Midlife Transits

If you’re traveling this month for the holidays, see if you can use your miles or your money to upgrade and travel first class or at least business class. Spring for the best rental car or do what you need to do to be comfortable. An uncomfortable Taurus is a grumpy Taurus. And then–guard your valuables and make backup plans for what you would do if you lost a passport, wallet or credit cards. On top of that, make sure your home is secured while you are gone, that the alarm is on, mail delivery suspended and the neighbors are watching out for your residence.

A couple of things are converging this month. One is a lot of energy in your travel sector and in the patron sign of travel–Sagittarius. No coincidence that this is the busiest travel season of the year, and your sign is one of the ones the planets are trying to push into the madding airport and highway crowd. That’s fairly normal.

What’s not so normal is that this year there’s a lunar eclipse on December 21. It falls in your solar money house. Of all the eclipses, this is the one I see most frequently associated with lost possessions and thefts. That’s not to say that you particularly will be a victim; it’s just to say that you might as well take security measures since it’s the prudent thing to do anyway.

On top of that, Mercury is going retrograde on the 10th. While I don’t believe this spells disaster, I do think you ought to make your plans early this holiday season and with the precision of a military leader. And then be prepared to improvise and adapt to changing conditions.

It’s that kind of a month. A little bobbly, but potentially just fine and dandy if you’re prepared.

Your ruler Venus has been retrograde in Scorpio for awhile, and this month it slips back into Libra. It goes direct in Libra on the 18th and re-enters Scorpio at the very end of the month. The first implication of this is that any fights in your workplace should diminish and smooth themselves over.

Saturn’s already in Libra in your work sector and will stay there through 2012. Saturn in the work sector can indicate taking on the sometimes burdensome role of being the teacher to other co-workers. People tend to dislike this when they already have pressure to complete tasks, but this is the sort of effort that can pay off very well in the long-term. By teaching and counseling your subordinates or co-workers, you are eventually paving the way to more freedom for yourself and helping to ensure that jobs get completed to your own satisfaction. If you are already a teacher by profession, then you can expect to be working hard, perhaps with fewer resources, over the next couple of years.

Education in general is a theme in the Taurus chart, as Pluto is nestled in the part of your chart that represents advanced education and he has no plans to leave for a good long time. Essentially, this means that it would be beneficial to your long-term work success to invest in more education. If that’s been difficult due to the pressures of your job, things should be easier in that regard from here on out.

This is also Scorpio month, so any additional lessons from the stars are likely to come through the vehicle of relationships. Not to worry, they could be pleasant lessons indeed.

Well, let’s see, tons of Libra energy to start out the month. There’s the sun, Mercury, and Saturn, plus a new moon on the 7th–all clogging up your 6th house of work and health. It’s possible that you will feel like your workload is killing you or that some sort of a non-life-threatening health complaint is bothering the heck out of you. Fortunately or unfortunately, Saturn is not the sort of planet to tolerate crybabies, so you’ll need to do your whining and complaining when you’re not actually on the job.

The thing you would be mostly likely to want to complain about would be a lack of visibility or recognition, because that’s what Saturn is like. You work real hard, no one seems to care, and then you get a reward when Saturn leaves the sign. You should understand that this dynamic is both ongoing and particularly intense this month. It will ease up by the full moon described below, because that’s when the inner planets drift away from Libra.

On the 22nd, we have a second full moon in Aries this year, kind of unusual. Both fall in your solar 12th house of solitude and reflection. Feel free to indulge in both. This time period is also when you can do your venting. Since the moon always relates to one’s mother, you might want to give yours a call. Maybe you can vent to her!  Sometimes full moons in the 12th also relate to visiting someone in the hospital.

There’s big action along the 5th house/11th house axis of your chart in September. The fifth house, where the sun and Mercury in Virgo are hanging out, has to do with fun, love, kids, play, etc. The 11th house, where Jupiter and Uranus are electrifying things, has more to do with goals and strategies for achieving them. Having fun is important in the short term, but connecting with others to move your goals forward is more important in the long term.

