Back in December last year when I did my annual transit spreadsheet I knew 2016 was going to be big. I couldn’t have predicted how big. My word of the year was epic…and man, was it epic! (If you want to read my report card for the year, you’ll find it here.)

Here’s what I knew:

• My progressed Ascendant would be moving into Taurus. Anytime a planet moves by progression into another sign or another house is Big. When the Sun moved by progression into Taurus was a mega year – I figured this wouldn’t be any different. (By the way, if you don’t know what I mean by progressions, don’t worry too much about it…)
• The eclipse in March, falling within a day or so of my solar return and conjunct my ASC, Sun and opposite Pluto would be big
• The New Moon in October, falling on my South Node would be a tad like my own personal eclipse

In last years post I said:

I’m thinking that 2016 will be a big year for career- one way or another.

How do I figure that? Well:

• In February, Pluto moves out of my 10th house for the first time in over 10 years. Anytime any of the big 3 (Pluto, Neptune, Neptune) changes houses will be a big time for the affairs of the house that’s being vacated, and the affairs of the house it’s moving into. Given that these 3 move slowly and spend a lot of the year retrograde, you’ll find that they cross back and forward over the borders a bit.
• Saturn moves into my 10th house for the first time in 28 years
• I have a very busy Jupiter year- and Jupiter rules my 10th house and my 1^st house
• Given that Uranus is still in my 2nd house and has another conjunction with Venus and the leftovers of a trine to the MC, how I make my money will also be up for discussion and changes.

What happened was pretty much that.

The transit chart I did mapped almost perfectly the busiest times of this year. The hotspots were last 2 weeks of Feb-March, last 2 weeks June-July, and all of November. And so it was.

In March, hubby’s job was on the line, my blood pressure as a result of the stress from my job was dangerously high, a close friendship was shattered, a close family was ripped apart, my BMF announced he was leaving, I had a dose of salmonella and…that’s enough to be going on with. Things look very different at the end of this year to the way they did at the start: house, family, friends, income, work…all of it.

Suffice to say, the year turned out to be pretty epic.

What’s in store this year?

The first 5 months looks set to be the most chaotic

• It’s another busy Jupiter and Saturn year, although there’s some respite in August. Resilience will again be required this year. Again, work and career will be big themes – as will be health and balancing creativity.
• The middle few months of the year are free of close Uranus aspects, but with Uranus squaring Jupiter, faith will be tested…repeatedly.
• Pluto is still making a close aspect to my Ascendant, and is also getting closer to my Sun. More importantly, Pluto is flipping around between houses – 10 and 11 – again.
• With the progressed Moon moving into Aquarius, independence and future-proofing will be big themes.

If 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.

Setting your goals or intentions (call them what you will) using your astrology will help you to make the most of the opportunities coming your way in 2017, deal with the challenges the best you can, and end 2017 with a sense of accomplishment.

In Part 2 we’ll talk about how you can do it for yourself…

In the meantime, if you want to get a head start, check out this post about how to map your transits, and this one on how to use an ephemeris. You might also want to have a flick back through the early editions of the Toolbox to reacquaint yourself with what each of the houses means…then keep an eye out on Friday for part 2- just in time for New Years Eve.

Don’t forget, if you want to stay on top of your daily forecasts, you can pick up a copy of the astro diary that I collaborated on, or you can bag yourself a copy of Sally Kirkman’s 2016 Horoscope