Midlife Transits

Venus is in your sign all month. People love you! It will be good to remember that, because this is traditionally an odd time of year for Scorpio. There’s a lot of cultural emphasis on home and family and tradition during the holiday season. Scorpio, however, has the sign of Aquarius in its home and family spot (in the solar chart based on sun sign). Aquarius as a sign needs distance and it’s the sign of rebellion. Ergo, there is a natural impulse in the Scorpio chart to crave distance from family or to rebel against the freedom-suffocating obligations of home and tradition. So a fair number of Scorpios end up feeling like exiles at this time of year. Even Scorpios who love home and family find odd circumstances pulling them away at this time of year.

This year, you may be able to take comfort in friends, your love life, your social life or even in creative projects. Uranus goes direct this month on the 5th in your sector of all these things. You may actually feel a boost of energy around this time. Uranus also hooks up with Jupiter in this sector at the end of the month, with the days after Christmas being especially fruitful. If you have any artistic leanings now might be a good time to let them come out and play. With plenty of Sagittarius action this month in your spending sector, laying down some bucks on entertainment could also be a mood-lifter.

Speaking of money, there’s a lunar eclipse in Gemini this month at the solstice (December 21). This is the first in a series of eclipses theoretically designed to make you an expert in financial affairs over the next couple of years. Eclipses generally come in the form of surprises, and this one falls in your sector of joint finances and non-ordinary income. Gemini is a knowledge-seeking sign, so the key to handling the news is getting the facts. You need to understand exactly what’s going on in your financial life. If you’ve been avoiding financial matters, now would be the time to pay attention.

Your inner artist is trying to emerge in November. Venus has gone retrograde in your sign, and in November it will creep all the way back into Libra and your solar 12th house of the subconscious. It will go direct on the 18th and re-enter your sign at the very end of the month. All of this is a fancy way of saying that if you want to get in touch with yourself or break through any subconscious blocks, then it’s time for you to get out the pens, pencils or paints and sketch out what’s on your mind so that you can see it in images instead of just words. If you cannot do your own drawing, well then do a collage with found images. You need to see it to feel it.

There’s another implication to the Libra energy, especially since we all have Saturn in parked in Libra for the next couple of years or so. The second implication is the necessity for tact and skill in managing delicate situations. These delicate situations may involve your relationship with yourself–are the voices in your head too critical, do you need to teach them to address you more diplomatically? How about the voices in your head regarding the things you think about others but don’t say? Do you need to refine and focus your impressions of people to see them in a more judicious and fair light? We all need to deal with Saturn somewhere; you need to deal with it in terms of the things in your inner life that you normally try to hide from view.

Of course, there’s a long-term implication for all this in terms of your year ahead: inner peace. Next year is scheduled to be astrologically better for most Scorpios, as confusing Neptune moves away from an angular house in your chart. This gives you a rare opportunity to focus on inner peace for awhile. Peace within, peace without. Wouldn’t that be great? Worth meditating on.

In the meantime, it’s your birthday month, and your new moon birthday wish occurs on the 5th or 6th, depending on where you live. You’ve got nice astrological support for the first 3 weeks of the month. You also have a chance to try to make some money. Go for it.

Jupiter and Uranus have a couple of degrees of separation between them this month, but they’re still pulling pranks in your 5th house. This is meant to be fun and funny. Hopefully, it is. The 5th house is the sector that relates to children, including yours if you have any. This is the kind of influence that makes them happy, but also encourages them to do surprising things, like suddenly elope. Some people like these kind of surprises; others hate them. Avoid or embrace the children in your life accordingly.

The 5th house also relates to your love life and the same dynamic applies. Embrace or brace yourself for surprises.

Meanwhile, the sun starts the month in aristocratic Libra. Mercury, Saturn and the new moon also highlight the sign of Libra this month. In a roundabout way, these influences relate to the sign of Scorpio’s secret belief that it deserves high rank and privileges by divine right or innate merit. This subconscious belief drives many Scorpios to attain success and others to narrow their eyes and want to pull out the voodoo dolls against the forces that deprive them of their birthright.

Lots of Scorpios don’t even know they have this belief; that’s sort of the point of subconscious beliefs, they drive you by operating below the surface. Saturn is flushing out these sorts of subconscious ideas these days, so that you can acknowledge them honestly and use your Scorpio powers for good. In other words, it’s not enough to just feel intuitively like you’re a cut above, you’ve got to actually act like what you want to be. So do that; pick a role model if need be and adopt his or her desirable traits and actions.