Jupiter is actually in Aries until the 9th, and this position in your chart symbolizes spiritual courage. So the progression goes from bulking up your spiritual courage to taking that courage and applying it to your goals.

Mars also changes signs this month. He spends the first half of the month in Libra in your job sector. Mars in Libra in your solar chart encourages aggressive action on the job, which is part of a longer, ongoing obsession that your chart has with your work in general (thanks mostly to Saturn).

On the 14th, Mars moves into Scorpio and your 7th house. The 7th house pertains to things like committed relationships, but it also represents things like legal proceedings and disputes. Scorpio as a sign relates to joint finances and anything that has to do with 2 or more people with a joint interest in a contractual matter. If any of those circumstances apply to you, prepare for action on those fronts. Mars is a bit of a daredevil, so watch out for recklessness, either on your part or a partner’s.

Sexy Pluto is very active this month, operating from your solar 9th house. He makes a number of difficult aspects to planets in Libra, the sign that rules relationships between the sexes, as well as to Jupiter in Aries. Normally, the action of Pluto during these aspects would be to make a person feel confined, un-free. In your case, this could take the form of feeling confined in the sense of desperately wanting a vacation but there’s just too much darn work to do. Or feeling confined and restless because relationship and sexual issues keep playing on your mind.

Hurt feelings could also come to the surface. The most difficult aspects are Saturn and Mars in your 6th house of health and work squaring off with Pluto. The Mars square takes place on August 4 and the Saturn square reaches exactness on the 21st. The worst case scenario, I suppose, would be some sort of injury or physical wound, especially around the time of the Mars aspect. Be careful during the first week of the month. Occasionally, Mars-Pluto aspects are associated with violence, and during that first week we do have volatile planets in Aries also heating things up.

More likely though, there will be no physical violence in your life, but instead some sort of a feeling that something is trying to rupture or tear apart a relationship you’ve involved in, and it need not be a sexual or romantic one. The reason seems to be that the universe wants you to hold firm to your principles. If you acknowledge that other people have their own principles, too, you may be able to salvage the relationship.

How to get a handle on July 2010? Well, we’ll start with Pluto in Capricorn in your solar 9th house of opinions and beliefs. He is scheduled to spend most of July arguing viciously with Jupiter in Aries. Jupiter just so happens to be the planetary sponsor of opinions and beliefs, so this is slated to be quite the dust-up. Pluto represents conventional wisdom, the opinions everyone else has that your sign is supposed to ordinarily be content to accept without a great deal of fuss. Jupiter represents your own personal opinions, based on your own personal experiences, the ones you would normally be encouraged to keep to yourself. Jupiter feels like pointing out to Pluto that you actually have your own ideas and that you are not truly Mr. or Ms. Unoriginal. Pluto is not likely to be thrilled with this news because he thinks original thinkers get into big fat trouble. He’s going to try to put a lid on your chart’s budding originality of opinion.

He’ll probably win this round; Pluto’s a heavy hitter. But he won’t win the war, and eventually your opinions will change and so will your beliefs about society. That’ll be good in the long run. In the short run, the transitional stirrings in your chart are likely to just be irritating. In fact, you may be real pissed off at things for reasons you can’t entirely understand. That’s okay in the sense that so will everyone else. July is just one of those maddening astrological months.

In the meantime, Saturn in Libra will be glaring at Uranus in Aries after the 21st. Uranus in Aries has the same agenda that Jupiter in Aries does–originality of thought and opinion. Saturn doesn’t want to hear about it. Saturn wants you to settle down and be rigorous and conscientious on the job, and he is not pleased with Uranus for introducing unsettling new thoughts into your mental sphere.

Last and maybe least, there’s a new moon eclipse in Cancer on July 11. This is the sort of influence that could have you taking a quick trip or getting news from relatives. Or maybe nothing will happen. Eclipses are wild cards, so it’s hard to say. This one is in a weak house for you, so it is unlikely to be hugely significant.

My best advice for this turbulent astrological month is to do your best to keep up appearances, regardless of inner or outer turmoil. Taurus has to do things at its own pace, and you’ll probably feel better if you can keep up the mask until you get things sorted out inside.

