Midlife Transits

Want to know what people will say about you at your funeral? It’s likely they’ll invoke the influence of the planets in your chart. Ted Kennedy’s planets have appeared in a great many of the things people have said about him in the days since his death.  (Here’s my source for his chart if you’d like to look at it yourself.) Here are some of the ways his planets have appeared in the eulogies given about him:

Saturn in Capricorn: perseverance. Both his sons told stories about his belief in perseverance and others have said that he never quit.

Saturn in Capricorn: the patriarch of his family. You cannot get more of a patriarch symbol than Saturn in Capricorn. He’s the archetypal patriarch.

Capricorn Ascendant and Saturn in the 1st: A life of adversity, marked by as many tragedies and struggles as triumph. (This does go against, however, the image of him as a carefree youth. Saturn in the 1st feels burdened from the beginning.)

Two Capricorn placements: the ability to work with and understand conservatives even when his own policy views were different.

Mars in Aquarius: love of political combat. Aquarius is a rather political sign, sometimes progressive, and Mars is the warrior. Kennedy’s reputation as a fighter in this particular arena is a contribution, at least in part, from this planet.

Mercury in Aquarius: Great friend. Aquarius is friendship sign also.Kennedy was described as more willing to talk about other people, his friends, and policy than about himself. This is also partly a function of Mercury (talking) conjunct Mars. His chart was not comfortable talking about Kennedy the man, but was actively engaged in speaking about his passion for politics.

Sun in Pisces: A humble person constantly doing things for others, including the poor and left out in society. An idealist. A person who took great care to always be giving to others.

Venus and Uranus in Aries in the 3rd house: Those famous brothers. Third house is the house of siblings. Uranus symbolizes the disruptions in his life caused by those brothers and their fates; Venus symbolizes the love. The conjunction entangles the two.

Pluto in Cancer in the 7th house: Difficult first marriage. Pluto in the 7th is very hard on a marriage.

Pluto in Cancer in the 7th house: Known for a life marked by tragedy and death. Other people can typically see the effect of angular planets even from a distance. Kennedy’s angular planets were Saturn and Pluto (and Jupiter), so people saw him through a lens of difficulty and tragedy. By the way, Kennedy also belonged to the Depression era Uranus square Pluto generation, a generation that saw upheavals in society that succeeding generations did not have to contend with in the same way.

Jupiter in Leo in the 7th house: This one is eerily literal. Jupiter is liberal. Leo is the lion. Kennedy was the ‘liberal lion of the Senate.’ He grew into this label only after he lost his bid to become president. I suppose you could say that not becoming president was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Jupiter in Leo in the 7th house: Very happy second marriage. Jupiter in the 7th often signals a happy marriage. Oddly, I see a fair number of people who undergo a difficult first Pluto marriage and a Jupiterian second one.

Pluto and Jupiter in the 7th: a life in the limelight. The ability to wield power while retaining the affections of even his political foes.

Neptune in Virgo near the top of his chart. “And the dream shall never die.” Kennedy was described as a dreamer who longed for a better world. Neptune in his chart symbolizes that these dreams were his chart’s ultimate aspirations.

Neptune opposite sun in Pisces: those ‘personal failings.’ A lifelong difficulty with excessive drinking. Both Neptune and Pisces are symbols of alcohol.

Neptune opposite sun in Pisces: an avid sailor. Neptune and Pisces both symbolize the sea.

Moon conjunct Neptune in Virgo: The lifelong dream of universal healthcare in this country and beyond. Virgo is the sign of healthcare. Neptune is the planet of universality and big dreams. The moon conjunct made this a personal passion, a true feeling from the heart. The elevated position of these planets made this the ultimate north star of his chart, so to speak, the thing that kept him going and striving.

What will your planets say about you when you’re gone?

The one part of your chart that is not supposed to be hopping with energy right now is your work and health sector. All three of the placements there (Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron) are retrograde, and for once they’re not doing much of interest. So you can leave that part of your life as is for awhile.

