Table Of Contentastrological
TRANSITS
THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO USING PLANETARY CYCLES TO PLAN AND
PREDICT YOUR DAY, WEEK, YEAR (OR DESTINY)
APRIL ELLIOTT KENT
CONTENTS
part I: TRANSITS AND HOW TO USE THEM
CHAPTER 1: An Overview of Transits
CHAPTER 2: Understanding Planetary Cycles
part II: PLANETARY TRANSITS TO OTHER PLANETS
CHAPTER 3: Transits of JUPITER: The Leap of Faith
CHAPTER 4: Transits of SATURN: The Ability to Respond
CHAPTER 5: Transits of URANUS: The Shooting Star
CHAPTER 6: Transits of NEPTUNE: The Tide
CHAPTER 7: Transits of PLUTO: The Undertow
CHAPTER 8: Transits of MERCURY, VENUS, and MARS: Planetary Triggers
CHAPTER 9: Transits of the SUN and MOON: The Dance of Light
part III: TRANSITS IN HOUSES
CHAPTER 10: Houses 1 and 7: Self and Important Others
CHAPTER 11: Houses 2 and 8: Personal and Shared Resources
CHAPTER 12: Houses 3 and 9: Learning and Understanding
CHAPTER 13: Houses 4 and 10: Origin and Destination
CHAPTER 14: Houses 5 and 11: Creations and Legends
CHAPTER 15: Houses 6 and 12: This World and the Next
CHAPTER 16: Transits in Action
Appendices
Resources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
part I:
TRANSITS AND HOW TO USE THEM
chapter 1
AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSITS
n 1993, Jo was experiencing one of the most challenging periods of her life.
She had lost her mother, given birth to her first child, and left her abusive
I
husband; she was struggling with depression, raising her child as a single
mother on state assistance.
Somehow, she found the strength and determination to complete the
manuscript for a book she had started writing a few years earlier. “Had I really
succeeded at anything else,” she later wrote, “I might never have found the
determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged.… Rock bottom
became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
Within five years, Jo—writing as J. K. Rowling—was a multimillionaire. Her
Harry Potter stories became the best-selling book series in history and spawned
one of the highest-grossing film series of all time.
Destiny is what happens when circumstances meet character. Writing was
part of Rowling’s character; she began writing when she was six years old. But
her spectacular journey from poverty to phenomenal success all took place
during an important transit of Saturn to her birth chart. Saturn transits push us to
the limits of our endurance and force us to cultivate inner strength and
resourcefulness. Another person might simply have given up, and few of us
would have blamed her if she had. But J. K. Rowling’s experience is an inspiring
example of meeting a challenging transit head-on and doing everything possible
to turn failure into success.
TRANSITS: WHEN THE UNCHANGING SELF ENCOUNTERS THE
WORLD
There is a part of you that doesn’t change much, really, from the time you’re
born until the day you leave the planet. In astrology, we look to your birth chart
to find insights into this true, unchanging self. Take a snapshot of the sky at the
moment of your birth, from the place where you were born. It’s as though a
nuclear blast happened at that moment and imprinted the heavens on you. That is
your indelible, astrological schema. That’s the person you are inside.
But then you learn to walk, you go to school, you fall in love and get your
heart broken, you have a child or lose a parent, and each of those experiences
heart broken, you have a child or lose a parent, and each of those experiences
leaves a mark. So you’re not precisely the same person you were on the day you
were born.
Astrology acknowledges both realities: that there is an unchanging core deep
within each one of us, and that a shy, vulnerable infant can grow into a poised,
strong adult. The birth chart is what we set out with, the knapsack full of traits
and native weaponry that we carry into the world for sustenance and protection.
But along the way, we encounter the world, it encounters us, and things change.
Astrologers call these encounters transits.
WHAT ARE TRANSITS?
In astrology, the term transits refers to the ongoing movement of the planets, in
contrast to their positions at your birth or when some other notable event
occurred. Because they are connected to current reality, transits reflect our
collective reality, the world we’re all living in together. Transits are like cards
that the world deals us, and what we do with them—how we play the hand—is
what changes us and determines the course of our destiny.
Your birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the moment you were born. But
what happened in the next moment? The planets continued to move, that’s what
happened. Some of them move quickly, and others at the pace of drying paint.
Take a snapshot of that same sky from the same place just twenty-four hours
later, and you’d see some changes, but not many.
