A couple of years ago, I gave up on goals. I needed to- they were no longer suiting me and instead of focusing my efforts, I felt as though I had handcuffs holding me to something I no longer wanted to be held to.
That freedom gave me breathing space to heal and recover.
I brought the goals back in 2014.
Why?
A number of reasons. I wrote about them here. Primarily it was because, after mapping out my transits, I could see that I had a Saturn year ahead.
So, goals were back….and it was different. I planned, I was specific, realistic and checked in on them regularly.
I also kept it simple.
My primary goal was around money. I needed to make some. It was time to get real (thanks, Saturn).
I’d hoped it would be through my business and a big, fat book contract or three, but it wasn’t. Instead, when the opportunity came up to go back to the corporate world for a few months, I reprioritized. Saturn trines in action.
Yesterday I mapped my transits in the same way I did last year, and what I saw surprised me.
I thought I had another Saturn year ahead, I was expecting another Saturn year.
Looking at it pictorially, though, I need to wait until 2016 for the really difficult Saturn stuff (phew). In 2015, Uranus will be dominating (again) with another couple of trines to the MC and, what I suspect will be, and interesting series of conjunctions with Venus.
Given that I have Uranus natally in the 7th house of relationships, and natally inconjunct Venus, this transiting conjunction will be crucial to my personal Uranian story.
Other than that, there’s opportunities to do a little self-transformation by way of Pluto sextiles to the Ascendant, a bit of a Saturnian wake-up call to my heavily Neptunised Mercury, and a whole heap of Jupiter.
This year my goals are all around habits and lightening up- both physically and metaphorically. The work I do now will support me when the Saturn squares start coming around in 2016.
For much of the year Jupiter will be transiting my 6th, so routines (particularly those associated with work and health) will be important.
If you’ve mapped out your outer planet transits, you may find that goal setting is not for you this year.
If, however, you do intend to declare a resolution (or three) at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve, you’ll have a better likelihood of success if you’re working with the prevailing energy rather than against it. After all, if the forecast is one of thunderstorms, a blustery southerly change and 90% chance of rain, you’re setting yourself up for failure if you persevere with that beach picnic you had planned. The same applies to the astro weather.
Here’s how to survive yours, and end 2015 with a sense of accomplishment.
Your transit map is full of Pluto
Perhaps your transit map is full of Pluto. Whether you’re setting goals or intentions, ensure they are honest, transformative, and eliminate anything that is no longer doing you good.
This is a good year to break down walls, structures and habits, and replace them with something powerful and healing. Remember also the laws of karma- do nothing that harms or impedes the free will of another…you know the rest of that one.
In Pluto years, you must dig deeply into whatever it is that scares you or holds you back, stare it down and either build from it or eliminate it. This is a year for using your power and ambitions wisely and with integrity. Set your goals accordingly.
Your transit map is full of Neptune
If you’re having a Neptune year, you’ll be needing the flexibility to go with the flow and allow your dreams to come rushing through.
Having a set of rigid goals won’t help with that- keeping a dream journal, a vision board, or a desire map- focusing on how you want to feel- might be more up your alley this year.
If you do set goals, ensure that there’s something in there about spirituality and inner peace. Ego driven achievements are not the end point of a Neptune year.
Make a deal with yourself to meditate more, perhaps take up yoga, help out at a charitable institution, selflessly care for another. Neptune transits are long and insidious, so it pays to give yourself up to them rather than waste your energy in trying to understand them.
Your transit map is full of Uranus
Having a Uranus year? Keep your goals individual, innovative and with enough room to move to allow for any unexpected surprises or mind changes.
Focus your aims on your Uranian lesson. What does it mean to be you? Who have you forgotten to be? Where are you compromising or apologising for yourself? Keep your goals authentic, self-centred and future focused. Uranus transits can be an opportunity to change your look, change your work, think outside the box. The warning is not to do anything purely for the sake of it.
Your transit map is full of Saturn
Regardless of whether you’ve done the goal thing in the past, you should set aside the time to do it now.
Take a realistic approach, keep them measurable, and schedule in time to check in or conduct mini performance reviews. When doing this, concentrate on what you have achieved and resist the urge to beat yourself up on what you haven’t.
This is a mountain climbing year. If you can’t do it physically, do it metaphorically and “kit” yourself out with the tools you need.
Saturn transits are all designed to help you face your fears, so look to your chart and the house position of Saturn as to what your Saturn lesson is.
Saturn transits- even the easy ones- will require effort and discipline, so you may as well get your head and acceptance around that now.
Your transit map is full of Jupiter
Contrary to popular opinion, this is not necessarily a “good” year. It is, however, a year of opportunities.
The thing about opportunities, actually, make that two things about opportunities is:
- You have to recognise them. Opportunities don’t necessarily show up wearing a t-shirt that says “pick me.” They could be hidden, disguised, heavily camouflaged, or arrive at the wrong time. It’s up to you to recognise them (or not), accept the timing (or not), and make the leap of faith (or not).
- Sometimes a door has to close, an ending has to happen, something has to be let go of in order for you to recognise the opportunity for what it is. Trying to keep a closing door open, often means you don’t see another door up the hall.
Instead of goals you might want to vision board. If you do set goals, make sure that they push your boundaries and comfort zones. Learn something that blows your mind, explore a new religion or philosophy, travel to a different culture and immerse yourself in it.
Jupiter is also about enlightenment and expansion. Think about what Jupiter rules in your chart- this is where you need to be enlightened in order to expand into the world. The area of life Jupiter is transiting is where you need to concentrate the efforts.
You get the idea.
And finally…
If you are setting goals, apply the SMART principles:
S Keep them specific
M Make sure that you can measure the outcome
A They should be achievable- with effort. What actions do you need to take?
R Realistic. Yep. Make it so.
T Set a date to achieve or check in on your goals
Your Sun and Saturn sign will also tell you a lot about how you go about achieving your goals- so why not use it?
How does your sign set goals? That’s a subject for a whole different post.