(A tutorial.)
As I discovered new information, this tab got so large I thought it needed its own spot on the menu. Not every relationship or relationship triangle is governed by yods, but they're so prominent in ours that I believe this entire series of proofs demonstrates a lot about yods and how they function in a chart. What's fascinating about this is: Everything I have read about affairs in psychology books or seen in videos by experts is diagrammed in this affair by these yods I am about to show you.I'm not kidding. If you're having trouble drawing your Bowen family system diagram, take a look at your astrological chart. More than likely it's already drawn part of it for you.
In the drawing above, I have shown you my own natal chart (courtesy of Astro.com, which can compute yours and your partner's in a matter of seconds), so I can show you what a "yod" is. In my chart it's pretty prominent.
It's the long skinny triangle like a witches' hat, outlined in green, with a blue bottom. At the long end of the triangle is the planet Saturn, indicated by a cross with a curvy bottom, at the very bottom is the planet Neptune, whose glyph looks like a trident, and the third member of the yod is the planet Uranus, indicated by the glyph with the ring shape on the bottom and the two outward facing arms. It's next to Pluto, which is symbolized with a P.
In understanding what was going on with my relationships, I discovered multiple yods in my chart, his chart, and every relationship chart I constructed for us, and understanding these yods became key to understanding what was happening, why, and what sort of personal growth needed to happen to change and improve the problems.
The classic astrological yod is known to astrologers as "The Finger of God," and I'll explain in a minute why most practicing astrologers think so. It is defined by the two bottom planets, in this case Uranus and Neptune, being sixty degrees apart, and each one being separated from the apex planet by an angle of 150 degrees. Other yod configurations can exist with different angles, but this is the classic one and the one most astrologers mean when they tell you, "You have a yod in your chart." The main thing that makes a yod a yod is the long, skinny shape of the triangle. A broad-based triangle with all the sides and angles the same is a "Grand Trine," which isn't the same thing at all!
One cool thing about the internet these days is that, if you have a question about an astrological topic, you can essentially “poll” every astrologer who’s written something about it on the internet and read as many opinions as you have time to. I have this yod in my natal chart, plus a novile yod (with degrees in multiples of nine) and an undecile yod (degrees in multiples of eleven) as well, so I’ve spent a lot of time looking up articles on the topic. I have read everything from,
“Yods are common, overrated, and mean pretty much nothing,” (a few astrologers have written this. Not many!)
to, “I strongly believe that Yod astrology is very significant and does live up to the hype as a very fated aspect pattern denoting a special mission or destiny in life.” (Australian astrologer Jamie Partridge)