transit

Following is a description of the major timing procedures used by both modern and traditional astrologers, and suggestions for how you can prioritize the various timing mechanisms at your disposal. The second part of this chapter focuses on what you can cover realistically in a one-hour session through the use of transits and progressions. In later chapters, we will discuss the progressed lunation cycle, annual profections, and the Solar Return chart. The remainder of the traditional techniques will not be covered in this book.

Progressed Lunation Cycle

Unless you use the traditional methods of planetary time-lord periods to gain a sense of long-term influences, begin with the progressed lunation cycle. Every thirty years, the occurrence of a progressed New Moon (the progressed Moon is conjunct the progressed Sun) initiates the emergence of some kind of new vision or aspiration that grows to maturation twenty-one years later, and is brought to conclusion and summation at the closure of the cycle. A person’s progressed lunation phase indicates the current stage in this thirty-year process. Checking the degree of the progressed New Moon relative to the natal chart, the house in which it occurs, and conjunctions to natal planets gives important information about the meaning of the entire cycle. Some astrologers also look to the Sabian symbol of the progressed New Moon for a symbolic image that embodies the new direction. This method will be discussed in more detail in
chapter 8.¹

Outer-planet Transits

You can assess the meanings of the outer-planet transits (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) to personal planets and to the angles that are sensitive points. You can gain insight by using the progressed lunation cycle as a framework in which to evaluate individual transits. For example, a Pluto transit to the Moon during a New Moon phase has a directive completely different from when it occurs during the final Balsamic phase. The period of intensity for the individual is the strongest when transiting planets are approaching natal planets, gradually building up pressure that becomes most concentrated at the conjunction, and then dropping off in intensity as they separate. Their effect is especially strong when transiting planets retrograde back and forth over the natal planet. The passage of a transiting planet through a particular sign and house also has significance for the length of time that the planet is in the sign. Outer-planet transits to the outer planets have more of a generational than individual influence. If an outer-planet transit is not making an aspect to a natal planet or point, we won’t dwell on it, aside from a quick mention of the house it is activating.

Inner-planet Transits

The inner-planet transits (Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars) move so quickly that their effects are transitory, except when they make a station and retrograde over natal planets, which lengthens their periods of influence.

Eclipses

We have examined the natal chart, which depicts the positions of the planets at the birth moment, and interpreted it as a description of a person’s character over the duration of his or her life. We’ve used it as an indicator pointing to the kinds of activities that will lead a person toward a sense of living a purposeful life. But the birth chart is also a map of a person’s destiny, indicating when the various events promised in the natal chart will occur. From a modern perspective, timing factors can forecast opportunities for personal growth, as well as the nature of obstacles to be overcome in the process of self-improvement and development. Dane Rudhyar spoke of timing in astrology as a schedule for the unfoldment of the birth potential over time.

Generally, when people’s lives are going well, they do not seek advice or counseling. But when things start going badly—difficulty with or loss of relationships, jobs, health, or belief systems—they become anxious, fearful, and insecure. At these times, they are more likely to seek insight or advice about what is happening and what the outcome is going to be. This is when many people come to an astrologer’s consulting room. The timing of these critical periods of crisis and change can often be seen through the timing factors in astrological prediction. It was astrology’s claim to be able to predict the future that contributed to it becoming the premiere system of divination in the ancient world. In fact, historically, one of the main questions posed to astrologers is: What is going to happen next?

From a traditional perspective, timing factors predict the rise and fall of favorable and unfavorable periods in life. In addition, they indicate when specific events like marriage, the birth of children, health crises, or professional promotions will occur. Some of these events can be fortunate, others unfortunate. From a modern perspective, timing factors show periods of transition and change in our lives, where opportunities exist for growth by releasing and transforming the old so the new can emerge and take shape.