The main part of your chart, however, is locked in a fierce battle with itself. Should you jump into something (perhaps something romantic) and think about the consequences later? Or should you do just the opposite: think about the consequences now and jump later, if at all?

You’ll probably do a combination of the two–jump now and think now. Which maybe wouldn’t be a bad solution to your dilemma. After all, Pluto is trying to thoroughly overhaul your love life, and he’s stationing this month. Maybe it’s time to take a step forward–worries and all.

As for the next 12 months: well, you should finally be getting a chance to do a lot more jumping and a lot less hesitating. Saturn will move out of your sign, so he’ll stop holding you back. You’ll get some Jupiter in Pisces action, which should help the romantic and partnership jumping. Uranus and Jupiter will also both visit Aries, which is a jumping combination of energy if there ever was one.

Oh I’m not saying there won’t be any holdups, because there will be. Saturn will be getting all nasty with Pluto over the next 12 months, and the cardinal signs will all be sniping at each other.

But you’re not a cardinal sign; you’re a quick-moving mutable sign. And finally, much of pressure will be off. The planets will get off your angles and you’ll be able to get off your butt because you won’t have so much inertia to contend with. Little dancing buds of freedom will sprout and you may be dancing along with them.

Pluto goes direct this month in your career house, and you may feel a bit of change in the air, at least in that regard. The change would most likely come in the form of ideas, not bold steps just yet. You still have plenty of work to do before the big stuff happens.

In fact, the month as a whole is a bit (well actually a lot) unstable, which means you may want to hold off on taking too much action, as you’ll probably end up having to re-do everything anyway. Of course, since you’re an Aries, you may prefer it that way, rather than having to sit on the sidelines and wait everything out.

It’s the kind of month wherein you could get all kinds of nifty ideas, and yet find yourself spending the majority of your time having to do mundane things like organize your closets and pick your clothes up off the bedroom floor. Saturn in your house of daily routines is all stern, just as Uranus in your sector of the subconscious mind has decided upon a pure hatred of all routine and discipline.

If you do get nifty ideas about your future life direction (not a bad way to spend an annoying month), mull them over for awhile if at all possible. Use the time spent on mundane chores to daydream, fantasize, and let stuff hatch in your brain.The universe as a whole is just packed with resistance this month, and daydreaming is your escape hatch.

Finally, you might want to take steps to boost your immune system (such as by getting adequate rest) so you can do some resisting of your own of those back-to-school colds and that swine flu thing they say is going around.

Let’s talk about your career for a moment, since it’s one area of your chart that is not negatively affected by September’s weirdness in the skies. This is a bit of a lull in your career house, astrology-wise, and you can use this quiet time to effectively make yourself useful while other people are being distracted by various forms of anger, debate, and general insanity.

If insanity does occur in your life, it is likely to be around your love life or children as well as your social life and maybe even your future direction in life. I suggest you ignore the noise, a suggestion I realize it may not be possible to implement all that easily. So I’ll put it another way–hang on to your hat. Certain elements of the universe (I’m talking Uranus) want to get all surprise-y and roller coastery on people, just when the sun, Saturn and Venus are not in the mood for it. Mercury can’t make up his mind. There’s not much to do but strap yourself in and wait for the ride to end.

It ends, more or less, when the sun enters Libra on the 22nd. Which is about the time when your efforts to be all useful at work can pay off in the form of new alliances and friendships.

Read this early and prepare. Change is coming and the universe is planning to kick up a fuss about it in September. In your personal life, this probably means that you need to get everything taken care of around the house to get things in good condition. Saturn’s leaving your sector of home and family at the end of September, and he wants those lingering problems taken care of pronto.

Unfortunately, he wants this just as Uranus in Pisces is planning to throw all kinds of wild cards into the mix to create chaos in your professional life. Planning and preparation are your friends. Make a calendar, make a plan. Decide what needs to be taken care of and how you can get things to run on auto-pilot while the skies go wacky.

