So, last night, almost exactly as the Moon was full, I had a meltdown.

It was a meltdown fitting for a Cancer Full Moon…it was cyclonic, it was also, in retrospect, textbook for the transits the Moon was making to my chart.

We’ve talked before about how transits of the personal planets, including the Moon rarely, by themselves, bring long lasting change. Usually they are little more than a good or bad hair day, extra energy, a spot of comfort eating or a temper tantrum.

What they often are, though, is trigger points for deeper change being instigated by the outer planets. The straw that broke the camels back, so to speak. Especially when it’s a lunation ie a new or full Moon hitting that point.

Think of it like a cyclone- all the little factors come together and then, if the weather conditions are right, bam!

The weather conditions last night were perfect- take a Pluto transit, add a Cancer Moon for extra emotion, fear and insecurity, make it full, add some more Pluto, a dollop of Uranus and a smidgeon of Saturn, and as a final touch, one hell of a lot of end of year “what have I done?” musings. The outcome is a low pressure cell of cyclonic proportions, plenty of bluster and a lot of moisture.

In my case, I’m not having any seriously major outer planet transits. Which makes a nice change after a number of years filled with Pluto squares, Uranus conjunctions and Saturn oppositions.

The transits I’m having now are of the ‘you’ve been through the shitty stuff, you’ve done the work, now you need to do what you have to do to move forward…or not…the choice is yours.’

Pluto is currently sextile Mercury (final pass), trine the North Node (so sextile South Node). There are opportunities (sextile, trine) to move forward (North Node) and achieve huge stuff (Capricorn) or stay/ go back to what I know (South Node).

Pluto is always going to be hard, but the nature of this transit is I have opportunities- if I’m prepared to do the work.

Last nights Full Moon triggered that.

Falling in the 4^th/10^th, and in easy aspect to Mercury and the nodes, it all came under the spotlight.

Retrograde Jupiter has also put his few words in, being square natal Mercury, as is Saturn, just past a conjunction with South Node.

The Moon rules my 5^th house, so this was always going to be a player in the outcome of the transit.

Essentially what happened was that I received the report (Mercury) in from my structural editor/manuscript assessor on the chick lit novel that time forgot (my baby, 5^th house). I figure he’s Pluto- ‘cos his job is to get to the depths of the issue and drag it back to life.

It wasn’t bad, not in hindsight, in fact he’s done a bloody good job of getting to the bottom of the work I need to do to whip this thing into publishable format- but I couldn’t see that last night. It’s just that the Pisces dreamer in me wanted him to come back and say something like ‘this is amazing, and publishers should be calling for it now.’

All I could see last night was how hard it all is, how very very much I want this. Then the “what ifs” came calling. But what if the only things I’m good at are the things I don’t want to be doing ie the corporate stuff? What if I’m really shit at this? Should I just throw the whole dream away, pull on the business suits, swallow my pride and go back to fulltime corporate work?

Just lately a very good friend has been constantly dropping comments around when I’m going to get a real job…what if she’s right? What if my family is right? What if everyone has been humouring me for the last year and just waiting for me to come to my senses?

After all, no one would blame me for giving up- right? It would be nice to have the good salary again… Under this transit I can do either…

In the cold light of morning and after not a lot of sleep, I’m about to start the re-write. Hubby says to wait, but if I wait, I’ll take the South Node option- and that’s not what I want. I don’t want my later years to be full of visits from the coulda, woulda, shouldas- those bad boys are worse than the “what ifs…I wrote about them here.

The thing is, I know this is hard. There are even fewer publishers out there then there are available men. The other thing is, growth and transformation only happens after a lot of other clearing away. It’s why I have the koru tattooed on my hip- to remind me. It’s why I used the image of the cyclone (which is also a koru spiral) to illustrate this post today. To remind me.

So, I’m pressing forward. It’s what Pluto would want me to do. I’ll leave the meltdown in 2012…

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.

They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

I have no idea where this quote comes from, but my daughter built it into this picture (above) that she gave me.

