Midlife Transits

Happy Birthday Aquarius. The sun starts out the month in your sign, as it always does in February. Time for a big birthday celebration. On the 7th, there’s the annual full moon in the sector that governs your relationship with your significant other; you may learn something about him or her around this time.

The sun moves into Pisces on the 19th and the annual full moon in this sign takes place on the 21st. Pisces represents your financial sector and also your possessions. (more…)

Happy New Year Aquarius. We’ll start off our description of the month with a discussion of something that’s a bit of a long-term trend. January begins a time in which your artistic endeavors could actually earn you some money. The trend starts with arty Venus in your own sign as the month opens; then it moves into even artier Pisces and your solar second house of earnings on the 14th. That’s just the beginning though. (more…)

December brings a theme to the Aquarian chart. The theme is realism, perhaps most prominently around relationships and sexuality and even the nature of love itself.

The theme of realism starts with energy in all three earth signs, the mighty masters of the real. The earth signs in your chart represent family, sex, and behind the scenes matters. (more…)

As November opens, planets continue to be at all four angles of your solar chart: Jupiter at home base, Mars in your relationship sector, the sun in your career sector, and Neptune stationing in your own sign. All of these factors continue energy left over from last month. Use this abundance of fixed sign energy to hang in there with regard to some sort of an emotional situation that seems to have arisen in your life lately. (more…)

The phrase that comes to mind for Aquarius as October begins is experiential reliability. What, you ask, is that? It’s the ability to learn from experience, by trial and error–something your sign tends to instinctively like. There are a few areas in your chart where this concept comes into play.

One is your home life. Jupiter, the patron planet of learning from experience, is currently gliding through your home sector. What have you learned in your life about what you like and don’t like about your domestic life? Take the time to describe your experiences early in the month and you’ll be poised to take advantage of a week of good aspects between powerful Pluto and Jupiter during the time period from the 22nd of the month on. You can bring yourself that much closer to the ideal home if you put some effort into the enterprise.

The month also opens with a number of planets in Libra in your solar sector of learning by experience. This line-up is a bit more philosophical and less practical than outlining your ideal home life. These planets, including Saturn, have more to do with learning about the concept of reliability itself. The sign of Aquarius on its own can veer between extraordinary reliability and complete flakiness. What have you learned about how reliability works in your own life–in yourself and others? Take the time to recall your experiences with this concept; see what you discover.

Apply what you learn to your career starting at mid-month, when Mercury and Venus will enter your career sector. These lessons will be especially valuable if you are self-employed or an entrepreneur. Evaluate your career ambitions as the month continues and the sun enters Scorpio on the 23rd. If you are looking for a new job or career path or angling for a promotion, go big! Study your supervisor or potential supervisor for clues and be ruthlessly honest with yourself about what you will and will not do in pursuit of your aspirations.

Meanwhile, Mars in your relationship sector may  indicate demands that compete with the other items on your to-do list. Neptune in your own sign creates even more need for understanding how you relate to the concept of reliability, because Neptune’s not very reliable at all and he’s getting ready to move his butt off of your sign’s couch for the rest of your life. You may be able to forge a whole new relationship with the concepts of being dependable and not a flake.

The bottom line is that this could be a big, challenging month for you, with lots of planetary weather to contend with. Yet, you will most likely learn a lot and gain valuable perspective.

One thing I haven’t mentioned about having Neptune in your own sign (which you do, until next February) is that Neptune really digs on music. This year, we also have outer planet energy in music-loving Taurus, which hasn’t happened for quite a few years. In short, we have a perfect combination for you to tap into the soothing power of your favorite tunes. Listen to some around the house, sing in your shower, pull out the instrument you haven’t played in awhile, experience the joy and beauty of this most emotional form of expression.

As it so happens, this musical vibe goes along with energy in your solar 8th house of healing this month. Venus here is an antidote to anxiety and distress and music is proven to diminish both. If your anxiety and distress happen to be financial, Venus in this position (until the 15th) can help with that too. Calm yourself, be gentle with yourself (and others); that’s the gist of Venus in the 8th.

