Midlife Transits

I’ll be at the Culver City Farmer’s Market on March 9, from 3-4:30 giving free short consultations. If you’re in the LA area, stop by and say hi if you get a chance.

Your solar chart is still absorbing a tremendous amount of information about the world courtesy of your ruler Neptune in your 12th house, which meets up with Chiron again this month. Visions of healing are dancing through your chart’s head like sugar plums or fairy tales. What this actually will mean to you varies, but if you’ve got chronic problems of any sort, you might as well meditate on them during the week of the 7th. Couldn’t hurt.

To the 17th, this is also your time to share what you know, due to Mercury, the sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus in your own sign. If you’ve found some secret to happiness, let the rest of us in on it.

From the 17th on, your chart’s mind turns to money and financial matters as Mercury moves into Aries. You will actually have 3 planets move into your money sector in March. Sometimes this brings in money, but in many folks it signals instead a desire to spend it. You will probably need to exercise caution before whipping out the checkbook or the credit cards, as Saturn in Libra is currently looking at any spending you do as a symptom of some sort of a horrible disease it wants to cure. Save, Saturn says, save, for the love of God, save your money. Saturn’s probably right, but perhaps you could sneak in a small birthday indulgence or two without breaking the bank.

As for the rest of your year, the money theme will continue to be important. Your chart is gearing up for a semi-wild ride through a rollercoaster of changes in both income and outflow. You could make big money and spend big money both. The changes in how you spend money will reflect the changes in your value system that have been gradually accumulating over the past 7 years. You’re actually on the threshold of big changes in your life. A new romance could come into the mix as well. Friendships could come and go.

The thing that may well ground you during the year is your spirituality or religion. Pisces is a spiritual sign by nature anyway, and that theme is greatly amplified in your chart during 2010. Communicate with your version of God and let him/her/it or them communicate back with you. Your own internal sense of the divine is probably your best navigation tool through what looks to be a very interesting year.

It’s hard to say what your mental state or thought processes will be like this March. If you were born in March, they may be pretty intense, as Pluto is stuck at 5 degrees all month, close to a square with your natal sun. Furthermore, your ruler Mars is at 0 degrees Leo for much of the month, giving you March Aries folks an intense shot of helpful energy. Saturn opposing your sun adds another layer of intense energy.

On the other hand, if you were born near the end of the sign, then you will benefit from wonderfully pleasant angles from Neptune and Chiron to your sun.That’s not intense at all. For the rest of you, it partly depends how you respond to Pisces energy. There’s a lot of it in March, and it may lift your mood or make you feel quite tired.

Planets also move into your own sign this month. Venus leads the way, entering on the 7th. Mercury follows, entering on the 17th. The sun brings up the rear, entering on the 20th. Energy in your own sign should presumably help perk you up.

We could also sum things up another way. Until the 17th, your mind is scheduled to be on Very Big Thoughts around issues that relate to the entire previous year or perhaps much longer than that. From the 17th on, your thoughts are scheduled to be on much more immediate and smaller matters. You may also get a single good idea in the second half of the month that proves useful for the next 12 months.

The skies are just really not all that rational right now, at least as far as the Taurus solar chart is concerned. Instead, they are heavy with irrational Neptune/Pisces/12th house energy. Let’s run it down real quickly.

Irrational Neptune meets up with Chiron in your career house in the middle of the month. Not good for analysis, but maybe you will get some sort of a genius vision regarding your career or professional life.

There are 5 placements that spend time in Pisces this month: the sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Pisces. There is also a new Moon in Pisces this month on the 15th. Not at all rational, but good for partying or hanging out with your friends.

Then there’s energy in Aries this month too, which just so happens to fall in your irrational solar 12th house. Give it up; thinking clearly is just not what the month is supposed to be all about. Far better to relax and just enjoy yourself. You can do that. You’re a Taurus; that’s supposed to be one of your gifts. Now if you could just teach the rest of us how to do it….

This is your career month, Gemini. There are 5 placements that move through Pisces, your career sign, in March. There’s also a new moon in that sector on the 15th. Three of the placements come and go pretty quickly. Venus leaves Pisces by the 7th, Mercury by the 17th, and the sun by the 20th. Jupiter and Pisces last a little longer.

