Midlife Transits

Happy New Year, Pisces! Jupiter enters your sign this month, on the 17th, and that’s generally considered happy news indeed. Jupiter is often beneficial in a financial sense so you may see an increase in this area while Jupiter is in your sign. Jupiter will be there from January 17 through June 5. Then he’ll be in Aries until September 9. The back to your sign for the rest of 2010.

Saturn in Libra in the deep and mysterious 8th house also squares off against Pluto in your social 11th house during the second half of the month. Saturn wants to do things like curl up in the house with a good book and explore the depths of the past or the psyche, while Pluto wants to put the stress on your friendships and social obligations. Pluto will probably win because he’s got an eclipse on his side, one that occurs January 15. The eclipse is also in good angle to Uranus in your sign, so there may be a bit of excitement in the air.

As for 2010, it’s quite a year. Uranus will leave your sign briefly for the first time since 2004, taking away both pressure and excitement from your sign. Uranus in Aries is forceful, and will have an impact on your finances. The weightiest influence of the year is Pluto in Capricorn, urging you toward power in how you relate to society. Saturn and Neptune will be influential, but in a more subtle way. But the single most dominant energy of the year is that of cardinal dynamism. Cardinal signs have lots of energy, are inclined toward action, vigor, and force, while putting a premium on effectiveness. We can all expect a more dynamic year in 2010 than in a long time.

December is the happy time of year for the Pisces career. If you’re going to get good news, this would be the month you would get it. Try not to take too much time off before Christmas, except maybe a day during the first week. Do, however, accept all opportunities to socialize with the boss or with important colleagues.

You’ll need to work for your career rewards, no doubt about that, as go-go Mars is still burrowed into the part of your chart that deals with your job. And Mars in Leo does require that you be very organized in your work. It’s just that Venus in Sagittarius can help you really stand out from the crowd. The week of the 13th is most fortuitous for this; after that, things may decelerate a bit.

After Christmas, Venus moves into your sociable 11th house, essentially making yours the popular sign. Expect calls from friends or make them yourself; this is not the time to hang out by yourself.

At the very end of December, there’s a lunar eclipse in your solar 5th house. Lunar eclipses, when they affect a person, usually require the person to let go of something they have–a relationship, a project, a hobby or activity that drains energy. Not always easy to do, but beneficial in the long run.

November’s a pretty active month astrologically, but first priority is channeling your energy into constructive activities on the job. The best thing you’ve got going for you all month is an optimistic combination of job and career energies. This is most prominent at the end of the month, but there is strong energy in your job sector all month long. Even better, Jupiter in Aquarius is now zooming direct, which should have the effect of brightening your outlook on life.

Watch out that Jupiter doesn’t encourage you to bite off more than you can chew the week of the 8th, when it squares the sun and Mercury. Jupiter is the least of anyone’s problems this month, though. The big problem comes from Saturn in your 8th house of joint finances and debt, because it will be squaring off with Pluto in Capricorn in your solar 11th house. This is the kind of big deal major aspect that can be associated with large-scale events that affect society at large. Not always, but it can be.

We’ve seen a bunch of those here lately, what with global economic meltdowns, health care screaming matches, historic elections, and generally interesting but unsettling times. Since this hits one of your financial houses, you want to keep your butt covered by excelling on the job. No need to put yourself at risk if your corporation undergoes a fit of downsizing. The aspect itself is exact on November 15, but you should figure that the tense energies could be in play from the week of 8th through the end of the month. Stay positive, and you should be able to remain on top of things in a proactive manner.

October is Libra month, and that’s good news for you because it moves the inner planets away from Virgo, where they put pressure on your sun. Libra is also a sign concerned with other people, and because it represents your solar 8th house of sex, activity here helps intimate relationships. Even better, one of the remaining bits of Virgo energy is represented by loving Venus (until the 14th). Perhaps you can grease the wheels of intimacy by establishing date night with your spouse. Take the time to do it up right and splurge by going somewhere really nice. If you don’t have a spouse and want one, get busy looking. Mars in Cancer is supporting all this relationship stuff until the 16th.

