Midlife Transits

As we start the Aries solar new year, let’s take a look at some of the major themes for Aries over the next 12 months. First off, the theme of faith. Jupiter, a planet with a lot of faith, is currently in Pisces, the sign before yours. There it encourages faith in the universe itself. By June, it moves into your own sign, where it encourages faith in yourself. In both cases, it is your ability and willingness to proceed with confidence that brings rewards over the next months.

A second theme is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is one of Aries’ best qualities, and this is another approach that Jupiter will reward in the coming months. By June, it will be time to pursue your own interests with vigor. If you have a desire to study anything, Jupiter will also help with that.

By the same token, it may become more difficult to pursue an occupation that does not truly interest you. Saturn moves back into your work sector this month. He’ll stay there until July. If he didn’t already convince you between late 2007 and now that you need to pursuing work that you can see yourself sticking with, he’ll make another attempt before he leaves Saturn for good. Pluto in Capricorn is also encouraging you to transform your occupation into one that truly reflects you.

Uranus also moves into your sign this year–in late May. He’ll be giving a preview for about 2 1/2 months of what will eventually be a 7 year stay in your sign. You can’t get much more of an enthusiastic set of influences than Jupiter and Uranus in Aries. With the sun in your sign during the first 3 weeks of April, you’re getting sort of a sneak peek at the the energy that will be important this year.

Indeed, it’s already starting to show itself. Issues like gun rights are becoming more prominent and that’s exactly the kind of thing that Uranus in Aries advocates for (your sign rules guns; Uranus rules individual rights). Other related issues, like hunter’s rights, may also come into play.

You yourself may not be a gun enthusiast or a hunter per se. But the energy of the thrill of the chase (whatever it is that you like to chase, including people of your favorite sex) is all over your chart–not just this month, but for a long time to come.

First, let’s talk about the roof over your head. Mars is zooming direct through your solar sector of house and home. He’s been there for an extended stay (since October), but he won’t be there forever. He’ll leave in June, not to return for another couple of years.

Mars loves the home improvement projects, and the weather is no longer an excuse for putting them off. I realize you may not feel like dealing with the home stuff, especially during the first week of April, because Mercury and Venus are in your sign this month. They’d probably rather be lounging around in the sun or something, but Mars can be a pretty insistent planet.

Mercury and Venus in Taurus may also set off a bit of a clash with officials or with whoever acts as authority in your life (boss, government, whoever). Venus will be squaring Neptune in your sector of mucky-mucks after the sun joins the party in your sign on April 20. Mercury will be retrograde. And, right about this time, Saturn will be directly opposing Uranus. Authority figures are likely to be not only annoyed, but confused. Things could get a little weird, especially if you were born near the end of your sign.

On the happy side, Venus in your sign will be in a very good mood with Jupiter on Saturday the 17th. Theoretically, this makes everyone you deal with more likely to be in a good mood too. Enjoy!

Probably the biggest news for Gemini in April is that Saturn moves from Libra back into Virgo. You’ve been through this drill before. Saturn is the sign of self-discipline, and Virgo is a sign that’s hot for self-improvement. As a client told me today, “My friends and I are all kind of tired of self-improvement and personal growth right now.”

You might be too, but there are just a little over 3 months to go of Saturn being in a sensitive spot in your chart. After August, you can give self-improvement a nice long rest. But in the meantime, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got your act together, once again.

Have a habit of running late? Time to break it once and for all. Or whatever your self-identified fault might be–it’s time for to use your intelligence in training yourself to achieve what you want to achieve in terms of personal habits. As it so happens, you’ll have lots of help this month from the inner planets. They’re all rooting around in your subconscious mind, trying to dig out the real reasons for why you act the way you do. By and large, they should be happy to share their information with Saturn, which could make it much easier for you shift things without having to use excessive force.

If excessive force is to be applied, it will come from Uranus, who is once again fighting with Saturn, still in your 10th house of career, still determined to bring about changes, no matter how doubtful you may be. Another spin on the month’s energies might be that reality is going to be what you interpret it to be–so you’ll want to get your story straight.

Which brings us to another element of the month’s energies. Your communication skills are likely to be put to the test–especially with family members and/or with authority figures, government officials, bosses, and the like. Nobody is likely to know what’s going on, and you’ll be looked upon to sort through it all in a grounded, factual fashion. Fortunately, this is something Gemini can do with great skill.

