The Truth About Transits

What is a transit in astrology? It’s when a current planetary influence crosses or is at an angle to the birth position of your Sun, Moon, a planet or a significant point like the Ascendant.

For example, if you were born with Mars at 29° Capricorn, Pluto at 29° Capricorn would be conjunct (adjacent to) your natal or birth Mars. You would be having a Pluto-Mars transit.

Now the truth about transits is that they can be worked with for maximum effect but that there is also a lot of scare-mongering around them. Planets don’t just charge around looking for someone to mess with and while there are transits which are more pleasurable than others, all have their opportunities and threats.

The most important thing to remember is that the current planetary energy will arouse the natal energy it’s impacting. Figuring out how to work with the particular vibe being evoked puts you ahead. Astrology is not fatalistic but, with contemplation you can perceive patterns and cycles that will awe you with their synchronicity.

Now, you can see your upcoming big-deal transits via a Year Ahead Report – these ones are designed to be proactive and upbeat but still pragmatic. But to use the Pluto-Mars example above, this would activate your natal Mars vibe and Mars represents courage, audacity and ambition but also anger and resentment.

Pluto deepens your experience of the Mars archetype so if you have a good channel for Mars expression, Pluto-Mars tends to result in more avenues to go for it. Or your focus becomes more fixed on desirable goals.

But if you’ve lowered your Mars vibe for whatever reason and are operating under capacity or sadly oppressed, your Pluto-Mars experience will be more akin to an eruption. You’ll be like a dormant volcano rumbling into life.

Transits don’t happen ‘to you’ – they’re an influence that you can mitigate, enhance or learn from!

And, some additional thoughts from Clarissa Dolphin:

Astrological transits generate a bevy of strange theories entrenched in drenching defeatism, as if autonomy is buried by higher cosmic sensibility. 

When a moving celestial body forms a tight angle to a planet or point in the natal chart, i.e. when transit Uranus at 21 degrees rests on a natal Moon at 21 degrees via square, trine, conjunction, is powerlessness inevitable? Or is willpower and cosmic determinism intertwined?

Everyone has experienced a “f**ked up” transit, like when Pluto, Saturn, or Uranus barrels down, wreaking havoc on what was once stable, predictable and functional. In many of these situations, a sense of control is lost and impotence reigns… but personal powerlessness is NEVER actually the case, in any forecasting circumstance. 

Self-determination is always the outcome of every transit. Choice on how to interact with predominating celestial forces, moving with the tides of entropy, change or evolution, is the bedrock of everything.

In some sense, what else are we even here for, to be the same forever, entrenched in comfort? That’s completely out of alignment with consistent change in the universe. Does anything, even monolithic inanimate objects like chairs, stay the same? No. At a subatomic level everything is moving. 

Humans ARE literally stardust too, let’s not forget that fact. Millions of years into metamorphic making, we are one in the same as these big ass planets doing whatever they’re doing in outer space. Consequently, we can adapt to and transform with any celestial energy: the planets are our kin.

Finally, call me an optimist, but I personally believe that pressure, real hard sh*t, can bring out the best in you, engender inimitable resilience and growth. The self-discovery potential with transits is enormous – they beget powers, enhanced consciousness, ways of being that were once inconceivable.

What do you think, is there freedom with transits or are we all just pawns / puppets to providential forces?

~Clarissa

39 thoughts on “The Truth About Transits”

  1. My Transit Survival Guide-

    Uranus transit opp Venus/Sun- observed as recklessly driven autos- I anticipated wrecks, so deployed extreme anticipation/caution AND goodwill. Sure enough- smashes behind, to the side, but we were OK.

    Pluto- squaring Venus-working where I am lit up by extreme behavior and observing owning that in myself- or gutting it. Currenttly struggling with privikege /entitlement/specialness. We are all special/no one is special.

    Neptune- trining ASC in 4th- saving myself/family before dissolving into foggy chorus of online relentless pleas for help. Selecting a few- grounded, mindful. Being OK with not saving the cosmos.

    Saturn: Return looming. Still in 1st- post Scorp scouring. Auditing/editing myself first!! Tending my own borders- before plotting crusades, world redemption, revolution! LOL!!! Dental, taxes, insurance, clutter purge…..Excel sheeting everything!!

    School of horrible example- per my dear dad: Duly noting maladaptive responses to transits- beginning with moi. Hah!!!

  2. Zen mind beginner’s mind. I too have SN Aries- in 6th. I glimpse affinity for some eras/cultures but struggle just for the now. Agree with AR8.0 below.

