Category: Astrology transits

Posted on

The Astrology of May 2018 – Uranus Enters Taurus

I don’t even know how to start this month’s blog about the Astrology of May, but I promise you that the May 2018 is going to be a month to remember. The month of May might not have started very eventfully (I know, the 1st week of May was pretty quiet – there was was literally not one single major transit)… but things will soon change, and will change BIG time.

Let’s put it this way: the first third of May is the silence before the storm. Mid-May is the storm! And the last week of May (when we have a beautiful Jupiter – Neptune trine) is the blessing after the storm.

The event of the month is by far, the ingress of Uranus into Taurus. Unless you are older than your mid-80s, you were not even born the last time  Uranus was in Taurus. Uranus takes 84 years to go around the zodiac, so when it changes signs, it brings big changes.

Last time Uranus changed signs and moved into Aries was 11 March 2011… Fukushima happened on the same day. I don’t want to scare you, Uranus transits are not always bad, but I just want to make you aware of the magnitude of this transit.

You have probably heard it before, and I will remind you again: with Uranus, you can only expect the unexpected. Uranus is the most unpredictable planet. It is the box of chocolates of the zodiac – with Uranus, you never know what you are going to get. What you can be sure though, is that what you will get will bring positive changes in your life, in the long run. Uranus might shake you at first, but Uranus ALWAYS brings freedom and liberation so you can live more authentically and purposefully.

Let’s have a look at the most important aspects of the month of May 2018:

Astrology May 2018

We have the first transits of the month on May 7th 2018: Mercury (21° Aries) is square Pluto in Capricorn, and Venus (16° Gemini) is square Neptune in Pisces. Some little things might start to bother you. Maybe a colleague tries to outsmart you at work, or your partner has stinky breath in the morning.

Try to stay with these feeling of frustration of dissatisfaction. Try to understand where are they really coming from. What is really bothering you? What needs to change? Squares show you different angles of a problem, so you can take action, and do something about it.

On May 9th 2018 the Sun (18° Taurus) is opposite Jupiter in Scorpio. Sun in Taurus is the Builder; Jupiter in Scorpio is the Anthropologist. Sun in Taurus wants to build, Jupiter in Scorpio wants to dig. This conflict will push you to find true stability in your life. The strongest buildings have solid foundations: it is equally important to build on the ruins of the past, AND to erect new structures, designed to better meet your current needs and circumstances.

On May 11th 2018 the Sun (21° Taurus) is trine Pluto in Capricorn. This is a power transit, so make sure you take advantage of it! Today you can get crystal clear about what you should focus your energy on. As a result, you can get a lot done with minimum effort, expense or waste.

On May 12th 2018 Mercury (28° Aries) is square Mars in Capricorn. This transit is the interlude to Uranus’ dramatic entrance into Taurus. Both Mercury and Mars will square Uranus – Mercury immediately before, and Mars immediately after Uranus’ ingress into Taurus. So basically Uranus is sandwiched between Mercury and Mars.

Mercury is about talking and Mars is about action, so when these two get into friction you are asked to walk the talk. Mercury square Mars will point where you are not walking the talk in your life. You don’t have to feel bad about not always walking the talk. You have some reasons for feeling less committed to a particular thing in your life.

Maybe there is something that doesn’t excite you that much anymore, so it is difficult to put your heart where your mouth is. But rest assured, Uranus will change that. Uranus is the breeze of freshness you were longing for.

On May 13th 2018 Mercury applies a conjunction to Uranus just before moving into Taurus. Imagine, Mercury and Uranus meet at the last degree of Aries. This will be the ‘final act’ of Uranus’s transit into Aries. In which house you have Aries in your chart? Get ready to have a revelation about that particular area of your life. Mercury conjunct Uranus will show you what Uranus in Aries was all about.

May 15th 2018 is the big day. We have a New Moon in Taurus and just 3 hours later, Uranus enters Taurus! New Moon = new beginnings and Uranus changing signs = major new beginnings. I will cover this very important transit in future blog posts. But just keep in mind that this is BIG. Something in your life will shift. If you have planets or angles in the first degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) you will feel the shift even stronger.

