how to go about learning Transits

Before learning about how transits work,you really need to learn how to use an ephemeris what idenetify with what all the 'glyphs' are and what they represent...

http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42496

here is my favourite online ephemeris which plots where the planets are for hundreds of years...

Transits
I use--- 1° approaching, 1° exact and 1° departing. If you click on the link listed below for the online ephemeris it will list all planets at any given time. Learning astrology is like learning a new ‘language’ and obviously the more effort you put into something the more your knowledge and understanding will increase. All transits act as ‘background’ influences through a house, until it makes a mathematical aspect to a planet inside or an Angle.

For 'timings' I would look to the retrograde hit as the most important trigger, then look to see what the quicker planets are doing especially mars & mercury --

astro.com has fee six month transit forecast plus when you get into Extended chart selection, look at the three tabs after calculating a chart under ‘method’ default is circular wheels (on left), middle is special charts and in their you get graphic ephemeris 1yr (or 5years) with natal = transits for 1yr and lots more. BUT you first must learn or memorise the 'glyphs' ie: shorthand for recognising what these maps/graphics mean.

For example when you post or reply to a chart the 'smilies' to the right and just under them [more] if you click on there it will bring up a whole loads of 'glyphs' Mercury Uranus conjunction (+or - 8') trine aspect 120' Libra
http://cafeastrology.com/transits.html
http://cafeastrology.com/transits_2.html
http://www.khaldea.com/ephemcenter.shtml
http://www.bobmarksastrologer.com/transits18.0.htm
http://www.astro.com/faq/fq_fh_transits_e.htm
http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_transits_e.htm
http://www.astro.com/swisseph/ae/2000/ae_2009.pdf
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/learn-astrology/astrology-glyphs.php
http://www.dkfoundation.co.uk/dkfoundation/BookTransitsAndProgressions.htm

Now it's more important to focus on transits from Jupiter to Pluto (poss mars as this is the ignition key)and these planets when aspecting something in your natal chart 'set off' the difficult or nice 'aspects - potential - problems' that your chart expresses. By that I mean if a benefic planet like Jupiter hits/touches/transits your venus, mars or uranus these could be experienced very pleasantly. BUT if your natal venus is afflicted, or badly aspected say conj saturn then jupiter will not has such a good effect. It all depends on how the natal planet is 'aspected'

For me I would say external 'events' must be seen by transits, progressions or Solar arcs to Angles ie: Asc/Desc & MC/IC most other times these events are 'internal, psychological matters as in between the ears'

Now astro.com uses a much wider orb, possibly something like 10° that’s why when you use the free transit forecast service a transit goes on for months and months. BUT common sense should tell you when the transit is ‘exact’ then it’s at the strongest. Some astrologers swear by 1° approaching produces ‘events’ some say the 1° exact, some say 1° off for triggering events. I personally look to the exact and 1° off for ‘timings’ especially the retrograde hit (backwards hit)

This last website link is rather nice because it gives interpretations of what the ‘Lord’ of the house cusp ruler means ie: T Jupiter sextiles natal sun, so wherever Leo rules in your chart is connected to the area this transit will be affecting –
http://www.astrology-x-files.com/transits/

Next to make sure there is no confusion between other modalities, like secondary progressions. there is already a sticky explaining these..


progressed planets
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showpost.php?p=266189&postcount=8

I'm hoping it will be made into a *sticky* add matters that would help members learn more about how transits function by all means....

I started this thread in response to members requesting it...
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showpost.php?p=337206&postcount=10

only Jupiter has a one year in a sign....
Saturn cycle is approx 28years.

Ben we do have stickys in progressions forum if you feel like contributing....