My mother read it, turned to her and said, ‘well, this is your mother, alright!’

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Uranus touches most of my chart, but, given that it’s in opposition to my Ascendant, Sun and Moon, I tend to struggle with the concepts- going from chaos and rebellious individuality back to Piscean dreamer and right back again…usually in the blink of an eye.

For me though, it’s an aspect I need to get a handle on in order to be me in my most unedited, unapologetic form.

We’ll talk more about this another time, but for now, the important point is that Uranus transits points in our chart at the very time when it’s most important that we do seek and live with freedom and authenticity.

If you are receiving or expecting a Uranus transit, for a while- at least- you might just be able to identify with this too.

What will happen? Who knows- that’s the nature of Uranus. One thing I know for sure is the more you resist, the harder it will be.

If you want some hints on how to interpret your own transit:

• Look at the nature of the planet transiting (in this case Uranus) and look at the nature of the planet being transited and put some key words around each. The nature of Uranus is to electrify, to authenticate, to free. It is unpredictable, unexpected and unique to you.
• Check out the Outer Planets tab at the top of the page- here you’ll find some hints courtesy of Bernadette Brady’s The Eagle and the Lark.
• Work out the timing
• Check out also if any other outer planet transit is overlapping- there’s usually a theme to these things.

I’ve not long come out of a lengthy series of Uranus transits- hello, I’m Pisces personified, so whenever Uranus touched one of my Pisces planets, it was felt around the whole kite formation.

Taking the Uranus-Moon as an example, this is how it looked:

Now, I’m not going to disclose what went on (it’s a 12^th house secret)- let’s just say it involved things which brought me undone (12) and things I took a risk on and had some fun with (5).

Relationships (7) and myself (1) were where the trouble started, and at the end of it I was almost completely different (1). All the action was around me questioning me, needing to reinvent me, everything to do with me. For a while there, my Moon was very Aquarian.

It was a ride and a half that I’d do again tomorrow.

So, what is Uranus doing in 2013?

• Jan 2013 4 Aries 46’
• 17/7/13 Rx at 12 Aries 31’
• 17/12/13 Direct at 8 Aries 35’

The tighter the aspect, the more you will feel it.

You may feel the vibration of the conjunction, square or opposition up to 2 degrees out, you may not feel the easier aspects much at all- a lot will depend on how your relationship is natally with Uranus.

However you look at it, one phrase is common to all Uranus transits- each is a wake up call.

I found this on Facebook, apologies, but I have no idea who to give credit to.

For other outer planet movements:

Under the Influence- Neptune in 2013

Something about Saturn in Scorpio

…I haven’t written the Pluto post yet!

Warning: This post is pure Astro, a bit technical…& loooooooong.

Last week we looked at how to find out where Saturn is transiting your chart. But what does that mean?

To illustrate, here’s another chart- Marion (not her real name, and birth details are blocked out by that lovely arrow, but she has given me permission to use her chart).

Saturn is currently transiting her 7^th house and will continue to do so for much of the time he is in Scorpio.

Does this mean that I won’t have a relationship during this time?

Absabloodylutely not!

So what does it mean?

Saturn in the 7^th is all about getting real about relationship and relationships- both personal and professional. Saturn in the 7^th is about you confronting who you really are through your relationships with others. And this can be hard. Any disappointments of the heart received over this time should (between the tears and alcohol…is that just me?…be taken as a reinforcement of the Saturn lesson).

Even committed relationships will face tests during a Saturn 7^th house transit. They will make it only through confronting reality. And that means that the partner receiving the Saturn transit needs to know who he or she really is in order to properly relate to a current or future partner. It also means looking at expectations with a mature eye.

New relationships might get serious- it isn’t unusual to see relationships go to the next step when one party is having a Saturn 7^th house transit.

What else? Saturn transits through the 7^th might mean that you commence a relationship with an older person, or someone with Capricornian tendencies such as maturity, responsibility and ambition, but it can also mean something as simple as you confronting your attitudes to what relationship is and making sure that they are real. Whatever new relationship comes into reality at this point will be important.