Pluto also goes direct in September in your house of healing and medical procedures. Gemini’s who need surgery can make plans for that also now. There’s a lot of Virgo health-oriented energy in the skies, but it’s all out of kilter right now, so you may want to schedule procedures for after the 20th, when things are a bit calmer.

Tons of mutable action in the skies in September. This isn’t normally a bad thing for Cancer, but the energy is all irritated with itself this month. You may just want to hide in your house and wait for everything to go away. You’ll get a chance to hide in the house when the sun moves into Libra on the 22nd; til then you’ve got some stuff to engage with.

The area of challenge for Cancer has to do with knowledge and beliefs. As challenges go this is not a bad one to have. You can actively work the energy and get a growth spurt by attempting to learn something. Not a big something like Arabic or Japanese but a relatively small month-sized something. Read a book and let the ideas challenge your normal way of looking at something. Re-read a book you read long ago and see how your perspective has changed. That way you’ll be using the energy instead of letting it use you.

Mars is also in your sign this month, all month long. Venus is in Leo until the 20th. Mars loves to spend money. Venus in Leo loves to bring it in. Or maybe it’s vice versa. Either way, if you need more money so you can spend it on stuff, use the energy to go out and get it.

Oh it’s all about the money in September, Leo. Full moon in Pisces, new moon in Virgo–both in your financial houses. Uranus and Saturn in these same houses facing off and calling each other terrible names. Sun, Mercury, Venus and Saturn all in your income sector. It’s all a harbinger of change to come. Saturn will finally leave your income sector at the very end of October, and that should be as welcome a change as planetary changes can get.

In the meantime, get yourself educated on financial matters if you haven’t already done so. Get yourself a book on getting out of debt, tax strategies, estate planning or whatever your problem is. Hole up inside the house and spend the Labor Day weekend reading it. You are so close to a breakthrough if you can wrap your mind around the ideas and knowledge that you need.

The sun enters your sign on the 22nd, but overall this is a very Virgo month. In your solar chart, Virgo represents the subconscious mind, the things that flit just below the surface of  awareness. Saturn’s been in this sector for awhile, kneading and massaging that same subconscious mind of yours like bread dough. You’re a sign that can pick up subtleties anyway, and Saturn’s been encouraging you to be hyper-aware of the subtle changes in your inner state.

Some of these subtle changes have probably been triggered by the fact that your job at times can be politely referred to as hell. This could be the case in September, but hang on. By around the time of the new moon in Virgo on the 18th, the worst of it should pass. And what you get is a chance to make a new moon resolution, wish or fresh start.

It’s all been a magical lesson with this point: the grounding you need is in yourself. It’s not going to come from other people. Your boss isn’t going to give it to you. Your co-workers aren’t. Your clients aren’t. A mate, lover, or spouse isn’t. Your kids aren’t. Even your body may not give it to you. All of those things can be and often are unreliable.

Nope, you’ve got it inside. In your soul. All your Libra problems will be magically solved when you integrate this knowledge and apply it at the new moon.

Okay, not really. You’ll still have that job and career energy stuff to deal with. But truly, and I’m not kidding, Saturn has been trying to deliver you a gift before he leaves in October. Accept it; you’ve earned it.

This month is a strange illustration of the principle that big changes happen slowly and in little steps. Some of those steps involve moving backward instead of forward, as is symbolized by this month’s Mercury retrograde. You can use this Mercury retrograde to just let yourself be aware of the changes  that have been occuring over the last 12 months, slow and small as some of them may have seemed. If that sounds entirely too philosophical for you, you can also use it to get in touch with some old friends.

Or both. Your chart is anticipating major changes in your friendship sector as Saturn moves out of Virgo in very late October. Right now, these changes cause resistance and anger; later they will cause relief and a feeling of burdens lifted. In short, you’ve come a great distance with these old friends, and soon enough you should be able to see the ground you’ve covered.

Meanwhile, you’ve also got Venus in Leo this month. Good career energy! Socializing with the boss, praise, congratulations, or other goodies may be on tap. If you need career luck, get out and about and be seen. Don’t be afraid to show yourself in all your glory.