You’ll get plenty of planetary help in that endeavor. The sun enters your sign on the 23rd. Mercury enters your sign on the 20th. Venus is in your sign all month, thanks to a retrograde. And Mars is there until the 28th. No excuses for not taking absolute charge of your life!

If you need a job, go for it before the 9th, which is when Jupiter leaves Aries. Crush the competition if you must. You’re the best; make sure everyone knows it. Aries does not reward timidity in pursuing a goal, so don’t hold back. You can worry about how you’re actually going to do the job once you get it. If you don’t get the job right away, keep up hope, for Jupiter will return to your job sector in February. Once Jupiter does retrograde back into Pisces on the 9th, he won’t be much practical help to you. He’ll be hanging out with Uranus, perhaps cooking up some fun or romance for you, but he won’t be focusing on bread and butter issues.

This month, you also have 2 planets enter your sign for the first time all year. The first to enter will be Venus on the 8th. Mars will enter on the 14th. Venus is a bit of a careless planet, and Mars loves danger. This is great if you love danger, too. You can present yourself in a charismatic way with these 2 planets in your sign and attract all sorts of opportunities to flirt with crossing the line. If you don’t love danger, just be aware that you’re more magnetic than usual and steer clear of folks that seem dicey to you.

Before the 14th, Mars will be in Libra advocating for the spiritual approach. Faith and perspective are the watchwords.

Let’s start with job and career. Jupiter and Uranus start the month in your 6th house of jobs, and then Uranus moves back into your 5th house of love life, children, and creative projects by the 14th.  Meanwhile, Jupiter is challenged by Pluto, Saturn, Mars, and Venus all by 16th of the month. Put bluntly, your beliefs about jobs, and work and employment are scheduled to be challenged.

Meanwhile, your career and professional projects get a boost from the sun in Leo until the 23rd. The time around the new moon on the 9th provides a good time to initiate a new important creative, intellectual, or career endeavor.

Pluto in Capricorn may have an impact on your professional choices as well, as he hammers at Jupiter in your job sector. For some reason, research or gaining more knowledge seem to be key. With Pluto in your 3rd house and Jupiter in your 6th house, a profession like teaching seems to fit the bill astrologically. Yet, Venus, Mars, and Saturn in your 12th house of the subconscious seem to disagree or resist your long-term direction regarding your job or vocation. It is possible that momentary feelings of laziness are discouraging you from pursuing the knowledge you need to succeed. If that’s the case, the doldrums should subside relatively early next month when planets start moving into your own sign.

The most difficult clash comes from Pluto square Saturn. This aspect becomes exact on the 21st but builds before then. Both of these planets are concerned with reputation by nature, and they don’t seem to agree on what yours should be. Possible outcome: a secret is outed.

Self-confidence month for Scorpio as the inner planets (sun, Mercury, Venus) move through Leo, your own personal sign of achievement and visibility. Behave as if you have that self-confidence and an otherwise astrologically tense month will be more likely to pay off for you.

You can also lean on your friends this month and count on them to give you the straight dope, as 4 planets spend time in your friendship house this month. Let them perk you up when you are down or ground you when you’re flying unrealistically high.

Another area of activity could be long-distance travel, as a new moon eclipse in Cancer on the 11th highlights the sector of your chart in charge of roaming far and wide.

That’s the inner planets; now we gotta deal with the outer ones. The most powerful one of all, Pluto, is rumbling along in your solar 3rd house of communication. He’ll be there for a long time, so that’s not news. He wants you to share your knowledge in a rigorously honest way. Typical, long-term, gradual Pluto goal.

What’s news is that he’ll be squaring off with Jupiter in Aries in your job and health sector for most of the month. Someone, perhaps in your work sphere, such as a co-worker, apparently does not want to hear the truth. Whoever it is thinks that your truth is too grim and instead wants to bounce around optimistically with his or her hands over their ears, singing “I can’t hear you!”

Not being heard punches Pluto’s buttons, and when Pluto’s buttons get punched, he wants to let you know about it. Everyone has this experience of not being heard at some point, but Pluto is slowly working himself up to a towering rage over this issue in your life, and you’re getting a taste of this in July.

Bottom line: you’re going to have to speak your truth, even if the idiots you’re speaking to make you want to strangle them. This is going to stir up some subconscious fears, but scared or not, you’ll eventually have to lay things on the the line. Because the more powerfully you learn to own and speak your true thoughts, the more powerful you’re going to be in every facet of your life.