To do this you need to understand both the role of Saturn in your life and what your relationship needs are. Continue to look at relationships and what you think you need with anything less than eyes wide open and something great could pass you by.

I knew someone who prior to Saturn transiting the 7^th was always (and I mean always) finding herself attracted to men that sub consciously she knew she couldn’t have or that she knew were wrong- married men, attached men, much younger men, much older men. Each time she would suffer the pain of unrequited love- and that is something that never stops hurting.

When Saturn came through her 7^th something happened which made her realise that she was doing this deliberately- falling for men she knew she couldn’t have. Even though she wanted so much to be loved, she was even more scared of being left, or rejected, or being alone forever. At 43, she was hanging onto ideals she held in her early 20s.

The man she is now in a committed relationship has none of the characteristics of the men she previously fell for. And he was there all the time. She found him when she stopped waiting for someone to live with and started living with herself. She got real.

Relationships are definitely a concern to Marion- with her Moon and Venus in partnership loving Libra, she feels emotionally secure when in partnership.

While Saturn has been in Libra, the lesson for Marion has been to look at her patterns of relating from a Libra viewpoint. Once Saturn moves into Scorpio, this will, for Marion, become more serious. She is being asked to lift the curtains and look deeply into her own motivations, patterns, modus operandi around relationship. Truthfully, honestly and intensely.

Does this mean that love will pass her by for the next couple of years? Not necessarily. What it does mean is that she will treat any relationship seriously, and she will demand absolute integrity from partners- both personally and professionally. Issues of trust, power and control will be important. Events may occur and people may come into her life where she has to admit things to herself about the partners that she chooses and the motivations around those choices. Saturn lessons are difficult. They can also bring great reward.

Before looking at Marion’s transits, we should also look at her natal Saturn.

In Marion’s case, Saturn is in the 12^th house. Behind the scenes she probably struggles with fears, guilt, loneliness and general insecurities. One of her biggest fears is being alone- and when she is alone her fears become more real.

Whilst her Libra Moon and 7^th house Sun are looking for partnership, Saturns’ life lesson is to learn how to achieve things in solitude. This does not mean that her destiny is to be alone (seriously, if this were the case everyone with Saturn in the 12^th would be alone), but to balance her need for partnership and still be comfortable within her own space. Every Saturn transit she experiences will have an element of this lesson.

Saturn rules the 10^th and 11^th houses (and the 12^th as traditional ruler of Aquarius), so all Saturn transits to Marion’s chart will impact these areas of life.

Check out the Astro Basics tab at the top of the page for what each house represents.

But what does it mean?

I always use Bernadette Brady’s grid system to look at the impact of transits (check out her wonderful The Eagle and the Lark for more information on this).

The cause of whatever may happen is in the 1^st row of the table- the location of both planets in the natal chart.

Where this action is occurring can be found in the house being transited.

The consequences or outcomes can be found in the bottom row of the grid- the areas of life ruled by these planets.

To illustrate this, let’s look at Marions’ chart. Saturn will conjunct her Scorpio Sun from Mid December. I checked with an ephemeris (a freebie is available on Astro.com- I use orbs of just 1 degree either side) and the timing for this will be around the following dates:

• Mid December 2012- end January 2013 (exact 26/12/12- 9/1/13
• mid March- mid May 2013 (exactish 18/4/13- 1/5/13) Rx
• Mid September- early October 2013 (Exact 11/9/13-21/9/13):

Because Saturn is in the 12^th house, whatever happens this transit will have its causes in 12^th and 7^th house issues. In fact all transits made by Saturn to planets in Marions’ chart will have their origins in the 12^th house and how she handles the issues of this house. Check out this post for more hints on the 12^th house.

As Saturn is transiting the 7^th house, the events of this transit will occur in the area of Marions’ relationships- business and personal.