  3. Just like everyone’s response to a homeopathic remedy is different, there are however patterns that emerge. The quote really made me laugh, my friends are always amazed at how often I do things that my dreams suggest..and usually to good effect….however I did have plutonium as a remedy after it was proved by the amazing Jeremy Sherr (well actually, his female prover is more amazing than him) and it was very interesting to look at when Pluto was ‘discovered’ and try to understand the legends…we all ave our chthonic sides (hope I spelt that right) and Pluto brings them to light. I had some amazing dreams on the remedy, in one the bedroom wall behind my bed slid away to reveal hell, burning, and my ex was there looking very sexy but all the danger alarms going off! Sometimes people in your life are definitely transits and he def was a Pluto one…being dragged into the underworld and back, Anyone else had a Pluto boyfriend/girlfriend/lover? I got dragged to hell and back for sure …but I must have enjoyed some of it as it went on for 6 years! My chart is 60% Plutonic so I need to harness and embody it in myself. Then it won’t pop up outside in life …

  4. I’m having a Pluto conjunct AC transit, I also have natal Neptune and Uranus conjunct, and they all trine my Venus in Taurus.

    At 24 years old, I finally figured out that I’m gay. With Pluto on my butt the past few years have been difficult, to say the least, but of the things I never saw coming was that I liked girls too, but it feels like a weight has been lifted, the fog has cleared, suddenly i feel a lot more like myself. I love the way you describe pluto transits mystic, particularly “but it tends to unearth something deep within you, something you need and which you always knew was there.” That’s exactly how I feel. It’s been strange getting used to this new energy but I’m certainly happier.

    Something I found interesting astrologically was the day it suddenly became very very loud and clear that I was attracted to women, Lilith was exactly conjunct my natal Moon and Jupiter had just crossed over the boundary to my 8th house.

  5. Astrology and Astronomy. The subjective and the objective ? Humans love binary systems. Ying and yang , male female, right wrong. We also love the idea of wholeness. Wholeness, oneness, is the promise of many religions and philosophies. The thing with binary systems is that both sides are dependant on each other. Neither is whole.
    The Bal Shem Tov, a famous Kabbalist describes the human condition as the smashing of a vessel, the finding of all the pieces and the putting them back together again. I’m not sure where we are up to with all that, but I think Astrology is a piece of the vessel, and like a shard of baked clay found in the desert from an ancient pot can tell us facts and give clues to the nature of its whole, Astrology can be a guide to greater awareness and lead us to other pieces.
    As for the idea of cosmic rays ..

    http://scitechdaily.com/van-allen-probes-reveal-impenetrable-barrier-space/

    1. Thank you, David and Chag sameach. Sharing a Hannukah blog with you- from a cartier of light-

      rabbieve.com/2015/12/02/on-miracles-and-hate/

  6. SleepfulInBrisvegas

    I guess I’ve always considered it an ever evolving and changing energetic blue print – if you have some idea of the construction of the blue print you can use it to your advantage to shape your world, your thoughts, how you act/respond/initiate. Kind of like a mud map super powered with possibilities, intuition, luck and synchronicity.

    It’s not something that strict/rigid/unyielding – more a fluid unfolding that you can be part of. Or you can be separate from.

  7. It is virtually impossible to discuss astrology with 99% of the people around me without them immediately having all kinds of wrong preconceptions about how I understand it. So I do not talk about it and rant to you all. 😀 *sorry*

    IMO there are infinite ways a transit could play out or a theme could be expressed and the astrology meets you where you are. When I first was getting into it I was like “why aren’t teh Jupiter things happening it’s on my sun when when when derp” (I was 17 please don’t judge me) and now that mindset is embarrassing to me.

    I find the more I have an acceptance of astrology and quit trying to interpret what it all means or what I SHOULD do I tap more into the feeling of the moment and let it be and work with it. Really, if you think about it, astrology is like an ultimate lesson in acceptance? This is coming and going to be this way for a time, then it will pass, then something new comes and a new relationship creates a new effect. Vipassana astrology. 😀

    1. What you speak about,,,the acceptance and all…this is exactly why I have to do media fasts and detox off of horoscopes. I just get to the point where i can’t listen to any more good news (or bad news) without being horribly disappointed that it is better for me to know nothing at all…have zero expectations.

    2. That’s a beautifully succinct interpretation of this post
      “the astrology meets you where you are” !

      At the start I was fixated on the expectation of transits, still learning but look at astro more as signposts for whatever I’m going through in general – couldn’t do it without Mystic though!

    3. Just feel like sharing this balm that made me sigh with yearning and peace today:

      “we should cast aside all childish games that fetter and exhaust body, speech and mind; and stretching out in inconceivable nonaction, in the unstructured matrix, the actuality of emptiness, where the natural perfection of reality lies, we should gaze at the uncontrived sameness of every experience, all conditioning and ambition resolved with finality.”
      Longchenpa

  8. What happens if we don’t have the exact time for these planets/the Sun/Moon placements? Don’t worry about it?

  9. “its not just the planets that you feel aligning in some complicated ritual. every thing feels closer. expand and contract all you like. paint peels. mold and lichen grow. we are a petri dish. the stars and planets, asteroids have gravity. atoms. viruses. you are pulled apart every second. you come crashing back into the same shape.”

