“I
have studied Astrology off and on for a number of years.
I took a basic astrology course where I live. I am curious,
can your natal chart indicate being gay? I have heard that
Neptune in the 5th House is a slight indication.”
Kevin Answers:
Scott,
This is an excellent question. This is also
a question that never fails to create a very heated discussion
when it's asked. Several months ago, in fact, there was a
rather lengthy ongoing debate on the alt.astrology newsgroup
about just this topic and no two people could agree
on anything about it.
I'm going to present my personal views here,
as well as offer some observations to support them both from
a spiritual/metaphysical/astrological standpoint, and from
a pragmatic, logical and social perspective as well.
To answer your question directly, no, there
is no way that a person's sexual preference can be seen in
the birth chart. There are no house placements, no aspects,
and no planetary patterns that offer a "gay signature"
to a chart.
Your question was the first time that I'd
ever heard the "Neptune in the 5th House" theory;
the most popular theories that I've encountered involve either
the Moon and Uranus, or Venus and Uranus in some aspect. There
is at least one so called "Gay Astrology" book that
presents some very shoddy and unsubstantiated "research"
of the Moon-Uranus connection, and the alt.astrology discussion
centered around the Venus-Uranus theory.
The first thing that I want to observe about
these two theories is that they are both inherently homophobic,
and, however nicely they try and explain themselves, they
both boil down to the assumption that there is something if
not "wrong", at least fundamentally deviant about
being gay. The idea is that Uranus, the planet of disruption,
sudden change, and unconventionality in some way disrupts
the "normal" heterosexual functions of either the
Moon or Venus, and results in a man being gay. (To the best
of my knowledge, there have been no attempts to find a signature
for lesbians; everything that I've seen has focused on men
only.)
However, vehemently I disagree with this
theory personally, it would be a valid hypothesis for astrological
research. And here we come to the next core issue: there are
very few astrologers who understand how to conduct a valid
astrological research study. Gathering up a handful, or even
a few hundred charts and making observations is not how to
conduct a valid research study.
To the best of my knowledge (and I freely
state that I have not researched this first hand), there have
been a number of valid astrological research studies conducted
(presumably in conjunction with ISAR, the International Society
of Astrological Research), and all of them came to the same
conclusion: there is no statistical evidence to support a
"gay signature" in a chart. Obviously it's time
for me to do my own due-dilligence and obtain copies of these
studies so that I can, when asked, cite from fact, not conjecture.
Without conducting our own research study,
however, we can look at these theories and see if they have
a chance of statistically holding water, as it were.
Depending on who you believe, the general
consensus seems to be that about 10% of the general population
is willing to answer a questionnaire and identify themselves
as being gay. Some studies claim much higher numbers; a recent
and exceptionally biased study came back with about a 5% result.
For the sake of argument, let's go with the 10% figure. If
there is a "gay signature" in the chart, then this
would have to be some astrological combination that a) is
present in a statistically significant amount of charts for
gay individuals andb) is NOT present in an equally
statistically significant amount of charts for heterosexuals.
In other words, this would have to be an aspect or placement
that is only present for 10% of the population.
Neptune has about a 1 in 12 chance of being
in the 5th house of a person's chart - this translates to
8.3% of the population, so this particular theory seems to
have merit at first (ignoring, for the moment, the vast differences
in house systems). However, Neptune is going to be in the
5th house for roughly 2 hours a day, each and every day. That
means that every single person born within that 2 hour time
frame for a given location, would have Neptune in their 5th
house, and would therefore be born gay. Somehow, when viewed
this way, this seems far less likely.
The Moon/Uranus and Venus/Uranus aspects
are even less valid in this light. The Moon is in some aspect
to Uranus - and we can even limit this to Conjunction, Square,
Trine, Sextile and Opposition - 8 times a month, for at least
several hours each time (or longer, depending on how wide
of an orb is used). If we include the Quincunx and Semi-Sextile
to include all of the possible whole-sign aspects, that's
12 times a Month that the Moon aspects Uranus. The moon travels
between 12-14 degrees a day, and using a 6 degree orb for
both applying and separating aspects, the Moon is in aspect
to Uranus 12 days out of each 28 day month. This would mean
that approximately 43% of the population has a Moon/Uranus
direct aspect in their chart (and this isn't even factoring
in midpoints, and this is not counting the "minor"
aspects like the semi-square and sesquiquadrate). Using only
a 3 degree orb, we're still looking at 22% of the population.
Venus, on the other hand, moves far more
slowly than the Moon, and when it aspects Uranus, this aspect
will be in orb for up to 2-3 days. This would mean that every
single person born, anywhere in the world, within this 2-3
day period for each aspect would have to be gay.
Obviously, when viewed in this light, none
of these theories appear to be particularly valid, and when
researched, the results, not surprisingly, show that they
are not.
On a metaphysical/spiritual/astrological
level, however, there is also a reason that it's impossible
to tell someone's sexual orientation by looking at their natal
chart. We are each gifted with absolute free will, and each
of us chooses how we will experience and express each and
every aspect, angle, planet, and pattern in our charts. Just
as there are no "bad" planets and no "good"
planets (or aspects, for that matter), there are also no "sex"
planets, either. All planets, all aspects can be experienced
through our sexuality, just as they can be experienced in
every other way possible (and, in fact, they are).
Astrology works on the spiritual/metaphysical
level and the symbols in the birth chart represent templates,
if you will, underlying motivations and lessons that will
seek expression and manifestation on the physical level. But
because we each have absolute free will, it is impossible
and entirely unfair to use astrology to try and predict behavior.
When used in a healing and counseling way, astrology can help
us to look at our behavior and beliefs, and trace them back
to the underlying metaphysical motivations shown in our charts
— and then, by understanding the nature of the energy
that is seeking expression, we can choose, if we like, other
ways of expressing that energy.