Ben said:

In post #3, the Carol Rushman quote that Saturn and Jupiter cycles show transits of one year or less is (I think) related to the length of time we are influenced by these transits - as opposed to the 3 or so years that we tend to be affected by transits of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

Despite all 5 of these "generational" planets moving much more slowly than the 5 "personal" planets - Jupiter and Saturn transits tend to skip along at a pace that covers their "orb of influence" (to a natal point or planet) in less than a year, whilst the transits of the other three always last considerably longer. [I'm sorry but will have to disagree with Carol Rushman then, as her views are *not mainstream* or mine.....]​

Consequently, the interpretation of transits to our natal (and progressed) chart requires an analysis and understanding of how all 5 of the moving generational planets are "currently" impacting upon it - where the influence (if any) of Uranus/Neptune/Pluto provide a three-year "backdrop" against which the no-more-than-one-year influences of transitting Jupiter+Saturn should be interpreted - and that picture can then be refined by taking into account the[agreed, but we ARE specifically talking here about transits] plus the specific periods during which the orb of each transit is "exact".​

Ben

Click to expand...

If you don't feel uranus, neptune and pluto have a 'personal effect' then I suggest you read this thread on outers...

are outer planets generational or personal
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39021

this doesn't make sense to me, have you quoted verbatim or condensed sailent points here???

Ben said:

Post #6 is not a quote, astrologer50 - It's my attempted "clarifcation" of point 2 in the Carol Rushman quote in post #3.

Why does it not make sense to you? [ I can't understand what you are actually saying..... how can other members? ]

Despite all 5 of these "generational" planets moving much more slowly than the 5 "personal" planets - Jupiter and Saturn transits tend to skip along at a pace that covers their "orb of influence" (to a natal point or planet) in less than a year, whilst the transits of the other three always last considerably longer.

Click to expand...

The progression of the Moon provides us with a one-to-three month timing device for planetary transits. [this is for progressions sticky not this one]

To be fair to Carol Rushman - (and to avoid her having to drag us through the courts) - you are disagreeing with MY words and MY attempt to clarify MY understanding of her views. [don't worry forum rules state no more than 100 words - is fair usage of copyright material, which I think is conservative anyway]

What is the view of the mainstream and yourself on this issue? - (Is it not that Jupiter and Saturn take less than a year to transit three degrees - one approaching, one exact and one departing - even with a five-fold pass?) YES, what exactly do you mean be *five fold?* Jupiter spends 12months in one sign therefore moves/transits around 30' for example....

Ben

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Firstly, Jupiter will never have a *five-fold pass* anyway, neither saturn. Are you perhaps referring to outers? which are the only planest that can have a *five fold pass.*

Most planets have just one retro period... so on that basis, whereas neptune and pluto can have multiple retros
first pass 1' approaching
retrograde, 1' exact
last direct pass 1' departing

cycles vs. Transits, to Ben

Ben,

You said:

Ben said:

...Saturn and Jupiter cycles show transits of one year or less...as opposed to the 3 or so years that we tend to be affected by transits of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto...Despite all 5 of these "generational" planets moving much more slowly than the 5 "personal" planets - Jupiter and Saturn transits tend to skip along at a pace that covers their "orb of influence" (to a natal point or planet) in less than a year, whilst the transits of the other three always last considerably longer...and that picture can then be refined by taking into account...the specific periods during which the orb of each transit is "exact".

Click to expand...

Interesting use of "cycles" here... I have heard that the "cycles" of planets refers to the ENTIRE circuit of a planet around the chart. So the Jupiter "cycle" is about 12 years, the Saturn "cycle" is about 28 - 30 years, etc. while "cycle" here seems to be the time it takes for a transiting planet to move in orb and out of orb of a certain aspect. So a Saturn "cycle" using this definition would (for example) be the time it takes transiting Saturn to move into and out of an opening square with birth Saturn (which occurs when a peson is around 7 years old).

To me this method is a little confusing...perhaps it's best to call a planet's "cycle" the time when it makes a full circuit around the chart, and call what Rushman is referring to as the time of the orb of a planet's transit to the chart. Not as catchy a phrase as "cycle" I realize , but it makes the distinction between the two very different astrological concepts a little clearer.