The outer planets start acting up again in April. As Saturn moves back into Virgo this month, he’s likely to get all depressed again, just as he was from late 2007 til late 2009. He also gets into another fight with Uranus and attempts to hog up the planetary spotlight with his super blocking action. He knows he’s going to lose against the forces of change, but it’s not in his nature to give up without getting in every last ounce of complaining he can muster.

What does this mean for Cancer? Well, it’s not fatal, and it may even represent a bit of a break from the pressure Saturn in Libra has been putting on your sign. On the other hand, the replay of Saturn in Virgo energy may pull down your spirits a bit, because Saturn will be in your sector of daily mood again. The opposition between outer planets could also mean that it’s hard to get answers from authority figures and officials (Saturn rules both), as they’re likely to be busy resisting whatever it is Saturn wants them to resist.

You may also find that it is hard for you to give answers or responses as situations may seem ambiguous or unresolved. Mercury going retrograde doesn’t really help the stuckness ofthe month, although in reality it probably doesn’t hurt much either.

Meanwhile, you’ve got a bit of career energy during the first 3 weeks of the month, and you may be able to slip in some progress on that front while the other planets aren’t looking.

2009 all over again. Uranus and Saturn cannot seem to stop picking on each other. Saturn has even moved back into Virgo so that he can pick a fight with Uranus yet again, much as he did through big chunks of last year. What does this mean for Leo?

Basically, just when you’re ready to ready to file your taxes or come clean with the IRS or get your bills and debts straightened out or get your joint finances all ship-shape–the planets try to make them all confusing again. Oh well. You lived through 2009, you’ll live through April. Things will eventually get better.

For some Leos, the position of Uranus has coincided with a divorce or the breakup of a business partnership. In these cases, the standoff between Uranus and Saturn has to do with Uranus knowing that you need to be independent and strike out on your own, while Saturn has been worrying about your emotional or financial security.  In the long run, your chart’s need for you to be free will prevail, but in the short run negotiations will probably have to continue for some time. You just need to keep plugging away at things when the opportunity arises.

If you are in negotiations with the government or a corporation over debt, a similar principle applies. See if you can find out what the other party really needs to settle the matter.

Meanwhile, you have some favorable travel energy this month. Get away!

Here they come again. Uranus in Pisces and Saturn in Virgo are back on opposite sides the astrological wheel again. Yeah, that’s right. Saturn is back in your sign, as of the 7th.

He’s likely to draw the crazies out of the woodwork as he returns. It’s not exactly Saturn’s fault that his presence in your sign provokes the eccentrics to pop back into your life. Technically, it’s Uranus in your 7th house that’s astrologically responsible for that. It’s just that Saturn’s conservatism irritates the more free-spirited souls among us so much that they become more prone to acting out when Saturn gets them all riled up.

This could be good for you. Perhaps what you need most right now is an interesting person or two to shake you out of your Virgo rut. Uranus has been trying to convince you for years to let your own personal weirdness run free. It’s just that…the effort to loosen up is likely to be difficult, especially if you are worried about a spouse, partner, ex-spouse, ex-partner, or soon to be ex-spouse or partner.

In fact, you do need to let your guard down and face your problems with this interesting person or partner forthrightly–and commands and criticism do not qualify as letting your guard down. But you also need to be able to cope with stress in your own Virgo way. And therein lies the balance. Only you can decide how much of the facade to keep up and how much to let slip.

By the way, some of you Virgos lost a bit too much weight during Saturn’s transit of your sign. Make sure you don’t stress yourself too skinny during April. Keep your strength up and do remember to eat.

Two big planets, Saturn and Uranus, are fighting again this month. Thank goodness you’ve still got Neptune in Aquarius to help you escape. What Saturn and Uranus want to fight about is your job, your health, or your soul. Saturn’s left your sign seemingly to specifically make sure he finishes his dust-up with Uranus in your job sector. This could be good in the sense that you could have some sort of breakthrough this month in a long-standing matter of concern, although the effort could well be so exhausting that you don’t feel much like celebrating even after victory.

Neptune’s job in this month of conflict is to help you escape via play, your children, recreation, love affairs, or a creative project. At the end of the month, Venus will also step in to help you escape via travel if you so choose. After the 24th is the best time to make a trip.

If traveling won’t work, you could also escape into a good book. Spiritual subjects are likely to appeal to you these days. In truth, anything that stimulates your imagination could be helpful this month. For example, if job or health concerns do rear their ugly heads again this month, try visualization, yoga, or stress reduction techniques that allow you to imagine a positive outcome to your situation.