  10. So true, so true and thanks for the reminder.

    I also believe that our experience of a transit has to do with how well that planet is integrated into our natal charts. Saturn transits always feel existential to me because I have natal Saturn retrograde in Aries and the only aspect it forms is an opposition to Venus. So it’s not as woven into the fabric of my chart as my Pluto, say, which is sextile my Sun and Neptune in Scorpio, trine my Mars in the 8th house, and conjunct Uranus. That Plutonic/Scorpio energy just feels more familiar and baseline to me.

    Hope this stands me in good stead as Pluto gets ready to conjunct my Mars in the 8th house for 2-1/2 years.

  11. So when a transit supposedly does nothing or skipped us, what does that mean? I have had plenty of “missed” or “quiet” Venus and Jupiter transts. They don’t seem to do much in my chart which is surprising since they be chart rulers and all.

  12. This is kind of what I’m getting here: it’s like: a city gets a meter of snow. Everyone in the city is experiencing the same general effect. Individuals have to deal with their snow and how getting dumped effects their day, their loved one’s day, the driving, school and office closures etc. One family knew this snow storm would hit and got wood for the fireplace, got their medicines and food arranged and started shoveling within the first half hour. The snow storm still hit but they are dealing with it as best they can. Others just couldn’t get it together in time to be prepared for the onslaught of snow even though they knew something was up and now they are scrambling to make sure they come home safe and not in a ditch somewhere in traffic. The meter of snow is neutral. It’s a pain to deal with but everyone is dealing with it along side you. You and the rest of the city just got blitzed with white crap but everyone is thinking…come Spring it’s gonna melt and be green again. Yay Spring. Something to look forward to.

    Pluto is crossing my Ascendant in about a week. I’ve been building this for over two years and I’m finally walking away from a gimp situation that I can’t tolerate anymore. This is the second pass to my Ascendant. Saturn is about to square my natal Saturn and Neptune is going to conjunct my natal Saturn this year. 2016 will be powerful…it can turn out to be a meter of snow isolating me and shaking me down for the count or it could be “grab your shovel and start dealing” time. All this Saturn and Neptune stuff is in my 2nd house ruled by Saturn and Uranus (Aquarius on the cusp of 2nd house) but Pisces holds my natal Saturn. Also Chiron return opposing natal Uranus Pluto in my 8th. This is emerging power, healing power, and crystalizing a vision time. No matter how it manifests this is a year I will probably not forget.

    1. You mean Pluto was conjunct your Asc – not opposed?
      Pluto opposition to Sun need not be cataclysmic. Pluto is opposite exact my Sun as i type. I’m a lot more introspective (if that is possible) but more truthful about myself (brings up existential crap and long nights) but honesty is the only way forward. My demeanor is a lot more direct, leaving no room for ambiguity or potential fuq ups – don’t want to waste time blaming myself if shite still happens. Clarity. Bonds with people who haven’t been shaken off my radar have become more solid. I’m glad for the ZZ – it was brutal but a good primer. Redefined objectives, but work is still in process, as always.

  13. I read/heard something an astrologer said once, that put it all into perspective for me:

    It’s not that the stars are controlling your fate. It’s more along the principle of as above- so below. All patterns echo from the macro to the micro. So it is with astrology. It shows us the patterns that apply to all levels of reality.

    In other words, somewhere an amoeba is having a bitch of a Pluto transit.

  14. Why don’t you have a conscious recollection? *shrugs* The divine body’s wisdom to begin this life with as clean a slate as possible? The ego’s attempt at self-defense/preservation? There’s only so much room in our conscious minds as we begin again? A grand Reprogramming Initiative by alien overlords?
    WWNDTS?

    1. The point of living more than once? Or do you mean, the point of recalling past lives? Personally, I believe that past life stuff lives on in my dna/genetic strands & continues to operate on a subconscious level in my psyche mind, so I’m very interested in consciously recalling what I can because once something surfaces to my Awareness, I can finish puzzles.

      Like that past-life biz hypothesis with birthmarks– anybody? That’s very interesting to me: I was born with a faint one right between my eyes! If I exited a previous life via a shot between the eyes, well, I do believe that somewhere that experience is still felt in my cellular goings ons & other subconscious machinations. And more pieces of this puzzle.

      Who likes puzzles? Uranus? Mercury? Don’t you have a strong Uranus-Merc aspect in your chart as I do, K?

      But maybe we should be over on the Existential/Saturn-Neptune post!

      1. i’m sure it’s manifesting, just not in the clear shape of memory that you desire.

        I love the unseen (I guess I would, being a Scorp)

        1. that’s what I’m saying it IS manifest, you just can’t discern how because not everybody can “see”/read all things. only a small part of our reality is visible/ verifiable

    2. I don’t think SN gives you a past-life recollection … it’s more like an unconscious approach to life … for example, I don’t remember being a Saggo, but I sure as hell default to grand master know-it-all mode whenever I forget to intervene with myself and adopt NN Gemini’s “let’s get more information about this” philosophy …

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *