Mars in the 1st house: "You talking to ME?"

Feeling fighting mad, perhaps? Is Mars transiting your first house; has it just left your ascendant? If so, your personality is up for the challenge--and you've got a chip on your shoulder that you're ready and willing to dare the world to knock off, too. Asserting yourself is not only the right thing to do, it's expected.  And ask me where is Mars in YOUR chart--and rise to the Red Planet's call.

Mars in the 1^sthouse (Care of Mr. Robert Hand):

This should be a time of great activity in your life, when you work very hard to further your own interests and assert yourself among others. You have the chance to show the world what you can do now.  You come on to others with much more vigor than usual, and you are likely to make a great impression upon them at this time.

If you are insensitive to other people, however, this can be quite a difficult time for all your relationships.  Every relationship requires that you bend a bit to the needs and demands of the other person, but you are not especially inclined to do that now.  In fact, you will be much better off if you can work independently without worrying about how your actions affect others.  With Mars in this house, your personality is much more dominant than usual, but you aren’t interested in having great power over others as long as they don’t try to dominate you.  You are perfectly happy as long as you are completely free to do whatever you want and to have your individuality acknowledged by others in whatever you do.

During this time you are much more a fighter for your own rights than usual.  You will not let anyone take anything away from you, although you will not be especially irritable or touchy.  You will fight if someone attacks you first.  Your physical energy level is quite high, and you should be able to do a lot of work during this transit.   

If there are strong challenges indicated by other activity via transit to this house, you should be careful of illnesses or accidents as these planets are touched off and ‘activated’ by this transit.  This should be a period of upbeat independent activity, when you can work out a lot of problems and accomplish a great deal.  This should be a positive time in your life.

Saturn dynamics for Taurus-Leo-Scorpio-Aquarius

Saturn, the Master Teacher of Needed Life Lessons (that you DON'T enjoy) is now beginning its way through Scorpio. This means several things to people born in key signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio itself, and Aquarius. Being that you're Fixed signs (http://psyast.blogspot.com/search/label/Fixed%20Signs),

you don't like Change or Adjustment--and that's EXACTLY what you need to face as Saturn contacts your Sun. 

For all Scorpions:

This transit (or level of current activity) can bring both fulfillment and difficulties.  Roughly 14 years ago, you encountered a period of adversity and low vitality.  But at the same time, you made new beginnings that are now having results.  These efforts will either reach a climax and be successful, or you will realize that they have failed.  In any case, this is a time of tremendous responsibility and hard work to guarantee the successful conclusion of your old projects and endeavors or to salvage the best from the failures.

Do not take on any new projects at this time that are not directly related or connected to what you are already doing.  The additional responsibility could be too much for you and could cause health problems, especially with your heart and circulatory system. (Reiki treatment helped me very much.)  When you have successfully completed all your current projects, you may start new ones.  This is a time of perseverance, hard work, and responsibility, and there is great potential for reward.

Those areas of your life that have not worked out as expected should not be regarded as complete failures.  Several years ago, when you embarked on these projects, you may not have understood as much as you do now.  This transit will make you aware of this fact.  Don’t start out on a new course until you have cleared up whatever may not have worked out.  Otherwise you will only work hard to no avail and cause possible damage to your health.  This can be a time of personal and professional defeats.

The energy of Saturn holds back the energy of the Sun, which is your basic life energy.  Saturn confines and restricts it so that you can do only certain things.  As a result, you may feel cut off from others and lonely, but do not be too concerned about this.  Even if this transit coincides with the breaking up of a relationship, which it may, it means that the relationship itself is distracting you from matters that you must attend to now.  This is a time for concentrating energy, not scattering it.

Leo & Aquarius: expect that you may feel unusually discouraged at this time because your vitality and life force is at a low point.  It may be best not to struggle too hard against any adversity or setbacks that challenge or restrict your life.  Patience and perseverance will carry you through until your energy level is up again in several months.  However, do keep in mind that a Saturn transit lasts for @ 2.5 years, so the lingering effects will be there.  Saturn teaches us to improve and correct; the Sun represents Ego and Self-Identity, and a square means that a correction or flexible change must be applied.

          Authority figures, such as employers, government officials, or parents may now be sources of frustration or resistance to your method of self-expression.  You may find that they are not receptive to your plans or suggestions; that you are being thwarted or held back.  It is advisable to work patiently to bring them around to your point of view.  Don’t withdraw from the confrontation, but don’t fight them blindly and without a chance to discuss or reason with them.  That would guarantee defeat.

