Midlife Transits

A lot of people have asked me lately: which is more important for your horoscope, the house a transiting planet like Saturn in Libra falls in your solar chart (the one based on your sun sign) or in your natal chart (based on your rising sign).

My answer is that the energy of the planet will usually be felt in both houses. I well remember my first Saturn return in which outer planets were clustered like bees around a hive in my natal 10th house, which happened to be my solar 12th house.

All kinds of weird things were happening with my career, but I was just as caught up in diving into the depths of my subconscious at that time–and the two areas of life were linked. Now, depending on your circumstances one area may be more important than another, but things will generally make the most sense if you look at both.

Let’s use Pluto in Capricorn as an example:

Pluto’s in the 1st house for Capricorns and it will enter the first house for those with Capricorn rising. Pluto in the 1st house signals a profound personal transformation, often occasioned by some sort of scary event or events that clear out of prior attitudes. It can lead to a very visible change in how you present yourself. It does not change your basic personality, but it does strip away a lot of old ways of functioning that were interfering with a meaningful life. For Capricorns this transformation will often take place when Pluto passes over the sun. For those with Capricorn rising, it is usually triggered by Pluto passing over the Ascendant.

Pluto’s in the 2nd house for Sagittarians. It will also enter the second house for most people with Sagittarius rising, although this varies based on the natal chart itself. Sagittarians have already been through the personal transformation stemming from Pluto in their sign. Now they are transforming values, possessions, and sources of income. Sometimes large purchases are made, like a first house. Careers may be changed or the amount of money made from the existing career may change drastically. This will often occur in connection with other transits, but sometimes it occurs gradually over a number of years.

Pluto’s in the 3rd house for Scorpios and will enter the third house at some point for those with Scorpio rising (usually, check your own chart). This transit can produce all sorts of different effects, from a change in how you communicate (e.g., you take up or drop writing, public speaking, or media work), your educational status, your ideas, your environment, or your relationships with neighbors and relatives like siblings and cousins. This could happen during a transit of a natal planet like Mercury, gradually, or in response to some inner urging that plays out during the time Pluto is in this sign.

Pluto’s in the 4th house for Libras and those with Libra rising (depending on your personal chart). This can change family relationships, where you live, your sense of your own history, and even your career (if Pluto opposes your Midheaven). Some people do extensive home remodeling, downsize as children leave the home, or even lose a home and the associated memorabilia due to a disaster. Other people think seriously about end-of-life issues, as the 4th house rules this area of life also. For other people, the effects are quite subtle, resulting in a gradual change of perspective on family or even the unearthing of buried family secrets or an intense interest in genealogy.

Pluto’s in the 5th house for Virgos and those with Virgo rising (check your own chart for when it enters). The effects of Pluto in the 5th vary widely. Some people enter into a powerful love affair that does not result in marriage. Other people find their relationships with their children transformed. Some will have their first children now or will have another child after having thought they wouldn’t. Others enter into a prolonged period of creative power. Others take up intense forms of recreation, such as sky-diving or very active sports. Others engage in gambling or speculation in the stock market. The exact nature of the changes depend on the circumstances of your own life.

Pluto’s in the 6th house for Leos and at some point for most people with Leo rising. The two main areas of the 6th house are work and health. But the 6th house can also relate to daily routines. Compulsive exercise is not uncommon. A drastic change in employment resulting in an entirely different daily routine (e.g., from truck driver to lawyer or vice versa) could happen. Some people get almost obsessively organized. Others volunteer (6th house also relates to volunteering) to help with extreme circumstances, such as disaster relief or for people in hospice care. The entire attitude toward work and/or health may change.

Pluto’s in the 7th house for Cancer people and Cancer rising (check your own chart for when Pluto enters your 7th house). Intense committed relationships can occur. Divorce and marriage are not uncommon. Power struggles with business partners or outright rivals can occur. When Pluto passes over the Descendant, some people become much more public and less private. Others become involved in lawsuits. It may be difficult to let go of a relationship or there may be a total break with someone who was once important to you. The transit in general represents transformation in relationship.