Some slightly different stars would be rising on the horizon and culminating
overhead. Most noticeably, the Moon would be in another part of the sky. The
Moon is our fastest-moving celestial companion: In just twenty-eight days, it
makes a complete lap of the ecliptic, covering 360 degrees and every zodiac
sign.
But everything else on that next day will most likely be just about where you
left it. You’d have to come back in a month to see much movement from
Mercury, the Sun, Venus, or Mars. Jupiter occupies the same, narrow 30-degree
span of sky for an entire year, and Saturn for about two and a half years. As for
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto… well, you wouldn’t see them at all, but rest
assured, they’ll have hardly budged.
We live in an orderly universe, and nowhere is this more evident than in our
solar system. The planets move in predictable cycles, revisiting the same points
in the zodiac at regular intervals. For instance, each year, within a day on either
side of your birthday, the Sun returns to the same point in the sky that it
occupied at your birth. “Many happy returns” indeed!
occupied at your birth. “Many happy returns” indeed!
INNER AND OUTER PLANETS
Mercury, Venus, and Mars, our transiting neighbors closest to the Sun, are often
referred to as the inner planets; in astrology, we include the Sun and Moon in
this group. An aspect—or geometric angle—to your birth chart from the fast-
moving planets—the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars—happens so quickly
and so often that these transits tend to have few long-term consequences. They
may, however, act as triggers for slower-moving transits happening at the same
time.
PLANET CYCLE THROUGH THE AREAS OF LIFE AFFECTED
ZODIAC
Sun 365 days vitality, creativity, confidence
Moon 28 days emotion, daily routine, maintenance of
one’s body and home
Mercury 88 days learning, communication
Venus a little under 1 year relationship, finances
Mars 2.5 years work, conflict, sexuality
The transits of the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto,
on the other hand, are rare and take a long time to complete their work. They
symbolize processes in your life that unfold slowly and usually have far-
reaching consequences. Some of them leave you profoundly changed.
PLANET CYCLE THROUGH THE AREAS OF LIFE AFFECTED
ZODIAC
Jupiter 12 years education, travel, adventure
Saturn 29.5 years career, responsibility, maturity
Uranus 84 years change, disruption, rebellion
Neptune 165 years spirituality, illusion, disillusion
Pluto 250 years transformation, inner strength
TRANSITING PLANETS IN THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
When a transiting planet changes signs, it adopts the costume of that sign. As I
write this, Mercury is in Aries; the tone of this moment in time is to “perform”
Mercury (communication, commuting, reading, thinking) in the style of Aries—
which is to say, fast, direct, and to the point. The expression “too long, didn’t
read” (TL;DR) was probably coined by someone with Mercury in Aries!
In a few days, though, Mercury will enter Taurus, which is a very different
costume indeed. The tone for communication will shift to this sign’s more
deliberate, slow, and considered style.
This doesn’t mean that the whole world as one will be hypnotized to speak,
think, and drive slowly. By nature, people who were born with Mercury in Aries,
for example, always process the world at lightning speed, and Mercury moving
into Taurus won’t change that. What it will do is present situations that
encourage these people to slow down and practice a little more patience.
Chances of the Mercury in Aries person enjoying this are slim. But that’s okay.
As my teacher was fond of saying, “It’s a transit—it will pass.”
PLANETS TRANSITING THE HOUSES OF YOUR BIRTH CHART
Planets transiting the houses of your chart bring action and awareness to
particular areas of your life. In the first house, it’s brought to your front door. In
the sixth house, it’s taking place where you work or in something related to your
health regimen. In your tenth house, your career, reputation, or calling provide
the avenue for responding to the transit. (Part III of this book explores transits in
each house of the birth chart.)
Depending on where you were born, some houses of your chart may be larger
than others. Because transits will always spend more time moving through these
houses, they take on a particular importance in your life. And because some
transiting planets move much more slowly than others, it’s like the difference
between having the postman drop by (Mercury) and having an invalid relative
move in to be cared for the rest of his days (Neptune).
TRANSITING PLANETS IN ASPECT
An aspect refers to a particular geometric relationship between two planets. If
you don’t know how to find and read aspects, you will likely feel it is a bit of a
struggle to work with transits. You can get a list of current transiting aspects to
your chart at Astrodienst, a free online resource (www.astro.com), but it’s much
easier to work with transits when you are able to compare them to the planets in
your chart and find the aspects yourself.