And while it is common to refer to the planets from Jupiter out as "generational" and the planets from Mars in as "personal", since these "generational" planets CAN (in the right astrological situation) have a personal effect, maybe it is more useful to refer to them as "outer" planets (planets from Jupiter out) and "inner" planets (planets from Mars on in)? This eliminates the confusion which the names "generational" and "personal" can cause.

Finally you mention (in a separate post) a "five-fold pass" and I haven't heard that term before. I know a planet can pass three times over a given point (once moving forwards, then again moving backwards (when it's retrograde), then a final time when it moves forward again)...but I have no idea what a "five-fold pass" is. What is a "five-fold pass" and what does it look like in terms of a transit?

Wanting to know more,

Tim

or example, when Pluto crosses 9 degrees Capricorn 5 times - 24/2/12 : 29/5/12 : 23/12/12 : 11/9/13 : 27/9/13 - I would call it "a five-fold Pluto transit of 9 degrees Capricorn".

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I see, and I would further suggest the retro hits, 29.5.12 and 11.9.13 I would use these for *timings* then look to see what T mars is activating...

This is very common with outers, just I've not heard it described like this, but actually sounds ok AND correct

Ah - on checking, I have misquoted Carol Rushman on this - On page 69 of her book, she actually says Saturn and Jupiter transits show shorter cycles of one year or less - [Sorry, Tim and astrologer50 - I have amended my quote in post #3]

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Could you explain *how* saturn can have a transit of one year or less?

Ben said:

On 1/1/2012, Saturn began an initial transit of Libra 28.18

By 1/1/2013, Saturn will be at Scorpio 9.33 -[so that makes 11'15" in one years movements ]and it's retrograde movement in February to July 2013 will end at Scorpio 4.49 degrees. [so this is 18 months in total?]

So, the Saturn transit of 28.18 Libra to 04.48 Scorpio is completed within a year - with any three-degree transit within that range being completed in less than one year.

Ben

Click to expand...

So your logic still doesn't 'quite' stack up as this example suggests 18months is not one year??

So from Feb to july 2013 yes saturn only moves 4.49degrees, shows SIX months transits?

I get your point now, to Ben

Ben,

Sorry you deleted your posts. I think you can reinstate them without any more confusion if you want to.

Now that you explained that Pluto moves over a certain degree backwards (retrograde) and forwards (direct) FIVE times, calling it a "five-fold" movement makes sense to me. So it seems like this sort of thing would only happen for the farthest outer planets (Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus) and not for the other two outer planets (Jupiter and Saturn). And knowing that the original writing did make a difference between "cycles" and "transits" makes more sense to me, too.

And now that I understand that the transits of the outer planets DO take a VERY long time, I get your point. I hadn't thought about how LONG it takes for a transit of an aspect to take of the outers. Not only does it take a very long time, but even when it moves OUT of orb of the aspect it can move BACK INTO orb and kind of "continue where it left off".

That's probably why modern astrologers are so reluctant to get rid of the outer planets...their effect lasts such a LONG time.

Learning all the time,

Tim

a modern astrologer who is into predictive work might only look at exact connections, with orbs of less then 1 degree.. the bigger the orb the more a transit of an outer planet needs to be ignored.. the other thing.. transits need to connect with directions/progressions for them to have real bearing on a chart as i see it.. these words modern and traditional get a lot of mileage on this site!

i see NOW, this was in the predictive astrology submenu... so many menus in this place it boggles the mind!

okay, since we are now talking predictive astrology, indeed a modern astrologer like myself wouldn't bother with any soft aspects, and would consider all the hard aspects including the 45/135 with very tight orbs, less then a degree.. solar arc directions 1 degree = 1 year, so you see it is best to forget about using orbs bigger then a degree!

when i try to figure out the nature of possible future events i also consider midpoints - transits and directions/progressions to midpoints.. there is a lot to follow, but the main thing is to pay close attention to what the angles are doing in the directions/progressions chart/s.. it is the moving angles by direction/prog that are the most central feature to a chart and to a directed/progressed chart.. that is what you pay close attention to.. you need an exact birthtime to work with this info, as a time of 4 minutes out will alter the angles by a degree which is equivalent to 1 year in predictive work..