Another technique would be to take advantage of Jupiter in Pisces. When Saturn and Uranus were fighting before, Uranus didn’t have Jupiter on his side. Now that he does, you can utilize Jupiter’s love for learning and continuing education. Take a class, find a mentor, get more information.

April presents quite the mixed bag. The other fixed signs are represented in abundance (Taurus, Leo, and Aquarius), which means they are basically being snarky with each other. The mutable signs of Pisces and Virgo are also over-represented this month, and the mutable sign of Gemini sneaks in on the 25th. The mutable signs aren’t just being snarky in April, they are brawling.

Here are the players. Uranus in Pisces in your solar 5th house is in the mood to rebel like crazy against the authority that Saturn in Virgo represents. Yes, Saturn moves back into Virgo on the 7th. In your life, the authority could come in the form of your know-it-all friends, the government, local officials, bureaucrats, corporate lackeys, old people, or critics. The desire to rebel may play out in your love life, your children’s lives, or your creative projects. However it plays out, your chart does not want to be repressed by these forces any more. So…go ahead and rebel. As long as you don’t do anything insane, it should be good for you. Good luck Jupiter is on the side of the rebel planet this time, so you may even get away with taunting your tormentors–as long as you don’t go too far over the top.

On the fixed side of things, we have Neptune in Aquarius, sun, Mercury, and Venus in Taurus, and Mars in Leo. The general result is confusion in the major areas of your life. There is just too much going on. Don’t even bother trying to sort it out. Instead, indulge in some good old fashioned escapism by going to the movies, or even better renting a bunch of them to watch at home.

Yes, Saturn and Uranus are going to be fighting again this month. Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy your home in peace, mean old Saturn has to sneak back into your career house to try to stir up some conflict, probably around family members. That’s okay, you’ve got the tools to deal with it. Your ruler Jupiter is on your side now; Saturn has less power now.

Even better perhaps, you’ve got Pluto in Capricorn on your side too. Pluto’s in your values house, and he values truthfulness. That’s handy, because so does your sign! Even better, Pluto makes good angles with a mess of inner planets in Taurus this month. Taurus in your solar chart represents your job sector.

So if Saturn tries to be mean in your professional life–hah! Pluto and the Taurus planets have got your back. If any planet can penetrate Saturn’s blockages, it’s Pluto.

Admittedly, the month does have a strange mix of energies. Planets in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius are resonating in an odd sort of harmonic, and things could get a little hard to figure out. There is a tendency for boundaries to blur, for people to mesh and merge and not be able to separate themselves from that which is influencing them.

Here again, Pluto is helpful. Pluto values cutting through the crap to get to the heart of the matter, and if you follow his lead, you should be able to discern the light in the forest. Or something like that.

April is big on earth signs like your own. Saturn moves back into Virgo, and the inner planets hang out in Taurus. Meanwhile, the big Kahuna of demoted planets, Pluto, is not only in your sign, but stationing. Stationing is astrological shorthand for super-powerful.

Now, you may not be thrilled to hear that Pluto is super-powerful right now, since it can be a hard planet to handle. Pluto is the supremely selfish planet in its own way, ruthlessly truthful, and unwilling to let others lie to it. So when Pluto shows you the truth, it can be a bit more than you wanted to hear. If you’re a December born Capricorn, you may feel like you’ve already had a dose or two too much of Pluto.

Still, Pluto is your friend, because the re-entry of Saturn into Virgo represents your chart’s struggle for meaning. Uranus in Pisces in opposition to Saturn represents your chart’s struggle to answer the questions that Saturn puts to it. Questions such as ‘what’s the use, what’s the point?’ It is the frustration angle par excellence.

Pluto is teaching you that the meaning  comes from within you. It’s all about your own experience of life. There is no meaning from outside, no official meaning, no grand point that others can provide. You’re the one, the man, the woman. The significance of your activities comes from you.

Again, admittedly, for December born Capricorns or those who have planets in early degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, it can seem as though you’ve wandered into a dark and impenetrable forest that you can’t find your way out of. Perhaps you have. But Pluto can find the way out, and during the week of the 5th he’ll try to prove it to you.

Saturn moves back into Virgo to face off against Uranus in Pisces again this month. Ho hum. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt that says ‘By now, I’m kinda used to being broke.’ No point in worrying about it at this stage of the game; your financial prospects will theoretically improve by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Pluto is digging around in the part of your chart that relates to becoming conscious of your old patterns of thought and behavior. He’s making goo-goo eyes at inner planets in Taurus in your solar 4th house of the soul this month, too. In short, you have a chance to ‘get it’ on a soul level this month–whatever the ‘it’ in question may be in your own life.