June 26 sees a lunar eclipse in Capricorn. Lunar eclipses are little more introspective than solar eclipses. That is, they are more about feeling something than doing something or having something happen. That’s usually especially true when it’s in the 9th house, like this one is for your sign. Most likely, nothing too noticeable will happen outwardly, but you may want to observe your own emotional state or even your mental state around that time because you may feel a shift. The 9th house governs intellectual processes and beliefs, and sometimes we let an outdated belief go during a lunar eclipse in this sector.

Jupiter also moves into Aries during June. There it joins Uranus, which entered Aries in late May. These two placements also affect your mental processes and your psychological processes. The most beneficial thing they can do is help you understand yourself so that you can get rid of ideas or habits that cause you pain. Over the next few years, a clash is scheduled between any rigid beliefs you have from the past  (represented by Pluto in Capricorn) and any new ideas you are attempting to incorporate into your life (represented by Uranus in Aries). There will be quite a struggle for personal growth in your chart. This is a struggle you want to win. The more work you can do on yourself voluntarily, the better. That will make things much easier when the more difficult aspects come into play. Set aside some time for reflection this month if at all possible.

Finally, Mars moves into Virgo this month. That’s just an excuse to have some fun. So have some.

May is birthday month for most of you, and it’s also money month for Taurus, thanks to Venus and then the sun in your solar sector of finances.  Venus would like you to buy a treat for yourself. A treat that helps you learn something would be appropriate because your money sign is Gemini, the sign of learning. A personalized consultation in some area of interest would be a good example. Be sure to do your research before plunking down big bucks, though.

On the downside, things could get a little chaotic in the financial department during the week of the 16th, when Venus makes a series of clashing or potentially confusing angles to other planets. The time to get your financial house in order is before these aspects come into play, because small things can make a difference. And watch out for rip-offs.

By the 20th, Venus will move into caring Cancer. It will become an opportune time to connect with loved ones. If you have aging parents, this could be a good time to find extra help for them and their needs.

As for your year ahead, it’s more than a little unpredictable. Uranus changes signs, going into hiding in your solar chart. So does Jupiter. Furthermore, thanks to clashes between Pluto and planets like Uranus and Saturn, the general atmosphere in the skies during the next 12 months is not exactly filled with empathy, concern for others, or unity.  Fortunately, these overall trends affect your sign less than they do most other signs. You may actually find that you become more powerful and more comfortable in an environment that is full of unrest for others.

First, let’s talk about the roof over your head. Mars is zooming direct through your solar sector of house and home. He’s been there for an extended stay (since October), but he won’t be there forever. He’ll leave in June, not to return for another couple of years.

Mars loves the home improvement projects, and the weather is no longer an excuse for putting them off. I realize you may not feel like dealing with the home stuff, especially during the first week of April, because Mercury and Venus are in your sign this month. They’d probably rather be lounging around in the sun or something, but Mars can be a pretty insistent planet.

Mercury and Venus in Taurus may also set off a bit of a clash with officials or with whoever acts as authority in your life (boss, government, whoever). Venus will be squaring Neptune in your sector of mucky-mucks after the sun joins the party in your sign on April 20. Mercury will be retrograde. And, right about this time, Saturn will be directly opposing Uranus. Authority figures are likely to be not only annoyed, but confused. Things could get a little weird, especially if you were born near the end of your sign.

On the happy side, Venus in your sign will be in a very good mood with Jupiter on Saturday the 17th. Theoretically, this makes everyone you deal with more likely to be in a good mood too. Enjoy!

The skies are just really not all that rational right now, at least as far as the Taurus solar chart is concerned. Instead, they are heavy with irrational Neptune/Pisces/12th house energy. Let’s run it down real quickly.

Irrational Neptune meets up with Chiron in your career house in the middle of the month. Not good for analysis, but maybe you will get some sort of a genius vision regarding your career or professional life.

There are 5 placements that spend time in Pisces this month: the sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Pisces. There is also a new Moon in Pisces this month on the 15th. Not at all rational, but good for partying or hanging out with your friends.

