Transits

There are a number of different charts that Astrologers talk about. The most common is often the natal or birth chart. Then there is the transit chart—the position of planets on a given day and compared to the natal chart. Other charts can be progressions, synastry which compares two individual charts, and a few more.

The Meaning of Transits:
Astrology involves an understanding of a combination of individual energies, and as such, the meanings provided may not always hold true. Sometimes, we need to understand a greater picture of what is going on. Bad experiences may not happen, but if they do, it is important to learn from them.
The moving planets continuously form angular aspects to the fixed position of your natal planets during your life. When specific angles are created, this forms the basis for personal forecasting. The angles used are actually harmonic ones, and the most commonly used angles are the conjunction (zero degrees), the sextile (sixty degrees), the square (ninety degrees), the trine (one-twenty degrees), and the opposition (one-eighty degrees). There are lessor used angles such as the semi-sextile (thirty degrees) and the quincunx (one-fifty degrees).
I’ve been mentioning recently certain transit conditions and how they might be affecting me. I don’t often look at my transit chart as I feel that one shouldn't become obsessed with what may happen in the future, because life can be boring if it is made immutable! However, as I’m examining my feelings and experiences to the world, I’m paying more attention than usual.
Tonight when I started this entry, I noticed that the chart for 11:45 PM for August 27, 2007 is quite lit up with a grand square, mystic rectangle and of course numerous oppositions. With most of the challenging planets being the inner planets and the beneficial aspects occurring with the outer planets, this might indicate that anyone born with this chart could experience a number of everyday challenges yet have the capacity for spiritual evolvement.
When I look at my transit chart for the 27th, I see that a new mystic rectangle is formed with Venus replacing the Sun and the Moon is conjoining Neptune, so instead of feeling estranged from my family, I called my son and spoke for a while earlier today.

Anxiety

I’m in a long process of re-landscaping my front and rear yards and one of the projects I’m trying to complete is to lay some artificial turf, of the putting green kind. I managed to order some turf at a fantastic price, but it meant I had to raise the height of the area by an inch and a half. Anyway, after a day of moving and leveling a cubic yard of sand I was outside watering the plants and my neighbor who is 92 years of age came out for a chat.
This guy is incredibly nice, and he has been suffering some medical problems of late that required two hospital stays. I had already sensed some of his problems and one additional problem seems that he has a lot of anxiety. He was mentioning that he has no hope, nothing to look forward to. In a light hearted manner I responded that the older we get we really don’t need hope so much, but what we need to look forward to is comfort—whether it is some form of entertainment, a trip, enjoying someone’s company or food.
He found this philosophy somewhat amusing yet he agreed that this was better. I don’t have his horoscope chart to examine, but I know he has a Libra Sun. The anxiety or worry factor in a person’s chart can be depicted in a number of ways. One of the more striking factors is for those with Virgo, Cancer, 4th or 6th house planets. Some of this can be alleviated with a strong Jupiter or fire element (especially Leo, Sagittarius, and Aries trines).
So with my handle of "Loaded4th" I’m a candidate for anxiety. However, I’m fortunate that I have a grand fire trine, which allows me to bounce back very quickly. In my study of Metaphysics, I read a lot Silver Birch and Seth Speaks books. One of the more interesting lines by Silver Birch was that perfect faith allows an individual to rise above any trouble -- this would (symbolically) be performed by facing the Sun (an emblem of the Collective Spirit) and say:
"I am a part of the Collective Spirit. I am indestructible. I am eternal. I am infinite. That which is finite and part of the world of matter cannot touch me."

You can read my metaphysical reference at
http://www.radioastrology.com/MRB/contenta.htm
Farley Malorrus has some radio topics on Silver Birch at:
http://www.radioastrology.com
So what makes me so painstaking, conscientious, and profound about my work (including the yard), well, some of it is due to a Sun-Saturn-Pluto-Ascendant combination.