Pluto’s in the 8th house for Gemini and Gemini rising. Pluto in the 8th is good for things like psychotherapy, as the 8th house deals with the past and with healing. It can change your entire attitude toward sexuality. For some it means things like a life-changing inheritance or other significant financial change. For others, it represents divorce, or profound changes in the marital finances, joint ventures or similar matters. Many will contemplate the meaning and/or reality of death when Pluto transits this house. Others will shed themselves of things they don’t need, even body weight. I’ve seen some undergo weight loss surgery while Pluto was in this house. Others rid themselves entirely of debt. As the 8th house of regeneration, Pluto can work rather deep changes here, in his natural home. Some will feel a distinct before and after feeling as a result of Pluto’s transit through this house.

Pluto’s in the 9th house for Taurus and Taurus rising. In this house, one can find a philosophy of life, religion, or other system that allows one to find meaning in life. Pluto can gradually shove old beliefs to the side and bring in new ones that work better in the long run. Attitudes toward travel or higher education may change substantially and some will get advanced degrees during this transit. One’s definition of adventure may change. Others will move to foreign countries during this transit, permanently or temporarily.

Pluto’s in the 10th for Aries and Aries rising (at some point, check your own chart). This is the most visible spot for Pluto and it seems to correlate most strongly with changes in reputation (good or bad, scandals fall in this house) and with a transformation of career. There is often some sort of a sensation of reaching a peak during this transit, a peak in one’s ambitions, fame, striving in the material world. For others, there are power struggles that come with this transit, or clashes with authority figures. Others become an authority themselves. Some people become quite powerful under this transit. A fair number of people start their own businesses during transits to this house.

Pluto’s in the 11th house for Pisces and Pisces rising. This house deals with friendships and groups, so your involvement with both of these may undergo substantial changes during the transit. This house also deals with the feeling of belonging. It is possible during this transit to find a sense of belonging one never had before. Others become more involved in social issues, humanitarian causes, mass media, or  idealistic endeavors. This is also the house of step-children and income from business, so some will see changes in this area. Finally, one’s goals and hopes for the future may get a lot of focus and undergo a transformation.

Pluto’s in the 12th house for Aquarius and Aquarius rising. Pluto here can plumb the depths of your psychological functioning, attempting to scrub away things that hold you back. Attitudes toward isolation, withdrawal, and retreat may change. Hospitals and prisons fall under this house, so some have literal involvement with these kinds of institutions. All kinds of therapy can lead to transformations while Pluto is in this house.

With floods and earthquakes and tsunamis, there’s a lot more to worry about in the world lately than the lives of talk show hosts and movie directors. But just the same, these lives do get media coverage and people do get interested in them. These lives also give us a chance to take a look at how transits can affect people, sometimes in dramatic fashion.

David Letterman’s transit of note is Pluto square Mars. Hopefully, you will not be blackmailed if you go through this transit (not everyone does), but it’s usually quite the challenge, to put it mildly. The astrological symbolism of Letterman’s situation is fairly straightforward. (Click here to see Letterman’s chart on astro.com. )

Letterman has his Mars in Aries in the 12th house. Mars is a symbol of, among other things, a person’s sex drive or sex life. The 12th house is a symbol of secrets or things you keep private and hidden from view. It is also an area vulnerable to hidden enemies. Pluto in Capricorn is greatly concerned with reputation. Pluto tends to destroy (or at least try to) when squaring by transit. Pluto can also be a symbol for crime and criminals.

Hence, a fairly easy astrological equation: A hidden enemy uses criminal means to try to destroy Letterman’s reputation by revealing the secrets of his sex life.

This Pluto square Mars transit attacked publicly starting right before Pluto went direct and it is near its end. Seems unlikely but it’s possible this matter will largely fade away within a few weeks or so.

Polanski’s situation is more ambiguous. (Click here to see Polanski’s chart.) He’s got Neptune in opposition to his sun these days, which is ambiguous enough to begin with. This is not a happy transit, but it doesn’t usually put you in jail. Meanwhile, Neptune is also trine his Mars in Libra, which is a happy transit.