Of course, the 8th house is also rather a heavy house, concerned with cosmic topics like death, trauma, regeneration, abuse, and healing. Saturn will be moving into this sector of your chart at the very end of the month, and he may bring a dose of heaviosity with him when he comes.  If you’ve got heavy issues from the past that Saturn will be interested in exploring, you may find yourself turning to self-help books and other resources. The best resources will come in the form of other people, so if you’ve ever considered therapy, the next few years would be the time to make the commitment.

Get ready to ad-lib your love life. Mars is in your love affairs house and a whole mess of crazy planets are roiling around your committed relationship house. You may not know what to think and neither do I. Play it as it goes, and see what happens.

Admittedly, conflict of some sort is the most likely guess, but maybe you’ll be able to dance your way around it and turn energy into positive action. You do have a ton of planets in your spiritual 12th house, so it could be that a spiritual approach will soothe the nerves that the skies are trying to rile up. Or maybe a mental vacation will help you keep your cool–a nice daydream about escaping to some island hideaway til the storm blows over could provide some relief.

It mostly gets better about the time the sun moves into Libra on the 22nd. At this time, the focus turns toward financial matters. That would be non-routine financial matters, such as insurance settlements and so on. If you’ve got bills to pay, this would also be the time to get all caught up on them.

Lots of opportunities in August. First there’s work, which may take up a lot of your time whether you’d like it to or not. The last week in July and the first week in August are the days when traditionally Pisces is supposed to focus on the job due to the sun in Leo.

The rest of your chart, however, is either in play mode, love mode, or wanting to do stuff around the house. It seems your chart needs to rest and rejuvenate itself as well as take care of business.

For play mode, we have a variety of options. There’s the Venus in Cancer option, an option that would love to lazily hang around the house with a delicious member of the opposite sex tasting the fruits of summer. That’s in operation from the 1st of August through the 25th.

There’s Mars in Gemini which can be used for brainy play (’cause Gemini’s a brainy sign). Gemini enjoys things like a good summer read, puzzles, competitive games like Scrabble, poker, backgammon, and chess. Don’t worry if you’re not usually very good at these sorts of things, it’s just a way of recharging your mental batteries and letting off some steam. Besides, your intuitive mind is operating a high level this year (thanks to Jupiter in Aquarius), so you may be better at strategic game-playing thinking these days than you realize. The socializing would be restorative as well.

If you can’t bear the thought of playing games, there’s always spending money on relaxing and health promoting products, especially if they have a beauty-enhancing component to them. Or you may just want to indulge in nice things for your home this month. Venus would be down with both these kinds of things.

If you’re in the mood for romance, August is also an excellent month for that. There’s activity in your love life sector virtually all month long. Pisces with children can also enjoy quality time with the kids this month. The one caution is that when Mars moves into Cancer on August 25, it may bring problems with lovers or children in its wake. Mars will be in Cancer from this date to October 16, so you will have plenty of time to solve the problems if they come up.

If you’re still not satisfied with your late summer options, there’s also a lot of energy around taking care of your home. Mars in Gemini and Venus in Cancer can be used for decorating, remodeling, doing necessary repairs, sprucing up the property in general and just generally getting everything all ship-shape before fall.

There ought to be something in there to suit everybody’s taste.

July has something for everyone. We’ve got a bunch of fixed sign energy; we’ve got a bunch of mutable sign energy; we’ve got eclipses in the cardinal signs of Cancer and Capricorn. No one goes lacking. So…what’s it all mean?

Well, first off, you’re likely to start the month off quite busy. The busy nature of your daily schedule may even interfere with your need for rest and recuperation, leaving you a bit foggy during the first few days of the month. As July progresses, activity in the sector that represents your job heats up, meaning that you’ll probably need to keep your mind on your work from mid-month on.

