Midlife Transits

Take a look at this announcement from Donna Cunningham’s blog, SkyWriter. The blog-a-thon in March will focus on practical solutions to the personal problems associated with the cardinal T-square we’re all staring at in 2010. (The cardinal T-square consists of Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto all in early degrees of cardinal signs getting into something of a massive planetary fistfight, with Jupiter jumping up and down near Uranus to add to the hubbub.)

Donna is one of the best astrology writers out there. Her book Healing Pluto Problems is still a classic, and I know some of her writing on transits has inspired me. I’m sure the blog-a-thon will provide a lot of useful information,  and Donna’s taste in articles is impeccable.

I believe Barack Obama’s campaign slogan was ‘Change You Can Believe In.’ As the recent election of a GOP senator from blue state Massachusetts proves, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. It never does for presidents, at least not in my lifetime. Reality intrudes.

In Obama’s case, the belief in change may have been real enough, but the astrological universe was not on the same page. In fact, it has been downright opposed to many of Obama’s efforts. Literally.

Pluto opposed his natal Venus until near the end of November. That’s not good for one’s popularity, and his poll numbers may not recover from the effects of that for quite some time, especially with Saturn now squaring that same Venus.

Uranus has been opposing Obama’s natal Mars in Virgo (the Mars that wants health care reform, the Mars that has made that a signature issue), and it just stopped doing that at the end of December 2009. So much for rapidly getting consensus on that issue.

Even worse, Neptune has been opposing Obama’s natal Uranus since March 2009. It won’t stop doing that until after mid-term elections in 2010. November 2010.

Uranus is the change part of the equation. Obama’s personal change equation is somewhat hampered by the fact that there’s an inconjunct (150 degree angle) between his natal Uranus and his natal Saturn in Capricorn. He may present himself as a change agent, but in his soul he’s quite conservative and cautious. Liberals are finally figuring this out, although if they’d been paying attention they could have figured it out during his campaign.

Neptune meanwhile is the universe’s gigantic ‘pause’ button. When Neptune opposes you, there ain’t much you can do. Nothing’s going to happen until Neptune is good and ready for it.

The frustrating thing about a Neptune opposition is that you are ready, or at least you feel ready, to express whatever planet is being opposed. But the universe isn’t. You have to wait for the universe to catch up. You have to wait for the time to be right.

In many cases, a transit from an outer planet indicates that the universe thinks you’re ready to grow when you think you’re ready to stay right where you are. The opposite is the case in a Neptune opposition, at least much of the time. You are ready to grow, but the world you live in isn’t quite ready for you to reach the next stage. Something external has to move into place before you can make your next move.

Thus we get change you have to wait a long time for. Neptune is associated with hope. And hope is the response humans often have when they have to wait for external conditions to change before they can get what they want. Something has to occur that is outside of their control.

For the moment, whatever Obama may have meant when he talked about change, the US or perhaps the world is just not ready for it yet. Change comes much more slowly and in a much more confusing, chaotic, and messy manner than anyone’s natal Uranus would really prefer.

The various people who voted for change they could believe in are probably not liking this one bit. The change they wanted hasn’t come, or somehow or another it seems to have gotten all messed up. It’s going to stay all messed up or nonexistent for virtually all of 2010. People are going to be disappointed with Obama. Obama may be disappointed with Obama, although I doubt his huge ambition will fade much.

The truth is, various planets will be attacking his Venus until 2012, and Neptune will be making him wait for one thing or another for the rest of his term. Some good things will happen in his chart and the truly vicious oppositions of 2009 have faded. But the waiting will continue…

All righty, time to budget! Jupiter is officially in your income sector now. Venus is in your sign. Saturn has left your debt sector for the time being. Time to plan your financial life.

Do two budgets. One is the hopes and wishes budget (good time for this is around the 8th, when Neptune and Venus in your sign are feeling all glowy together). The other is the worst case scenario budget. Your actual year should land somewhere in between of course, but however you slice it, things are looking up for you astrologically in this area. Since this is your birthday month, if your budget allows, you might want to invest in some clothing, accessories, or other items to spruce up your appearance.

Your birthday wish new moon is on the 13th. Valentine’s Day looks decently romantic, with Neptune and the sun getting together in your sign. As for the year ahead, there are two distinctly different trends. Trend #1 is more of the same. Pluto’s in your reclusive 12th house all year, pondering things by himself. He spends much of the year challenging Saturn in Libra, which is also pondering things. Somehow or another, your beliefs are being tested and perhaps your relationship to God or the spiritual world too. This trend started awhile back and is an important theme for the year ahead. Neptune also continues to wander through your sign, periodically getting lost and perhaps confusing you in the process. That’s been going on for so long that many of you are used to it by now.

