Midlife Transits

This week’s podcast contains a live, off-the-cuff chart reading for an individual whose chart I had never seen before. She got a free reading in exchange for allowing it to be recorded for the show. Listening to a consultation is a great way for people who have never had one to get a feel for what it’s like (it’s not fortune-telling!). It’s also a great way for students and enthusiasts to get more information about how a chart operates in real life as opposed to the abstractions presented in cookbooks.

In many cases, I have time to prepare by meditating on the chart before the reading, but in this case it was spontaneous and is presented warts and all. It was edited slightly for time and to delete some personally identifying details. There are always things that could have been done differently or followed up on more thoroughly, but time is always a factor and at 1 hour we couldn’t go into everything in detail. I’ve never given a consultation yet that I thought was perfect!

With that said, below are some of the things we touched on. If the astrospeak at first goes over your head, scroll down a bit for some interesting manifestations explained in plain English.

Her main concern in the natal chart at the moment was a cardinal T-square between Pluto in Libra, Mars in Aries, and Moon in Cancer. All 3 placements fell within the Gauquelin sectors, so this is quite a planetary tussle within her natal chart. Her ‘phase of life’ is Mars in Aries. (For an explanation of phase of life and how to calculate it, refer to the podcast and the previous one on Vedic astrology.) Her Mars in Aries placement is conjunct the Descendant on the 6th house side. In her life it seems to correlate, as expected, with work, health, and relationship matters. Her natal Mars is activated by solar arc direction but not by transit or secondary progression. She spontaneously mentioned a number of Mars issues, including concerns about her health, her relationships, her tendency to initiate and not follow through, as well as feelings of excessive heat.

There are a lot of approaches we could have taken to her Mars concerns, but we focused on the dynamics of the conversation between Pluto, Mars and the Moon.

We also talked about her natal Neptune in Sagittarius in the 3rd house (Placidus houses), which is in a trine to her natal Mars. We briefly mentioned Chiron conjunct her sun in Taurus in the 7th house, her Jupiter in Leo in the 10th house, and her Saturn in Virgo in the 11th house.

Interesting manifestations of the planets: (some of these are mentioned in the podcast, some came out in later conversation).

Neptune in Sagittarius in the 3rd house: Neptune is often related to music or artistic leanings in a chart, and that seems to be the case for the client. A cookbook interpretation of Neptune in Sagittarius in the 3rd might be something like overseas relatives or artistic siblings. This client is the first I’ve come across, however, to use Neptune in the 3rd to make up an imaginary (Neptune) language (3rd house). She also prefers to sing (Neptune) in a foreign (Sagittarius) language (third house).

Mars in Aries in the 6th house: Particular forms of exercise (6th house) make her feel militant (Mars, Aries). She specifically relates this to her father, who was trained as a military (Mars) physician (6th house).

Moon in Cancer in the 9th house conjunct MC: The client expressed an attraction to jobs that involve serving food (Cancer), nurturing people (Moon), and serving them within a certain philosophy (9th house). She is going to school (9th house) to study Ayurvedic nutrition (Cancer). She finds it difficult to finish (Mars square Moon). Her mother (Moon) was an educational (9th house) prodigy (graduated medical school at an early age) known for her cooking (Cancer). Her mother can be extremely critical at times (Moon square Mars and Pluto). Her mother’s accomplishments act as a shadow looming over her (moon conjunct MC). She is taking steps toward public visibility (moon conjunct MC) but has many hesitations (moon squared by Mars and Pluto).

These are the kinds of specific manifestations of the symbolic language of astrology that cookbooks with their limited space cannot really address. This is why it is good to study real chart and look at how resourceful charts can be in expressing their energies in a given environment.

In this particular case, we could follow up by focusing more specifically on relationships and how to negotiate the charts dual drives for independence via Mars and Aries and relationship via sun in the 7th and Pluto in Libra conjunct the Ascendant. We could also delve more deeply and more practically in terms of exercises to deal with the blocking action her Mars feels from the Pluto influence and that her moon feels from both Mars and Pluto. During our initial session, she already began to identify some of the real life circumstances and thoughts that her Pluto represents. As with anyone, Pluto can be an asset or a real problem.

As with all people, the astrology of her chart simply provides a language for expressing, clarifying and analyzing what’s really going on in her life and what she experiences on a daily basis. These circumstances, feelings, and experiences could also be expressed and analyzed using other types of terminology. The value of astrology is partly that by externalizing the competing desires and feelings as planetary symbols a person can look at them objectively and start to figure out how to make choices about how tot handle them. Astrology also offers something few other disciplines do: information about timing. It can a guide a person as to when the ‘right’ time to deal with certain inner conflicts or impulses might be and when it’s okay to just wait for things to unfold. At the moment, the time is ripe for this individual to develop tools to deal with all 3 elements of the t-square.

This week’s podcast in on Vedic astrology. Carol Allen, a well-known Vedic astrologer and relationship coach, talks about the Vedic system of marriage compatibility. Carol offers a free newsletter and free ebook on her latest website.

