Midlife Transits

This month sees a lot of planets in fixed signs, including planets in your own sign. You’ve got Venus in your sign until July 5. You’ve got Mars on your side until July 12. Mercury enters Leo on the 17th, and the sun enters Leo on the 22nd. And of course, we’ve got a whole mess of planets in Aquarius still.

All these fixed planets create the possibility of feeling stuck or as though you’re between a rock and a hard place. So let’s look at some ways to deal with that.

The strongest planets are the Aquarius planets that are supposed to be helping your career. And they can do just that if you adopt a positive attitude and find  a way of buffering yourself against daily stresses and strains. If you feel stuck, try being a giver, for the planets are showing you that the more you give, the more you get. Your altruistic side can also help. Do something for someone else, and you’ll likely feel great, rather than stuck between unpalatable options.

If you can’t handle something on your own, enlist a group to help you out. The more people you get involved, the better you’re likely to feel. You may not be able to control the situations you encounter this month, but you can control your reaction to them.

I don’t know what the heck is going on in your career in June, Taurus, but whatever it is, you’d probably benefit from trying to keep things simple. There’s just an excess of energy in this part of your solar chart these days, and Jupiter in Aquarius will be egging you on towards biting off more than you can chew. A ‘first things first’ approach to organization may help stave off any overwhelm. The good side of all this is that June is not likely to find you lacking in money or skill to deal with things.

That’s cuz June is your traditional money month, when the sun’s in Gemini and your solar second house of yup, money. Gemini is also a sign associated particularly with skills in daily life and it’s in good angle to all those planets in your career sector. The days around the 17th are the best as far as alignment between the sun and the planets in Aquarius. After the 21st, the sun’s in Cancer in your solar 3rd house, also to your benefit in the skills department.

The one thing that you may be lacking is alone time. You may be a sociable Taurus or a private Taurus but every Taurus needs a little ‘me’ time. Not too much of that on the horizon in June, and even though you are a patient soul there may be those moments when you just wish everyone would leave. The overload should ease off at some point next month, if that helps.

Saturn’s going direct in Virgo today. 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.

Saturn represents your solar 5th house. Not a bad house. Saturn may not have been giving you problems here. But if he had, the problems would supposedly revolve around 5th house matters like children or your love life.

So Saturn going direct could mean less gloominess around something having to do with your kids. Let’s say one of your youngsters has been reserved, withdrawn, maybe even kind of depressed lately. Around the 16th, you finally push a confrontation, and your boy finally lets loose with what’s been worrying him. Thus allowing you to reassure him and help him get less worried.

Or let’s say your girlfriend has been nagging you in Virgo-like fashion to do something responsible (Saturn) that you just really don’t feel like doing, because it would be a burden you think (more Saturn). Like maybe she wants you to commit! Around the 16th, you finally have it out with her. And you come to an agreement. She wins! You admit you’re committed to the relationship. And you feel a lot better because now you know you are secure in the relationship (Saturn=security), and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

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

Did you know, Taurus, that Pluto in your solar 9th house of of long-range thinking is encouraging you to become more and more careful in your thinking and actions as your mind puts together data you’ve been gathering for years? The 9th house is a house of the understanding and wisdom that comes from life experience. It’s also about having a coherent point of view and philosophy of life. Having Pluto here is super-fantabulous because it gets along well with your sun, giving your mind power of a sort you’re probably not used to.

Get used to being super-smart or at least look forward to becoming more and more super-smart as this trend develops over many years. Depending on your rising sign, you can look forward to growth in two areas of your life thanks to Pluto. For example, if you have Aries rising, your broadened new powerful thinking may benefit you in your career (because Capricorn, the sign Pluto’s in, represents the house of career for Aries rising folks). Just thought you might want to know that, since this is your birthday month, and this smartness thing is one of those reflective insights dealies that goes with contemplating what you’ll do with the next year of your life.

This is also a huge career year for you.  Actually a HUGE career year for you, all caps. And by the end of May it becomes super-huge because Chiron, Jupiter and Neptune will all conjoin at 26 degrees Aquarius. Those of you born around May 17 may be bombarded by so much energy that you’ll have no idea what the hell is hitting you.