Saturn rules the 10^th and 11^th houses, so all transits made by Saturn to planets in Marions’ chart will result in changes in Marions’ work, her public standing, her hopes and dreams, her friendships. In this case, the Sun (the planet receiving the transit) rules Marion’s 6^th house (Leo is on the cusp of the 6^th), so this Saturn/Sun conjunction will also have an impact on 6^th house issues- her normal work routines, her health habits.

Because the nature of this transit is a conjunction, the energy of Saturn will fuse with that of the Sun (see last weeks post).

Marion, if she wants to look at all of her Saturn transits, should do a similar grid for each of the planets Saturn is contacting over the next couple of years. I’ve jotted a couple of what I know is coming up for her:

Final Points:

1. Saturn transits (indeed all transits) should never be looked at in isolation. Don’t just look at what the textbook says about Saturn transiting, say, Venus. Look at what that means to you. What houses will be impacted? What does each of the planets (both the transiting planet and the planet being transited) mean in the context of your chart? What relationship do you have with Saturn? Do Saturn concepts come easily to you or are you more challenged by these lessons? What does Saturn mean in your chart?
2. Don’t just look at the bad stuff- in my humble opinion dire predictions tend to be self-fulfilling. Look also at the positive sides to any transit. Yes, good things can happen- even under a Saturn transit.
3. Look at the nature of the aspect being made.
4. Consider also what transits are being made to your chart by the other big hitters ie Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Don’t ignore the house that Jupiter is activating. Often a message or theme is being repeated.
5. Try very hard not to see or hear or read what you want to see, hear or read- a limited or tunnel view is never helpful

Normally in these posts I choose my words carefully. I don’t like to upset people, I don’t like to cause conflict and I don’t like to take the emotional garbage on board when well meaning non advice turns into a game of “but, what if?”

When it comes to Saturn, there is no pussy-footing around. So, I’m venting- for the next 1000 or so words. You have the right to turn off and stop reading if you like.

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a lot of emails from people who are scared of Saturn moving into Scorpio. Does this mean that I’ll be sick for 2 ½ years? Does this mean that my job will be crappy for 2 ½ years? Does this mean that I’ll get divorced? Does this mean I’ll lose my house? Saturn is going into Scorpio, does that mean I’ll die?

Seriously? Maybe that’s why the Mayans ended their calendar in 2012- not because they ran out of room or got bored with the calculations, but because Saturn was moving into Scorpio? Don’t write to me, I’m being cynical.

I’m not saying that none of this stuff can happen- I hope it won’t. What I’m saying is that Saturn is always transiting some part of our life all the time. He doesn’t just go away during the good times and re-surface for the bad shit. Saturn is always there and we can’t live in fear every single day. Sure you can if you want to, but that’s your choice and I don’t need to take it on board.

Jupiter’s always there too, and we aren’t scared of that. We look at Jupiter as the great jolly giant bringing only hope and opportunity and great big stuff. And he does. Jupiter makes everything he touches bigger. Great if it’s a good opportunity, not so good if it’s your body that’s getting bigger and definitely not so good if it’s a bad situation that’s getting worse very quickly.

Regular readers know that I don’t have a good relationship with Saturn and am about as Jupiterian as they come. I dread Saturn transits and look forward to Jupiter transits with unbridled excitement. Yet, the year Jupiter went through my 6^th house, a health problem got substantially worse, very quickly, and had me in hospital for major surgery. Saturn was in my 4^th house providing the structures that would help me rest and recover.

Likewise, the year Jupiter went through my 10^th house, so many work related opportunities (amongst other stuff) presented themselves that I was an absolute mess. I couldn’t cope. Saturn was in the 6^th asking me to take it a little slower- look after my health, my routines and go through the paces. I didn’t listen, and heeded instead the siren call of Jupiter…and all hell broke loose. Would I do it all again the same way? Hell yeah! I’m a slow learner.

