Midlife Transits

You’re a public animal in December, Aries, as planets cycle through your 10th house of visibility. If you’re not actually on public display, you may be mentoring or being mentored, grooming someone or being groomed for a more public role. Older people may play an active role in your career, too. Although the relevant inner planets this month are the sun (from the 21st), Mercury (until the 18th) and Mars (from the 7th) in Capricorn, this is all part of Pluto in Capricorn’s long-term plan for you.

Pluto is planning over the next decade and a half to make you an expert in strategy, career strategy. He’s aiming to make you be seen as an authority in your field, and from time to time he’ll goose up the action so that you learn the ropes.

Over the next year, Uranus in your own sign will be close enough to squaring Pluto that to some folks it will seem like the planets are waging war. On a global scale, we may actually see some war break out. Late November and early December are pretty dang tense, and the bulk of the spring isn’t much better. That doesn’t necessarily mean your own life will be a battleground, although if you were born in March you should probably invest in a camouflage uniform and some metaphorical weapons before you head out into 2011.

But for most of you, what it does mean is that you should know very clearly what it is you’re willing to fight for and live your life accordingly. This is not the time to be out of alignment with your true goals. If it’s not truly worth striving for–drop it.

Finally, I’ve got to mention that there’s a potentially quite energetic lunar eclipse occurring on December 21. This is the sort of eclipse that can bring some shocking news about relatives, especially those outside your immediate family. It’s not likely to affect you personally so much as those around you. If you end up needing to take a leadership role in handling things that affect your relatives, you should do well at the job.

Venus and Saturn are both at sensitive points in your chart in November. They’re both in Libra, the sign opposite yours that represents your relationships with other people. Venus retrograde and then direct on the 18th is encouraging you, rather literally, to be more sensitive to others for awhile. Not the month for quarreling.

Saturn in Libra is more long-term, and it puts the focus for a couple of years on reconciling people who disagree. This is a big issue in the world at large, since everyone seems to disagree about everything here lately, but on a more personal level you are being encouraged to reconcile with people in your circle that you disagree with. This could include a spouse, lover, partner or best friend. Getting to agreement is a potentially difficult task, but it can and should be done–even if it takes a long time.

The 7th house also has to do with counseling. This could indicate that it’s a good time for you to invest in your own counselor (especially if you’re facing difficult transits from Pluto, Saturn or Uranus). It could also mean that you are ready to move into a position of wise counselor to others younger that yourself.

Meanwhile, this is also Scorpio month, which picks up the counseling theme in a way, since Scorpio is the sign of therapy of all types. It may not specifically indicate therapy for you; it could indicate that you are giving advice behind the scenes. You may also be able to benefit from the quiet advice of others in achieving your goals.

This month’s new and full moons place more emphasis on your chart than they usually do. There’ll be a second full moon in Aries, an astrological rarity. That happens on October 22nd at the end of your sign; the previous one was on September 23 in the beginning of your sign. The new moon on the 7th is in the sign opposite yours, Libra.

The new moon follows a conjunction of the moon to Saturn in your 7th house, making it rather a cold new moon. Put really bluntly, it’s a chance to come to terms with some sort of distance in a key relationship, whether that be physical distance, emotional distance, or spiritual distance.

The first full moon of the year in your sign in September is not all that far from the moon opposing Saturn, which makes it a bit of a stifling full moon. It’s like Saturn won’t leave you alone! The second full moon on October 22nd is a bit softer because the moon is now far from Saturn and closer to hazy Neptune. Still, with both Uranus and Jupiter now out of your sign, your freedom is being somewhat restricted. Be patient; you’ll get a fresh burst of planetary energy in February of next year. For the time being, it’s okay to spend the fall and winter in chill mode, metaphorically and literally.

By the way, while we’re talking about the moon, it always represents the mother. If you haven’t called yours lately, give her a ring.

Throughout September, energy in Virgo (via the sun and Mercury) opposes energy from Uranus in Pisces. Virgo is an anxiety sign in your work sector. Uranus is in an anxiety sector of your chart. Therefore, you need to be a bit understanding with yourself if you get the heebie-jeebies this month.

The anxiety, if you get any, comes from not knowing exactly what to do about your job situation. This year has been a bit heavy on Virgo job energy anyway, so you may be getting a bit tired of the burdens. With Saturn firmly out of Virgo now, you may feel that you’ve earned your right to move on. Perhaps you have; I’m certainly not going to argue with you.

The opposition just indicates that you have to figure out how to do that and the way is not necessarily completely clear yet. Especially around the 21st, your mind just may want to go round and round in circles. If that’s the case, try broadening your view, considering additional education or the like. Jupiter will be in your sign until the 9th, and Jupiter does love the broad view and education. Jupiter will also help you if you need to call on your warrior self during the early part of the month. At the very least, he can help you soldier on.