Uranus in Pisces is making a yod (sometimes called the eye of God) with those same sun and Mars placements, which only makes things more complicated. Even more ominously, Polanski is undergoing a transit in which Uranus in Pisces opposes his natal Jupiter and Venus. Uranus, the planet of surprise, apparently pounced in an attack on his freedom (Jupiter). Given that the crime was more than 30 years ago, you’d think at least one planet could have pounced earlier than this, but apparently not.

Meanwhile, Saturn had moved into his 12th house at the time of the arrest and was squashing his Venus. Saturn in the 12th house doesn’t throw most people into jail, but then most people haven’t plead guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor and then fled the country. If you have plead guilty to a crime, Saturn in the 12th house of confinement will do its best to put you away.

On the other hand, Uranus is also going to be making a trine with his moon and his Pluto in Cancer. (They’re conjunct by the way, one astrological indication of the death of his wife at the hands of the Manson family.) Uranus will be stationing in December, so perhaps more surprises are afoot. The whole thing is rather messy from astrological standpoint, but it’s probably not going to get any less public, given that his Pluto and moon are so elevated in his chart.

Of course, the irony is that he landed in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award. I suppose no one thought that his ‘achievements’ included the sex charge.

Fire planet Mars moves into fire sign Leo this month on October 16, 2009. It remains in Leo until June 7, 2010. That’s a long time, almost 8 months. Mars usually remains in a sign for about 6 weeks, but approximately every two years retrograde motion means it stays in a single sign for longer than usual.

We haven’t had Mars spend a long time in a fire sign since 2001, when it spent almost 7 months in Sagittarius, starting in February of that year. During the rest of the decade, we’ve seen Mars retrograde in water signs and the earth sign of Taurus.

So…what will a double dose of fire energy to mean to us? I’m going to a put positive spin on this transit, because I’m hoping/thinking that having Mars in a fire sign like Leo will help us out. For one thing, Mars in Leo is in a nice sextile by sign to Saturn in Libra until April. In April, Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo.

Saturn in Libra has a tendency to reveal problems in relationships, but Leo is such a warm-hearted sign that the sextile with Saturn has the possibility of showing us all a way out of our difficulties. It makes harmony and sympathy a bit more realistic as a way of negotiating through our conflicts. Now admittedly, it is possible that Mars in Leo will turn some susceptible folks into raging egomaniacs. Double fire can do that. But Saturn will hopefully help put a bit of a brake on that tendency as well.

What does the Mars/Saturn sextile mean for each of the signs? Read on for some possibilities.These are based on sun signs, but if you know your natal chart, you can look at the forecasts for your rising sign as well. For more articles on Mars and keywords for the houses and signs, you can visit my other site Practical Astrology.

Aries: Mars will be spending its long sojourn in your happy 5th house, a good spot for your ruler. It should energize your sun. It may also energize your love life, your dealings with children, and any creative projects you have in the works or that you undertake at this time. The sextile with Saturn in Libra puts the emphasis squarely on relationships. In some ways, it’s an odd mix of energies. Theoretically, it should bring any conflicts in relationships (of any sort) to the fore, but it should also give you the tools to deal with them in good faith and with good will. For example, if you’ve recently begun a romantic relationship, then the inevitable differences of opinion will probably arise. The relationship negotiating period should begin. But the combined energy of Mars and Saturn should hold the relationship together while you work things through and display what a good person you are at heart. The same dynamic would apply to dealing with problems that surface in a long-standing relationship.

Taurus: Mars in Leo will inhabit the part of your chart that deals with family matters. This could be your family of origin or a family you have started yourself. Dealing with other types of domestic matters (home repair, etc.) are also covered by this house. The idea would be that you would expend a lot of energy dealing with this area of your life, but that things would hopefully work out well in the end. Saturn in Libra deals with, among other things, relationships with co-workers and people you employ. A sample combination of Mars and Saturn energies in these houses would be hiring contractors to work on your house. Having the work done would be challenging (it usually is), but you would be able to work things out to a satisfactory conclusion. Other possibilities would include doing more work from home for some reason. Again, potentially challenging but successful if you put your mind to it.