Meanwhile, things on the home front seem to be begging for your attention almost all month long. Get help if you need it. Siblings or neighbors may provide the most assistance (or the most headaches!). If you need to talk through things on the domestic front with your partner, you may get a chance to do so toward the end of the month.The first week of  the month is not the time to bring things up, as things might get a little crazy around then.

On a personal level, those born during the last week of the sign may find themselves bouncing off the walls with energy. Meanwhile, eclipses affect your solar 11th and 5th houses on July 7 and 22nd respectively. This is the lose a friend, gain a lover configuration. Single Pisces folks may find themselves unexpectedly involved in a new romance. It’s quite a month!

I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, Pisces, but your chart has been busy spending 2009 pondering your self-imposed limitations via a trio of placements in Aquarius and your solar 12th house of stuff a person accidentally does to screw her or himself up. In June, the Aquarius placements are pondering this subject so deeply that they’re practically comatose. You, however, can’t afford to be so sluggish, thanks to Mars in Taurus in your solar 3rd house of moving about attending to all the daily errands and chores that pile up in life. The Aquarius placements don’t really like all the Taurus energy of June that is interfering with their summer nap, and the Taurus placements of the month return the favor by considering the Aquarius ponderings to be incomprehensible, impractical, and a bit irritating. So you may feel yourself caught between fatigue or spaciness and the necessity of getting stuff done.

My suggestion is to play hooky and call in sick for a few days,  so you can catch a bit of rest and get some of those chores done. If you were born in the middle of the sign, especially, you probably really do need the break, as Saturn is opposing your sun these days. If you were born near the end of the sign, the opposite may be the case, for Uranus is energizing your sun throughout June and he won’t let go. You may be having spiritual insights, switching religions, or semi-seriously contemplating a plan to move to Tahiti. Hard to say what will be going through your mind when Uranus gets ahold of it. My only caution is to try not to let all these mixed planetary influences leave you so spacy that you leave your handbag somewhere while you’re running all those errands that Taurus insists you take care of.

Saturn goes direct in Virgo on May 16. Take a look at this post if you want to see what that means in general. Below is information for your particular sun sign.

Here’s an example of how to do a short little horoscope for yourself using keywords. (I have a list of keywords on the Practical Astrology home page. Scroll down to see them.) Also, if this mini horoscope seems off, you can look at the one for your rising sign if you know it.

Okay, so our keyword for Saturn in Virgo is going to be gloomy or gloominess, since that’s what Saturn in Virgo has seemed to bring. If there are people out there not having a gloomy time with the Saturn in Virgo portion of their lives, they’re not telling me about it.

Virgo represents your solar 7th house.  A keyword for the 7th house is partners.

So Saturn going direct in the solar 7th house could mean: a break in the case regarding tensions with a partner. A partner who has previously been hesitant may be more willing to move forward. Commitments may finally be able to be made.

Things like that can happen. Not necessarily that exact thing, but things like that. Again, take a look at Practical Astrology if these keywords don’t suit.

There’s just too much activity in your solar sector of the subconscious in May, Pisces, just way too much. I’m talking Jupiter conjunct Neptune conjunct Chiron all at once, especially toward the end of the month. This kind of overload with your ruling planet involved can make it very hard to figure out what you want, what you really want. I’m going to suggest you ground yourself with Saturn in Virgo in your 7th house.

That way, you can orient yourself around what other people want and let your ruler take its time sorting through the big subconscious energy. Naturally, with Uranus in your sign, you’ll continue to be active anway. If you were born around the middle of March, you may even be more than usually active. But rest assured that your ruler is busy exhausting itself this month and you may feel the fatigue too.

Fortunately, the sun is in Taurus until the 20th, where he’ll help you operate with your customary skill in spite of brain overload. And you’ve got the power of your friends on your side, so that helps too.