What’s going on with your career these days, Sagittarius? You’ve got major energy in the sector of your chart that deals with how you rank in the world, and for most people that means career. But the energy is all–well, wacky right now. Mercury retrograde, Saturn opposing Uranus–those don’t sound too good. Sun and Venus in the sector, though; those do sound good.

What’s going on, in a backhanded kind of way, is that your chart is anticipating a big transition when Saturn moves out of Virgo in a couple of months. A couple of months might seem like a long time from now, and it kinda is. But your chart’s all abuzz with anticipation and in the process it’s partially getting its undies in a knot. But soon enough, you’ll get your promotion or you’ll get the heck out of Dodge, whatever the case may be. Or–you’ll finally get a job if you’ve been unsuccessfully looking.

And that’s a good thing.

More good money energy in September for Capricorn. I’ve been saying that all year and some of you probably hate me because you don’t think your money energy has been all that great. It’s always happens that for some there are other chart factors that interfere or that Jupiter is all coy and doesn’t make you as rich as you’d like to be. But still, your sign has it good compared to others.

And this month, Venus is in Leo until the 20th, setting up more good financial energy in your 8th house. And, if you’re convinced that you’ve haven’t been cashing in sufficiently thus far this year–you need to get to work on it. Write your novel or do whatever it is that will make you a mint. Use your imagination and your visualizing skills. Get on it. Next month Jupiter goes direct and you get a second chance at wealth or at whatever else it is that you value.

Oh yeah, Saturn and Uranus face off this month and Mercury’s retrograde. This mostly affects you in cadent houses and cadent houses are normally weak in showing their effects. Don’t worry about the astrological lingo; just know you’re getting off easy compared to a lot of folks.

Adapt, prepare. There’s bad energy and good energy in your 8th house of random financial matters, such as debt and taxes. The good energy (Venus in Virgo) comes as of the 20th. So be prepared for the period before then. And adapt to the rare and welcome good energy after then. If you need to restructure debt, get more clients, cut a deal with the tax man or whatever, get on the phone after the 20th.

Mars is also in Cancer as of August 25th, so you are scheduled to be busy at work during this whole period, which may help with the financial stuff. You’ve also got Jupiter on your side, scheduled to go direct in October. You’ve probably covered more personal distance and grown more this year than you realize. Saturn’s still a bitch in a financial sense, excuse the language, but you’ve done almost all the heavy lifting. You are able to handle it, truly you are. And to prove it, Saturn will leave this sector at the very very end of next month, leaving you to marvel at your newly-developed strength.

Get ready to ad-lib your love life. Mars is in your love affairs house and a whole mess of crazy planets are roiling around your committed relationship house. You may not know what to think and neither do I. Play it as it goes, and see what happens.

Admittedly, conflict of some sort is the most likely guess, but maybe you’ll be able to dance your way around it and turn energy into positive action. You do have a ton of planets in your spiritual 12th house, so it could be that a spiritual approach will soothe the nerves that the skies are trying to rile up. Or maybe a mental vacation will help you keep your cool–a nice daydream about escaping to some island hideaway til the storm blows over could provide some relief.

It mostly gets better about the time the sun moves into Libra on the 22nd. At this time, the focus turns toward financial matters. That would be non-routine financial matters, such as insurance settlements and so on. If you’ve got bills to pay, this would also be the time to get all caught up on them.

Saturn will move into Libra at the very tail end of October and will start kicking up trouble with Pluto almost immediately. Not everyone will feel the effects immediately, though. Cardinal signs or people with planets in early degrees of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) should feel the effects the soonest.

Here’s a preview of Saturn in Libra for the various sun signs. We are going to be using the keyword relationships to represent the influence of Libra. For Saturn we will be using the concept that the planet points out areas where things are not as you would wish them to be, so that you can take actions and make corrections. Note that both Saturn and Libra relate to a lot more than this, so this is only one slice of the many potential possibilities. We’ll address others as we move through Saturn’s transit of this sign starting later this year.You can also visit Practical Astrology for more keywords (scroll down) and articles on the planets, signs, and houses to get an alternative view.

