The correct way to match horoscopes: three questions

Introduction

Three key questions can help you conclude whether a person is right for you. First, is the person as seen from the chart? Do they match the professional background and personality traits identified from your chart? That is a good starting point. Secondly, does the time of marriage match? This is very important. You may have found someone who matches the chart's description, but an incompatible marriage period can create an issue.

Lastly, are you compatible? I will use the birth charts of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to answer these three questions, applying the theory to a practical example from their lives.

Meghan Markle's marriage house

In Meghan Markle's chart, Ketu in the house of marriage is a strong indicator of complications in getting married. Jupiter in the 3rd house in Hasta, however, aspects the marriage house and is a sign of hope. Her life story reflects both factors: she married early and then divorced.

She married in August 2011 during Rahu and Venus's period. Rahu and Venus can be very promising for marriage if there are no other malefics in the marriage house, such as Saturn, Ketu, Mars or Rahu. Meghan does have Ketu there, so the period resulted in a marriage but not a long-lasting one. The Dasha table explains the timing, which is the point I want to highlight.

Jupiter Mahadasha and the second marriage

Her fortunes changed when Jupiter's Mahadasha began in August 2015. Less than a year later, she met Prince Harry. She married when she entered the Antardasha of Saturn, the ruler of the marriage house in both the main chart and the Navamsa.

This fits the timing method perfectly: when a person is going through the Antardasha of the ruler of the marriage house, the probability of marriage becomes very high. After some struggle, shown by Ketu in the marriage house and Mars aspecting it from the 12th, she eventually settled down.

She shares Ketu in the marriage house with Kamala Harris, who was also married later in life. The point is that, astrologically speaking, Meghan married Prince Harry at a good time.

Prince Harry's marriage timing

Prince Harry also has Mars aspecting the marriage house from the 12th house. I see further complications in the Navamsa, where Saturn and Rahu are in the marriage house. His romantic life had also been full of drama: he dated one person for seven years, had other relationships later, and finally settled down during Ketu's period, five months before entering Venus's period.

His partner is shown as Mercury-like and Jupiter-like. Mercury rules the marriage house in the main chart, while Jupiter rules it in the Navamsa. Both planets are in Nakshatras ruled by Ketu, increasing the possibility of marriage during Ketu's period. Ketu is not normally a period in which marriage is highly probable unless it has a direct relationship with the marriage house, which it does here.

Most importantly, he was about to enter Venus's period, a phase in which he would experience companionship. From his perspective, therefore, I think the time of marriage was okay.

The two timing windows

The timing was much better for Meghan and okay for Harry, which is good enough. You will not find the exact date matching in both charts, but he was about to enter Venus's period while she was already in the Antardasha of the ruler of her marriage house. I would therefore give a tick to the question: did the time of marriage match? It did.

Meghan's Punarvasu and Hasta profile

There is a lot to like about Meghan Markle. Her rising constellation is Punarvasu, while the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn are in Hasta. I regard Punarvasu and Hasta natives very highly. They are likely to find themselves on the right side of things and to be morally and ethically principled.

She does have the Sun in the 1st house in Ashlesha, which adds a different dimension to the personality I have described. Even so, she is a very likeable person. That is the point I want to highlight.

The Saturn-Moon partner profile

Do I see signs that she might marry royalty? I do not. Her partner is shown as Saturn-like and Moon-like. Saturn rules the marriage house in both her charts, the Moon is the Darakaraka, and both planets are in Hasta.

This shows that her partner can be an entrepreneur, particularly in healthcare. Prince Harry is a Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp and is involved in mental-health-related initiatives. Her chart therefore suggests both his mental health background and his entrepreneurial role.

Hasta is not linked to royalty; it is about self-dependence. Even though he was royalty, he has stepped away from that role and become a businessperson.

Harry's Mercury-Jupiter partner profile

In Prince Harry's chart, Mercury and Jupiter rule the marriage house in the main chart and Navamsa respectively. Jupiter is also the Darakaraka. Mercury in Magha indicates that his partner may be a public speaker, a television host or someone involved in media and entertainment. That makes sense here.

Jupiter in Mula shows that his partner can also be involved in philanthropy. The non-profit organisations associated with her fit this profile perfectly.

Foreign-partner links

Do their charts suggest that they can attract a foreign partner? Yes. In Prince Harry's chart, the ruler of the marriage house is in the 9th house, immediately showing that he could attract someone foreign to him. Rahu in the marriage house in the Navamsa is another indication. He had previously dated someone born in Zimbabwe, so he also had a history of dating foreigners.

In Meghan's chart, the signs are not as prominent, but there is a combination: the ruler of the marriage house is in the 9th house from the 7th, which is the 3rd house. Harry has the stronger possibility of attracting a foreign spouse. If one person has strong combinations and the other has moderate combinations, it is still a good match, so I give this question a tick.