On May 19th 2018 Venus enters Cancer. Cancer is a sensitive, nurturing and maternal sign. Wherever you have Cancer in your chart, you feel ‘at home’. With Venus in Cancer, your love relationships can become more intimate, more connected. Venus also rules money and finances so you can become more careful with your money in the coming weeks. If your Venus is in Cancer, you will have your Venus return, which will mark the beginning of a new cycle in matters of love, relationships, and finances.

On May 21st 2018 Sun enters Gemini. Happy birthday to all Geminis out there! This is the time of the year when opportunities arise everywhere in nature. No one knows better than a Gemini how to seize opportunities – the Sun transit through Gemini is an invitation to be curious, explore the world with a beginner’s mind, and find what works and what doesn’t through trial and error.

On May 25th 2018 Jupiter in Scorpio is trine Neptune in Pisces. This is a wonderful transit and although it may not bring big changes in your life (not that you need more changes now, with Uranus shaking your life…), it will make you feel more at ease, more in touch with your spiritual nature.

This transit is all about faith – and a reminder that whatever you dream of, IS possible and achievable. If you have planets around 16° in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) you will especially benefit from this blissful transit.

On May 29th 2018 we have a Full Moon at 8° Sagittarius. The Full Moon in Sagittarius is not engaged in any strong aspect. There might be a sense of confusion about what to do next, now that Uranus changed signs and your life was turned upside down. Listen to your intuition! The ruler of the Full Moon, Jupiter is engaged in a beautiful water trine with Neptune in Pisces and Venus in Cancer, helping you with a smooth transition.

On May 30th 2018 Mercury enters Gemini. Mercury has been busy like a bee this month. He changed signs three times! Mercury was at 13° Aries on May 1st, on 14th of May Mercury moved into Taurus, and end of May finds him already in Gemini! Things can happen so fast this month, that you don’t even have time to make proper sense of what’s going on. Wait until Mercury goes retrograde in July to get a clear retrospective of the May events.

Posted on

The Astrology Of October – Jupiter Moves Into Scorpio And INTENSE Full Moon In Aries

Good news! October is a much better month than September. The energy shifts from Virgo, to Libra and Scorpio, and we will have less volatility, and more focus.

October will be such a relief after a confusing September! Because we have a shift from Mutable, to Cardinal and Fixed energy, we will finally be able to leave the past behind and move on with our life.

Jupiter moves into Scorpio on October 10th/ October 11th, depending where you live. Jupiter in Scorpio is not only the most important astrological event of the month, but also one of the most important astrological events of the year.

Jupiter only changes signs once a year – bringing a complete shift of energy in the area of your life ruled by Jupiter.

We also have an extremely intense Full Moon in Aries on October 5th – and in the same day, Venus and Mars, the two celestial lovers meet in the morning sky in a conjunction.

A new romantic cycle is about to start. Many people can experience new beginnings in relationships or reach a culmination point in existing relationships.

October is very good for intimacy, having truthful conversations, being honest about our needs, and in the same time being receptive to other people’s needs. We’re all in this together.

Let’s have a look at the major aspects of the month:

October

The month starts with a bang! Mars, the God of war trines Pluto, the God of the underworld on October 1st. Today we can get in touch with our deepest motivations and passions. This is a highly intense transit, even if it is a trine, because of Pluto. Even a tiny sextile to Pluto can set someone on fire!

The trine will give you a “taste” of what you really, really want. Later on, when Mars will actually square Pluto, you will be ready to set yourself into action.

On October 3rd is Venus’ turn to trine Pluto, bringing even more intensity, even more passion, but this time the passion will be experienced in a less assertive, masculine way, and in a more receptive, feminine way.

The trine of Venus and Pluto can bring deep longings and desires to the surface and make us crave deep love and intimacy.

On October 5th we have probably the most intense Full Moons of the year. This Full Moon is all about relationships, because it takes place on the Aries/ Libra relationship axis. Moreover,  in the same day Venus, the ruler of the Sun in Libra, is conjunct Mars, the ruler of the Full Moon, at 19° Virgo.

The two lovers meet. Venus and Mars are still stirred with desire from the Pluto transits, but the two lovers are also approaching a square to Saturn. This configuration will ask you some profound questions about your relationships. Are you really supposed to do what you want, and fully embrace your deepest longings? If so, are you willing to take the consequences?

