Being fascinated by astrology, when I began writing I wondered how I could apply that to my writing. What I realized is that my characters were born sometime, somewhere so they had astrology charts. The important thing I learned is not to force my character into an astrological mold because I wanted to write about a Scorpio or Leo hero. No, I always had a snapshot in my mind of who my hero and heroine were and then went looking for the astrology to back it up. Just coming up with a date, time and place of their birth can get you their astrological chart.

I’ve included a bibliography at the end of my post to get you started with your character building. If you can’t find the book available now, be sure to try interlibrary loan through your local library. A quick easy way to look up a book to see if a library in the United States (or elsewhere) has the book is to visit http://www.worldcat.org . Whether you’re researching astrology or anything else, your library can help you read more about it. Okay, there’s my library plug for the day.

My two “go to” books are Linda Goodman’s Love Signs and Carolyn Reynolds’ The Book of Lovers. If you have a favorite astrology relationship book, use it instead, but I’ve had great luck with those two. Oh, and if you do have a favorite that I haven’t listed, please share it in the comments. I’m always looking for more astrology and relationship books.

So, I’ll dissect my own process here. I knew that Baron Eaduin Kempe was a Scorpio even as I started to write him. For some reason my heroes tend to be Scorps or Leos. It’s idiosyncratic with me. ANY sign has the potential for making a great hero though, so don’t limit yourself.  The reason I knew Eaduin was a Scorp was that he was intense, secretive, passionate and just a touch kinky. Yes, I know those are the stereotypical traits of a Scorpio and there’s more to any sign than the traits we normally associate with it.

So then I started to think, what else is he? I knew he was rabidly protective, especially of his family. He could be a bit sensitive. Had a great sense of humor – usually at his own expense. The more I thought about it the more I realized that family was the key for him. Few signs are quite as associated with the home and hearth as is Cancer. So I went to my books to read up.

The Book of Lovers is a great book for looking at the sun/moon combination. It’s separated into two section – one for men and one for women. Within each section there’s a chapter for each sign. Within each sign, Ms. Reynolds does a breakdown and interpretation of how the sun and moon interact to produce a unique person. It’s important to keep in mind that the sun sign is who we are and what we project to the world but the moon affects our inner selves and what we feel. When the sun and the moon combine, you have a strong combination that can tell you a great deal about your character (yours or the character you’re writing about). The rising sign plays a huge role too, but today I’ll stick with the sun/moon combo.

So I dug out my trusty book and read through the Scorpio combinations. Sometimes when I’ve gotten to this point, I change my views about what I think my character is. In this read, it confirmed it. Reynolds says about the Scorpio/Cancer man, “This could be your knight in shining armor, riding across the desert on his fine Arabian charger.” I thought, oh yeah. Granted it’s a mixed metaphor, but it worked for me. I continued to read and decided, yep that’s Eaduin. It helped me gain some new insights on the man I was creating, or who was revealing himself to me. Because Eaduin jumped off the page complete, I just had some work to do figuring out who he was and what made him tick.

You can use this technique with any character you write, from your hero and heroine right down to the villain. So when you’re plotting your next novel and you’re not sure what your character will do next, try a little astrology. You’ll be surprised what secrets you might reveal about the inner nature of that stubborn hero or heroine.

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Bibliography

Aharoni, Ruth. Karmic Astrology: Past Lives, Present Loves. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007.

Ashman, Bernie. Sign Mates: Understanding the Games People Play. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2005.

Golder, Carole. Love Lives. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1989.

Goodman, Linda. Love Signs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1978.

Maria, Shaw. Soul Mates & Hot Dates: How to Tell Who’s Who. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2005.

Olivia. Erotic Astrology: about him for her. New York: Victoria House Press.

Olivia. Love After Sex: Relationships by the Stars. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2005.

Reynolds, Carolyn. The Book of Lovers. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1992.

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Francesca Hawley writes erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave. Find out more about her on her web page or at her blog. You can also connect with her on Twitter, Facebook – username francescahawley.