Your ruler Mars will be in Libra until the 14th, bringing vigor to your committed relationships. After that, he’ll be in Scorpio, where he’ll either bring equal vigor to your sex life or go into survivor mode, hunkering down while he broods and plots your next move.

Pluto in your 10th house of career and reputation spends much of the month mad at someone. He gets mad at Jupiter and Saturn and even Venus and Mars. A quick interpretation of that would be that whatever your inclination is this month, someone else will have to go and have a different one. Pluto also pertains to sexual matters, so I suppose it’s possible that you are developing a reputation as a sexy beast, although I am in no way going to guarantee that.

But it is possible that, especially during the early part of the month, someone else will be inclined to take a sexual relationship far more seriously than you were intending. Your own sign has been trying to feel all free and easy with Jupiter and Uranus cavorting in its early degrees, but Pluto is not Mr. Freedom and he gets irked when he cannot possess someone. Just so you know. Furthermore, you’ve got Mars (also sexy) and Venus (love and relationships) in your 7th house of bonding in all its forms. Pluto squares off with Mars on the 4th and with Venus on the 10th. Your sign is stuck with people who apparently want to fasten themselves to you this month and not let go.

And I haven’t even mentioned Saturn in your 7th house yet! Saturn and Pluto also square off this month, with the aspect reaching exactitude on the 21st and building before then. This is the kind of face-off that can bring up old relationship wounds, although they are more likely to be metaphorical than physical thank goodness. Suffice to say you’ve got some stuff to work through this month. If you do, though, September will be much easier it seems.

For a long time, Uranus was in your psychological 12th house, and now, all of a sudden, he’s in your much more physical 1st house. Screw the psychologizing, he says, let’s make stuff real. Jupiter has joined Aries to put double emphasis on your individuality, to lavish attention on you.

Unfortunately, perhaps, almost no sooner do these planets move into your sign to lavish attention on you than they get into heated arguments with Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto in Capricorn is trying to take charge of your career, and he apparently doesn’t give a hoot about your individuality. He wants you to get to the top the old-fashioned way–by doing the same things everyone else does. And Saturn in Libra doesn’t want to lavish attention on you–it wants you to to pay attention to your mates and partners. It’s almost like Saturn in Libra is deliberately trying to block your efforts to manifest stuff for yourself.

Whassup with that? I’ll be danged if I know the answer to that for sure. But I will say that we’ve also got a new moon eclipse in Cancer on July 11, and maybe that either holds a key or helps a little. The eclipse represents a new beginning in your private life; it takes place at the bottom of your chart. Perhaps, in some way, you need to get that private life strong, sorted out, and supportive so that you can manifest from a sturdy foundation. Maybe Saturn’s just trying to slow you down enough to give you a chance to build your base up a little bit.

Might as well look at it that way instead of grinding your teeth over planetary frustrations and delays.

Big month for Aries. First, I’ll mention the lunar eclipse in Capricorn on June 26. Lunar eclipses are supposed to signal endings. Briefly, Capricorn represents your 10th house of career. Therefore, a lunar eclipse in super shorthand terms would represent an ending in your career. It’s a bit more complicated in real life. Pluto’s already in your solar 10th house, trying to figure out what exactly the 10th house of career really means to you in your life.  So an eclipse could represent an adjustment in the direction of matching up reality with meaning, or with your true desires. Or it could mean nothing at all. Sometimes the universe decides ‘ah, let’s sit this one out.’ You never know with eclipses. But at least you have a head’s up.

Second I’ll mention that Jupiter is joining Uranus in your sign this month. Now you’ve got a big thought-oriented planet in your sign (Uranus) and a more feeling or instinct based planet (Jupiter) in your sign. Or you might say that Jupiter is faith-based. Basically, Jupiter just bounces around doing what it wants to do. It will be bouncing around with Uranus during the 2nd week of June. A rough translation of this might be that you personally could feel that you are bouncing off the walls. Or your thoughts may be bouncing off the walls. You could be super-revved up. Those who are not as sensitive may be a little revved up or gently energized. What you decide to do with the energy is your free choice–your sign, your choice.

Next, Mars, your ruler, enters Virgo on the 7th. Hasn’t been there for awhile. Mars is your action planet. Well, okay, he’s everyone’s action planet. Action in this case would be oriented around work or health. Go for it.

May officially welcomes the sign of Aries into unpredictable world. Uranus, Mr. Unpredictable, moves into your sign on May 27. Uranus likes to get rid of the orderly structures in your life because he finds them boring and confining. You may share his feelings as we move through summer. You may even feel this way as early as the start of the month, because Venus and then the sun will be moving through Gemini.