Of these, Jupiter is the most important one because it can bring long-lasting benefits to the house it travels through. It is often associated with learning new skills or even formally attending a school or university of some sort. If you haven’t yet signed up for any career-related learning opportunities, you’ve got plenty of supportive energy for that in March.

This trend can tie in with the eclipse series in Cancer and Capricorn that’s in effect in 2010. The universe can help you substantially increase your earning power this year if you’re willing to play ball. The earlier you act, the better. In fact, if you’re reading this February, get started now. Venus can help you. Next month, planets will start rolling into Taurus, the part of your chart where they take a nap. It will theoretically be a little bit harder for you to operate at your usual peak mental efficiency.

If you don’t have a traditional career, you can still indulge in recreational learning and/or schooling this month. You could even study an occult subject or a metaphysical one if you’re interested. You would probably greatly enjoy the process.

Every year, as spring begins, Cancers have their annual career month. It’s time for yours this year, Cancer, but this is not your typical career month. This year, Saturn in Libra is annoyed at the very thought of you having a career month, and Pluto in Capricorn wants to hog up all the attention in your relationships sector. The bottom line is that major parts of your chart are more concerned with what they perceive to be restrictions on your love life (or involving your loved ones) than they are with whether or not you get ahead.

That’ll change somewhat in a couple of months because Uranus will suddenly decide that he’s very interested in your career, and he’ll be duking it out with Pluto and Saturn over what constitutes the most important element of your life. (A hint regarding the future: brace for a very interesting and impactful summer.) But for the time being, you’re simply going to have to sneak in whatever attention you can spare for your career over Saturn’s opposition. This gets easier after the 21st, so keep that in mind.

Another possibility is the various energies of the month will all mush up with each other so that you end up attracting some sort of relationship through your career, maybe even one that you think you need to keep secret. Because, for the moment, your chart simply cannot keep its mind off the subject of love or the lack thereof.

There’s a lot of energy in your solar 9th house this month, and that’s a house that typically loves learning, knowledge and all that intellectual stuff. It’s possible that you will love all that stuff too in March, but it’s just as likely that you’ll have love of a distinctly more physical kind on your mind instead. On the 15th, you get your annual new moon of carnal love, of rejuvenating your sex life, renewing intimacy, and establishing intimacy through good old-fashioned physical contact. Since man does not live by thoughts alone, perhaps it would be a good idea to invest some time in getting your groove back if you’ve lost it temporarily or simply getting it on if you know exactly where to find it. Your chart really is feeling quite passionate this month.

If the mere thought of passion scares you right now, well, then we go back to the intellectual. You can discharge some of your chart’s energy by interacting (maybe even flirting) through debate, discussion, the exchange of opinions with your peers and so on. If that sounds too abrasive for you, then you’ll need to at least vent some energy through writing, speaking, or doing something creative. If you do have some sort of a writing project you can throw yourself into, aim to wrap it up by the full moon on the 29th.

Last but maybe not least, if money’s on your mind, use the first week of the month to try to scare up some dollars through a joint project with someone you admire.

The sign of Virgo loves its facts and figures. For right now, let’s hope you’re one of those Virgos who fits the type–because you need to have a handle on your facts and figures when it comes to money these days. March sees both of your money houses lit up with energy, and March is really just the beginning of a long-term trend. The basic problem (and it kinda is one) is Saturn in Libra in your second house of income and values.

Saturn opposes the sun, Mercury, and Venus in your house of debt this month and there’s a full moon in your income house this month too (on the 29th). This is like a quadruple emphasis on money during the month. So what exactly are you supposed to do about all this? Probably what you are supposed to do is learn to put a great value on conservative investments, savings, and the like.

Live within your means. Develop an appreciation for free stuff–like walking in the park on a beautiful spring day, or a breezy spring day, or any kind of a day at all, so that you can save money on gym fees.

Yes, and gather facts. Face reality; figure out the truth. The thing is, Saturn in your second house is full of financial fears. Maybe some of those fears are justified; maybe they are not. You’re not going to know unless you get up the courage to look at your 401k account and see what’s left, balance your checkbook, see what kind of interest you are paying on your credit cards, and do all that sensible stuff that grownups are supposed to do.