For all Taureans, some of the energy is likely to feel great (the Jupiter part), some of it confusing (the Neptune part) and some of it enlightening (the Chiron part). This energy lasts at least until July, so be prepared for all kinds of signs and wonders for the next couple of months. Note that I am not trying to tell you what exactly to do with all this career energy; you’ll need to sort that through for yourself. There may be both opportunities and hesitations, and on some level you’ll need to use that super-fantabulous Pluto energy to help you determine what exactly you are and are not willing to do for the sake of your career and reputation in the near and long term.

The sun enters your sign on April 19 this year. The sun in a person’s sign tends to make him or her more goal oriented and willing to undertake new projects or endeavors–or more willing to devote renewed effort to existing ones. In your case, the existing goal that could probably benefit most from your attention is the goal of finding or enhancing a suitable career position. If your job or even your professional field is not ideal (translation: driving you crazy and making you wish you could quit if it wasn’t for this darn economy), then the stars are of the opinion that you need to hop to it in terms of doing something about that situation.

How can you find the better position the stars are trying to lure you toward? Oh, it’s that same old advice–networking and hitting up everyone you know for assistance. Really. It truly is who you know that matters this year.

If you’ve already got the perfect career position, then the advice is still the same actually. Keep up and build your network of relationships, help others and ask for help. This just ain’t the year to sit on your laurels (or your backside). ‘Why?” you ask.  ‘Because I’m going to lose my job?’

Well, you might (as you well know if you watch the news), but that’s not why. The why is because Neptune and Jupiter in Aquarius in your solar 10th house believe that you can make a bigger and better contribution to the good of society as a whole, right now while the whole thing seems to be caving in. Your Taurean stablity, common sense savvy, caring nature, and general touch with money and practicality are exactly what’s needed these days, and you’ll do the most good in a position that suits you and allows you to function at your best.

So put on your thinking cap ASAP and figure out how you can improve your working life.

Boy, does your solar chart want to bust out in March, Taurus. Most likely from sort of an irritating career situation at first, then later perhaps from an equally irritating friendship or teamwork situation. This could be a good thing, especially if you are able to bust out and engage in some of the good old-fashioned self-expression your chart craves. But there’s a catch, and it all comes into sharp relief around the time of the full moon in Virgo on the 10th.

I’ll lay it out. The fifth house is self-expression. Saturn in Virgo is in your solar 5th house. Saturn is disapproval, restriction, inhibition and various forms of the word ‘no.’

The full moon in Virgo falls quite close to Saturn in terms of degrees. The full moon therefore is going to be quite tempted to stir up your emotions around a year and a half’s worth of Saturn disapproving of and inhibiting your attempts at self-expression and fun. Not only that, the full moon will come dangerously close to opposing Uranus in Pisces. Uranus in Pisces is mighty ticked with Saturn’s inhibition of your self-expression and is vigorously urging you to overcome your natural fear of disapproval and insecurity so that you can do whatever the hell it is that you really want whether Saturn likes it or not.

This is the kind of planetary conflict that makes most people feel as though somehow large chunks of the world have ganged on up them just to make them mad. And it is right into this combustible mix that Mars will stride come March 15. Mars is Mr. Anger himself, as well as Mr. Conflict With Others and Mr. Disagreement. Mars and Uranus are going to team up to try to teach you that if you want to be yourself, you are just going to have to proceed with courage even if you have to face down disapproval and disagreement to do it.

Of course you may not feel that being yourself is worth the hassle, and that’s why the conglomeration of Saturn, the moon, Uranus and Mars are going to try to convince you that you’ll have no peace if you try the old go-along-to-get-along strategy of avoiding conflict. Sometimes you just gotta take a stand and say to hell with them, whoever them might be. March and April 2009 could well be one of those times.

The good news is that if you do your part in the middle of the month, you’ll get a well-deserved astrological rest period come the new moon in Aries on March 26th. Feel free to flop down or go all hermit-like for a few days; you’ll need your energy for April.