          This period of your life is directly linked to a time seven years ago when you made a series of new beginnings.  The projects you began then are encountering their first major crises points.  This transit is made especially difficult by the fact that many of these projects have been going quite well and the current difficulties seem totally unexpected.

          However, this is a period of trial, which will demonstrate whether or not those new beginnings were valid.  Anything invalid will likely fall away from you now, and may be regarded by you as a failure.  You may not consider this or notice it, especially if you have not paid attention to details.  If you are trying to save something that is not worth keeping, you may be able to temporarily fool yourself, but it will only reappear seven years from now, and in less shape or condition to be saved than ever—and the losses will be that much more painful.  Cut the losses now that you are experiencing as soon as you accept them for what they are:  dead-end finalities.  Concentrate on the successful areas now to bring them to a climax at the end of the same seven-year period.

          Your ambitions may be thwarted now, but be patient and make sure you are on the right course.  If you are, this transit will be worth the delays and frustrations rather than a defeat.  If it is a defeat and projects or efforts are closing, you can accomplish a great deal by refocusing your energies on more productive and successful areas.  At the same time, do be cautious about health, especially your cardiovascular system.  This would be an excellent time to get a check-up or begin to incorporate better health practices.

Born under Taurus? Time to be pulled apart by Saturn as it opposes your Sun: This may be a very discouraging time.  Your vital energies are at a 29-year low, and you may feel quite incapable of dealing with the adversities that often accompany this transit. These adversities may come from a number of sources.  First, other people—particularly employers and other persons in authority—may oppose your plans in several areas.  This is usually not a good time for successfully attaining your goals or promoting yourself.

You may feel physically tired, as if the burdens of your life are too much to handle.  Quite commonly during this transit, people feel old, even if they are in fact quite young, and there is a profound sense of world-weariness.  Avoid excessive strains on your health, because that can lead to a major health breakdown, particularly if you are older. Be careful of your health and conserve your energies.  You will have plenty of opportunities to use them later, despite your feelings at the moment.

Your ambitions may also be thwarted by circumstances or by other people.  Even though you and your associates have the best intentions for your future, something seems to block you.  It is possible that you may be caught in some kind of relationship, for example, a bad marriage or love affair that limits your self-expression.  Quite frequently, this transit brings such relationships to an end.

This transit is best dealt with by understanding that it is a part of a natural cycle in your life.  Nothing is gained by fighting it; instead, you must learn to flow with it.  This transit is the end of a 29-year cycle in which you have put energy out into the world and built up important structures in your life.  From them will come the foundation of a new cycle.  This transit represents a period of endings, which will be followed by new beginnings.  The problem is to avoid being discouraged and frustrated by the endings.  Soon you will have the opportunity to begin new projects that will build up to new peaks of achievement in about 14 years, when Saturn conjoins your Sun.  There will be a time of significant trial in about seven years when Saturn squares your Sun as your new projects are tested to see if they are of real value in your life.

If you hang on and are patient, opportunities will soon return for success and achievement.  But don’t try to strike out right now, for you would not be likely to succeed, and you would only have to start over again.  Your life is changing very rapidly, and it will be difficult to anticipate what course it will take from here on.

Aries Sun or Ascendant? Your menu is at hand.

Today's astrological-physiological public service (6th house) special: calling all and any Aries Sun/Ascendants. Aries needs potassium; here's where we get it. Your plate is now full. (I'd recommend a beet head in your juicer; even a slice is great. Add a red apple too to put in some tangy flavor. Go easy on the Brussels sprouts because they're gassy). Steam the broccoli; the heads are also great in juicers. Same for Bok choy. Can't beat tomatoes and avocados together for lunch. Figs for dessert or with some good cheese!

Uranus & Pluto: Unexpected Huge Change in social and personal ways

   If you're 21 years old, this should be a great time in your Life Cycle. You're at the 3rd leg of Saturn's 7-year phase (you passed the Square at 7, and then the Opposition at 14), and now you're in the Trine. So what's here to greet you? Pluto conjunct Uranus.
   Now, don't mistake this for the transiting phase of Uranus squaring Pluto on a global (mundane) level. What I'm talking about here is a natal union to your position of Uranus from "Wasn't such a good idea to demote me, eh?" Pluto. (The mundane global impact affects everyone; the natal conjunction is another matter--and it's personal IF you're 21, etc.) So what does it mean and how does it work?
   Uranus indicates the Roller-coaster of Life Events & Activity. Where it sits in your chart, expect surprises, explosions of some sort, upside-down, and out-of-nowhere. Think of the Tower in the tarot deck. Your legs are knocked out from under you: it can be an emotional, mental, physical, financial, educational, inter-personal, professional juggling session that totally surprises you. In some manner or form, it's where you release your Inner Rebellious Nature--which is part of your own unique creative power. 
   Pluto is pure volcanic process: molten melting power to totally change anything it touches (including Life Experiences above); huge shifts of personal response. Expect cross-country moves; deaths, inheritances, closing off personal doors and roles, but always, the end of one phase and the beginning of another. Think of a lump of carbon being compressed by pressure over time and weight until its atoms are packed so tight they become...crystalline. A diamond. Your character and soul fabric are being built anew--and you have been transformed in some way. You walked through the Threshold. 