On October 8th Mercury is conjunct Sun and we are in the middle of the Mercury cycle. Mercury and Sun are at 15°, in the middle of Libra, and Libra stands for being in the middle, for finding the balance. So do that! Strive to find that point of perfect equilibrium, align your mind with your spirit.

October 9th is a VERY intense day as both Mercury and Sun square Pluto. These transits are a call for authenticity, and will force us to be more honest about who we really are. Jupiter is now in the last degree of Libra asking us to “sort out” the area of our life ruled by Libra.

October 10th is the big day. Jupiter enters Scorpio. This is great news for everyone, because, let’s be honest, Jupiter did not have such a peaceful time in Libra.

Remember the three squares to Pluto and the three oppositions to Uranus?  Jupiter will feel much better  in Scorpio because it will make some very positive transits to Neptune and Pluto.

Jupiter will trine Neptune, a very positive transit that will make all our dreams come true. Neptune stands for dreams and Jupiter stands for faith. No more limiting beliefs, no more self-doubt. Jupiter will make it easy for all of us.

Jupiter will also sextile Pluto, allowing us to use our personal power in a positive, transcendental way.

Of course, Scorpio is all about transformation, so Jupiter in Scorpio will indeed take you to the dark corners of yourself, to show you that very thing you are afraid of, and will bring it to the  surface so you can completely transform your life. For good. Jupiter in Scorpio will make you feel alive again.

On October 11th Mars is square Saturn. This is a challenging aspect because Mars wants to act, and Saturn wants to be cautious and avoid risks.

Imagine you are in your car, driving.  Mars is the accelerator, and Saturn is the brake. All is well when you push the accelerator when you’re on the highway and there’s no traffic, and all is well also when you push the brake if you want to slow down.

But what happens if you want to accelerate, you are in rush, but you are caught in traffic? Or, on contrary, it’s raining outside and you have the worst visibility, you would like to take it easy, but you need to be at an important meeting and is getting late. You push the accelerator even if you don’t feel comfortable.

This was a long introduction for what Mars square Saturn stands for. You get the message. The aspect is likely to get you out of your comfort zone, but this is where the silver lining is: by stepping out of your comfort zone you grow into an adult. You know what you want, and you also know that to get what you want you need to develop certain skills, and you need to have patience.

You will feel this transit especially if you have Aries or Capricorn ascendant, or if you have personal planets or angles around 22° in mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces).

On October 14th Venus enters her domicile, Libra and your life will become a little bit more beautiful. Venus feels good and elegant in Libra.

Venus in Libra means that we can enjoy what Venus stands for in a more easy going, straightforward way: relationships become smother, the food tastes better, and life flows more naturally.

You will especially benefit from this transit if you are a Libra or if you have Libra ascendant.

On October 15th Mercury is opposite Uranus and some weird ideas can come to you seemingly out of nowhere. Yes, it is ok to tell share them with others, but try not to offend anyone.   Because Jupiter and Sun are close by, the confrontational energy can build up.

On a positive note, you can have some big breakthroughs and revelations today – some things can finally start making sense now, especially if you have planets or angles around 26° in Libra or Aries.

On October 17th Mercury enters Scorpio and our communication, our thoughts, our ideas become more profound and intimate.

The next 3 weeks are a good time to do any type of introspection and psychological work. Mercury in Scorpio is a good time to understand some big truths, some fundamental things in life, but this time, you will make sense of them in your own terms.

Mercury in Scorpio stands for personal truths, not universal truths. You will have time to explore universal truths when Mercury moves into Sagittarius in November.

On October 18th Mercury is conjunct Jupiter in the 1st degree of Scorpio. If you are born at the beginning of the sign, or if you have personal planets round 1° of Scorpio, this is a great day to communicate your vision to the world.

Mercury conjunct Jupiter is a good time to deliver an inspirational speech, or if you are looking for funding, this is a good time to give a presentation to investors. You can be very articulate and authentic and convince anyone about your big opportunity.

On October 19th we have a radical, freedom seeking New Moon in Libra in an EXACT opposition to Uranus. Something completely unpredictable can turn your life upside down. Now you can make some decisions that can change your life completely.

Because the New Moon is in Libra, the freedom you are seeking right now is not about being on your own, or doing what you want. Libra is about relationships, is about the other.

