Midlife Transits

Here is a short video I did on the practical benefits of astrology, what you can expect from a reading, and how astrology contributes to wellness.

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.

The weekend of the cardinal cross with the moon in Cancer has passed and I wake up to find that I am very behind on some of my numerous activities. That’s one manifestation of a cross–lots of competing priorities. Nothing terrible, just a lot to do and not enough time to do it.

I had posted a podcast on relationships and was going to post a blog entry also on a few questions I get about astrology and relationships. With Saturn in Libra putting the spotlight on relationships for a couple of years, it is certainly appropriate to talk about them. Here goes, hopefully better late than never.

Can you use astrology as method to start sorting out problems that hamper success in relationships?

Yes, absolutely. I know because I have in my own life. I’m not saying I became Ms. Perfect Relationships all the time, but if you saw my chart, you’d be impressed at the problems I’ve been able to solve. I mean problems in the natal chart. This is probably the area where I’ve had the greatest success working with clients. It pains me to say that not every single client has gone on to have the relationship success I would like, but it pleases me to say that many clients have far exceeded my expectations and waltzed their way into long-lasting and happy relationships after decades of difficult ones or no relationships at all. The best way that I know of to use astrology to sort out relationship problems is to work on the issue over a series of sessions, doing a number of exercises and activities to change the pattern or get the appropriate ‘aha’ moments and integrate them. A good time to do this is often during a difficult transit for relationships (e.g., Pluto conjunct, square or opposite moon or Venus), although there are other fruitful times as well. It’s actually a fruitful time during Saturn’s transit through Libra into 2012. Relationship problems of all sorts (not just romantic relationships) are ripe to be tackled and solved.

Can you tell me when I will find the love of my life?

Sometimes, yeah. I can tell you when you are scheduled to have a good opportunity to meet someone if you want to. All time periods are not equally strong, but when they are strong, people will show up if you’re ready. That’s not saying all the people who show up will be ‘love of your life’ candidates, but the universe will throw opportunities your way.

Can you tell whether two people should get married?

No. The two people involved should always be the ones to make that decision. I can tell how the charts interact and how timing and life stages interact between charts, so I can help pinpoint issues and temporary problems and likely compromises and so on. But that doesn’t tell me whether a person ‘should’ or ‘should not’ embark upon a relationship with certain issues. That’s a personal choice. All relationships have issues and rough spots. The individuals involved decide whether it’s worth it to deal with the issues and get through the rough spots. Love, the level of commitment, timing, and circumstances can all play a role.

I’ve found that if one person in a relationship feels the need to consult an astrologer to determine if it’s a good match before marrying, then there are some doubts that need to be resolved through actual experience with the person, not through a third party. Astrology is more successful (in my opinion) in determining what is going on in a relationship and what it means to the parties involved than in telling the two people whether they should be in the relationship or not. Astrology is also not a substitute for doing the work in a relationship, although it can be very reassuring in terms of dealing with issues that need to be resolved. Problems and questions can be addressed, but the ultimate boss of any person’s life is that person, not a chart or an astrologer.

Can you tell what kinds of problems there are likely to be in a relationship by looking at the two charts?

Generally, yes, the two charts give a lot of insight into that. That’s one benefit of looking at astrology to help think through a relationship. Another element is the timing of when the relationship started. Relationships that start under certain kinds of transits tend to be more ‘successful’ in my experience than those that start out under other kinds of transits. Example: Pluto trine moon seems to produce helpful relationships, while Neptune square moon tends to produce relationships that are ultimately disappointing or based on some sort of deception.

Can you tell what type of a person I will be attracted to?

Again, yes, the astrological chart gives pretty strong clues as to what type of person your chart will be attracted to and when. It will also tend to give good information on patterns of attraction, e.g., if you seem to keep falling for the ‘wrong’ type of person. The chart, with enough analysis, can generally reveal the basis for the pattern and how it can be altered.

Can you tell me how to find love?

I can tell you the types of things that tend to work best for your chart, i.e., what fits your chart’s preferences. I can also tell you what kinds of things can be helpful during certain transits or progressions. So, to a certain extent, yes. It also depends on the strength of the transits and progressions involved. Sometimes the universe will not place someone in your path because the timing is just not right, even if you want it to be. But, as with most things in life, you can up your chances of success by taking smart actions.

Finally, I should emphasize that these statements are made based on my experience as a consulting astrologer. Different astrologers have different gifts and different ways of seeing things or interpreting things. For me, relationship counseling is one of the things that seems to be most successful.

Things have been busy around here and they are likely to get busier as the summer heats up astrologically. Eclipse season is already upon us. I’ve had several clients report eclipse events already, which is about on target as the first one of the summer season occurs in a month, on June 26 (lunar eclipse in Capricorn). If you experience a jolting surprise over the next week or so,  the eclipse may be at work. Check your monthly horoscope for a brief description for what it may entail. The second one occurs on the weekend of July 10, a solar eclipse in Cancer. The first one is more about endings, the second one more about new beginnings.

Uranus also enters Aries on the 27th of May, a hot, new beginning-y type of influence that will rev up the energy. Jupiter will follow Uranus into Aries. This is probably good for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the sense of taking pressure off the signs that deal with oceans and oil, but it may add to the busyness factor in our lives, and it will eventually lead to a cardinal sign  showdown later this summer. Things could get kind of tense.

Meanwhile, I’ll be giving another workshop on June 6 in Culver City, CA as not everyone who wanted to come to the first one could attend. Below is a brief description:

Spend a fun afternoon learning about your astrology chart and life purpose.

The workshop will:

• introduce participants to astrology and how it relates to one’s path in life.

• give attendees tools and techniques to take home and use immediately.

• tell participants how to identify their current ‘life tasks’

• help participants identify the things they should be working on right now to further soul growth

No prior knowledge of astrology needed. A free personalized chart will be offered to all participants as well as handouts explaining the symbols. By the end of the workshop, you will understand the symbols of astrology and be able to interpret your own and other people’s charts.

Attendees of the first one had a lot of fun. Warning: you may come away addicted to astrology.

For more information or to sign up, click here.

is being really really proud of your clients. They have the hard transits; they have the difficult configurations; they have the rough pasts; they have the big dreams. They get the consultations; they sign up for the coaching; they do the work. And then they succeed. Sometimes pretty quickly, sometimes after a little longer. But they succeed. They do things they’ve never done before. Things they’ve wanted to do for so long, things they thought they couldn’t do. They do them. And I get to hear about it. Best feeling in the world.

I love it when they do the work. To me, that’s happiness.

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.

If you’re in the LA area, check out my new location for in-person consultations. It’s at the Raksa Wellness Center in Culver City. In addition to getting an astrology reading, you can take a yoga class, get a facial, eat healthy food, experience Reiki or acupuncture and more.

I’m also available for telephone consultations, as well as consultations by email, instant messaging, or Skype.