So to me, it seems like a take it easy kind of a month, one in which you let other people do the talking and even the driving, just in case you feel a bit spacey from time to time.

There’s still energy at your disposal this month, Pisces, as Mars doesn’t finish his bi-annual visit to your sign until April 22nd. Venus will also briefly retrograde into the very last degree of Pisces, and, of course Uranus is still in your sign as he has been since 2004. Just the same,  your mind and conversations are more likely to be centered on money or your possessions than how much energy Mars is giving you. The focus on moola would be thanks to all the Aries energy this month in your financial solar 2nd house, plus some energy in the money-loving sign of Taurus. After the 22nd, when Mars joins the Aries party, it’s time to pour some aggressive attention toward this topic. Astrologically speaking, this would be your best time all year to make rapid financial progress.

Lots of Pisces will be interested in money because they want to make more of it, but other Pisces folks will be more concerned with spending money than with bringing it in. For you spenders trying to boost the economy, the position of Venus in Aries and in your sign this month indicates that now could be a good time to invest in some decorative objects or pretty things for the home, especially after the 18th. The end of the month is also a good time to buy some nice new clothes. If neither of those appeal, you could drop a little dough on stuff that is simultaneously self-improving and fun–ballroom dancing lessons, an appealing exercise class, or other activities that get your body moving again now that spring is here.

Given that Aries energy is compatible with the economically beneficial Jupiter energy in your solar 12th house, you may even decide it would be worthwhile to embark upon self-education in the area of money. Not that you should limit your studies this year to financial matters. In fact, Jupiter in the solar house associated with your sign indicates that you could benefit from self-education in a broad diversity of areas. Pisces who need additional education to compete in today’s job market are also likely to benefit from applying to a suitable college program.

Another way to use the beneficial Jupiter energy is to expand your attendance at church to re-connect with your spirituality. If you don’t much care for attending the services of an organized religion then once again self-education or self-study on spiritual topics is a potentially beneficial way to go.

It’s your month, Pisces, from February 18 to March 20. Your birthday wish new moon occurs on February 24. The full moon on March 10 may bring up issues with lovers, as it occurs around the same time as the opposition between the sun in your sign and Saturn in Virgo. The tension between Saturn and your sign should not diminish the love in a relationship that’s strong. However, relationships that have serious issues will continue to be tested, as they have been, off and on, for over a year.

The good news in March is that your solar chart has decided that it has such a strong liking for money that it’s going to host Venus in your solar 2nd house for four months–way more than the the usual amount of time. If you need financial assistance, you have the opportunity to go after it in March, especially during the last week of the month. If you need funds for a civic or humanitarian project or for an activity that brings many people together for a common purpose, even better. If you’re a business owner, participation in civic events could also pay off for you financially. On the other hand, the presence of three planets in your solar money house could also prompt you to consume or spend more than usual during the second half of March.

Mercury and Mars, meanwhile, start March believing that they love all humankind as they transit Aquarius, but then switch over to deciding they love you better as they enter your sign. Mercury’s in Aquarius from February 14 to March 8 and then in your sign until March 25.

Mars enters your sign on March 15. This makes the second half of March a good time to be all creative and indulge in things your sun sign is said to love: music, reading (or writing) novels, paintings, and just generally being all creative and nice.

As for the Pisces year ahead, your solar chart has pretty much dropped any long-term emphasis on work and co-workers (an emphasis that was still in play in 2008). Personal development and relationships continue to be the main theme, with behind-the-scenes reflective personal development dominating. The concept of cooperation also dominates, for 2009 is a very Aquarian year and Aquarius is the sign of cooperation.

The sign of Aquarius also refers to a person’s general relationship with society. With happy Jupiter in Aquarius, your relationship with society at large should be quite beneficial, provided that you take care to keep a low profile for the moment. Next year, when Jupiter enters your sign, you can take center stage. This year is your chance to lay low while planning how to capitalize on the goodwill you are intended to build up this year.