Trend #2 is the opposite: lots of changes. Uranus changes signs this year and darts into Aries for a peek mid-year. This gives your brain a shot of energy it hasn’t seen in quite awhile. Indeed, your mind gets more of a muscle-building workout in 2010 than you’ve seen in years. Jupiter also darts into Aries mid-year, tripling the mental energy. Your solar chart keeps switching from looking at the big picture to the small picture and back again, trying to sort it all out. Partly this is because most of your astrological resources don’t have to go toward sheer material survival. It is so much more up your sign’s inventive alley to be pondering and learning and getting excited about ideas than to be figuring out what to do about out of control debts or similar matters. In many ways, your chart is going to like 2010 a lot more than it’s liked the last 2 or 3 years. Rejoice!

My goodness the skies are thrifty these days, and so, I’ve heard, is the American consumer. You’d probably be wise to follow the trend by making every attempt to live on less than you earn while building up some savings. Pluto is still glaring at Saturn this month, and Pluto is the Grand Planetary Poohbah of debt–so it’s not wise to rile him up by taking on any more than is absolutely necessary. I’m not saying this will be easy, just that it would be a worthwhile effort. Pluto is affecting your chart more than it is many other signs because it is at the very top of your solar wheel, where its influence stands out.

This is also a month with a lot of Aquarian influence. Aquarius governs things like humanitarian efforts, friendships, hopes and wishes. More paradoxically, it governs the need to be a separate individual within the context of a small or large group, the desire to be special and notable yet not alone. Chiron, Neptune, Venus, Mercury, and the sun all travel through this sign in February. Something in your chart wants to heal or be healed, perhaps both. There’s idealism, romance, the desire to help and be helped, to be a part of something larger but to do your part. I say go with it, because these all sound like excellent things to me. If you’re single, Valentine’s Day would be a great day to go out with a bunch of friends. If you’re not single–well just enjoy.

Your sign is perhaps not as affected as many others by current economic conditions, but it would still be a good idea for you to put in place a strong system for saving money. Having money is having freedom, and freedom is something very much on the skies’ mind this month. In your chart, freedom (as indicated by the sign of Aquarius) is represented by your career or standing in society. During the past couple of years, a lot of you have changed careers, either voluntarily or as a result of layoffs. Some of you have had to take pay cuts to do it.

The point of all this is to get Taurus folks into their ideal careers, the careers that allow them creative and mental freedom, the careers that do the most good for the greatest number. To pursue that worthy goal you need a healthy cash reserve. Since this is Aquarius month, your career is very much on the mind of your solar chart. With Venus in Aquarius, you may receive some sort of a career-related gift this month. Maybe it won’t be anything big, perhaps a tip, a lead, a resource, some information, a book with good ideas, or something similar. You may also earn or receive a bit of extra money through your career.

Career is the main theme of the month, but I’ll just mention two other things. There’s a full moon in your home sector on January 30, so you may need to attend to a few things around the house in the early part of the month. Or perhaps you’ll do some entertaining at home. With Mars in this sector, you’ll need to remember to keep your activities budget-friendly! Finally, this is an excellent year to go out on the town for Valentine’s. The aspects are unusually romantic.

February is Aquarius month. That makes it your travel month. With a bunch of planets in Aquarius and Mars in the opposite sign of Leo, you’ll want to go somewhere, to get out of the house. If long travel is not in the cards, at least take some trips or get outdoors. It’s not good for your sign to go stir crazy during the winter months. Of course, remember to bundle up or at least wear a hat when you get out and about if you live in the northern hemisphere. Gemini is not a sign that tolerates the cold very well.

Aquarius is also the sign of friendships and group activities. A getaway with a small group of friends would be ideal, especially during the long President’s Day weekend, when a new moon favors getting out of town.

After the 17th, you’ll need to get out in a different way–to see and be seen. The sun will move to the top of your chart, the part where you are most visible. This is a lucky spot for you this year, and your career prospects are enhanced. With Venus in Pisces from the 11th on, make sure you look good when you go out. Invest in some new apparel if your image needs an upgrade. This is also a good month to splurge on Valentine’s Day; take your honey someplace swank or drop some hints that you’d like to do it up right this year.