The month opens with your chart’s mind on your job or your health. By mid-month, it switches to thinking about something that’s more up your alley–attraction. For most of the month, you have the power to attract. What can you attract? Well, love for one thing. Money may be a bit more of a stretch.

Of course, if we’re going to be realistic, Libra almost always has the power to attract love; that’s one of the characteristics of your sign. It’s just that this month, there are a whole lot of planets in Aries, which is a love sign in your solar chart. And this can ease any feelings of deprivation in this area that you may have felt due to mean old Saturn being in your sign for the past several months.

The kicker comes in the form of Pluto in your family sector not being in a good mood with all that Aries energy. Neither Pluto nor Saturn is feeling all that generous these days, whereas Aries is a very generous sign by nature. So the happy generous love feelings of the Aries planets could feel a little crimped by Pluto and Saturn. Quite frankly, Saturn and Pluto both would be just as glad if you thought about nothing but work.

Maybe you need to work due to family reasons. Or maybe work is your escape right now. Or maybe you do something creative and fulfilling for a living. Whatever your own personal situation, the reality seems to be that you need to balance your Libra nature, the one that values relationships, with the reality of the times, which value gainful employment.

Job and career. Job and career. Job and career. Those are big themes for Scorpio in March.

Maybe you love to learn on the job or maybe you find extraneous learning generally tedious and uninteresting. Regardless of how you usually feel, the second half of March is specifically designed to highlight learning all you can about job-related stuff so that you can utilize all the energy that’s still glowing in your career sector thanks to Mars in Leo. Even if you think of your day job as just a job, for the moment, you need to treat it like a career.

Attend or organize events to raise your visibility. Go after a promotion, some kind of an achievement, or an honor. Do something important; step in and save the day when there’s a crisis. Concentrate on the here and now and leave aside for a moment your sign’s normal attraction to research and the past. Learn by doing and by taking action. Be opportunistic. What you have is a nice conglomeration of influences designed to reward ego, confidence, and your own individual contribution, so make the most of them. This is also your best month all year to attract what you need in terms of a new job or allies in the job you already have.

Finally, take heart if this job stuff is not what you want to emphasize this month. You also have the possibility of enjoying love (Venus in your love life house from mid-February through March 6!). You could also gain a little money through creative endeavors.

Same old, same old for Sagittarius in March. Which is kind of a good thing. More happy home vibes for Sagittarius, especially from mid-February through March 6.

Mars continues its stay in your solar 9th house, turning direct on the 10th. This can help energize your enthusiasm for almost anything in your life. Saturn continues its stay in Libra–pointing out potential problems with your friends, with groups, or with a sense of belonging. Some susceptible Sagittarians will also be very annoyed with the direction that society is taking these days.

Money continues to be a major area of transformation for Sagittarius folks as well. Neptune in Aquarius meets up with Chiron in that sign again this month. This potentially means that you will find yourself repeating thoughts or ideas or things you said way back in the middle of 2009. This is part of a kind of a rehearsal process, wherein you learn what your healing vision is by re-imagining it several times.

The one thing that’s kinda sorta new is an emphasis on your love life, your children, your creativity, or play. Venus spends most of the month in your love life house, helping to make you attractive to those very people you want to attract. Money could also come through creative projects or even through your children. Love of anything and everything is in the air, including love of a hobby. As far as these trends go, March is just the opening round in a volley of energy that’s going to come your way on these subjects in 2010.

Energy is very concentrated around the angles of your chart in March. What that means is that this is a very high energy month indeed, one of many for Capricorn in 2010. It’s also a month (and year) of alternatives. So let’s lay some of them out.

One alternative in March involves concentrating on home, family, your emotional needs, habits and routine. All those homey things that are supposed to give you security and a firm base to stand upon. Another involves concentrating on your career. A third involves concentrating on your own personal interests and fulfillment. Put another way, everything’s competing for your attention.

So how to resolve the competition or choose your path? Well, I’ll suggest that the main focus in your chart is really on your own personal transformation right now, transformation that may involve many areas of your life. Mars is just burning up with energy in your transformation sector and transformation planet Pluto is plunked very solidly in your sign, barely moving all month. When Pluto plunks himself anywhere, he gets very powerful.