Mystical Rectangles

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the Moon-Uranus energy that is going on in my chart. Today I've noticed that there are some additional complications to unravel.
The transits of the Sun, Mercury and Neptune are forming a mystical rectangle to my natal Moon/Lilith conjunction and Uranus. The Sun-Mercury conjunction is opposing Neptune and my natal Moon opposes Uranus. So the two sets of opposing bodies are forming trines and sextiles creating a long rectangle. The Sun-Mercury transit trines (120 degrees) my Moon, and sextiles (60 deg.) to Uranus. Neptune trines my Uranus and sextiles the Moon/Lilith position.
Mystical rectangles are supposed to focus energy to empower an individual to achieve a specific goal, and as a transit trigger the formation of a new direction or the steps to take to make major changes in overcoming any challenges depicted by the planets involved in the natal chart. In my case, the good old Moon-Uranus opposition!
As the Sun, Mercury and Neptune are triggering this mystical rectangle, I suppose one must examine the kinds of energies these planets are exhibiting on the Moon-Uranus opposition. At it's best, the Sun-Mercury-Neptune energies depict poetic imagination, sensitivity and agility. At the other extreme it can be vague, absent-minded, and easily misled. In a transit, it can be either a time of some inspiration out of the blue, or mentally confused, or inept.
As these transits are forming assistive aspects to the Moon-Uranus position, I have to think they should be more on the positive side. However, the complicated snag is that the Moon, Venus and Saturn have formed a conjunction in late Leo and are squaring off on my natal Mercury position. Mercury in my chart is in Scorpio and sits quite close to Mars and Venus on either side. So the next step is to understand what these transiting planets mean individually and how they might influence my natal Mercury.
Moon-Venus-Saturn is an energy that is serious about love, possessive, sympathetic about tragedy, and security-minded. In other words it tries to rationalize feelings and affection. The down side of this energy is that it can easily generate disappointment, or be snobbish about who one loves. At its worst it can be cold and frigid (remember Mick Jagger's song "She's so Cold"?). As a transit it is generally a moment of commitment in love--or facing the facts bluntly.
In thinking about all this, I'm trying correlate if and how any of this is fitting into my life. Well, I have been having thoughts that my family does not really like me, which is probably not true, maybe they are just preoccupied. I'd rather know these things than ponder them. A lot of the news is certainly making me more serious about things and sympathetic about certain events. I've actually been kept awake for two nights while two young girls across the street have seemingly invited a stream of young men to visit--and of course they drive up, motor roaring, music blaring, slamming their doors. Their parents are away and with all this stuff going on in my chart I'm thinking shall I just wait for the parents to return and have a word, or should I call the police.
Normally, I would just call the police, but notice how that Sun, Mercury and Neptune is kicking in creating some vagueness in my decision, or at best some inspiration not to rock the boat too much. There are a number of other things going on that seems to correlate to my present transits...

Empathy

To me, empathy is an interesting word. Traditionally, it is the ability to sense, feel and sometimes react to another’s emotions or inner circumstance. All people have empathy, but the level ranges considerably. Many high level empaths do not know how to process many of their feelings received from others, resulting in adoptive behavior, strange reactions or just confusion.
Empathy is often confused with clairsention (The ability to clearly experience the physical sensations of another beyond ones own feelings). Empathy is a sense beyond the five senses, and generally deals with emotive feelings and thoughts.
One noticeable relationship an empath will discover is the ability to perceive the clairvoyance of a psychic, or group of psychics, particularly if they have not developed their own psychic ability.
An empathetic sense is generally a gift, but can be developed. In order to channel these vibrations effectively, it is important to meditate into a personal neutral zone in order to ground oneself and divorce any empathic relationship with one's ego. With further development, an individual can learn how to process these energies effectively in order to understand and interact correctly with others. Being an empath, as well as being able to process vibrations effectively, provide an important aspect in truly helping others.
However, much depends upon the type of vibrations between an empath and another in order to process and determine their circumstance.
The reason I'm rambling on about empathy, is because I experience a fairly high degree of this energy. Although I don't connect with very many people, when I do it's rather strong. Just this past week, I've had quite strong perceptions and awareness of a neighbor who is 94 years old and is having some medical problems.
In an Astrology birth chart, people who have the planet Neptune sixty or so degrees away from the Ascendant tend to exhibit strong levels of empathy--which I have.
As I'm in a period where I need to relax more than usual, I found the following song on Google Video. It's a beautiful Welsh lullabye (called Suo Gan) and the translation is below: 