There’s a bit of a dust-up in your financial houses this month, as planets in Aquarius face off against Mars in Leo. The trend actually starts in mid-January and intensifies around the Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend. For the moment, the better part of financial valor comes through saving and paying off debts. Venus in Aquarius can help ease the financial pinch, as long as you don’t go off and buy yourself some delicious but unnecessary new shoes at Mars’s urgings (Mars in Leo does love to spend on the luxury items, and who can blame him?)

Joint or marital finances also come into the spotlight around this time, as there’s a new moon in Aquarius on the 13th. With Neptune in Aquarius making many aspects this month, somehow or another monetary and sentimental values get all mushed up together. I’m thinking it would not be wise to make investments this month, as your judgment could be clouded by emotional factors.

At the start of the month, Mercury is in the sign of Capricorn, the sign that represents your committed relationships. You may need to talk something through with a partner. After the 10th, there’s also energy in your intellectual 9th house. Venus and Jupiter will be there, which could mean, I suppose, that your VD gifts will tend more toward the bookish than the romantic. Let’s hope not. Perhaps your significant other will spring for a nice little getaway instead (the 9th house also relates to travel).

Half the month’s energy is centered around money, expenses, and work, and half the month’s energy is centered around your significant other. At the new moon in your 7th house on the 13th, if you want attention from your sweetheart this weekend (and you do), be sure to give it as well. For best results in terms of intimate encounters (sometimes known as getting lucky), think through your seduction plan before Valentine’s Day. Do something fancy or quintessentially romantic. A little over-the-topness might not hurt.

On the financial side of the equation, you can solve a money problem around the full moon on the 28th. During the first part of the month (until the 10th), you may need to play politics at work, and make sure you are seen doing a good job. You know how to do this, although it may not be your strongest skill normally.

With Mars still in your own sign, it’s possible that you will want to spend money on yourself as well. If you want to get yourself something for your wardrobe (energy in your own sign often relates to desires to upgrade one’s appearance), do try to get something practical as well as luxurious, such as a winter coat or jacket on sale. A good time to do so might be during the President’s Day sales.

Finally, Saturn is the part of your chart that relates to ideas. You may get a breakthrough good idea during the President’s Day weekend.

Saturn in your sign wants you to be concerned about your future financial security, because he’s just that kind of a prudent planet. It’s his job to think about stuff like that. For some reason, he’s getting flack from Pluto in Capricorn this month. Pluto’s in the sector of your solar chart that relates to family matters (including your family of origin), and he’s trying to put family interests ahead of yours. These two planetary heavyweights are just not in a good mood with each other right now, and that makes it a bit hard for people of your sign to be carefree, financially or otherwise.

If family is not a financial concern, perhaps your home is, as the sign of Capricorn also relates to your residence. In addition to Pluto, Mercury starts the month in Capricorn, and perhaps you’ll spend the first 9 days of the month either wanting to stay home or needing to attend to some business there. On the other hand, you’ve still got Mars in your party sector, so perhaps you’ll be sneaking out of the house to get together with some friends and blow off some steam.

The good news is that on the 10th, Mercury moves into Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign in your solar chart that makes you popular with your favorite sex, and there’s energy in the sign all month long. Your phone should ring or your sweetheart should be thoughtful. And that could be enough to make your heart sing.

This the time of year when all the planets are lined up on the opposite side of the zodiac from your sign, leaving you with little personal planetary attention. There is a full moon in your sign on the 28th of February, though, and you can use it to get rid of all kinds of stuff that you don’t need or want any longer, until only the good stuff is left.

There is one good angle between your ruler Mercury and Uranus this month, one that could help your personal life. That’s between Mercury in Capricorn in your 5th house of love and Uranus in Pisces in your 7th house of committed relationships. It becomes exact at 3:02 a.m. on Saturday the 6th, though (Eastern Standard Time), so you and your date will either have to stay up late to get the maximum romantic punch or fudge things a little.

On the 10th, your ruler moves into Aquarius and things get a whole lot more fuzzy and a lot less play-oriented. On the upside, you could see a modest increase in income from your job for the time being. And Aquarius is the friendship sign, so the energy is good for doing things with your buddies. On the downside, your normally precise mind can’t get much traction with the vague Aquarian energy, dominated as it is by Neptune and Chiron this month. Furthermore, Aquarius is the sign in your solar chart that represents work! So for most of the month, your mind is more on work than play.

