As I was looking through some natal charts last week, which included a few challenging aspects and planetary placements, a question came to mind, “Should we be afraid of our astrological charts?” As a teaching assistant a few years ago, I remember new students were terrified of what they would find in their own charts. This was especially true as they began to study the character of each planet (and “enhanced” their study materials with Internet searches from questionable resources). I think it is human nature to focus on the negative as it allows us to survive and build protection around ourselves. The key is to learn to find the positive and a learning opportunity in each encounter (a lifelong lesson for me).
I don’t think our astrological charts are meant to scare us. They are just a map of what is available to us in this lifetime, our tool bags. They show us our gifts and lessons we need to learn. Any astrological chart could manifest in real life in a variety of ways. It is up to us what choices we decide to make. Every chart has a place for Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. We have lived with our charts (its placements and aspects) our entire lives. This means that we either learned how to handle our personal challenges, take advantages of our gifts, or are still work in progress.
You may say, “But Pluto is sitting in my 6th house!”, should I be worried? I would say, “Not really”. First of all, Pluto (and any other potent planet) has to be somewhere in your chart. It does not matter where it goes, it is still part of your chart and psychological mapping. This would be the area of your life requiring transformation and psychological growth. Every planet has positive and negative sides to it as in case of Saturn and Jupiter from my June blog. Pluto is about digging deeper, unearthing the truth and transforming for the best. So, let’s think about Pluto in the 6th house of daily chores and routines, parenthood, pets, labor, health, and what we do daily for our jobs. There could be many misinterpretations of Pluto here – controlling mother, power hungry boss, or forced labor. However, it could also be transformative health habits, being a detective in your daily job, adopting homeless pets, or counseling abandoned children. These are great manifestations of Pluto.
Now, taking our focus off the planets and think about the aspects. Everyone wants to have trines and sextiles in their chart, and no one wants to see squares and oppositions. Trines have the nature of Jupiter, sextiles – the nature of Venus, squares-the nature of Mars, oppositions – the nature of Saturn, and conjunctions tend to take manifestation of the outmost planet. Trines and sextiles are generally gifts from the universe, it is where we can easily overcome difficulties or have balanced and harmonious energetic flow to help us in our daily lives. These are very nice. However, seeing charts with too many trines and sextiles made me realize they are not very helpful. Folks with these types of charts take things for granted and seem to never be satisfied with anything that the universe brings their way. They can easily manifest in their lives positive and negative things. There is also no need to work too hard and make something of yourself. One of the astrologers described it as being “a stick in the mud”. I would say it is like being fed with a silver spoon from birth, having a trust fund, or simply being spoiled for choice. An example of celebrity with such chart is Paris Hilton, American socialite and heiress to Hilton Hotels fortune, whose chart primarily contains trines and sextiles. Paris’ claim to fame seems to have been only that she was very wealthy.
On the other hand, squares and oppositions are not always bad. They are challenging, that’s for sure. One of my kids has a poster in his room, which I love. It contains a quote by Lebron James, “Nothing is Given, Everything is Earned”. To me, this is the nature of squares– working hard for something and having a sense of accomplishment at the end. With oppositions, we simply learn how to make mature and wise choices. I personally love all my squares and oppositions, which are many. Yes, they are a pain, but they keep my life interesting and make me appreciate more small things. If you ever google the chart of Bruce Lee, a martial artist and a movie star from 1960s, you will see that it is mostly squares and oppositions. However, despite facing adversity in his path, he accomplished a great deal in his life. Another example is Brene Brown, a famous author, researcher and public speaker. Her chart is full of squares and oppositions as well, yet she made her voice heard and is well known for her research and writing on the topics of vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy.
At the end of the day, charts are our tools and instructions in some way. They also help us to get to know ourselves better and take advantage of our hidden talents as well as bring attention to our challenges, so we could work through these. For me, study of astrology equated to many “Aha!” moments about my own placements and send me off on the path of becoming lifelong student of astrology, a teacher, and an artist.
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July 2024 Transits
As we are looking at the month of July, I finally feel that maybe everyone is catching a little break. Maybe? 😊 There are a handful of challenging aspects in July. Overall, though, the celestial energies are more agreeable in July than in the past few months. Transits described below may feel more impactful if you have personal planets at the listed degrees (plus or minus a couple of degrees) in your natal chart. You can obtain a free copy of your natal chart from astro-seek.com.
July 1: Mercury trines Neptune at 29 degrees Cancer and Pisces-This is a great transit to stimulate your creativity and imagination. Mysticism and spiritual topics may become of interest to you at this time. Take a breather today and give yourself permission to just relax and enjoy good book and beautiful music. Your chores can wait till tomorrow!