On the other hand, Pluto’s also a bit of an obsessive-compulsive. So he may have you repeating old patterns so compulsively that you’re finally convinced that the time has come to stop them; you can’t take it anymore. Pluto can be a bit devious that way.

Pluto is also about the primal survival instinct. He knows that you’re relying on old patterns because you have needed them to survive. He also knows that now you can survive without them. You may not realize that you can survive without them, but he does. Look for an insight or a bit of a turning point during the week of the 5th. The inner planets in Taurus can help you integrate your new understanding on an emotional level.

During the week of the 5th, carefully define your soul’s intentions, your goals, hopes, and wishes. Pluto is stationing in the sector of your chart that relates to your long-term aspirations, which makes it especially powerful. Pisces born in February benefit the most from this influence.

Another kind of definition is in order for Pisces born late in the sign. When Saturn moves back into Virgo on the 7th, you get your last best chance to define what you want in a relationship. There’s still a real tug of war between Saturn and Uranus in your own sign. Some of you will feel this as struggle or ambivalence in an important relationship. Other Pisces have gotten used to the ongoing conflicts in their relationships and have developed a system for handling them by now.

Saturn’s move does take some pressure off your money situation. The days between the 7th and the 20th represent your astrological best shot until June at regaining any financial ground you have lost. Religion and travel (long-distance travel) are also highlighted for your sign until early June.

Otherwise, the inner planets are mostly focused on the busy little tasks of daily life, at least until the 25th. At that point, Venus moves into Gemini and you get some good family vibes. Meanwhile, your ruler Neptune is still wandering around in the part of your chart that relates to your sense of the divine. Neptune hates definition almost as much as Saturn and Pluto love it these days. In the real world, you may have to take a stand with someone, but in your chart’s heart of hearts, it just wants to kind of hang around and wait to see how things turn out if it doesn’t do anything.

Announcing the 1st International Astrology Day Blog Carnival
Welcome the Aries Ingress

The Cardinal T-Square:
Personal Challenges – Practical Solutions

A 3-Day World Wide Web Blog-a-Thon
March 19-21, 2010
Keys to Effectively Handling the Cardinal T-Square Challenges

Find out how you and your loved ones may be affected by the T-Square!

A blog carnival is an internet-based event featuring a large, permanent collection of informative articles on a given topic. Several blogs host pages with article descriptions linked to sites where articles are posted. This particular carnival celebrates International Astrology Day and presents a variety of useful essays about ways individuals can contend with the cardinal T-Square during 2010-14.

The three host bloggers showcase articles on how transiting Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will affect individuals’ lives and what they can do to integrate the useful side of each of these energies. Authors for each day give readers ideas and problem-solving tools to tackle the inevitable challenges and get back on solid ground.

Friday, March 19:
So you’ve STILL got Pluto Problems?

Saturday, March 20
Take Care of Saturn and Saturn Will Take Care of You

Sunday, March 21
Uranus in Aries: Claiming a Self-Reliant Future

For descriptions of all the article collections and special features, here’s the link to the blogathon main page: The Cardinal T-Square of 2010: Saturn, Uranus, Pluto

Here is a link to an article I  wrote almost 4 years ago on the 8th house and credit card debt: http://www.thirdage.com/today/horoscopes/astrology-credit-card-debt.

This article is featured in Pluto Problems Got You Perplexed? Here’s What Helps! published by Skywriter as Part of the 2010 International Astrology Day Blogathon. The purpose of this web-based event is to create a permanent library of articles about how to deal with the stresses of the Cardinal T-Square of Pluto, Saturn and Uranus. The main page for the Blogathon collections is at The Cardinal T-Square of 2010: Saturn, Uranus, Pluto.

The article is part of the ThirdAge.com website that I used to write for. Now you can read my articles on various astrological matters here at Midlife Transits.  You can also contact me for a personal consultation or find me in Culver City, California (Los Angeles area) at the Raksa Wellness Center.

Here are some links to other articles that deal with issues relating to Pluto, the cardinal T-square, or other relevant matters:

Inside the Mind of the Cardinal T-Square

Got Natal Saturn  in Libra?

Dealing with Difficult Pluto Transits

Saturn in Libra Horoscopes for the signs, Aries through Virgo & Libra through Pisces