maybe this will arouse someone's interest.. pick up a few books to do with predictive astrology.. try using solar arc directions as opposed to secondary progressions as i think the information gotten from the sa's is often more in sync with what is going on.. use transits moving to the places where the sa directions are focused on a natal planet to see possible connections to real events..

the very best way to learn this stuff is to go over past events for confirmation of these techniques.. if you spend time on well known people by reading autobiographies, or biographies picking out the time of important events in these peoples lives, you can examine the astro data mentioned above to see astrology in action.. it is best to start by examining the past to see if these methods become part of your learning curve towards venturing into making predictions into the future.. otherwise anything you look at without having examined events from the past will not make much sense to you..

also, not everything that you see in a directed chart will appear as a concrete event of significance.. i have no knowledge of why this is, but it is a caveat to everything i say here on doing predictive work in astrology. essentially directions/progressions and etc data has to line up with data in the natal chart and get back up with the transits.. if you don't have this, you may see certain directions pass in an uneventful manner..

good luck!

Astrology students also need to be aware that both progressions and transits can only be correctly interpreted if we first have a sound understanding of the lessons we have the potential to learn during our lifetime ("natal promise") - as revealed by a thorough analysis and understanding of our natal charts.

This is because each of the planets in a natal chart has a meaning that applies uniquely to the chart owner - even in the case of two people born in the same location and at the same time.

Consequently, when a planet makes a "within-orb" progression or transit to a planet in our natal chart - it's effect will be determined by many factors that cannot be taken account of by even the best astrological "cookbooks", including what has happened to us in the past and what we have/have not learned from it.

For that reason, the first step in all predictive astrology is to obtain a sound astrological understanding of the natal chart - and modify this in the light of the native's life experiences to date - as knowing where we are going to (natal chart) and where we have been (experience) is essential to determining the direction in which we need to go now (progressions) and the experiences we are likely to encounter along the way (transits).

[Note :- On page 69 of Predictive Astrology, Carol Rushman states :-
Once an astrologer understands natal promise (and masters the techniques of spotting drivers and interpreting them) the next step is to begin the process of making predictions :-


1. Progressions, heavy transits and eclipses portend the events of the large one to three year cycles.


2. Saturn and Jupiter transits show cycles of one year or less.


3. The progressed Moon refines predicting into a one to three month cycle.


4. Lunations give us specific dates, as do triggering transits, stationing planets and exact transits of all the major planets.]
　
Carol Rushman's 4-step approach to making predictions expressed in my own words


1. Progressions and Uranus/Neptune/Pluto transits usually take one to three years to cover a three-degree-orb of influence - and can consist of as many as three forward and two reverse crossings of the same degree*


2. Saturn and Jupiter transits move faster, covering a three-degree-orb of influence in less than one year
- and can consist of two forward and one reverse crossing of the same degree*


3. The progressed Moon never goes retrograde and moves at around one-degree-a-month, taking 3 months to cover a three-degree-orb of influence - which makes it a good tool for timing the events of outer planet transits


4. Lunations give us specific dates of events arising from progressions and outer planet transits - as do triggering transits, stationing planets and exact transits of all the major planets

[*Note :- The related event tends to "appear" at the first forward crossing of the degree, with a possible solution "appearing" at the first retrograde crossing of it and the solution being implemented at the second forward crossing - but, with a Uranus/Neptune/Pluto five-fold crossing of the degree, the "real/underlying" issue appears at the second forward crossing and is resolved at the third.]

2. Saturn and Jupiter transits show cycles of one year or less.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry to say I disagree with Saturn having a one year transit OR cycle here.

Originally Posted by Ben
On 1/1/2012, Saturn began an initial transit of Libra 28.18

By 1/1/2013, Saturn will be at Scorpio 9.33 -[so that makes 11'15" in one years movements ]and it's retrograde movement in February to July 2013 will end at Scorpio 4.49 degrees. [so this is 18 months in total?]

So, the Saturn transit of 28.18 Libra to 04.48 Scorpio is completed within a year - with any three-degree transit within that range being completed in less than one year.

