You Wouldn’t Last an Hour in the Asylum Where They Raised Me – Multi-Composite Charts and Families

Most of us have heard of composite charts – charts that combine the natal charts of two people in a relationship. These charts become the chart of the relationship itself, and describes the relationship as if it were its own unit.

But did you know you can make a composite for more than two people? In fact, you can make them for whole groups! That's called a multi-composite chart. Adding or removing a person and change the whole dynamic!

It makes sense, right? Think of bands that gained or lost a member and skyrocketed to fame. The Beatles were nothing until they dropped their first drummer and added Ringo. Green Day was unknown when they had 4 members, but when they pared down to the main three, they revolutionized pop punk.

Or think about poly relationships. Couple may have a great relationship until they bring in another person, at which point the entire dynamic changes and things fall apart. Or, conversely, they may have an unfulfilling connection until a new person comes in and revitalizes it.

But the most common use of multi-composites it understanding family dynamics. When we look back at our childhoods, we notice that families often work as a unit, and the dynamics can affect us out entire lives. Because of this, multi-composites are amazing tools for understanding and healing childhood trauma.

See that? That’s a screenshot of part of my family’s multi-composite. That’s Uranus, Mars, the Moon, and Pluto all bunched up together in Virgo in the 4th house. Let’s break that down

The 4th house rules home and family, and my family was very insular, not allowing too many guests and rarely allowing anyone to leave. We were stuck in that house, in that group, essentially 24/7.

There was also a kind of neurotic vibration buzzing just beneath the surface. That can be seen both by the Virgo placements as well as Mars (anger, confrontation) and Uranus (shocking, lightning) on top if the sensitive Moon. Everyone wanted to get away, but we were trapped in this system. But every now and then, someone would escape for a while, which I came to realize was part of the system itself.

And the final insult is Pluto, bringing a sense of foreboding darkness and ominous tension to the whole thing.

This pretty much describes my childhood. My parents (who, by the way, are each wonderful people), were obsessed with looking like a happy family, and put on a show of love and joy to everyone they met. And I was the industrious, brilliant child whose academic achievements proved to the world that we were normal. But the problem was that it never actually felt like that to us. We built a perfect lie.

Then my mother, the free spirit among us, would declare she couldn’t take it anymore and disappear for days. I lived in constant terror that each disappearance would be THE disappearance, the final blow, and I'd lose my family forever.  But she would always return to the family and system that grasped her so tightly.

See? Virgo's perfection, Uranus' shocking changes, and Pluto's ambient fear.

We all worked so hard to make our family the happy unit it appeared to be, but it never happened. It was like we were all suffocating, gasping for a rare breath, unable to make any meaningful change. We were chained to the house, to the idea of what family should be, and to each other.

It was like living in a fucking Gothic Horror novel.

But then, something changed.

I grew up and moved out, and finally the dynamic shifted. My parents were living with only their composite chart, which it turns out was not supportive to either of them. My mom finally left for good, they divorced, and we're all happier than we've ever been.

As long as you don’t put us in the same room. Things get weird.

How has adding or removing someone from a group changed things for you? Have you ever looked into multi-composites?

Want to dig into your family dynamics? Consult with me!