The key is just to figure out what area of your life to start transforming first. You could do that by analyzing where your greatest power really lies these days. One thing that could help is that March’s emphasis on family could mean that you can attract desirable assistance and help from family members, including parents. Another thing that could help is using all that Mars energy to get some very vigorous exercise. Moving is its own form of meditation, and just moving your body could help break up any logjams or indecisiveness you feel.

Finally, eat some chocolate. This has nothing to do with your chart, but it’s almost always good advice anyway.

Mars is the planet of the month for Aquarius. It stations (gets powerful) this month and then it moves direct (gains energy). It gives you the opportunity to take the initiative in matters of love or money or whatever it is that you desire. Since it is in the sign opposite yours, you could also feel that it is just taking you to school in March and teaching you stuff that you didn’t really realize you needed to know.

So your first step is…to take your first step in whatever direction you want to go. If you want to sing–start singing. If you want to stay home and out of the spring rains–stay home. If you want to go out with your siblings, neighbors, or acquaintances–go out. In other words, practice doing what you actually want to do–and see how other people react. They may react with alarm or anger, or they may react with admiration and support. Mars’s job is to let you know what effect doing what you want has on other people. Only by getting this feedback can you learn where you really stand with the people in your life.

Your second step is to communicate. Let people know your thought processes. Actually reach out. If no one calls or no one reacts to your initiatives, make the calls yourself. This month is very much oriented around other people, how you relate to them and how they relate to you.

Finally, if all that relating gets a little tense–get some exercise or play a game. That’ll help burn off some of the excess Mars in your chart this month.

A lot of people know that there’s an outer planet cardinal T-square coming up this summer. What that means is that Pluto will be in early degrees of Capricorn, Uranus in early Aries, and Saturn in early Libra. These energies clash with each other, creating a lot of stress. What not as many people know is that the stress from clashes between outer planets often manifests when there’s a considerable distance between the outer planets, often around 8-10 degrees from a square or opposition.

Right now, Pluto and Uranus are about 10 degrees from a square. Uranus is in late Pisces and Pluto is in early Capricorn, creating in effect what is a wide out of sign square. Saturn and Pluto are much closer to squaring each other, less than a degree apart.

Today, a man in Austin, Texas apparently deliberately flew a small plane into an office building that housed IRS workers. This link shows what was in his mind just before he did that.

You can see how his mind was banging around multiple points of conflict and couldn’t seem to find a resolution. Here are some of the planetary themes in his rant:

Laws and justice:  Saturn in Libra.

Government and taxation: Pluto in Capricorn.

Freedom: Uranus.

Greedy, powerful corporations: Pluto in Capricorn.

Healthcare, the drug companies, unions, and the American medical system: Uranus in Pisces with a little of bit Saturn in Virgo energy thrown in.

Accusations of totalitarianism: Pluto in Capricorn.

The corruption of big religious entities: Pluto in Sagittarius and Uranus in Pisces.

Grudges from the past: Pluto.

The system is based on lies: Saturn and Pluto.

The futility of trying to be independent: Uranus in Aries vs. Pluto in Capricorn.

Engineering: Uranus.

Anger over work and career issues: Pluto in Capricorn.

Time to revolt: Uranus in Aries.

Violence as an answer: Uranus in Aries.

Note that with an out of sign square, two signs are represented for each planet. In other words, if Uranus is at 24 degrees Pisces and Capricorn is at 4 degrees Capricorn, the square behaves as if it is both Uranus in Pisces and Pluto in Sagittarius, and Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.

Note also that the man refers to patriotism, a concept associated with the remaining cardinal sign Cancer. Cancer is the release point of the cardinal T-square, the point at which a person can find some relief from the ‘storm’ of planets in his head. In this case, the concept of patriotism didn’t offer any relief. In fact, it only seemed to make things worse.

Obviously, most people are not going to do something as terrible as fly a plane into a government building as the pressure of the outer planets mounts. But people are going to be under pressure, and some vulnerable people will feel that there is a storm in their heads. It will feel to some people like there is no way out.

It is important to remember that these squares do not last forever. It is not a good idea to reinterpret your entire past in the light of current bitter or despairing feelings.

Yes, there will be problems in our collective and in our personal lives. We do need to address them. And we can’t do that if we let the storms override our basic sanity.