Astrologers use a variety of aspects to examine transiting connections to the
birth chart. Most commonly, we use these:
ASPECT DEGREES KEYWORD DIFFICULTY
Conjunction 0 degrees intensity; subjectivity neutral; may be
Conjunction 0 degrees intensity; subjectivity neutral; may be
harmonious or challenging,
depending on the planets
involved
Sextile 60 degrees opportunity harmonious
Square 90 degrees conflict challenging
Trine 120 degrees ease harmonious
Quincunx 150–180 degrees adjustment challenging
Opposition 180 degrees balance challenging
If you find it difficult to identify aspects, you’re not alone. It gets easier with
practice, though. Begin by understanding that, generally, particular aspects can
be found between planets that are in specific signs. Here is a quick guide to help
get you in the neighborhood. (Note: A conjunction is usually found between
planets in the same sign.)
PLANET IN LOOK FOR LOOK FOR LOOK FOR LOOK FOR LOOK FOR
THIS SIGN SEXTILES IN… SQUARES IN… TRINES IN… QUINCUNXES IN… OPPOSITIONS IN…
Aries Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius Virgo, Scorpio Libra
Aquarius Capricorn
Taurus Cancer, Pisces Leo, Aquarius Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius Scorpio
Capricorn
Gemini Leo, Aries Virgo, Pisces Libra, Aquarius Scorpio, Capricorn Sagittarius
Cancer Virgo, Taurus Aries, Libra Scorpio, Pisces Sagittarius, Aquarius Capricorn
Leo Gemini, Libra Taurus, Scorpio Aries, Capricorn, Pisces Aquarius
Sagittarius
Virgo Cancer, Scorpio Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Aquarius Pisces
Sagittarius Capricorn
Libra Leo, Sagittarius Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Pisces Aries
Capricorn Aquarius
Scorpio Virgo, Leo, Aquarius Cancer, Pisces Aries, Gemini Taurus
Capricorn
Sagittarius Libra, Aquarius Virgo, Pisces Aries, Leo Taurus, Cancer Gemini
Capricorn Scorpio, Pisces Aries, Libra Taurus, Virgo Gemini, Leo Cancer
Aquarius Aries, Taurus, Scorpio Gemini, Libra Cancer, Virgo Leo
Sagittarius
Pisces Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio Leo, Libra Virgo
Capricorn Sagittarius
If transiting Mars, for instance, is currently at 8 degrees of Sagittarius, then it
is sextile any planets at 8 degrees of Libra or Aquarius, square planets at 8
is sextile any planets at 8 degrees of Libra or Aquarius, square planets at 8
degrees of Virgo and Pisces, trine planets at 8 degrees of Aries or Leo, quincunx
planets at 8 degrees Taurus or Cancer, and opposed planets at 8 degrees of
Gemini.
However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule. Occasionally, a planet in one sign
can make aspects to planets in signs other than the ones listed here due to aspect
orbs.
ORBS
Two planets can be considered in aspect to one another even if the aspect is not
exact. An exact square aspect, for instance, refers to two planets separated by
exactly 90 degrees. But most astrologers observe that the influence of an aspect
is experienced for a certain number of degrees, or orb, on either side of that
exact angle. What astrologers don’t necessarily agree about is how many degrees
of orb should be allowed!
For transits, I tend to allow larger orbs (more degrees on either side of exact)
for slower-moving planets and smaller orbs (fewer degrees on either side of
exact) for faster planets, and I give more weight to aspects that are approaching
(or opening) the exact angle than those that have already completed that angle
(separating, or closing).
My orbs for transiting planets:
Moon: 1 degree on either side of exact Sun, Mercury, Venus: 3 degrees on
either side of exact Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn: 5 degrees on either side of
exact Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto: 7 degrees on either side of exact For
example, if transiting Pluto, planet of power and transformation, is at 13.33
degrees of Capricorn, and your natal Midheaven (tenth house cusp) is at
15.45 degrees, then Pluto is about 2 degrees away from making a trine (120
degrees) aspect to the Midheaven (representing career matters). That’s
definitely close enough that you should be experiencing some intense
developments related to your career. Since it’s a harmonious aspect, you
might safely assume that the possibility exists for career empowerment at
this time.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Let’s say transiting Jupiter is at 1 degree of Virgo,
and you have natal Mars at 28 degrees of Aries. Virtually any astrologer would
call this a trine aspect. “But how?” you might cry, glancing at that handy table
and finding that Virgo’s trines most often occur in Taurus and Capricorn. It’s
because 28 degrees of Aries is only 2 degrees from flipping into Taurus, and
therefore only 3 degrees from transiting Jupiter. So keep an eye out for what
astrologers call “out-of-sign” aspects.