    
     Says Robert Hand, "This transit affects us in our formative years when we are most vulnerable to long-term Life Challenges that affect us years later. The combination of these two planets signifies that you want to break away from limiting-restraining circumstances. You may feel that if things aren’t going the way you want, you may impatiently make changes in order to get your way. Don’t count on discipline either. (This is like an anti-Saturn moment.) And a self-righteous nature may be more open in public matters.

     However, it would be a shame to waste this energy in challenging everyone around you or blindly rebelling against all restriction. You can learn a great deal about matters that are really important through this transit’s influence. Both planets are profound and powerfully explosive: spend time learning how to know and understand as much as you can about their potentials. You should not ask yet how you can bring about change because you won’t understand it until this transit is well completed.

     The outcome may very well be that you become wise beyond your years in your depth of understanding, and through this wisdom you will be in a better position to make either conservative or quite revolutionary changes later on. Even if you do not feel inclined to rebel or push for changes in your immediate environment, you may find that very tremendous changes are taking place within you. This may be quite upsetting, but try to remain calm and see what is really happening. Here again you have an opportunity to gain an understanding that is considerably beyond your years."

Life, Death, Love, Release, Renewal: Saturn in Scorpio

Or if you prefer, the Book of Ecclesiastes: for every thing, there is a time and a purpose in your life to learn. Consider this the message of Saturn in Scorpio: the Process of Learning to Let Go and Renew Yourself in ways that are Evolutionary for your Psyche and Soul. 
    This involves what--and who--you desire. Your Ability to Manifest (The Secret) now come through more powerfully than ever. The trial of fire will come through seeing your Path develop as Release and Recovery become themes: fears if you have them are confronted in Life & Death events, and worries, obstacles, delays and loss are encountered, then reborn in the next phase that was necessary to be prepared. 
    The Discomfort of Being Emotionally Torn Apart by Scorpio is also passionate--which isn't just sexual, but also about LIVING. What have you found out and appreciated because you felt DETERMINED to Survive? And when it's over, you'll never look again in the same way at the small details that don't matter--and how to release the lies that keep you trapped in your mind and don't need.

Jupiter Retrograde: Reflection, Contemplation, Vacation

Jupiter retrograde: Expect things you want immediately to be slower rather than hurried.

    I mean personal goals, expectations, desires and eagerness for something/one, and overall enthusiasm. It's all good though--Jupiter retrograde will let things simmer for a while. It's like using a slow-cooker. Take your time. The planning and vision that you have will come to a release. The legacy/testimony/accomplishment/plan will come forward--but now it's time to take care of your Personal Growth.
    Take some time to explore your world--or the world around you. Spend it in quiet time: let yourself think about where you are in your Life Cycle. What have you learned--and who can teach you something you need to know? Astrologically: what are you learning about yourself that has made an improvement? Why? 
    Travel or sports may also offer insights. Consider that vacation now that you always promised yourself, or pick up your passport and go somewhere to find Great Truths. You'll have a friend alongside you all the way: Jupiter retrograde.

Saturn in Libra: the Obligation & Lessons of Commitment to a Partner

A very fine article (with some minor add-ins by me) from Lynn Hayes at Astrological Musings http://astrodynamics.net/astrologicalmusings/2010/07/21/saturn-in-libra-2010/

From Mitch: I also want to coin a phrase in honor of Saturn's passage through Libra and the Life Lessons it bestows about Partnerships & Relationships: "Partnered. To be Partnered is to lose one's Life Companion when no formal marital arrangements were ever made. This also applies to same-sex couples and and heterosexuals. If you've lost your mate, your status is "Partnered." 
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Saturn first entered Libra in late October 2009, but then retrograded back into Virgo in March 2010, cleaning up issues of healthcare reform and other mundane details of life and the tender ecological balance that holds our body, mind and spirit together.  Saturn’s passage through Virgo encouraged thrift and savings, along with a more cautious approach to life.  Virgo’s domain is the daily details and responsibilities of living in the world, and Saturn has made certain that we attend fully to those details.