To my lullaby surrender
Warm and tender is my breast
Mother’s arms with love caressing
Lay their blessing on your rest
Nothing shall tonight alarm you
None shall harm you, have no fear
Lie contented, calmly slumber
On your mother’s breast, my dear

Here tonight I tightly hold you
And enfold you while you sleep
Why, I wonder, are you smiling
Smiling in your slumber deep?
Are the angels on you smiling
And beguiling you with charm
While you also smile, my blossom
In my bosom soft and warm?

Have no fear now, leaves are knocking
Gently knocking at our door
Have no fear now, waves are beating
Gently beating on the shore
Sleep, my darling, none shall harm you
Nor alarm you, never cry
In my bosom sweetly smiling
And beguiling those on high

When I watched the movie "Empire of the Sun" I was so drained from the audience reaction, I’ve never been to a movie theater since. Strangely, I worked with a guy once whose experience closely matched the young boy in this movie. My mother, who is now on the other side, sang this song when she was a child.

The Moon – It’s Stronger than I Thought

The strongest planet in my natal chart is Pluto, and fortunately, it’s pretty well aspected forming a grand trine with the Moon and Mid-heaven. My Moon however opposes Uranus and the North Node.
In a horoscope, the Moon represents cultural and ancestral aspects that shape our instinctive behavior. Because such feelings spring from the unconscious mind, they have a connection to past lives and early cultural conditioning (related to the Moon's matriarchal or nurturing influence, that in early years leaves a deep impression on our subconscious). The Moon is considered female and is strongly associated with fertility and intuitive feelings. Receptive and intuitive people often have a strong Moon placement. The Moon also symbolizes the home, the family, and the mother. It also reflects the horoscope bearer's resonance-the way a person's feelings vibrate with themselves and others. There is an old saying that refers to a person with an excellent Moon as being well received. In physical terms, the Moon is often associated with body fluids, the stomach, and memory. In the zodiac, the Moon is attached to Cancer.
With my natal Moon in opposition to Uranus, I can be rather unpredictable, detached one moment and friendly the next. A greater emphasis is placed on freedom as the Moon is in Sagittarius (5th house). Because I also have a heavy Saturn in my chart, I tend towards being a recluse, which the Moon-Uranus energy does not like leading to various tensions and very unusual illnesses.
People with a Moon Uranus opposition seem to fall into emotional triangles and have an aversion to being involved with certain groups or individuals who might make demands that infringe upon their personal freedom--and I really relate to this energy. Add to this the North Node indicating a contrast between my feelings and my soul's purpose. This struggle can result in an over-sensitive reaction to others and an inability to efficiently organize one’s life. Perhaps because of this, I’ve found myself developing special talents to make a disciplined, well-organized, and concentrated effort in specialized and rather esoteric areas. I have to say that I’m not discouraged by the absence of any recognition for my ambitious undertakings, partly due to my preference for isolation.
As an aside, I’ve noticed that a lot of Astrologers have either oppositions or trines from a primary planet, such as the Sun or Moon, to Uranus.
All this brings me to the focus of this entry—I’m having a rather long transit Uranus squaring my natal Moon. If I’ve developed the necessary growth from the lessons of my Moon-Uranus placement in my birth chart, this transit should not really affect me. I think it is affecting me more than I would like, but not as bad as it could be. I seem to have done well in certain areas, but not in others. I am being confronted with numerous problems that is making me rather tense, so I guess I need to get back into some t'ai chi or certain forms of meditation to address my nervous tension.