On the show, Carol also talks about concepts such as the seasons for love, the relationship between Vedic astrology and fate, and Vedic cures for “bad stars.” We delve into the history of Vedic astrology, how it can help people in the West, and how it differs from Western astrology.

Carol is a lively and interesting guest and she tells many stories about how Vedic astrology has helped her in her own life. She talks about how Vedic astrology can steer you away from the wrong career path and into a path that is much more likely to be successful for you. At the end of the broadcast, she gives some good news about the Vedic stars for September.

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Uranus is just finishing up whacking people with planets in late degrees of mutable signs and is looking forward to resuming the ability to pounce on people with planets in early degrees of cardinal signs next March. Since I happen to be one of those people with planets in early degrees of cardinal signs, I thought I’d respond to a reader query and venture a few unconventional thoughts on dealing with the most unconventional planet in the astrological system. Without further ado, a few strange ways for getting the upper hand on a contrary planet.

#1: Panic early. Uranus can be a rather hysterical planet and he loves speed. Get the jump on him by panicking as soon as you realize you have a Uranus square, opposition or conjunction coming up. There’s a bit of reverse psychology to this so bear with me.

Think of your worst nightmare under the upcoming transit. Let’s say Uranus will be conjunct your Descendant and opposing your Ascendant. Your worst nightmare is that Uranus will try to break up your marriage because you’ve seen that happen with Uranus in the 7th house and you’re a Libra, so you hate that idea. Panic productively by figuring out what you can pull out of your hat to prevent that. Does your spouse need more freedom? Has tension been building? Do you need to talk some things through? Could you separate briefly if things are really rough these days? Could you be more assertive now so that you’re not overwhelmed with anger later? Brainstorm; worry if necessary. Uranus loves brainstorming.

But here’s the magic of this trick. Uranus wants to surprise you. If you’ve already prepared and anticipated, there’ll be no surprise if the transit brings stress to your marriage. Uranus hates that; he hates to be predicted. So he will leave your marriage alone. Now admittedly, he will do something else, such as shake up your Ascendant by having you dye your hair shocking pink (Uranus loves shocking anything). But you can live with that. Better your hair than your marriage.

The same sort of reverse psychology is necessary if you’re actually looking forward to the Uranus transit (some people do). Let’s say you are thinking to yourself that Uranus squaring your Capricorn Ascendant is going to loosen up your Capricorn serious way of presenting yourself and you think that’s going to be great because you’re tired of being perceived as a Capricorn instead of the wacky Aquarian sun that you feel inside. Don’t count on it if you’re counting on it. Instead, announce loudly to anyone that will listen “I’ll bet you Uranus will attack my sensitive Cancer Descendant instead of my Capricorn Ascendant; I just know it. I can feel it. I’m sure of it. I’m intuitive that way. It will be awful.” Uranus will overhear you and say “Aha! Guess who’s going to get a big surprise when I go after the Capricorn Ascendant!” Mission accomplished.

Now this may seem crazy, and it kind of is. But I have experience with Uranus and in my experience Uranus really does hate being predicted. I have seen this technique work on more than one occasion. What you worry about doesn’t happen. If you don’t worry at all, you get whacked upside the head. Either way, Uranus achieves his goal of keeping you on your toes and engaged with your life, thinking about the possibilities instead of relying on the same old routine. By the time you’ve finished worrying about your marriage or whatever, you’ll have already achieved what needed to be achieved, the greater independence, the not taking it for granted, the willingness to take a look at it. Without the drama of being blindsided.

#2: If it’s too late to panic in advance, take a look at what kind of Uranus transit you are going through. There are at least 2 major kinds. One is internal and the other is situational. The internal ones make you feel like you are going crazy, partly because nothing’s happening and you want something to happen. You feel restless. You want to quit your job, flee to Europe or Tahiti. You want to dump your girlfriend, dump your friends, move across country, start a new life. You want to get married, force an issue, make a bold move, have a breakthrough or do anything rather than endure the same old situation that you’ve been putting up with forever. With Uranus in Aries, you will frequently want to scream at someone, because that’s what this placement encourages.

There are 2 ways you can handle this situation. One is to make whatever radical change crosses your mind. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it’s rough. If you’ve been thinking of ending your marriage or quitting your job for 4 years now and you haven’t been able to get your butt in gear, it’s probably time to take the plunge. Some people find it very hard to do what they’re planning unless forced by major stress. Uranus is helpful to these folks. Do try to prepare as much as possible for the major move you’re going to make because Uranus rarely sticks around to help you pick up the pieces. You’ll need to be responsible for yourself once the change is made. But if you understand that, you can use Uranus productively, even though you will be beside yourself until you make your move.

The other way is to get at the underlying boredom and need for excitement and re-engagement with your life that underlies the desire for radical change. Find a place and a way to scream on purpose, instead of by accident. Try not to entertain the idea that you will be able to get away without any metaphorical screaming or yelling at all. You will need to pitch some sort of a fit, even if you do it privately, because Uranus will not let up until you do.