Gemini: Mars in Leo will be in your 3rd house of mental work. This is an ideal combination for getting intellectual work done because your thinking is energetic but not cold or unmindful of other people’s input. It’s great for devoting yourself to a sustained project that requires a lot of thinking.  Combine this with Saturn in Libra and you potentially get an opportunity for a meaningful collaboration with someone else on such a project. There would undoubtedly be disagreements with your collaborator if you are doing things right, but the disagreements could allow you to produce a better product than you could on your own. Collaborators could include lovers or children, but any creative person with whom you have a basic amount of simpatico could prove to be  very helpful.

Cancer: Mars in Leo will be in the sector of your chart that deals with possessions and income. Traditionally, Mars in the second house can be considered a recipe for laying down big bucks. With Mars in Leo it could be considered a recipe for laying down big bucks on the kind of luxury items Leo loves. The combination of Mars and Saturn could indicate things like spending a lot of money on redoing your home, decorating it up in a grand style. There could be conflict with the people you live with over how much you want to spend. If so, if you’ve got someone riding your butt about your proposed expenses, consider that person a friend who could help you make wiser purchases. If you’re constitutionally opposed to spending money for 8 months straight, then you could use Mars in Leo to amp up your efforts to bring home more dough. Again, this could cause conflict with family members who want you at home instead of burning the midnight oil to bring in the cash. You’d probably end up having to compromise, which again would not necessarily be a bad thing.

Leo: Mars in your sign for 8 months! What could be better! It could be so nice to have energy in your sign instead of having all your energy drained by Neptune in the sign opposite yours. This is really a time to put yourself out there and pursue your own agenda for awhile. Whatever creative Leo project you have in the works, pursue it with gusto. The combination with Saturn in your 3rd house of mental work could indicate that you need to put some serious brainpower into making the most of your creative opportunity. It could also indicate that it would be to your benefit to collaborate with others who have different ideas. A little constructive disagreement could be just what you need to take yourself to the next level.

Virgo: Mars will be in your 12th house, an odd place to host Mars for a long time. The 12th house likes to withdraw and contemplate the universe or your own psyche. It’s not an especially sociable house. Mars here could be uncomfortable but also potentially useful if it helps you do things like forgive yourself for grudges your self-critical sign has been holding against you. The most useful thing I can see from the combination of Mars and Saturn is the potential to let things go. Literally, let things go in a material sense. Get rid of a bunch of your possessions, strip down your life, and free yourself up to travel leaner. Mars in the 12th actually loves to root through your closets, sort through your memories and get things all organized. Since many of us can spend decades pretending we’ll clean out our closets and never getting to it, this may be an opportunity not to be missed.

Fire planet Mars moves into fire sign Leo this month on October 16, 2009. It remains in Leo until June 7, 2010. That’s a long time, almost 8 months. Mars usually remains in a sign for about 6 weeks, but approximately every two years retrograde motion means it stays in a single sign for longer than usual.

We haven’t had Mars spend a long time in a fire sign since 2001, when it spent almost 7 months in Sagittarius, starting in February of that year. During the rest of the decade, we’ve seen Mars retrograde in water signs and the earth sign of Taurus.

So…what will a double dose of fire energy to mean to us? I’m going to a put positive spin on this transit, because I’m hoping/thinking that having Mars in a fire sign like Leo will help us out. For one thing, Mars in Leo is in a nice sextile by sign to Saturn in Libra until April. In April, Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo.

Saturn in Libra has a tendency to reveal problems in relationships, but Leo is such a warm-hearted sign that the sextile with Saturn has the possibility of showing us all a way out of our difficulties. It makes harmony and sympathy a bit more realistic as a way of negotiating through our conflicts. Now admittedly, it is possible that Mars in Leo will turn some susceptible folks into raging egomaniacs. Double fire can do that. But Saturn will hopefully help put a bit of a damper on that tendency as well.