First on the agenda for June: Jupiter moving into Aries on the 6th. Be on the lookout for sudden, unexpected job opportunities. Jupiter joins Uranus in the job sector of your chart, so most of the opportunities are likely to come in the form of short-term, temporary, free-lance, or independent contractor work. Jobs that require you to be outgoing, independent, show initiative or even aggression or a competitive spirit are the most promising.  Other areas job-hunting Scorpios can investigate are those in Mars-ruled industries like those involving metals, tools and instruments, the military, energy, and heating and cooling. Jupiter is all about expansion, so if you already have a job, even part-time or free-lance work, look for ways to increase the extent of it. Finally, if you are looking to get experience in a new field, Jupiter will help you try to get it. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities.

Travel may also be on the agenda for some Scorpios. Long-distance travel energy hovers around most of the month. The only week that does not have long-distance travel energy is the week of the 14th through the 20th. Scorpios without funds for travel may do some armchair traveling via books or even web-surfing. Learning about your family may appeal.

There may be a sudden short trip on the agenda around the 26th, or, alternatively, a planned short trip may be canceled at the last minute. Finally, the pace of your social life may also pick up after the 7th, as Mars tries to increase the volume of your social contacts.

Hmmm, the joy of cooking or the joy of career success? Your chart wants both in May and sometimes that creates a bit of a conflict. I say go for both. In fact, go for it is a key concept of the month. Mars is near to finishing up his tour of your solar 10th house, which means he is not going to bring as much energy to your chart in June. Translation: the time to act is now.

Now I don’t mean that you need to act thoughtlessly or without consideration. There will be squares from Mars to planets in Taurus and other fixed signs that will mean that you’ll need to think things through. But as long as you do that, then your route to happiness does lie through action.

Speaking of action, Uranus is moving into your solar job sector at the very end of the month. This is a very action oriented placement so you can expect job activity to perk up during the summer months of this year. Sooner or later there will be drama in this area of your life, or perhaps just melodrama. Uranus is the planet that likes to ignore humdrum things like cause and effect in favor of exciting things like surprise and stuff that happens for no apparent reason. He’ll probably try to amp up the emotion level in your workplace, too, possibly in bewildering ways. Why is Uranus doing this? Quite simply, because he wants you to have more fun on the job. You may not approve of his methods, but do try to get on board with the intention.

April presents quite the mixed bag. The other fixed signs are represented in abundance (Taurus, Leo, and Aquarius), which means they are basically being snarky with each other. The mutable signs of Pisces and Virgo are also over-represented this month, and the mutable sign of Gemini sneaks in on the 25th. The mutable signs aren’t just being snarky in April, they are brawling.

Here are the players. Uranus in Pisces in your solar 5th house is in the mood to rebel like crazy against the authority that Saturn in Virgo represents. Yes, Saturn moves back into Virgo on the 7th. In your life, the authority could come in the form of your know-it-all friends, the government, local officials, bureaucrats, corporate lackeys, old people, or critics. The desire to rebel may play out in your love life, your children’s lives, or your creative projects. However it plays out, your chart does not want to be repressed by these forces any more. So…go ahead and rebel. As long as you don’t do anything insane, it should be good for you. Good luck Jupiter is on the side of the rebel planet this time, so you may even get away with taunting your tormentors–as long as you don’t go too far over the top.

On the fixed side of things, we have Neptune in Aquarius, sun, Mercury, and Venus in Taurus, and Mars in Leo. The general result is confusion in the major areas of your life. There is just too much going on. Don’t even bother trying to sort it out. Instead, indulge in some good old fashioned escapism by going to the movies, or even better renting a bunch of them to watch at home.

Job and career. Job and career. Job and career. Those are big themes for Scorpio in March.

Maybe you love to learn on the job or maybe you find extraneous learning generally tedious and uninteresting. Regardless of how you usually feel, the second half of March is specifically designed to highlight learning all you can about job-related stuff so that you can utilize all the energy that’s still glowing in your career sector thanks to Mars in Leo. Even if you think of your day job as just a job, for the moment, you need to treat it like a career.

Attend or organize events to raise your visibility. Go after a promotion, some kind of an achievement, or an honor. Do something important; step in and save the day when there’s a crisis. Concentrate on the here and now and leave aside for a moment your sign’s normal attraction to research and the past. Learn by doing and by taking action. Be opportunistic. What you have is a nice conglomeration of influences designed to reward ego, confidence, and your own individual contribution, so make the most of them. This is also your best month all year to attract what you need in terms of a new job or allies in the job you already have.

Finally, take heart if this job stuff is not what you want to emphasize this month. You also have the possibility of enjoying love (Venus in your love life house from mid-February through March 6!). You could also gain a little money through creative endeavors.

