Midlife Transits

People often ask me about relocating. Changing location is a big deal (ask anyone who’s moved), and for this week’s podcast I talked to an expert in the astrology around relocating. I wanted someone who didn’t just use Astro*Carto*Graphy® as I’ve had a number of clients who’ve complained about the results they’ve gotten using just that one system alone. Scott Wolfram of travelerswell.com uses not only Astro*Carto*Graphy but a combination of methods including Geodetic maps and Local Space maps.

He explains how he weaves all 3 techniques together and why the results you get from ACG alone may not work for you when other factors are taken into account. He recounts the story of his own relocation and the beneficial effects it had on not only his well-being but his wife’s. He also addresses cultural factors and the timing of moving. He talks about why we might be attracted to places that are bad for us and what to expect when we encounter a place with strong energy for us. He’s mindful of the complications and process that go into moving, as he’s done it himself. He also talks about temporary and short-term moves and why they might be beneficial for specific purposes or for a short period of time.

His approach is both comprehensive and clear. I think you’ll like hearing him.

Perhaps coincidentally, Donna Cunningham of Skywriter has a couple of posts on relocation and astrology on her Skywriter blog. She talks about relocation in terms of the natal chart and transits. A whole series of articles on locational astrology in various forms can also be found here.

It’s an interesting subject to ponder and research, since almost all of us have moved at one time or another.

This week’s podcast features Bob Marks, who, as he says ‘wrote the book on traveling on your solar return.’ For almost 30 years, he’s been advising people on where to travel on their solar returns to maximize their success during the coming 6 months to a year. And he practices what he preaches, regularly traveling himself on his birthday and half-birthday.

The name of his book is How to Get More Love, Money, and Success by Traveling on Your Birthday. It’s an incredibly straightforward and concise book, and it’s available at Amazon and at the Barnes and Noble website. It gives instructions on how to choose where to be on your birthday. Bob is also a cable TV host and has a website, bobmarksastrologer.com, with a wealth of  basic information on various astrological topics.

In my interview with him, Bob talks about the significance of solar returns or birthday charts, how to use the most accurate chart for forecasts, how important they are to understanding your year ahead, the first rule he uses in looking at solar return charts and more. He’s a very entertaining, practical speaker with good techniques. If you don’t know much about solar return charts, or even if you do, it’s well worth a listen.

The weekend of the cardinal cross with the moon in Cancer has passed and I wake up to find that I am very behind on some of my numerous activities. That’s one manifestation of a cross–lots of competing priorities. Nothing terrible, just a lot to do and not enough time to do it.

I had posted a podcast on relationships and was going to post a blog entry also on a few questions I get about astrology and relationships. With Saturn in Libra putting the spotlight on relationships for a couple of years, it is certainly appropriate to talk about them. Here goes, hopefully better late than never.

Can you use astrology as method to start sorting out problems that hamper success in relationships?

Yes, absolutely. I know because I have in my own life. I’m not saying I became Ms. Perfect Relationships all the time, but if you saw my chart, you’d be impressed at the problems I’ve been able to solve. I mean problems in the natal chart. This is probably the area where I’ve had the greatest success working with clients. It pains me to say that not every single client has gone on to have the relationship success I would like, but it pleases me to say that many clients have far exceeded my expectations and waltzed their way into long-lasting and happy relationships after decades of difficult ones or no relationships at all. The best way that I know of to use astrology to sort out relationship problems is to work on the issue over a series of sessions, doing a number of exercises and activities to change the pattern or get the appropriate ‘aha’ moments and integrate them. A good time to do this is often during a difficult transit for relationships (e.g., Pluto conjunct, square or opposite moon or Venus), although there are other fruitful times as well. It’s actually a fruitful time during Saturn’s transit through Libra into 2012. Relationship problems of all sorts (not just romantic relationships) are ripe to be tackled and solved.

Can you tell me when I will find the love of my life?

Sometimes, yeah. I can tell you when you are scheduled to have a good opportunity to meet someone if you want to. All time periods are not equally strong, but when they are strong, people will show up if you’re ready. That’s not saying all the people who show up will be ‘love of your life’ candidates, but the universe will throw opportunities your way.