The sun’s in the healing sector of your chart, too, until the 23rd. That means it’s in Virgo. Virgo is a sign of observation and of specifics, of naming and of words. You can use this energy by sorting and classifying your joint financial affairs and debts–not trying to do anything with them, just observing what’s going on and gathering the data. This is an especially good idea if Neptune when it was in Pisces and your personal financial house earlier this year got you all confused and misled about where your finances actually stand.

At mid-month, Venus moves into Libra, which represents your solar house of learning and knowledge and big picture wonder at the awesomeness and majesty of life. Go out at night and look into the starry skies for a dose of the cosmic perspective that this sector of your chart represents.

Speaking of the big picture, the second half of September sees a reprise of heavy energy in the fixed signs like yours. We’ve already mentioned Jupiter in Taurus and Neptune in Aquarius; Mars in Leo gets added to the mix after the 18th. (And Mercury’s in Leo until the 9th.) Planets in fixed signs don’t really like anything to change if they can help it. They’re foot-draggers.

Don’t expect big changes during the second half of September, even if you’re bored and want some. The exception to this would be around the new moon in Libra on the 27th. If you’re involved in legal matters, you may be able to make some changes in your situation then. Other potential changes would be more intangible, such as a change in perspective.

Finally, the energy in Leo this month (Mercury at the beginning, Mars during the 2nd half) refers to your relationships. With Mars in the 7th house, anything can happen in your relationships, positive or negative. In either case, this is a temporary transit, not likely to change the underlying stability of a committed relationship. If your significant other is grumpy, you’re grumpy, or the two of you are feeling argumentative, chalk it up to a mood that will pass.

Peace on the home front is one theme for Aquarius for August. Personal peace could be another theme, as Neptune moves out of Pisces and back into your own sign. Peace in your committed relationships could be yet another theme as Venus joins the sun and Mercury in your relationship sign of Leo. That’s a heck of a lot of peace for a month when Mars in Cancer will be snarling at most of the outer planets and Mercury will retrograde.

Still, all the major planets in fixed signs like your own this month are averse to disturbances, and they are generally stolidly uninterested in stirring anything up. So perhaps your first priority of the month should be to follow their lead. Put on your objective Aquarian hat and look about you with the idea “I am neither disturbed nor noticeably affected by conflict or drama this month.”

That doesn’t mean you should be cold or lacking in compassion this month. That’s not at all what these peaceful planets are about. When Mercury goes retrograde and Mars starts stirring up conflict, you absolutely may ask other people what the matter is and render assistance. Check in with other people and see how they’re doing. Your planets make you well-positioned to benefit from sincere expressions of concern for others. A good time to check in would be the second week of the month, which has some gnarly aspects.

So who in your environment is likely to be upset or need tending to? The conflict vibes emanate from your 6th house of co-workers, so that’s a strong possibility. Neighbors are another, classmates, people from foreign countries, people who are ill or hospitalized. Random people who could benefit from random acts of kindness. Regard everyone you encounter this month as an individual worthy of your respect. You’re naturally good at this, so why not make use of your inborn skills? Be understanding.

The reason for all this selflessness, by the way, is not just because Aquarius is often regarded as an altruistic sign. It’s because this is the time of year when the inner planets are heavily weighted on the opposite side of the zodiac. Pushing your own agenda or tooting your own horn or even worrying about your own situation aren’t going to get you very far at this time of year anyway. Rather than fighting the energy, you can use Neptune to help you just go with the flow.

As of the 21st, inner planets start moving into Virgo and your solar 8th house of research, investigation, and inquiry. Excellent time to start a project involving these things is around the time of the new moon on the 28th.

First priority of the month is your deep self. Get yourself a journal and start writing in it. First thing in the morning if possible. Jupiter is at the bottom of your chart and his presence here offers you a once in a dozen years opportunity to understand your values more expansively.

Explore your personal or family history. Decide where you want to go, what point you want to reach in the next 6 years and how you might get there. Your journalistic musings need not be formal. Casual remarks work just as well and maybe better.

Uranus in Aries, Neptune in Pisces, and Pluto in Capricorn will all help with this endeavor too. Speaking of Neptune, it is currently transiting your solar sector of material objects and perhaps encouraging you to want a lot more of them. Time to find your way through the thicket of desires by asking yourself the right questions. Part of it is asking yourself what you ought best to be doing for a living.