The age-gap reading

What about the age gap? Meghan has Saturn and the Moon in Hasta. Her partner is shown as Moon-like, and the Moon is in its own constellation, Hasta. Since Hasta is directly linked to youthfulness, this explains why she has a partner who is significantly younger than her.

Prince Harry, meanwhile, is meant to be with a Jupiter-like person. When a partner is shown mainly by Saturn, or by Jupiter after Saturn, that can indicate someone significantly older. This explains the age gap.

There is another interesting detail. Meghan was meant to attract a Saturn-like person. Theoretically, a Saturn-like person is not known to dress very formally and may wear a beard. Prince Harry does, unlike the other male members of the royal family, who are clean-shaven.

Whether the person fits

Do the charts suggest that they married the people they were meant to attract? I think they do. Prince Harry's chart shows a partner from media, arts and entertainment, which Meghan is. Her chart shows a partner involved in philanthropy, particularly mental health, which he has been.

Prince Harry's chart is also strong. Jupiter in the 1st house shows someone philosophically minded, an educator and perhaps a motivator. The Moon and Rahu in Krittika form a combination belonging to educators and motivators. His involvement with BetterUp is directly linked to educating and motivating people, so it fits perfectly.

Does the chart match the person? Yes. Does the time of marriage match? Yes, it does too.

What Guna Milap measures

To answer whether they are compatible, I use two methods. The first is Guna Milap, which you can check through Farfaraway's free Match Calculator. It uses the Moon's position in both charts. I think the Moon is very important, but there is a limitation: it considers only the Moon rather than the whole chart or the time of marriage.

It analyses the Moon Nakshatras, Moon signs and Moon-sign rulers across eight sections, making it a comprehensive analysis. I do see some signs of incompatibility in their charts.

Graha Dosha signals

In particular, I see Graha Dosha, which relates to Moon-sign rulers that are not friendly. Prince Harry's Moon is in Aries, ruled by Mars. Meghan's Moon is in Hasta, in Virgo, ruled by Mercury. Mars and Mercury are not very friendly, so this creates Graha Dosha. Krittika and Hasta can also have disagreements, and I am very sure there are arguments in this relationship.

However, Prince Harry's Moon is in Krittika, ruled by the Sun, while Meghan's is in Hasta, ruled by the Moon. The Sun and Moon have a friendly relationship, so I do not think their arguments will be blown out of proportion. They will largely remain small in nature. This is how you can analyse a relationship's strengths and weaknesses.

Superimposing the two charts

The second method is to superimpose the charts. The calculator lets you see both directions: how his planets affect her and how hers affect him. The synastry chart gives you qualitative and quantitative information about compatibility, helping you identify strengths and weaknesses.

One combination I see is the Mercury and Venus synastry, which is a sign of great friendship. Meghan's cluster of the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter in Hasta also falls over Prince Harry's career house. I think he is going to seek her guidance about his career.

Marriage, joint work and career change

They have started ventures together, which is seen from Prince Harry's chart. The marriage and career houses are both ruled by Mercury, indicating that he can partner with his spouse in business. Mercury, as the career-house ruler, is in the 12th house from the 10th, which is the 9th house. This can lead to a career change or something more drastic.

Mercury is in Magha, which is about royalty. I think this combination also explains him stepping away from royalty, because he was meant to have that career change.

I found something similar in Princess Diana's birth chart, where the ruler of the 10th house was in the 8th. The 9th house creates detachment, while the 8th shows a tumultuous career journey. Her Sun was also in Ardra, which is about having such a tumultuous journey, and she unfortunately experienced one.

The three-question conclusion

The answer is yes to all three questions. The person matches, the time of marriage seems to be okay, and there is good compatibility.

A common difficult time

One bonus question is whether the two of you will go through a difficult time together. Suppose person A has Mars in the 4th house, from where it aspects the marriage house, while person B has Saturn ruling the marriage house. If person A enters Mars's Antardasha as person B enters Saturn's Mahadasha, both can go through a common difficult period that negatively affects the relationship.

In Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry's charts, I identified April 2028 to November 2029 as a common difficult period. Meghan enters Mars's Antardasha in April 2028 and Rahu's Antardasha afterwards. Mars aspects her marriage house, creating potential tension, and when Rahu is active, Ketu is active too. Her Mars and Rahu periods can therefore create tension in her personal life.

During the same period, Prince Harry is going through Saturn's period, and Saturn is in the marriage house in his Navamsa. This is how you identify a common difficult time. If a couple is going through difficulties during such a period, they also know that it will come to an end. That is one advantage of matching birth charts.

The short marriage-timing method

To predict the time of marriage, first identify combinations for late marriage, which are largely linked to Saturn, Mars, Rahu and Ketu. If you have those combinations, you should naturally consider marrying later in life, perhaps in your late twenties or thirties.

Then identify the Antardasha of planets linked in some way to the marriage house. That is the short method for predicting marriage timing, and you can then see whether both people have that timing in common.