Gemini is a sign that also greatly dislikes being bored or feeling that things are too predictable. When the sign gets bored, it often tries to stir up trouble for its own amusement. In the Aries solar chart, it targets  the little things in your daily life as well as the people you interact with frequently. Therefore, this month can be a good one to be proactive by consciously and deliberately shaking up your routine a little bit so that the parts of your chart that need new stimulation are kept happy and interested and out of trouble. You can almost think of your chart as taking on for awhile the characteristics of a small child that needs to learn, grow, explore, and be kept busy.

The sun and Mercury also spend time in Taurus in May.  Here they briefly light up your financial sector, a part of your chart that doesn’t get too much love this year. Take advantage while you can. The days after the 11th are likely to show more progress than those before.

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.

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.

My goodness the skies are thrifty these days, and so, I’ve heard, is the American consumer. You’d probably be wise to follow the trend by making every attempt to live on less than you earn while building up some savings. Pluto is still glaring at Saturn this month, and Pluto is the Grand Planetary Poohbah of debt–so it’s not wise to rile him up by taking on any more than is absolutely necessary. I’m not saying this will be easy, just that it would be a worthwhile effort. Pluto is affecting your chart more than it is many other signs because it is at the very top of your solar wheel, where its influence stands out.

This is also a month with a lot of Aquarian influence. Aquarius governs things like humanitarian efforts, friendships, hopes and wishes. More paradoxically, it governs the need to be a separate individual within the context of a small or large group, the desire to be special and notable yet not alone. Chiron, Neptune, Venus, Mercury, and the sun all travel through this sign in February. Something in your chart wants to heal or be healed, perhaps both. There’s idealism, romance, the desire to help and be helped, to be a part of something larger but to do your part. I say go with it, because these all sound like excellent things to me. If you’re single, Valentine’s Day would be a great day to go out with a bunch of friends. If you’re not single–well just enjoy.

No sluffing off in January! The skies are filled with Capricorn energy, from the sun to Pluto, and Capricorn expects you to do your chores. That means your homework, your housework, and your work work. Jupiter is moving away from dreamy Neptune in your solar house of wishes and into Pisces, where he’ll take a brief nap. The symbolism of this is to stop wishing, get your rest at night, and then get up and go get ‘em. Doing, not thinking, is the order of the day.

It’s kind of like you’re mountain climbing these days, in an astrological sense, as most of the energy is around the peaks of your chart. There’s even an eclipse in the sign at the top of your solar chart, Capricorn, on the 15th. This is the second in a pair. The first one, a lunar eclipse right at New Year’s Eve, occurred at the base of your chart. It dealt with the very basics of your home life, the foundation. If you didn’t feel a dose of energy in that sector last month, you may feel it in January.

As for the rest of 2010, this could well be an exciting year for you. Uranus and Jupiter will enter your sign, putting more of an astrological spotlight on your sign than you’ve experienced in a long time. The challenge will come from committed relationships, as Saturn in the sign opposite yours is likely to brook no excuses for failing to live up to your responsibilities in this area. It’s going to be quite  a year. Get ready!

This is typically a good time of year for Aries. Good friends, a generous spirit all around, gifts and celebrations–what’s not to like? This year, however, for better or worse, career concerns may come calling, thanks to Pluto in Capricorn and the early entry of Mercury into that sign. You gotta get a firm grip on that aspect of your life and make sure all the basics are covered, no matter how sociable you may otherwise be feeling. To put it another way, both aspects of your life–personal and professional–are equally important and need to be balanced this month.

First, get your gifts and holiday planning organized and out of the way so that you will not be stressed when the aspects start piling up from the week of the 13th. Get your holiday cards done as early in the month as possible (by the end of the 1st week). The 16th sees the new moon in Sagittarius, which helps to symbolize the potential for goodness in mankind. Enjoy the optimism.

Then figure on putting yourself forward and speaking up for yourself once the sun enters Capricorn and your career sector on the 21st. Finally, a lunar eclipse at the end of the month is part of an ongoing cycle intended to help bring you good conditions in your home or domestic life. It may not appear that way at first, but that’s what the cycle is supposed to help you do.

Pluto in Capricorn kicks up a fuss with Saturn in Libra this November. Pluto’s in your house of career and visibility, and it’s possible he will try to drive you into the ground with heavy career demands that will take time away from the serious relationships in your life. Thank goodness your health is scheduled to be improving thanks to Saturn finally getting his butt out of your health house. Don’t take chances, though, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, as do exercise, adequate sleep if you can get it, and proactive stress management.

You’re more likely to get your exercise this month if you are doing something fun that will let you burn off tension. No dreary rounds of running the treadmill at the gym this month. Get out there and play if you can. Another form of stress relief can come through contemplating the big ideas for long-term goals and healing the planet and being all idealistic that your chart is still nurturing for you. The current month may be stressful, but if you understand that you are on a journey that is leading somewhere significant, it will help you put things in perspective.

On another note, this is the month when you may get an excellent idea for dealing with marital finances, debts, expenses, obligations and all that other financial stuff that’s so important. Put your thinking cap on!