corrections.

…Sometimes we have to experience relationships that seem incompatible because there is something to learn. On deeper levels there may be compatibility because we need growth within the Self and harmony with the universal intention. Pgs. 11,12,13
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Aspect Strength

The major aspects (conjunction, opposition, square and trine) represent different degrees of intensity. The conjunction is the strongest aspect. Its effects are powerfully felt even if the orb is greater than one to two degrees, but when it appears within this orb the karmic interchange between the two individuals is so strong that it forces each person to focus his attention on the meaning of the aspect.

The opposition is the second strongest aspect. The pull from the opposite polarity forces each individual to understand the energy opposing his sense of direction and purpose.

Squares which are next in strength, cause the necessary tension for growth because they generate movement and activity. Trines, which are the weakest of the aspects, bring a harmony that balances relationship because each individual has energies which complement the other. Pg. 14

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An astrology "cookbook" first published in 1984. It only covers romantic hetero-relationships. Example: "Male Venus trine Female Mars...". Does not delve into karmic relationships between siblings, child/parent relationships, platonic friendships, etc. There is also no mention of the Nodes, or Angles or Houses of the chart.
I enjoyed the introductory chapters, and did find the cookbook interpretations interesting and for the most part, accurate.