Each natal aspect contains a host of promises, since even the most
difficult of combinations has gifts to bestow once we learn to use the
energies of the two planets well. Throughout our lives, transits to a
natal aspect represent windows of time when we are challenged to make
changes in how we are using that aspect. If we are wise, we gradually
learn to let go of self-defeating ways of expressing the energies of
those planets and, instead, to capitalize on their strengths.
Never
is that more true than during the periods when the natal aspect is
echoed by the transit -- that is, when one of the planets involved
natally is the transiting planet as well. For instance, suppose that
Saturn is square Mars in the birth chart, and now transiting Saturn is
opposite natal Mars. The aspect isn't the same, but the pair of planets
in the picture (Mars and Saturn) are. Saturn forms hard aspects (such as
squares or oppositions) to its natal position about every seven years,
during its 29.46-year orbit around the Sun; so, at seven-year intervals,
Saturn will echo all of the major difficult aspects it makes in your
birth chart. (It also forms trines to its natal position twice during
that orbit, providing opportunities when Saturn's better qualities can
be developed with somewhat less stress.)
In those recurring
intervals, you will be challenged anew to master the lessons of Saturn
and to make substantive progress through self-discipline, hard work, and
a more mature perspective on your old limitations. You may wish to
consider how you've been using your Saturn energies in the seven years
or so since the last such aspect. If you have worked hard in the areas
of life represented by that natal aspect, the transit may very well be a
time when your efforts reach fruition -- provided, of course, that you
have been both diligent and wise. Sometimes, we work much harder than we
need to, when not only our methods but even our game plans are flawed.
If so, it may be time to evaluate your priorities and redirect your
efforts toward more appropriate ends, so you won't wear yourself out.
The
so-called Midlife Cycle of the late thirties to mid forties is a
crucible for much change and growth, because the astrological picture at
midlife includes a series of outer-planet aspects by transit to their
own natal positions. Transiting Uranus makes an opposition to its natal
position in the chart, transiting Neptune squares natal Neptune, and
transiting Pluto squares natal Pluto. In the process, the transiting
outer planets trigger all the aspects that the outer planets form in the
birth chart, giving us the chance to learn how to use those aspects
better and to fulfill more of their innate potential. (The exact ages
when these aspects occur vary from generation to generation, because the
orbits of these three planets around the Sun are not as regular as the
orbits of the inner planets.)
The energies of the outer planets
are not as accessible to our consciousness, nor are they easy to
express; instead, they require a great deal of maturity to handle well.
This sort of meandering through life and having a variety of experiences
seems to be a necessary part of growth and evolution -- as though the
life journey were a long pilgrimage through a wilderness. It's easy to
lose our way with the outer planets; where these planets are located in
our charts, we often do so repeatedly -- learning much from our mistakes
as we stumble and fall on our faces. It is usually at midlife, when all
the natal aspects to an outer planet are also set off by transit, that
we bottom out on the less-productive uses of these energies and are
impelled, if we are blessed with sufficient maturity, to work toward
more uplifting expressions.
For example, suppose you have a
Venus-Neptune conjunction in your birth chart. The slogan for that
combination might be: "Someday my prince will come -- but first I have
to kiss a lot of frogs." (Of course, there are many ways to express that
particular combination, but this is a fairly common pattern.) During
earlier transits to that conjunction, over the years, frogs of countless
varieties are likely to have appeared -- looking for all the world like
princes. Unfortunately, your heartfelt efforts to turn the current frog
into the prince you know he could be are doomed to failure after
wrenching failure. Reluctantly, you're forced to conclude that this
particular frog will remain a frog until he croaks. Still, you may
persist in the notion that, if you could just somehow succeed in
morphing yourself into a princess, your prince would surely appear.
A
likely window for changing this persistent pattern is during the
Midlife Cycle, when transiting Neptune squares natal Neptune, because in
the case of this particular conjunction, transiting Neptune will square
natal Venus as well. One of the numerous ways that this transit can
manifest itself is that the frog of a lifetime arrives -- clad in such
elegant, princely attire that you are certain your soul mate has finally
come along. If he is not in fact a prince, the experience of trying one
last time to kiss someone into princeliness may represent the
bottoming-out of an old codependent pattern of relating through
rescuing. Under this transit, the romantic haze that has always clouded
your ability to see potential partners clearly may lift. Sadder but
wiser, you now begin to look more realistically at new prospects.
Relationships will never be the same, and that's a good thing! Until
now, that same romantic haze has kept you from recognizing the
occasional true prince who does come your way (perhaps because you can't
get past his frog-like spots and raspy voice). Now you may recognize
him -- and learn how to relate to him in a healthy way.
One way to
evaluate the intervals when natal aspects are echoed is to consider the
type of angle (e.g., square, trine, or quincunx) formed by the natal
aspect and compare it to the type of transiting angle. The transiting
angle does help us to revise how we have worked with the planetary
energies in the natal angle. Especially when these energies are used
consciously through an in-depth analysis of the meanings of the current
and natal planetary placements, the transit represents a fruitful time
to upgrade how we express those energies. For instance, suppose someone
has natal Pluto square the Sun, involving the career or money houses
(the 2nd, 6th, or 10th), and now, transiting Pluto is trine the natal
Sun. This is an opportunity to address the problems that this square may
have highlighted for much of the individual's life.
Perhaps that
individual has always been visited by self-doubt, or even self-loathing,
when confronted with those in powerful or wealthy circumstances. This
self-esteem problem may have alternated with a sneaking sense of pride
at not being as corrupt as "those awful power-mongers with all that
filthy money" -- a pride that may have created persistently
self-sabotaging financial patterns, such as remaining underpaid. Under
the transiting trine, catalytic events, opportunities, healing work, or
new self-awareness may well create a major shift, both in
self-confidence and in financial dealings. The resulting greater
prosperity could give rise to a benign spiral over the two years or
longer that the transit is in effect: As the sense of self-worth grows,
the workplace may reflect that growth with additional well-deserved
raises, which in turn grant new confidence.