Venus trines Saturn at 19 degrees Cancer and Pisces – This is the easiest of all Venus/ Saturn transits. During this transit you may find comfort in stable and reliable relationships with your partner, finances, and friends. New relationships starting under this transit are likely to be stable and reliable. However, Saturn takes romance out of these. So, the nature of the relationships may be more sensible in nature. If you are dealing with financial situations today, you are likely to make conservative and practical decisions.
July 3: Mercury opposes Pluto at 1 degree Leo and Aquarius – This will be a good transit for getting to the bottom of the things, solving a problem or a mystery. However, this could also be a day filled with power struggles and you may find it difficult to convince another person of the truth. So, focus on yourself and you may find something hidden within yourself that you are now ready to face. Be mindful of other’s persuasive ideas as you may be manipulated to do something you should not.
July 4-6: Mars sextiles Saturn at 19 degrees Taurus and Pisces– This is a great transit to plan and execute projects. Saturn provides us with clear practical thinking and planning and Mars gives us some stamina to complete the work. Saturnian discipline and practicality will also help you to avoid intense arguments and forsake ego for sensibility.
July 8: Mercury sextiles Jupiter at 9 degrees Leo and Gemini– Your thinking maybe focused on larger issues in your life. You may also feel that your hopes and wishes are more important today than daily mundane tasks. Overall, you will have a positive outlook on life. This is also a favorable day for business transactions, contract negotiations or legal matters. Enjoy some travel today, if you can.
Venus sextiles Uranus at 26 degrees Cancer and Taurus-This could be a day where you seek out exciting company and want to break out of your regular routine. This transit is also great for spending time with friends or attending a party. You may have a chance to show a different and exciting part of your personality in the company of open-minded people.
July 11: Venus trines Neptune at 29 degrees Cancer and Pisces -This is a good transit which makes it difficult to get mundane things done. This is a wonderful day for creative thinking, enjoying art, music and nature. This transit may also raise feelings of compassion and spirituality and connecting with others on soul-level.
July 12: Venus opposes Pluto at 1 degree Leo and Aquarius – this would be an intense day for relationships which could bring some deep-rooted transformations in the aspects of power, finances, love and emotions. While this is not an easy transit, it could be a powerful force for the better.
July 14-16: Mars conjuncts Uranus at 26 degrees Taurus- These will be stressful few days, following Venus to Pluto opposition. There could be rash decisions and surprising incidents on the way and things not going as planned. You may also feel like you want to just break free from your current situation. Relationships with authority figures may not go smoothly. While this transit is not useful for routine operations, it may be great for starting a new and innovative project. Just be mindful of what you are doing to avoid accidents and don’t rush.
July 19-21: Mars sextiles Neptune at 29 degrees Taurus and Pisces – This transit allows us to look at the world with more compassion and sensitivity as Martian ego is not in the way. Working with others and helping them may give you a sense of satisfaction. Good day to participate in charity work, meditate, and do yoga rather than vigorous exercise. Neptune tends to dampen our stamina.
July 21-23 These three days are packed with energy!
Mercury squares Uranus at 26 degrees Leo and Taurus –This transit is usually very stimulating for the mind. You may be interested more in esoteric and unusual topics and get bored easily. Practice open mind and flexibility, otherwise it may prove to be stressful. The transit may provide you with great ideas. So, have a notebook ready! Also, take care of yourself as Uranus could overstimulate the nervous system.
Venus sextiles Jupiter at 12 degrees Gemini and Leo – This is a good transit and carries sweetness of Venus. You may feel generous with your friends and loved ones. This transit is good for financial dealings as well as to promote relationship growth. Overall, this is a lighthearted transit.
Mars trines Pluto at 0 degrees Gemini and Aquarius- This is a good transit to review your life and direction in which you are heading and make needed modifications. Pluto would enable you to see deeper into your hidden motivations and agendas. What should be released from your life? What do you want to keep and develop? Pluto will provide insights and Mars the necessary action.
Sun opposes Pluto at 0 degrees Leo and Aquarius – This could bring up some intense situations to light that we may have chosen to ignore. There could be some type of power struggle with figures of authority in your life. Try not to be domineering towards others. Anything that is not working well now is likely to move to the center of attention and you may need to pause and repair it before you could move forward (relationships, things, situations, etc.). None of it is bad, it is a transformational transit that forces you to be more authentic to who you are. Pluto is likely to empower you now to bring changes needed for your next phase of development.