Can you tell whether two people should get married?

No. The two people involved should always be the ones to make that decision. I can tell how the charts interact and how timing and life stages interact between charts, so I can help pinpoint issues and temporary problems and likely compromises and so on. But that doesn’t tell me whether a person ’should’ or ’should not’ embark upon a relationship with certain issues. That’s a personal choice. All relationships have issues and rough spots. The individuals involved decide whether it’s worth it to deal with the issues and get through the rough spots. Love, the level of commitment, timing, and circumstances can all play a role.

I’ve found that if one person in a relationship feels the need to consult an astrologer to determine if it’s a good match before marrying, then there are some doubts that need to be resolved through actual experience with the person, not through a third party. Astrology is more successful (in my opinion) in determining what is going on in a relationship and what it means to the parties involved than in telling the two people whether they should be in the relationship or not. Astrology is also not a substitute for doing the work in a relationship, although it can be very reassuring in terms of dealing with issues that need to be resolved. Problems and questions can be addressed, but the ultimate boss of any person’s life is that person, not a chart or an astrologer.

Can you tell what kinds of problems there are likely to be in a relationship by looking at the two charts?

Generally, yes, the two charts give a lot of insight into that. That’s one benefit of looking at astrology to help think through a relationship. Another element is the timing of when the relationship started. Relationships that start under certain kinds of transits tend to be more ’successful’ in my experience than those that start out under other kinds of transits. Example: Pluto trine moon seems to produce helpful relationships, while Neptune square moon tends to produce relationships that are ultimately disappointing or based on some sort of deception.

Can you tell what type of a person I will be attracted to?

Again, yes, the astrological chart gives pretty strong clues as to what type of person your chart will be attracted to and when. It will also tend to give good information on patterns of attraction, e.g., if you seem to keep falling for the ‘wrong’ type of person. The chart, with enough analysis, can generally reveal the basis for the pattern and how it can be altered.

Can you tell me how to find love?

I can tell you the types of things that tend to work best for your chart, i.e., what fits your chart’s preferences. I can also tell you what kinds of things can be helpful during certain transits or progressions. So, to a certain extent, yes. It also depends on the strength of the transits and progressions involved. Sometimes the universe will not place someone in your path because the timing is just not right, even if you want it to be. But, as with most things in life, you can up your chances of success by taking smart actions.

Finally, I should emphasize that these statements are made based on my experience as a consulting astrologer. Different astrologers have different gifts and different ways of seeing things or interpreting things. For me, relationship counseling is one of the things that seems to be most successful.

I want to draw your attention to this week’s podcast because it features an interview with Jude Cowell. You may know of her from her gorgeous artwork (featured at Secret Moon Art and at Zazzle) but you may also know her as a prolific blogger on politics and current events. She blogs at Stars Over Washington and has been posting  lots of interesting material on a range of subjects from the BP oil spill to the recent Afghan war WikiLeaks material and lots of stuff in between.

In the interview, Jude talks about how she got started, how she approaches political astrology, some of the history of mundane astrology, which US chart she uses and more. She’s a fascinating guest, and I hope you’ll listen to her. You can find the podcast here: http://webtalkradio.net/shows/practical-astrology/

August is kind of complicated, as planets in cardinal signs (Venus, Mars and Saturn in Libra, Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, and Pluto in Capricorn) make clashing angles with each other. The planets in Libra are transiting your solar 2nd house of financial matters. Jupiter and Uranus are opposing them in your solar house of joint financial matters and other mysterious things. Pluto is situated in your love life house, also the house that deals with children and creative endeavors. After the 14th, Uranus moves back into Pisces and your 7th house of marriage. Complicated.

To streamline things a bit, let’s look at this through the eyes of Jupiter in Aries, who moves slowly this month. Jupiter is the education planet, so presumably during his stay in Aries you’d be acquiring (or perhaps teaching) knowledge and skills related to joint finances, debt management, taxes and investments or other 8th house matters. Well and good. No biggie.