You can discover new ways to improve your relationship, by allowing yourself and your partner more freedom. Maybe you always feared being in relationships because you like to travel, and you thought a relationship will restrict your freedom of movement.

But it does not have to be that way. Maybe you can travel the world and be in a relationship in the same time. You can have it all, if you keep your mind open.

On October 22nd Mars enters Libra and our desire to assert ourselves slows down. During its stay in Libra, Mars will direct its assertive energy in the field of relationships.

Mars is in fall in Libra – being assertive, being bold, being a fighter, being a warrior, would suit an Aries, a Scorpio, but not a Libra. Libra is too concerned about the others to care that much about asserting herself.

But it all depends on what you are fighting for. Who says you only have to fight for yourself? If instead of fighting for your own interest, you fight for other people’s interests, you can benefit greatly from the transit of Mars in Libra.

There’s no secret that the best lawyers, best generals in the army are Libras. This is because they know how to direct the Martian energy into what Libra stands for: the others.

In the next 6 weeks, if you chose to fight for justice and fairness, your arguments can be very strong and persuasive. Now is a good time to stand up for a colleague, or for your partner.

On October 23rd Sun enters Scorpio. Happy birthday to all Scorpios out there, in the coming month you will have both Sun and Jupiter in your sign, so make sure you make the best out of this very positive energy. October and November are going to be great months for you.

On October 24th Mercury is trine Neptune. Both Mercury and Neptune are in water signs, so today you will be unusually empathetic. It is a good time to talk about your emotions with your partner or with a friend in need. You will be unusually open to their point of view, and so will them – have that conversation, something very beautiful and healing can happen.

We have the annual Sun Jupiter conjunction on October 26th. This is one of the most upbeat and positive transits in the year which will give us a taste of Jupiter’s stay in Scorpio. This is a good transit to start a new project, especially a project related to Scorpio matters.

October ends on the same intense tone it has started, with a square between Venus and Pluto on October 28th.

Remember how October started, with a trine from Venus and Mars to Pluto? After all has been said and done, you are now ready to act, to move in the direction of your deepest desires.

You will feel this transit stronger if you have Taurus, Libra or Scorpio ascendant or if you have planets or angles around 17° in Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).

Posted on

How To Read Transits In Your Natal Chart – Step By Step Instructions

Astrology can be confusing and overwhelming. You may or may be not familiar with the word “transit” – astrologers tend to use this term a lot because it is a very important part of astrology, and it is especially important in predictive astrology.

Maybe you are not familiar with the term “transit” but you read that “Jupiter moves into Scorpio” or “Venus switches signs and is now in Virgo” – these are in fact, planetary transits.

But most important, you want to know how a transit is going to affect you. What does it mean for you that Jupiter moves into Scorpio? What does it mean for you that Venus is now in Virgo?

If an astrologer says “look at where you have 28° Leo in your natal chart to see how the Eclipse is going to affect you” – how do you know where you have 28° Leo?

To understand how the planetary transits are going to affect you, let’s firstly try to explain what a transit is.

Every day the sky is changing. In Astrology, the movements of the planets in the sky relative to the Earth are called ‘Transits’.

When the Sun moves across the sky, and rises a little bit east or west than it did the day before, that is a transit. The transit of the Sun.

When the Moon is Full and shines bright in the night sky, or when the Moon is a tiny sliver of a crescent waxing moon, that is a transit. The transit of the Moon.

In the same way, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, rise and set in a different place in the sky every day. These are also transits.

Let’s look at the definition of the word “transit” – “the act or fact of passing across or through; passage from one place to another”.

We now understand that a “transit” is only relative to something. When you want to know how a planetary transit is going to affect you, you are in fact looking at your natal chart, transited by the planets in a specific moment in time.

A transit chart is always a comparison between the sky at the moment of your birth with the sky at a specific moment in time.

Let’s say your birthday is January 1st 1070. This is your natal chart, and it never changes. However, a transit can be in any moment in time. You can look for transits on June 5th 1998, or October 10th 2017, basically any moment in time, in the past of future.

Below I will take you step by step through the process of reading transits, so that you learn how exactly the planetary transits are going to affect you.

Of course, you can follow the process with other people’s natal charts, and will be able to find out how the transits are going to affect them.

Let’s start.