Neptune is the planet of wholeness, and in this sector, he wants to guide you toward a source of income that reflects your whole self. At the end of the month (the 29th), Mercury will move into practical Virgo, the sign that wars with impractical Pisces. It’s at this point that you’ll be able to get a glimpse of any ambivalence you have about the way you make money.

On a related note, Aquarians have planets in both sectors of the solar chart that relate to writing. You have a mix of factors that relate both to short pieces (Uranus in Aries) and longer works, such as books (Saturn in Libra). One tactic to deal with both influences might be to work collaboratively with a group by assigning each member a chapter. Or by working in short chapter-length bursts toward a longer project.

Meanwhile, sexy animal Mars is spending all month in your solar sector of love. Get out your friendly Aquarian microscope and study the desires of your significant other so you can learn what he or she wants and needs in matters of intimacy. How much space does he or she need compared to you, for example. The payoff is more and better sex and love, especially as Venus moves into your 7th house of relationships at the end of the month (on the 28th). You can get closer to your lover this month if you just pay attention.

On that note, be present when you are with him or her; think about we instead of I.  An excellent day for amorous communication is the 4th of July. Not such an excellent day, the 7th of July. Thus, a short trip over the holiday weekend might be a real tonic for your relationship if you don’t extend into the week after. By the way, if you have children, pay attention to them too!

There is also a solar eclipse in Cancer this month, on the 1st, which can also impact your relationships. It’s the last one in a series that has been trying to affect your work or health. This eclipse may change your personal relations with co-workers, presumably in a positive way.

Aquarius often gets close with co-workers, feeling them to be like family. With Venus moving into Cancer soon after the eclipse, you may feel a new level of comfort with those you work with. Other possibilities for this eclipse include starting a new health regime or getting a new pet!

The big news for the month is that adventure planet Jupiter moves from Aries and your solar 3rd house of communication to Taurus and your solar 4th house of home and family. Jupiter moves in on the 4th of the month, joining Venus and Mars already in Taurus. Taurus is a quieter placement for Jupiter in your chart; in Aries it was especially chatty. Although Taurus in your chart is most explicitly concerned with domestic affairs, the 4th house of your chart is also concerned with your inner sense of self or destiny. During the first week of the month, when Taurus energy is strong, you might give some consideration to what you feel your destiny truly is. Ask yourself what your true values are and act on the answers you get.

There are also two eclipses this month, a new moon eclipse in Gemini on the 1st and a full moon eclipse in Sagittarius on the 15th. You may feel the eclipse on the 1st; you may not. Not all eclipses will affect you. In case this one does, be prepared to use the energy for pleasure, children, or a fresh start in your love life. This is the type of eclipse that can bring someone new into your orbit.

The eclipse on the 15th falls in your humanity-oriented solar 11th house, the house associated with your sign. On a small level, it can affect relationships with a person who is a friend or someone you know through a group. On a broader level, it can signal a shift in your orientation toward people in general. Your ruler Uranus is associated with this house as well, and Uranus is  in your solar 3rd house of communication. During the week or so before this lunar eclipse, give some thought to how you communicate with people in general. Are your communication practices in line with the values you dug up during the first part of the month? If not, adjust accordingly.

Eclipses aside, this is a good time to get together with your family or to invite people over to your home. Mars in Taurus will give an extra boost to your entertaining efforts, so try to schedule your get-together for the days before the 20th, when it leaves for Gemini. In Gemini, Mars will jazz up your interactions with lovers and/or children. Pay special attention to both as the month ends.

The month starts with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus still in Aries. This is a sociable line-up; go somewhere with your neighbors or relatives. The second week of the month is an all-star extravaganza of glittering aspects that you can use center your life around the daily tasks that get stuff done. Old-fashioned errand-running is likely to be more pleasant than usual.

You could end up the king or queen of crossing items off your to-do list. If possible, hit the ground running right as the month begins. The 1st, when Mars and Jupiter join forces, is a day full of purpose.

The energy shifts on the 15th and focuses on staying in and tending to the home front. Your chart becomes reluctant to leave the neighborhood, your comfort zone, or to venture out of your immediate environment. By the 22nd, the sun has moved into Gemini, and the only two planets left in Aries are Jupiter and Uranus. The other inner planets are lagging in Taurus. The Taurus energy is related to things, to material objects.