This is your month to make a vow that you will think of your family and give them the attention and affection they need. If for some reason you don’t have family to consider, then shower your house with love, and invite some friends over to show it off. Why do I say this? Because it’s Aquarius month, and in your chart, Aquarius represents home, family, and friends.

It’s also Pisces month, which means it’s love life month, creativity month, or appreciating your children month. Jupiter is in this sign in February, as well as the sun and Venus during the second half of the month. Valentine’s Day this year is just packed with aspects, some of them quite romantic and favorable to your sign. Jupiter is also the travel planet, so some of you will be traveling either as a result of a romance, in furtherance of a creative project, or in connection with your children. (Jupiter is actually in this sector all the way until early June, and then from early September through the end of the year.)

Finally, the action planet Mars is still at the top of your chart, urging you to actually do something about your career, status or reputation. You are being asked to perform at your best. Saturn in Libra can actually help you with that this month, especially during the astrologically action packed Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend. You may actually end up working that weekend and working hard. It’s best for those who get their income from business, and it’s especially favorable for moving tangible items with Leo or Libra themes (luxury items, artwork, books, decorative or rare items, etc.).

It’s winter, and in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere that means it’s stay indoors time. That’s just fine for the Sagittarius chart, because it means you get to exercise your mind just the way you might otherwise exercise your body. It also means you get to enjoy your home, and no one will object to that. If you’re of a mind to, this would be a great month to do some decorating that expresses your unique taste.

Not that your chart doesn’t have the traveling bug; it does. It’s just that you can profitably travel in your mind or imagination right now instead of through physical travel with all its hassles. You can indulge in a perhaps rare chance to cozy up at home and dive into a good book.

The other theme of the month is your desire to be an individual while still belonging to some sort of group. This desire, represented by Saturn in Libra, is being vigorously challenged by Pluto in Capricorn this month. Somehow or another you can’t quite make up your mind how to handle this situation. Perhaps you don’t quite fit in, but you don’t want to be left out. There’s no easy answer to this question, but I will just point out that every person has their role in a group, and although certain common elements are necessary for cohesion, no two individuals need to be alike. Everyone has their own preferences, strengths, and weaknesses and there’s no need for you to copy anyone else to gain a feeling of belonging.

Lack of money doesn’t look to be a problem in February for Capricorn, as planets crowd into Aquarius and your solar house of income. If actual cash doesn’t come in, then you may receive gifts or other tangible items. Aquarius is a mentally oriented sign, so they may be gifts for the mind, such as books and so on, but one way or another your chart is in receiving mode. Of course, it may also be in spending mode, too, as Mars in luxurious Leo is not much of a bargain hunter. Do try to exercise reasonable caution and make sure you’re not overpaying for what you purchase this month.

Your chart isn’t lacking in skill this month, either. Venus and Jupiter (and eventually the sun) all converge on your solar 3rd house of the skills necessary to succeed in daily living. What you might need, however, is a sense of connection with someone. Contentious Mars is in your solar 8th house of intimacy, thrashing around and perhaps trying to work out problems that may have been triggered by the eclipse in Cancer at the end of December. Some Capricorns experienced a breakup around then (or perhaps around the end of January), and they are in full-on missing someone mode. Toward the end of the month, you may seek solace in church or a spiritual practice or in a trip to someplace far away.

As a final note, career concerns take precedence over family this month. Not everyone may like that, but that’s the way it is.

Woo-hoo! Venus is in your sign from the 11th on, and then the sun is from the 18th on. Venus in your sign is traditionally said to make you popular or at least involved in lots of pleasurable social interaction. Venus in your sign can also mean money coming in, although the sign of Pisces tends to be oriented more toward intangibles than cold hard cash.

But wait! There’s more! Jupiter is in your sign as well, giving not only February but the entire first 5 months of a the year a playful feel. Jupiter in one’s sign encourages lots of tries, even at things you’re not normally good at. The spirit of adventure pays off with Jupiter at your side.

The other planet in your sign is Uranus. He’s been there for a good long while, so you’re probably used to that. Uranus is changeable and disruptive, but when he’s in your own sign, you’ll often find your life paradoxically stable, as you process the inner changes. When he leaves your sign, though….the outer changes often start appearing. As it so happens, Uranus will leave your sign for the first time since 2004 in early June of this year, so things may start moving around in your life in 2010. Just a head’s up.

Meanwhile, Mars is still in your work and health sector, giving you the ability to solve problems in either arena. With Saturn in Libra in your 8th house, you’ll do best if you solve them tactfully and discreetly.