Libra: Saturn will be moving out of your solar 12th house and into your own sign. Typically, this can affect how you present yourself to others. People often become aware of how they are defining themselves during a Saturn transit to their sign and they start feeling that they want to make a step up in how they advertise themselves to others. Sometimes it is said that Saturn in your own sign is a ‘bad’ transit, but in my experience with people it is not overall worse than having Saturn in another spot. In fact, you can make substantial changes in your life during a Saturn transit. Making the changes may be stressful, but the changes themselves are not. It is true, though, that almost all of your relationships can be affected by this transit to your sign, and not just one or two–because it is you yourself that is changing.

Scorpio:  Saturn will be moving out of your solar 11th house of friendships and into your solar 12th house. Typically, a Saturn transit here changes your relationship with yourself more than with anyone else. A common response to Saturn in the 12th house is to become more socially isolated. Sometimes this is on purpose, sometimes due to circumstances, and sometimes both. Saturn in the 12th house is maybe not the ultimate ‘get to know yourself on a deeper level’ transit, but it does come close. Like any Saturn transit, it can point out to you areas where your relationship with yourself is really not what you’d like. Then you have a chance to correct problems.

Sagittarius: Saturn will be moving off an angle (your 10th house of career) and into your solar 11th house. On a straightforward level, Saturn here can affect your relationships with your friends. You may feel cooler toward them or vice versa. You may identify problems that need to be corrected. The same thing applies to groups you belong to. You may feel a need to straighten out problems there. On a larger level, Saturn in the 11th can affect how you relate to society in general. Your networking via social media sites can change, but also some of your deeper convictions and sense of contentment with how your life as a member of society is going. Social issues may affect you more profoundly. This can be good, in the sense of greater engagement with the world at large, and not so good, as you realize that society’s ills affect you personally.

Capricorn: Saturn enters your solar 10th house of career. This is like a triple whammy for you and it is not just the routine transit. That’s because Saturn is your ruler and the 10th house is ‘your’ house–the one associated with your sign. You’ve also got Pluto in your sign, putting more attention on you. To add to all that, Uranus will be moving into Aries and another angle of your chart (4th house–family). Saturn in the 10th is said to have 2 different kinds of effects. One would be typified by something like a promotion, wherein you gain more responsibilities and have to adjust. The other would be frustration with your career, often occasioned by relationships with other people. The typical tactful Capricorn strategy for climbing the ladder may suddenly appear to be fraught with problems and costs you didn’t previously find important. Career problem-solving becomes a top priority.

Aquarius: Saturn moves out of your solar 8th house of debt, joint and marital finances  and various financial troubles and into your solar 9th house. The 9th house relates to a lot of things, some of them rather abstract. It is considered a much easier place to have Saturn in your transit chart than the 8th house. Part of this is because Saturn will be moving into a sign that is compatible with your sun. The 9th house relates to the search for reasons and purpose and meaning. A typical response to Saturn in Libra would be to look for the reasons behind other people’s behavior, to become more other-focused again after the stresses of the 8th house. The 9th house also relates to a lot of other things like publishing, higher education, and travel. So some will see long-term projects in those areas. But mostly it allows you to look at problems with others from a more detached, less gloomy or worried perspective than Saturn in Virgo.

Pisces: Saturn moves off an angle (7th house of relationships) and into your solar 8th house. The 8th house has to do with marital finances, debt, and quite often general financial problems. A fairly typical example of Saturn in the 8th would be a spouse with severe financial problems, perhaps due to a job layoff or other difficulty. This is the most financially hazardous house in which to find Saturn and a great deal of attention must be paid (in many cases) to financial problem-solving. Not the best transit under which to co-sign a loan with anyone. On a deeper level, Saturn spotlights who you choose to merge with, as virtually anyone you are financially entangled with could present problems. So the transit becomes an opportunity to become more conscious of the choices you make in relationships.