Then there’s energy in Aries this month too, which just so happens to fall in your irrational solar 12th house. Give it up; thinking clearly is just not what the month is supposed to be all about. Far better to relax and just enjoy yourself. You can do that. You’re a Taurus; that’s supposed to be one of your gifts. Now if you could just teach the rest of us how to do it….

Your sign is perhaps not as affected as many others by current economic conditions, but it would still be a good idea for you to put in place a strong system for saving money. Having money is having freedom, and freedom is something very much on the skies’ mind this month. In your chart, freedom (as indicated by the sign of Aquarius) is represented by your career or standing in society. During the past couple of years, a lot of you have changed careers, either voluntarily or as a result of layoffs. Some of you have had to take pay cuts to do it.

The point of all this is to get Taurus folks into their ideal careers, the careers that allow them creative and mental freedom, the careers that do the most good for the greatest number. To pursue that worthy goal you need a healthy cash reserve. Since this is Aquarius month, your career is very much on the mind of your solar chart. With Venus in Aquarius, you may receive some sort of a career-related gift this month. Maybe it won’t be anything big, perhaps a tip, a lead, a resource, some information, a book with good ideas, or something similar. You may also earn or receive a bit of extra money through your career.

Career is the main theme of the month, but I’ll just mention two other things. There’s a full moon in your home sector on January 30, so you may need to attend to a few things around the house in the early part of the month. Or perhaps you’ll do some entertaining at home. With Mars in this sector, you’ll need to remember to keep your activities budget-friendly! Finally, this is an excellent year to go out on the town for Valentine’s. The aspects are unusually romantic.

One of the themes of 2010 for Taurus is changes in employment matters (and therefore probably changes in financial matters). Saturn is in your employment sector, and January starts out with Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron in your career sector. Jupiter will leave that sector mid-month, and that could precipitate a change in your career status, hopefully a pleasant one. That doesn’t mean that your daily experience of your job is likely to be easy; Saturn indicates that you need to either work hard or attend to problems on the job.

If you employ others, your workers are likely to need extra attention not only this month, but throughout the year. Taurus folks who have been laid off may finally get a job as the economy upticks. On other hand, Taureans who are already employed may need to work extra hard to keep their boats floating in these rather uncertain seas.

On a more abstract level, this month focuses on your understanding of life. Your chart is starting to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together, connecting what were once separate ideas. Around the time of the eclipse on the 15th, a lightbulb may go on in your mind. This trend continues throughout 2010, making this a year that could see quite a lot of mental growth for you.

Some of you will also find yourselves doing more traveling than usual. Yet others will be motivated to sign up for some sort of serious program of study.

This December sees a nice round of compatible earth energy for your sign to revel in. Taureans born at the beginning of the sign should feel especially inspired. Take the time to call loved ones who may be far away this year. As with every year, this is a time to celebrate enduring ties.

You still have some almost magical career energy in your chart, too. The aspects are pretty good all the way up to Christmas. Make a wish if your dreams in this area of life haven’t come true yet. But don’t just wish, get out there and attend those industry events or holiday parties; you need to be seen to get the best results. Of course, take care not to do anything too embarrassing or drunken at those events!

This is also a time when many people travel. If you will be traveling, do exercise due caution. Clashing aspects between Uranus in Pisces and planets in the traveling sign of Sagittarius could cause minor hassles.

This is the time of year when your relationships vie with your career for attention. The middle of the month is just jam-spanking packed with aspects that pit one area of life against another. This year, it’s not just the traditional relationship/career duality that’s on the schedule. No, this year, we’ve also got Pluto in your long-term plans sector baring his knuckles at Libra in your job sector. All of which brings up the questions: Do you hate your job, love your job, both, or you’re so confused you can’t tell anymore? What are you going to do about the situation? Contemplating that ought to keep you busy enough.

As far as the relationships go, this is the time of year when your relationship-oriented sign is traditionally scheduled to set relationship goals. Great idea, especially if you do so before the 10th of the month, before all the aspect craziness really gets going. Financial goals can be set from the 22nd on. Astrologically speaking, the best goals are those that have to do with things like saving, getting out of debt or staying out of debt.