With Mars in Taurus from the 11th through the end of the month, the waning days of May are days to invest in the stuff you need or want for your home. If you have stuff you don’t need or want, get rid of it. If you have things you need to replace, replace ‘em. If you need to invest in some new items for the home, do that.

Mars is also the planet of anger. One consequence of Mars in the 4th house, which is where he’ll be in your chart, can also be anger at family members or people who share your living space. In truth, the same can be said about all the Aries energy. Mercury in Aries can also indicate anger with relatives in general.

However, the Aries energy is softened this month by close harmony between Mercury and Venus, especially during the period between the 8th and the 16th. If tensions are building in your family constellation, it might be good to mend fences before Mars goes roaring into your solar 4th house on the 11th. On the 11th itself, there’s a duo of conjunctions with Jupiter from Mercury and Venus. You should be able to either find agreement on contentious matters or say what you need to say. In fact, the general principle during this fiery month is to say it, not act it out.

When I was a teenager in college, I arm-wrestled my way to fame and into the arms of the heartthrob of my dreams. Literally. I won an arm-wrestling contest. Not because I was the best arm-wrestler; I wasn’t. Not because I was the strongest. I was strong, but not the strongest. No, I won because I wasn’t afraid to win. My future boyfriend was eternally impressed.

That’s kind of the mood your chart is in all April. It needs to arm-wrestle. To win. To impress. It needs to be not afraid.

All of this is due to the sun, new moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus transiting through Aries in April. That’s a lot of things transiting through Aries. The energy actually began in January, and it’s been building ever since.

The thing is, you’re going to arm-wrestle with words instead of your body. As of the new moon on April 3. Mark the date. You’re going to set an intention to use your words in April.

You may already have an idea brewing in the back of your head from March. You may already have word-y projects on your plate that you are required to complete. You may even be drowning in words by the time the bulk of the energy subsides by mid-May. But stay strong and healthy; you have a lot to say.

After mid-May, the emphasis on words in your chart will continue, although at a less frenetic pace, as will an emphasis on casual connections. Uranus will be in the communication sector of your chart until 2018. You’ll be busy; you’ll have a lot to coordinate, and yes, you will win and you will impress. A new era is dawning in your life.

Speaking of which, Neptune sneaks into Pisces for awhile this year, starting April 4. I would like to say that Neptune will bring with him certainty to your finances. But Neptune is a doubting planet, and he will be examining your money situation with a certain anxiety. He’s made a reservation to stay in your financial guest room for 4 months this year, trying to figure out your next moves. In the meantime, deal with the communications imperatives first and let Neptune ponder your cash flow in the background.

Lots of Aries energy for Aquarius to use this month. Mercury moves into Aries on the 9th and your group-oriented ruler Uranus moves in on the 11th. Jupiter is already in Aries and the sun will move in on the 20th. This energy is about connecting with other human beings, maybe even potentially ferocious specimens of your species, and turning a bunch of individual ‘I’s’ into a ‘we.’

The example would be the recent overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, in which a bunch of really angry and formerly frightened individual I Egyptians got together peacefully and turned into a great big effective we. It’s the addition of Uranus to an otherwise ordinary amount of Aries energy that turns turns the paradoxical task of turning ‘I’s’ into a ‘we’ an imperative right now. Venus is also in your sign until the 27th, which encourages you to literally put your best face forward. And Neptune is in the very last degree of your sign, getting ready to move into Pisces in April for a 4-month stay. All of this adds up to a potentially quite satisfactory month for Aquarius, especially when we throw in some inner planets in Pisces to help your money situation.

So how to use all this energy effectively? Actually, you can probably just let things be during the first week of the month. As Mercury moves into Aries on the 9th and Uranus moves into Aries on the 11th, you want to get started prioritizing. You are going to help turn I’s into a we through the medium of communication. What do you want to communicate about first and what do you want to be your vehicle of communication? Decide. By the 21st, when the sun in Aries conjoins Uranus in Aries, you want to grab your insight about how individual experience can be related the universally human experience. Then you want to put your communication strategy into practice, expecting some resistance on the 28th when the sun squares Pluto.