Then Pluto comes along during the first week of August, squaring Jupiter from your 5th house of love, kids, and creativity and says something like ‘change o’plans. A serious matter requires your attention and you must travel to attend to it.’ Why travel? Because Jupiter is a travel planet as well. I’m not saying this is what will happen, it’s just an example. You’re plugging along, living your life, and then planets want to bring up serious matters that require you to make difficult adjustments to your plans. This kind of thing happens all month long, in various areas of your life.

Fortunately, next month should be better!

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.

Career month for Sagittarius! Here’s the lowdown. Saturn, which has been messing up your career progress since late 2007, is finally gone from this sector of your chart for good. Well gone for around 29 or 30 years at least. Yay!

Career month actually begins on July 21, when Saturn leaves Virgo, your career sign. At this point, Venus is in your career sector. She stays through August 6. Mercury enters your career sector on July 27 and stays all the way through to October, thanks to a retrograde. Conflict-y Mars leaves on the 29th of July. And the sun enters Virgo on the 23rd of August.

Mercury’s long stay in this sector can used to put attention on any type of vocational or business endeavor. The Venus energy through the first week of the month focuses more on the people involved in your profession and on building relationships with them. The sun can be used to build up your reputation.

The kink in the works might be Pluto in Capricorn in your 2nd house of income. Pluto’s on something of a rampage with many of the other planets this month, although not your career-related ones. Pluto in Capricorn relates to reputation by his nature, and he spends the first week of August glaring at Jupiter, who represents the part of your chart that just wants to have fun. At the moment, necessity or at the very least protecting your reputation requires that you put work before fun for the month. Pluto’s equally unhappy with planets in your social life sector, and it seems he really wants you to concentrate on bringing home the bucks right now. So, like I said–career month!

This month, there’s an awful lot of energy in the sector of your chart that relates to profession and respect. Venus enters Libra, your career sign, by the 7th, while Mars and Saturn spend the whole month there. I wish that I could tell you that these planets will conspire to give you a well-deserved good reputation in your field or with the public at large, and that they will bestow upon you the respect you have undoubtedly earned. This could happen, but the somewhat greater likelihood is that you’ll need to fight like a dog to win back your reputation from threats of your own devising or maybe even from volatile family members.

The problem is that 2 of the planets at the top of your chart, Mars and Saturn, are not always easy to get along with. Mars is prone to outbursts of temper. Saturn’s a bit better but can seem stand-offish or correlate with career and reputation stress. Neither of these things is the end of the world, but Pluto in your own sign is picking fights with all 3 of the planets in your career sector this month as well as with Jupiter in your 4th house of family. Something inside you seemingly wants to sabotage all you have worked for. Hold your temper in August and don’t let it. If you can make it through August, you’ll see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel in September.

Something in your chart is paranoid about your reputation in August, as Pluto in Capricorn makes nasty angles to other planets all month, and scours the skies for hidden enemies. Fortunately, relaxed Neptune in your own friendly sign somewhat counteracts the vibe. Neptune-y people (artistic and/or spiritual types, for example) are still likely to be attracted to you or hold you in good regard. Healers may also give assistance, or you may be able to help others heal.

Meanwhile, your ruler Uranus moves from Aries back into Pisces mid-month. Theoretically, while Uranus is in Aries, he wants to help you achieve some goal or gain some results in the area of communication. He’s planted some seeds in that area, and now he’s going to go leave them alone and let them germinate for awhile. In Pisces, he comes back to take aim at your finances once again. 7 more months of Uranus taking aim at your finances and then you won’t have to deal with him in that spot again unless you live to be really really old. (It takes Uranus 84 years to circle the zodiac.)

Your first instinct will probably be to want to hide your money from Uranus, since he’s spent a lot of time trying to snatch it away from many Aquarians. However, since this is his last tour in Pisces (until March 2011), you may want to consider that perhaps his real aim now is to increase your income, not destroy it. That should probably be your goal anyway, to make more money.

The biggest astrological news for Leo in August is probably the movement of Uranus from Aries back into Pisces mid-month. Uranus in Aries is a reasonably happy placement for Leo, Pisces not so much. Uranus in Pisces has been dogging you for about 7 years and now it’s time for his farewell tour. The farewell tour lasts about 7 months, until mid-March 2011. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to totally and permanently get rid of whatever problems Uranus in Pisces may have caused you so that you can be clean and fresh and ready for the vital energy of Uranus in Aries for 7 years.