What does the Mars/Saturn sextile mean for each of the signs? Read on for some possibilities.These are based on sun signs, but if you know your natal chart, you can look at the forecasts for your rising sign as well. For more articles on Mars and keywords for the houses, you can check out my other site: Practical Astrology.

Libra: Mars in Leo will be in your house of friendships, groups, and how you relate to society in general. This is generally a good mood place to host Mars since it tends to increase the pace of your social life, something Libra usually likes. It is good for getting involved in various activities that show off your outgoing and maybe even humanitarian side. It’s a good antidote to Saturn in your sign because Saturn sometimes takes things too seriously. Mars in Leo should help remind you of the importance of having fun, too.

Scorpio: Mars in Leo is going to be in your 10th house of career and of everything else that helps build your reputation, makes you stand out, or puts you in a more visible position. Mars here gives you an opportunity to put your best foot forward, impress people, and light a fire under your career ambitions. The combination with Saturn indicates that to do this, you may need to work quite hard and even give up some socializing that you might normally like to do. Your chart overall is heading into a period where work becomes quite important. Part of that may mean making sure that your relationships are conducted in a business-like manner, that boundaries are set, and that you don’t become emotionally involved with people you work with.

Sagittarius: Mars in Leo will be in the part of your chart that pursues Truth. Seemingly, Mars will pursue such Truth with vigor and enthusiasm. Hopefully, it will also pursue it with a bit more sympathy and generosity than Sagittarius on its own sometimes does. In other words, Mars in Leo can help you put your best self forward: your big-hearted self. There are a couple of possibilities for the Mars/Saturn combination. One is that you’ll have a chance to sort of reconcile yourself to society at large. Sagittarius often wants to be critical of society for fairly understandable reasons; there are always a lot of things wrong with it. Mars in Leo may remind you to use sympathy as well as moral indignation when you assess the excessively interesting times we live in. The other possibility is that Mars in Leo will give you a chance to work through some issues with your friends. There may be some substantial differences in philosophy to be worked out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t all agree to like and appreciate each other in spite of the differences.

Capricorn: Mars in Leo will spend its 8 months in your rather mysterious 8th house. The 8th house can refer to two rather different kinds of things. One is joint finances, debts, bankruptcy, inheritances, settlements and all other kinds of non-ordinary financial matters. The other is wounds, regeneration, and healing. In either case, Mars in Leo suggests that taking an open-hearted approach to such matters is your best bet. The combination with Saturn indicates that conflicts can arise in your marriage around your work schedule (give your spouse the benefit of the doubt if you want to keep your sex life intact). Alternatively, if you employ people, stresses may arise around the financial condition of your company.  Or  you may need to be on the lookout for employees who could cause you financial losses. Because the 8th house covers such an incredible array of potentials, there are lots of other things that could arise that are nothing like these two possibilities. If there’s an underlying theme, it would be the importance of conflict resolution and taking care not to let hurt feelings get in the way of sensible solutions to life’s problems.

Aquarius: Mars in Leo will be in your 7th house of other people. This is traditionally not considered to be the best place to host Mars because the fire planet’s combative nature can erupt into open hostilities in this sensitive spot in the chart. You will probably be called upon to exercise a lot of your Aquarian and Neptune-influenced sympathy for others during this time period. Fortunately, Saturn provides a way out of any hostilities. You can use his level-headed approach to figuring out why other people seem to have their undies in such a bunch, which could be useful for all concerned. Your sign is so objective by nature that as long as you take care with other people’s feelings, the transit could be tailor-made for you.

Pisces: Mars in Leo will be in your 6th house of employment. Theoretically, Mars here keeps you busy and calls upon you to exercise patience with colleagues, co-workers, and subordinates. People around you may be a bit more emotional than you’d like. The combination with Saturn suggests that you’ll need to balance relationships and getting the work done. You’ll need to be organized and stay on top of things, something your sign doesn’t always have all that much enthusiasm for. Still, this can be a very productive period for you if you don’t let yourself get caught up in other people’s dramas.