I know people who committed (or re-committed) when Saturn transited their 7^th only to divorce when Jupiter rocked on through there. A friend lost his house (to his ex wife) when Jupiter transited his 4^th, and another had so much fun and took so much risk that when Jupiter transited his 5^th his gambling problem got worse.

Don’t get me wrong, great stuff happens when Jupiter transits come along. You say yes more often, you dare to dream and hope springs eternal. Even after the shittiest Jupiter transit you can (usually) look back with the benefit of hindsight and say that losing (x, y or z) was the best thing that happened to me because it allowed (insert great opportunity) to happen. That surgery I had 8 years ago freed me, the stuff that went down in the workplace 5 years ago opened up opportunities I am jumping on today.

Saturn lessons are different. There is no denying they are hard, and rarely do we stand back later and publicise the hindsight stuff from the rafters. Saturn teaches, Jupiter broadcasts and publicises. But the lessons Saturn teaches and the structures he builds are invaluable.

All Saturn asks is that you get real. That’s it. Whatever part of the chart he is transiting is the area of life where you need to grow up and accept some responsibility. That’s it. It’s time to look realistically at that part of life. That’s it.

Over-spending and taking on extra debt? Saturn in the 2^nd or the 8^th will make sure that you get your taxes up to date, a budget written and committed to, wills and estates put in order, and a good, hard look at what is really important to you. Money may be tight…because it has to be. Do the right thing, the mature thing and you’ll come out of it OK. Continue with your current habits and you’ll be in trouble. This is where Saturn is in my chart right now and boy is this true!

Been alone for too long? Saturn in the 7^th will ask you to look realistically at your patterns of relating. Maybe you find yourself attracted to partners that even you know (if you’re honest- and Saturn needs you to be honest) are unattainable- too young, too old, too married or too not what you need. Maybe this is why your love is unrequited? Maybe you need to throw away the checklist and give others a chance? Or, maybe you need a checklist…or maybe the work that needs to be done is on loving you? Maybe you just need to get on with living, maybe being alone is the right place for you to be now? Maybe you need to look very closely at your modus operandi? I don’t know the answer, but if Saturn is transiting your 7th house and you aren’t happy with your relationship status, you do (know the answer, that is) if you examine it in the way Saturn asks you to examine it.

Oh, Saturn won’t give you the answers either- that’s too easy. He will help you do the work and set up the structures so that when Jupiter opportunities come around you can jump on them and have overnight, out of the blue success.

If Saturn is transiting your 7^th when he moves into Scorpio, congratulations, you have a head start. Why? Because all of us in some way have been looking at patterns of relating the whole time that Saturn has been in Libra.

I’ve seen Saturn transits in the 10^th bring amazing career highs as all the hard work comes home to roost. I’ve also seen Saturn transits in the 10^th bring divorce and separation as issues that weren’t dealt with during 7^th house transits raise their ugly heads again. I got married when Saturn crossed my Ascendant and gave birth to my daughter when Saturn was conjunct my 2^nd house Venus.

Get the idea?

I’m not saying that you need to swallow your fears and forge blindly ahead- that would be irresponsible. That would be something that someone who doesn’t have a good sense of Saturn boundaries would do. That’s what someone like me would do. What I’m saying is don’t let yourself be ruled by the fear of things that simply may not come to pass. These things tend to have a habit of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

What I am suggesting is that you open yourself to the possibility that under a Saturn transit good things can happen. And, given that Saturn is all about longevity, when good things happen under a Saturn transit, they tend to last.

That’s all.

Over the next while I’ll do one Saturn post a week- looking at transits through each of the houses. In the meantime, share with me:

Has any good stuff happened to you under a Saturn transit? Or, anything bad that turned out to be good?

Want more Saturn posts?