Saturn at 29 degrees Libra is the last measure of intensity of a psychological threshold in the sign of relationships and balance between two polarities. In Libra we understand the yin and the yang, the plus and the minus, the inner and the outer, and recognize that both ends of the polarities are valid.

Saturn is said to be exalted in Libra, but this does NOT mean that everything Saturn touches while in Libra is hunky-dory. Saturn’s crochety penchant for discipline and commitment is best expressed through the harmony of relationships, and the desire of Libra for balance and harmony helps to bring out the best of Saturn. However, Saturn has a tendency to create tests and challenges in any sign that he passes through, and he particularly dislikes an over-romanticized and impractical view of the world. In any area of life or the political spectrum where strange bedfellows have been made, Saturn is likely to shine his microscope and reveal the chinks in the construction of our sandcastles.

   Saturn in Libra also brings a desire for charm and a harmonious approach to life. Saturn desires to build structures, and in Libra Saturn wants structures that will build relationships and alliances. But Libra can also sometimes be superficial, with its love of beauty and an appearance of harmony.

   Saturn rules diamonds, the brilliant jewel that is created when a lump of coal is put under tremendous pressure. This is the perfect metaphor for the way that Saturn works in our lives, and whether we end up with coal or a diamond really depends on us and how well we manage the tests that Saturn puts in our path. Saturn cycles can be depressing and burdensome, or they can be times of material success and wealth.

   Saturn’s last passage through Libra coincided with one of the worst recessions in the 20th century in 1982. Saturn conjoined Pluto at the time, and during Saturn’s passage through Libra we will see Saturn forming a square to Pluto. Libra is ruled by Venus, and Venus is involved in the attraction and creation of wealth so Saturn’s passage through Libra can create tests and challenges in the realm of prosperity and force us to evaluate (Saturn) what we value (Libra).

   While Saturn passes through Libra, it will be evaluating our progress in all Venus-related issues. Much attention is given to Libra and Venus’s rulership over relationships, and all kinds of alliances will be both forged and tested under the influence of Saturn in Libra. Other aspects of Libra include beauty, and with Saturn (aging) in Libra (beauty), we may find ourselves faced with some difficult facts about the processes that we use to stave off the aging process. We could also embrace the aging process and discover the beauty that lies in the growing strength and stability that we experience with age, a true Saturn in Libra achievement!

     The forging of alliances requires the kind of balance and integration for which Libra is well-known, and Saturn’s travel through Libra will bring with it a requirement that we consider all sides of a question in order to bring about a truly harmonious result. Libra is the consummate diplomat and negotiator, and during this period great things are possible in the realm of peace negotiations. Saturn in Libra also tests our ability to make commitments. The generation with Saturn in Libra has exemplified this challenge as Saturn in any sign shows where we feel insecure and where we need to compensate.

In any matter with which Saturn becomes involved, he does not give success easily. It must be earned, and the Saturnian qualities of discipline, hard work and achievement must be utilized.

     I like to think of Saturn as a mentor rather than as the Celestial Taskmaster as he is sometimes known.  Saturn holds our feet to the fire and tells us where we’re being sloppy; where we are underutilizing our talents and taking the easy way out.

  Saturn’s gifts include success and accomplishment, and these are no small favors!

Mercury in Libra - "Give Peace a Chance in your Mind"

When Mercury moves into Libra, during this fast-paced event, messages of diplomacy, reconciliation, negotiations, reconsideration, and sharing SHOULD be the theme for personal and extended levels of communication--and hopefully, be noticed on national and a global level. 

 But on an individual level, try thinking about "your other half" in relationships, and not just intimate ones: as possible, be more reflective about "us" and not "me" during the next few weeks. It could make a difference not only in your own life, but perhaps in others as well.

Libra and the Fall Equinox: starting or ending trends

On September 22nd (and sometimes, 23rd), the Sun enters Libra, the sign of Balance in Perspective, Compromise, Negotiations, Fairness, Equality—and the Fall Equinox marker. This is a time that affects EVERYONE on the planet, but especially so as “the beginning-and-ending point” for all. 

For those who live north of the equator, this begins the time when solar energy fades: closure and completion. For those south of the equator, the renewal and beginning cycles of growth are ahead—the “other side of Spring.” Where is your life purpose, goal, and direction taking you—and what have you done to prepare? Look for Libra in your chart to see where you either face “an ending and resolution” for the next 6 months, or a “new beginning and awakening time.”

Venus in Leo says "Lucky you to have me in your life"

With Venus in Leo, it's time for some appreciation, enjoyment, and loving for all you cool cats.   