It all sounds rather high-falutin’ but in reality in can be very small scale. It can be patching up a quarrel between friends, easing a tense atmosphere at work or helping your children resolve their differences. You’ll just be doing these mundane things on purpose, because Uranus is informing you how very important they are.

I suppose the keyword for February for Aquarius would be: Aries. Not only is Jupiter in Aries this month (and for a few months to come) but you’ve got Mars in your own sign, a very Aries-like influence. You’ve also got a new moon and 3 other planets in your sign this month plus an asteroid. All of which adds up to even more of a self-oriented Aries vibe in your chart.

So what does this mean? Let’s break it down bit by bit. First we’ll tackle the Jupiter influence. Jupiter rules a person’s guiding principles. So haul out yours, whatever your personal motto might be and paste it to your forehead or write it on a sticky note and put it in a visible place. You want to be guided by your principles and not your emotions.

Step 2: New moon in your sign. This occurs on February 2nd, nice and early in the month. Write down, or at least articulate to yourself, a sentence that you want to encapsulate what the year of 2011 will mean to you. Do this around the time of the new moon and then let it go. Don’t attempt to force the manifestation into being, just articulate it and let it go.

Step 3: Use the sun and Mercury in your sign to figure out what you must do or what you ought to do and distinguish these things from what you want to do. Figuring out what you have to do will let you know how much space you’ll have for the things you want to do.

Step 4: Now that you’ve been very logical and organized, allow yourself to actually feel the desire for things you want and let that desire rev you up to take at least one solid action toward at least one desire. This set of exercises will get you all teed up and ready to go for your solar year.

As for the year ahead, well I suppose the biggest development will be that Neptune will leave your sign between April 4 and August 4 for the first time since the late 1990s. You probably barely even remember what things were like in your life before Neptune came along. The implication of this is that for 4 months, you’ll be able to be specific about things instead of indefinite and general. Neptune’s been very loathe to let you get down to brass tacks and take full control of your life. He’ll loosen his grip a little soon and you’ll get a peek at what life on the other side of this transit will be like.

Happy New Year Aquarius. This month Jupiter moves back into Aries as of the 22nd, and in doing so awakens your pioneering spirit. This is a reprise of energy from 2010, so look back to the period between June and August of last year to get a clue as to how your pioneering instincts tend to express themselves. There’s more Aries-like energy on tap this month–Mars is in your sign from the 15th.

Mars and Aries are known as the warriors of the zodiac/planets, so keep that in mind during the second half of the month as you feel your impulses stirring. You can express the energy any way you like, as long as you understand that it’s there. The sun will also be in your sign from the 20th, adding even more kick to the last 10 days of the month. Nor can we forget that Neptune and Chiron are still in your sign, as they’ve been for seemingly forever. The combination of all these influences could end up making you a bit recklessly daring as you get closer to your birthday. You’ll need to decide for yourself whether recklessly daring is just the kind of thing you need to counteract the winter doldrums or if it’s the sort of thing you’ll regret later.

The first half of the month is not without its bold energy, either. There’ll be an eclipse in Capricorn on the 4th, with Mars fairly close by in the same sign. Although an eclipse in Capricorn is rarely that significant for Aquarius, it is possible that you’ll embark upon some venture related to spiritual power and increasing yours. You may also remove a psychological block or receive some information previously hidden from you. With Jupiter and Uranus conjunct in your financial house, you could also begin a bold income-producing venture as well.

As for the rest of 2011, by the time mid-March comes around, you may want to buy yourself a t-shirt that says “I survived the Uranus in Pisces transit.” This transit has hit a lot of people hard; it hit Aquarians mostly in their pocketbooks. It’ll be over for good in March, and you can consider yourself a bona-fide survivor. Admittedly, Neptune will hit the pocketbook part of your chart in April, but it’s not nearly as disruptive as Uranus. Plus, when Neptune moves into Pisces, you’ll be able to get yourself another t-shirt that says “I survived the Neptune in Aquarius transit.” Admittedly, Neptune will only leave your sign between April and July in 2011. But still…you are so close to having gotten through two major challenging eras in your life that your chart can almost taste freedom in the air.