The Climb- Saturn Transits

Saturn in Scorpio (A taster)

The Real Thing- Saturn in Libra

Band of Gold- Saturn in Libra

© Andrymorphy | Dreamstime.com

I am naively optimistic (some may say delusional), but this doesn’t stop me from:

• Checking under the top of drink caps to check if I could be a winner
• Wondering about the pot of gold at the end of each rainbow
• Assuming that every cloud has a silver lining
• Still being amazed that bad things continue to happen to good people
• Assuming that people mean the things they say

To perpetuate this optimism (some may say delusions):

• I don’t watch movies or TV shows or read books where anything happens to the kid or the dog
• Same regarding anything with a known unhappy ending
• Likewise books or movies with inspirational messages- they always make me cry & I spend a lot of time trying to avoid just that.

I also steadfastly refuse to believe that there are intrinsically “bad” planets or intrinsically “bad” transits. Shit happens, but sometimes under a so called good transit by a so called benefic planet. One of the most difficult 2 weeks in recent years was when Jupiter crossed my Midheaven. Conversely, the first few months when Pluto moved to square my natal Moon 4 years ago was emotionally one of the most exciting times…although granted, the brown stuff did hit the fan soon after…

The only exception I make to this rule is regarding Saturn. As far as I am concerned nothing good ever happens under a Saturn transit (see my post on Saturn & I Irreconcilable Differences). Many astrologers call Saturn transits “skinny transits”…I don’t even get those good bits. When Saturn was opposing my Pisces Sun & Moon in recent years, I have been fatter than ever before. (I hold out more hope for an upcoming opposition to Venus).

Despite their pain, Saturn transits are for me relatively straight forward to predict- they will always involve a mountain that I otherwise would have no interest in climbing, they will always involve a lesson of some description, they will always be a reminder of the structures that I don’t have right & they will always involve a general melancholy or depressive & negative viewpoint. When Saturn comes calling I stop looking under drink bottle caps.  

Given that Saturn is in my 1^st house, Saturn transits are usually accompanied by a joint, tooth or bone problem of varying pain & associated expense- all designed to remind me that I should have:

• Remembered to floss more often
• Kept all those chiropractor appointments
• Not tried running on the crap ankle
• Not used boxing as an alternative to anger management
• Looked after my weight & boundaries

But not everyone has problems with Saturn. My theory is that I do have these issues because Saturn is unaspected (I only use same signs) in my chart & in the sign of his fall. In this regard, transits to & by Saturn throw a Saturn flavour on my chart which is missing natally. I have similar problems when the Moon is in Saturns’ sign (Capricorn or Aquarius). In contrast, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter, The Sun & the Moon are all connected to each other natally, so part of their energy is in virtually every part of life for me.

So, just because I have problems with Saturn, should I assume that others have the same issues?

Call me Pollyanna, but one person’s Plutonic journey into hell may present an opportunity for complete transformation to someone else. One may suffer a physical loss, while the other may have a spiritual rebirth.

Likewise Uranian transits can be exciting and restless like falling in love. But they can also be frightening and unsettling and upset the very core of your existence.

Take my Jupiter Midheaven transit- I had to be presented with a crisis and a loss in order to see an opportunity…and I had to see that opportunity in order to understand what I needed at that point in time.

Ultimately what we do with transits is done out of free will & will be a reflection on the potential of our whole chart- & can therefore not ever be looked at in isolation as being good, bad or otherwise.

So, when I post about transits of particular planets, should I dwell on the more potentially challenging possibilities of that transit (as some may say, tell it like it is) or the potential growth that may come from that transit? I think both, but in reading comments on other sites, maybe I have a responsibility (another Saturn word) to warn a little more- the whole forewarned is forearmed theory. Which then raises a whole new set of questions- what do you do with that information?

When I look at the transits about to hit my chart, I look at the possibilities & the dates & generally do nothing. For no reason than despite being a control freak, I do work best & respond best under chaos & tend to unconsciously cultivate that. I thrive on resolution even when that resolution means major change- simply because something is happening. What if being forewarned & forearmed meant that the safe harbour was chosen rather than pushing the boat out in a storm towards something that could be really great? What if it means you ignore the potential cool stuff?

Me? I am convinced one day that I will find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…possibly after climbing a Saturn mountain to get there. For me, that is telling it like it is.