Firstly, you will create your natal chart. There are several websites where you can generate your chart – we will use astro.com

Go to www.astro.com

1. On the astro.com landing page you click on “Free horoscopes”

1 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

2. You will then be prompted to the page below. Click on “Extended chart selection”

2 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

3. Go to the “guest user” section and click on “click here to go to the data entry page”. (later if you wish you can also create and account on astro.com to store your data)

3 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

4. You will know create your guest profile to generate your natal chart. Put your name down and the birth details: birthday, time of birth, country, and birth town as shown below:

4 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

5. Almost there! You now go to “Chart type” and scroll down until you find “Natal chart and transits”. Then you select “Natal chart and transits”

You then go to “Start date for charts marked with*” and you put the date for the transit you are interested in. If you are interested in the transits for today, you leave it as it is, because the current date is set by default.

If you are interested in let’s say the date when Jupiter moves into Scorpio, which is October 10th, you then put this date “10 Oct 2017”

Lastly, go to “House system” and select “whole signs”

That’s it!

5 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

6. Your chart and the planetary transits for October 10th 2017 are generated! All the planets inside the wheel, colored black, represent the position of the planets at the time of your birth. This is your natal chart. The planets outside the circle, colored green, represent the transits, i.e. the position of the planets in the sky on October 10th

When you read transits, what you really do, is to compare the position of the planets at the time when you were born, with the position of the planets for the date you want to forecast.

Now you know that “transit” in astrology means a comparison – between the sky at the time when you were born, with the sky at a given date. Imagine someone took a photo of the sky when you were born, and then they take a photo of the sky right now.

If you compare the two photos, you will see where the planets are positioned in the sky right now relative to where they were positioned when you were born. This is what a transit is.

In our example – let’s say you want to see how Jupiter’s move into Scorpio will affect you.

For this, you look where Jupiter is found outside the circle (if you want to see where Jupiter was positioned at the time of your birth, you would look inside the circle  – remember inside the circle is your natal chart, outside the circle, is the transit)

Planet Jupiter is highlighted in red – can you see it? This is the Jupiter transit.

6 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

You now want to see how the Jupiter transit is going to affect you. For this, you need to look inside the circle, and find the corresponding number (from 1 to 12). The numbers from 1 to 12 are called houses. When a planet inside the circle is in a certain house, you call it a natal placement. When a planet outside the circle is in a certain house, you call it a transit.

In Jupiter inside the circle is in your 12th house, you say “my natal Jupiter is in my 12th house”. If Jupiter outside the circle is in your 12th house, you say “Jupiter currently transits my 12th house”

The planets inside the circle never change. Your natal chart never change. But the planets outside the circle always change.

This is how you read a transit. You look at the planets outside the circle and which houses they pass. In the example below, Jupiter will transit your 12th house.

7. Let’s take another example. In the same chart, you now want to check the Moon. You want to find out which house in your natal chart is transited by the Moon.

In the example below, Moon transits the 7th house.

7 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

8. Now let’s take a different example, a little more difficult. Let’s say you read that the Solar Eclipse in Leo falls at 28° Leo, and you want to find out which part of your chart will be affected.

In the example below, 28° Leo is in the 9th house. Although you don’t see the 28°, you can see a small grid – the sign of Leo is split into 30 small lines, each one representing one zodiacal degree. Therefore, 28° Leo is where you count the 28th line inside the sign of Leo.

8 How to read transits Astro Butterfly

This is how you find out how a transit is going to affect you.

You now know that for someone born on January 1st 1970 at 5:32 AM in LA, California, Jupiter is going to transit their 12th house, so matters related to the 12th house will come into focus from October 10th, when Jupiter moves into Scorpio, until November 9th, 2018.

Astrology is a bit more complex than that, there are different ways to calculate the houses (you may be more familiar with Placidus house system for example) – but the whole signs, the system we just used, is a very good start if you are just starting with astrology.

Also, although houses are the most important things to look at when you want to interpret transits, they are not the only thing to look at. Planets also transit signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini etc.) and make aspects to your natal planets (conjunction, trine, square, opposition etc.)

But I will write more about these in next articles.

Now is time to practice. You can play around with your chart, choose a few dates you want to check transits for, and see how the planets transit the houses of your natal chart.