This is your month to make a vow that you will think of your family and give them the attention and affection they need. If for some reason you don’t have family to consider, then shower your house with love, and invite some friends over to show it off. Why do I say this? Because it’s Aquarius month, and in your chart, Aquarius represents home, family, and friends.

It’s also Pisces month, which means it’s love life month, creativity month, or appreciating your children month. Jupiter is in this sign in February, as well as the sun and Venus during the second half of the month. Valentine’s Day this year is just packed with aspects, some of them quite romantic and favorable to your sign. Jupiter is also the travel planet, so some of you will be traveling either as a result of a romance, in furtherance of a creative project, or in connection with your children. (Jupiter is actually in this sector all the way until early June, and then from early September through the end of the year.)

Finally, the action planet Mars is still at the top of your chart, urging you to actually do something about your career, status or reputation. You are being asked to perform at your best. Saturn in Libra can actually help you with that this month, especially during the astrologically action packed Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend. You may actually end up working that weekend and working hard. It’s best for those who get their income from business, and it’s especially favorable for moving tangible items with Leo or Libra themes (luxury items, artwork, books, decorative or rare items, etc.).

There are two different areas of focus in January for Scorpio. One is the little stuff, the stuff of daily life and the ordinary business of life. You may see a subtle or large shift in everyday matters around the time of the eclipse on January 15. It would be the structure of your activities that would be most affected. If your daily life is not affected, relationships with siblings, neighbors, or extended family relatives (cousins, etc.) may be.

The other focus has to do with residence and property matters, as Jupiter leaves your home sector on January 17. Scorpios who have been searching for a place to buy or an apartment to rent could get a lucky break this month. Some of you will also want to finish up home improvements before Jupiter leaves this area of your chart.

Career matters continue to be important, although there aren’t likely to be major new developments. This is a time to pay your dues in your career and keep momentum going.

As for your 2010, one big change starts this month when Jupiter moves into Pisces. This is likely to bring happy events, perhaps a new love affair, plans for children, progress on a creative project, or something else that you enjoy. In the summer, the focus switches to employment and health-related matters, but that’s a ways off, so we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

December is eclipse month. A lunar eclipse in Cancer occurs at the very end of the month. Because eclipses can be felt over a wide range of times, you may notice something at the beginning of the month, at the end of the month or in late January. In a general sense, this eclipse is about giving up false beliefs, false hopes, false plans–letting go of something you think, rather than something you have or someone you know.

This is also money month for you thanks to Venus in Sagittarius and a new moon in that sign on December 16. Expect calls from people with income opportunities. If no one calls you, make some calls yourself.

This month has a lot of Capricorn energy, too. Mercury will be in this sign from the 5th, and it will go retrograde right after Christmas. Capricorn is the sign of shoulds, ought tos, must dos, and so on. It represents your solar 3rd house of words, and it is big on integrity. If you make a promise this month, you must keep it.  In fact, a big area of growth for all Scorpios is learning the power of keeping your word. That’s why it’s important to let go of plans you can’t or aren’t willing to follow through on.

Career continues to be important, with Mars in Leo stuck at 19 degrees for much of the month. If you were born in the middle of November, you are being challenged to do your best work.

You’re moving into a period when job and family will wrestle for your attention. Or, more accurately, career and domestic concerns in general will tug at you. The conflict is not unmanageable though, and, in general, your career should get more preference for the time being. Scorpios who do mental or intellectual work will find November to be particularly intense, as will Scorpios with 3rd house occupations, such as secretary, writer, PR, communications, transportation, knowledge workers, and other occupations related to Mercury. (You can look at my other website Practical Astrology for more keywords related to Mercury and the 3rd house. Scroll down for keywords.)

It is likely that you will be quite busy and you may feel that you do not have time for everything you have to do this month. When stresses get to be a bit much, use your home as your retreat; it is your place of healing these days. Doing chores around the house can help you unwind.

Of course, this is your birthday month and time for a party. Fortunately, you have better astrological support for a good time this year than you have since 2007, as grumpy Saturn has moved out of your solar house of friendships and socializing. Your birthday wish new moon is on the 16th.

Your Scorpio year ahead looks to be full of changes, as we have many more planetary shifts than normal, as well as heavy-duty outer planet influences to shake us all up and make our lives interesting. You’ll want to check back often during the year for your current horoscopes, for if there’s ever a year in which we could use a roadmap, the next 12 months are likely to qualify for that distinction.

Take care and enjoy your birthday celebrations!