Scream in your car to loud music, as long as you aren’t transporting the kids and you’ve got the windows rolled up. Find a therapist or even an astrologer and vent like crazy. Find some new friends and take up new activities with them that blow off steam. Take a karate class and make a lot of ‘hai-yah!’ noises. Get a punching bag. Learn self-defense techniques. Write an angry letter to your congressperson. Take a strong position on something and argue it with someone who is tolerant of debate. Watch a lot of action movies and vicariously thrill at blowing up the buildings and blowing away the bad guys. Become a sports fan and yell for the home team. Join a bowling league and jump up and down when you roll a strike. Attend a demonstration and chant slogans at passing cars. Take up a righteous cause and work for it. Start fist-pumping when you overcome a challenge. Act on a impulse. Stay up all night making a ridiculously long bucket list. Tell off a bully. Use a swear word that shocks you. Do something! Let Uranus know that you got the message that you need to be more alive, even aggressively so.

Some or all of these things will be counter to your nature, or you aren’t really going through a difficult Uranus transit. The point is to realize that Uranus is just activating the natural vitality that comes with experiencing your own Aries energy. Consciously choose what you’d like to do with it. If you keep at this, you will eventually realize (with a sudden flash of insight if Uranus has his way) what it is you are really discontented with and why. Often what you’re upset about is all the time you’ve wasted putting off taking control over your own life. That’s a pretty big, if jarring, insight, and once you gain it, you can decide how to get back that control.

#3: If you’re having a situational Uranus transit, you’re not the one feeling restless. Instead, you’re feeling shocked and disoriented because Uranus suddenly ended something you weren’t planning to end voluntarily. Instead of quitting your job, you’re fired. Instead of dumping the boyfriend, he dumped you. And so on. This is the sort of thing that gives Uranus a bad reputation. He does disrupt people’s lives. It can be very rough when this happens. In between being upset and disoriented, there are a few things you can do.

For example, you can revel in your new freedom. Yes, it’s terrifying not having a job. But…for the first time in 15 years you can sleep in, visit the beach on a Monday, grow a beard, not have to pick up the hubby’s dirty socks, go on a date with someone new, wear what you like, and escape the daily grind that used to be your life. This won’t last forever, so take at least a few moments, every day, to savor it.

You can also take advantage of the opportunity to be objective and detach. When your world’s turned upside down, it’s too painful to be subjective. So don’t be. Instead, step back, way back, and look at the situation as objectively as possible. At least for a few minutes every day, put your feelings aside and evaluate the situation as if you were an outside observer. From an outside observer’s perspective, it was a lousy job and a terrible boyfriend in the first place. Uranus did you a favor. He just did it more quickly and abruptly than you were anticipating.

You can also let go of outcomes and expectations.  I got this tip recently from a client. She was thrilled with her disruptive and upsetting and infuriating Uranus transit, once she bounced back from the initial shock. She was thrilled because she realized she had been building her life around expectations and desires to control the outcome of her life that just were not working out. She wasn’t living any more, wasn’t able to see what could happen, experiment, learn, open up, etc. because she’d been too busy predicting things. Trying different things with the attitude of ‘let’s just see what happens’ is a perfectly valid way to handle a Uranus disruption.

Finally, you can go in a different direction and build on a new foundation. If it’s hard putting up with the disruption of a situational Uranus transit, it’s even harder to try to recapture what just went away. Something is going to have to be different. Decide what you’re never going to do again and what you’d like to do differently this next time around. In a way, Uranus doesn’t care what changes you make, as long as you go forward and not backward. As long as you are clear that Uranus will not actually help you become the master chef of your lifelong fantasy, that he will just give you the chance to act on your desires, you can decide not to re-board the train you were riding and get on one to a whole different destination.

P.S. Just because you fail the first time you audition for “Master Chef” does not mean you made the wrong decision. Uranus believes in experimenting until you get it right. He was the one who told Thomas Edison that he didn’t fail to make a lightbulb a thousand times, he just discovered a bunch of ways that didn’t work.

Good luck with your transits!

Numerology is a lot of fun because you can pick up the basics quickly and get easily digestible information in an instant. This week’s podcast has an interview with CJ Wright (aka “Auntie Moon”) on combining astrology and numerology.

CJ gives me a little mini-reading during the show demonstrating how to correlate your various personal numbers (Life Path, Personality, Heart’s Desire, Expression, and so on) with your natal chart. She explains how to calculate your Life Path and Personal Year numbers quickly and what the various numbers mean. We also talk about the meaning of favorite numbers and a little bit about the numerology of naming things. She also also matches up numbers with planets, so you can cross-reference and correlate the two when looking for major themes in your life.

Here are some additional resources on numerology so you can see how your numbers correlate with your chart.

Auntie Moon: CJ’s blog

YearSeer: Numerology forecast. A lot of great information on using numerology month by month.

All Things Healing: This website has information on all kinds of spiritual and healing practices. CJ is the editor for the numerology page.

Creative Numerology:  Includes information on your family name number

Decoz Numerology: Do your own reading.