What kind of problem could that be? Well, the 8th house is complicated so it’s hard to give a blanket answer for all Leos. Uranus is impulsive, so you might look to see what kind of longstanding impulses have not been working out for you during the last 7 years that need to be thoroughly changed or deleted (since Uranus is about change and the 8th house is often about removing something). You could also look to see how you’ve been reacting to Pluto in Capricorn in your 6th house of health and employment, as Pluto echoes similar themes. Health patterns in particular may need to be changed. This final confrontation with Uranus in Pisces eats up more than half of the coming year for your sign. It will be a real relief to put it behind you. In the meantime, concentrate on physical and psychological health.

Speaking of Pluto, he spends much of the month fighting with Jupiter and then Saturn.  He evens briefly squares off with Venus and Mars. Oy vey! Co-workers may be a real pain and management perhaps even more so. The good news is that they get over it by September and everyone retreats to their various corners for awhile. You’ve also got a birthday new moon wish day this month on the 9th. That’s a good thing.

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.

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.

Pluto in your 8th house spends almost the whole month nursing grudges against various other planets. He squares off against no fewer than 4 planets this month. In your chart, all of these dust-ups have to do with relationships in one way or another. The action is so intense that it sounds like a good month to just go into the backyard and do some gardening, hiding out from everyone. You’re better off connecting to something tangible, like the earth, than operating in your normal air sign arena of thoughts and conversation.

Another possibility is to escape through travel. Neptune in your travel house is one of the few major planets not getting involved in any major arguments this month. A nice long trip could even be a healing endeavor. Try to go during the first 2 weeks before Uranus moves back into your career sector.

If you must stay in the fray the whole month, prepare for an involuntary education in the ways of society, because ours is likely to be rife with conflict. If you are able to ignore the angst in the general population, then the aspects may take you on a more personal journey. What is happening during the first part of the month is that Jupiter in Aries in your solar 11th house is squaring off against Pluto in your 8th. Jupiter in Aries represents, on one level, your powers of reasoning and judgment, because that’s what Jupiter specializes in. Pluto, on the other hand, represents the volcanic sub-surface instincts that ruthlessly promote survival, no matter the cost. Pluto specializes in the non-rational and cares little for conventional wisdom and judgment. You can actually bulk up your rational mind during the first half of the month by challenging your own instincts and discovering what lies below them.

Toward the second half of the month, Pluto squares off against Saturn in the part of your chart that governs love affairs and children. The same dynamic applies, but is even more intense. The bottom line is that if you are going to engage with people on anything other than a superficial level this month, you’ll need to be ready to check yourself so that your reactions don’t become overly intense.

August is kind of a crazy mixed-up month. The good news is that Uranus moves back into Pisces by the 14th. This takes energy out of your career sector and puts it back into your travel sector, so if you can take a week’s vacation go for it. The time before the 14th, however, continues to see quite a bit of action in the part of your chart that deals with your professional life, as Uranus and Jupiter will both be there.

During the first week or so of August, there is a clash between Jupiter in the 10th and Pluto in your 7th house of relationships. In fact, Jupiter will actually make difficult aspects with 4 planets this month–Pluto, plus Mars, Venus, and Saturn in Libra in your solar 4th house of hearth and home. What Jupiter in the 10th is supposed to do is help prepare you for the future by encouraging you to develop intellectually through education or training. He’s supposed to help you grow up a little bit professionally. Sometimes people will also find themselves in a more public or visible role while Jupiter is in their 10th, or they will take on the role of teaching and training others. Getting a promotion or becoming a supervisor are not uncommon.

During the first half of the month, though, all these other planets seem to want to interfere with Jupiter’s agenda and force you to pay attention to other things that come up regarding your career or personal life. That subsides after the 16th, so if you can make it through to then, then you can use the time later to get away and perhaps deal with whatever personal life issues seem to have the planets all roiled up.