      It's time to seek the Hero, the Prince or Princess, someone you can idolize and adore, someone you have great pride in or someone who can sweep you off your feet. You may crave love, appreciation, and attention from others and like to be at the center of things: susceptible to flattery and love to feel SPECIAL. You may want and enjoy drama in your love life and find some grand romantic gesture or extravagant expression of generosity that impresses you. You may find it easy to be in love with love, or expect too much of people and thus become easily hurt. You must watch a tendency to be preoccupied with your physical appearance when you should be developing your inner potential. Vanity and becoming a show-off is possible--but that's to be expected with Venus in Leo.

You need to be admired for your inner and outer beauty.

And guys, that's how your woman is going to feel--especially if she's got Venus in Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius. Venus in Taurus and Scorpio won't be ignored either. How are men supposed to react? Every Queen deserves her King. Be one.

Transform yourself and make a stand with Mars in Scorpio!

Like Gandalf confronting the Balrog in the depths of Moria's mines, as Mars enters Scorpio, it's time to face Life Issues and Challenges with personal power, intensity, passion, strength, and fortitude. Make a stand FOR your beliefs, values, and principles--and know you will possess the ability to withstand the threats and dangers that confront you and dare you to withdraw. 

Sexual energy (especially with Mars and Pluto's influence in Scorpio and its co-rulership with the Red planet) will be churning, boiling, and needing release--can we say "Cosmic Viagra"? Or, if desired, sublimate the physical and embrace the alchemical dream of turning the base metals within your soul and psyche into gold. Embrace the Phoenix mastery within yourself! BECOME the master of your destiny!!

Jupiter transits - fortune and opportunity are here!

At the most fundamental level, Jupiter signifies the individual reaching out to include more and more of the universe and its experience within him or herself. It is a planet of growth and enlargement. Do consider learning where and how Jupiter is bringing "more, bigger, and better!" for you!

Additionally, Jupiter will elevate the highest aspects of life: one’s personal view, attitudes toward philosophies, faiths, and social values, and idealism. It is a consciousness-raising/expanding influence.  

 

A Jupiter transit in a chart is like having a check come in the mail--a BIG check--or maybe even winning a lottery; it's like the door that you have waited to open has suddenly moved on its own and welcomed you; it's a bigger, better, and happier place and time in your life experience. Jupiter transits (moves through) our charts in a complete cycle in 12 years, so it more-or-less spends one year in each house/wedge.

One of the more fruitful memories I have of a Jupiter transit was to my 2nd house of assets and values; in the two times that I observed it, money just flowed like water. However, some people think that a Jupiter transit to the 7th house of relationships means marriage; it may mean liberation from a bad relationship that needs to end. Robert Hand describes a Jupiter transit this way: Jupiter is traditionally known as “the greater Benefic” and in old astrology was thought to produce only good responses and reactions.

And indeed a Jupiter transit (or “movement of responsive action”) is usually quite pleasant and often very beneficial.  Life seems to flow more easily during a Jupiter transit, and whatever you set to do usually succeeds just as you intended in that particular area of life that Jupiter is emphasizing.

In fact, at a trivial level, Jupiter will sometimes enlarge something or make an action grandiose or overdone.  The effect of Jupiter’s energy on your life can range from making one gain weight to enlarging one’s mind and consciousness. Jupiter has a very strong social dimension as well. It is concerned with the social “glue” that holds everything together. Thus, it rules law and the legal system, as well as persons in power and government officials, a function it shares with the Sun.  One negative manifestation of certain Jupiter transits can be problems with the law, especially if Jupiter has a connection to the 9th house (the natural home of Sagittarius; the Law-Truth). On the other hand, there may be legal/moral judgments that you are called upon to render.

The house (realm of life focus) that Jupiter transits indicates the area of life in which you are trying to grow and the means by which you are doing this.  The process may be necessary growth that makes you a wiser and more successful person (in a philosophical sense) or it may be pathological growth—in other words, you are trying to get too much or go too far in this area.Wherever Jupiter transits, you should not take the matters ruled by that house at face value.  The chances are that everything will work out very well, but you should always make sure that you aren’t overdoing or going too far. It is also important to avoid taking more than your share. 

Planets (energy motivators) in your birth chart that are activated by Jupiter’s movement represent energies in your personality that are working smoothly and attaining your objectives. But the warnings given above in connection with the houses (areas of experience) apply here too. Do not overdo. One problem with Jupiter is that you should be careful about what you want, because you are likely to get it.

Nevertheless, most Jupiter transits (movement and action-reaction phases) are quite beneficial for the areas of your life that they relate to. Most people have a relatively easy time with Jupiter squares and oppositions (challenges and compromises).