Click to expand...

So your logic still doesn't 'quite' stack up as this example suggests 18months is not one year??

So from Feb to july 2013 yes saturn only moves 4.49degrees, shows SIX months transits?

Click to expand...

Only Jupiter transits one whole sign per years and saturn ingress/transit is 2.5years in one whole sign and 28years for a *cycle* to return

sandstone

okay, since we are now talking predictive astrology, indeed a modern astrologer like myself wouldn't bother with any soft aspects, and would consider all the hard aspects including the 45/135 with very tight orbs, less then a degree.. solar arc directions 1 degree = 1 year, so you see it is best to forget about using orbs bigger then a degree!

Click to expand...

I find *hard aspects* incredibly important and would be more inclined to disregard soft aspects....

May I remind you that this is a *sticky* for members to LEARNING TRANSITS. There are other stickys that cover progressions and solar arcs here....

I would say forget celebs charts research your own and family and then friends who are willing to give details of events and alike..

Ben, some of the valuable information you provide WILL benefit the *stickys* in progessions stickys. So please consider copy/paste into them??

sandstone said:

a modern astrologer who is into predictive work might only look at exact connections, with orbs of less then 1 degree.. the bigger the orb the more a transit of an outer planet needs to be ignored.. the other thing.. transits need to connect with directions/progressions for them to have real bearing on a chart as i see it.. these words modern and traditional get a lot of mileage on this site!

Click to expand...

Orbs can be quite contentious issues around here, I know Waybread uses 3' orbs and astro.com uses 10' orbs which I think is ridiculous but there you go. I myself use 1' approaching 1'exact and 1' departing...

That's because again there are *major differences* between the two and devout followers of each.there is on this thread a link for a long discussion about outers if you want to read or indeed contribute..

astrologer50 said:

Orbs can be quite contentious issues around here, I know Waybread uses 3' orbs and astro.com uses 10' orbs which I think is ridiculous but there you go. I myself use 1' approaching 1'exact and 1' departing...

That's because again there are *major differences* between the two and devout followers of each.there is on this thread a link for a long discussion about outers if you want to read or indeed contribute..

Click to expand...

I think 10 degree orbs are way too wide even for the Sun and Moon, in all charts and methods...
I use 3 degrees in the main...especially for the North Node, Chiron and for the transits if the outer planets are involved but maybe 2 degrees for transits using only personal or transpersonal planets. In all my experience this feels right and has been borne out.

Basic astrological principles must be learned before we can even tackle transits. THey are the stuff of prediction and belong to the more advanced techniques....

Mention was made above of '3-fold' and '5-fold passes', apparently meaning the number of times that a transiting planet and a natal planet can form an exact aspect (before moving on to a different aspect).

I give here some examples, using 'transit graphics' made with the Planetary Aspects and Transits software.

As an example I'll use the birth date of C.G.Jung, July 26, 1875.
This transit graphic shows the course of the conjunction made by transiting Uranus to Jung's natal Uranus during 1958-1959:



This shows that transiting Uranus formed three exact conjunctions with Jung's natal Uranus, in September 1958, January 1959 and July 1959. This is the so-called Uranus return.

The following transit graphic shows the course of the trine made by transiting Pluto to Jung's natal Mars during 1951-53:



This shows that transiting Pluto formed five exact trines with Jung's natal Mars in October and December 1951, in August 1952, and in March and June 1953. The exact dates can be obtained using another program, Your Planetary Transits. They are: 1951-10-27, 1951-12-20, 1952-08-19, 1953-03-12 and 1953-06-22.

I haven't been able to find any cases (in C.G.Jung's life) where a transiting planet makes seven exact aspects to a natal planet. It is possible for two planets to do this, e.g. Uranus and Pluto make an exact square seven times during the period June 2012 to March 2015 (see here), but so far I haven't found an example of this in a personal transit (the transit of a planet to a natal planet).

I am a beginner at learning about transits and I have no clue what my transit is. I was wondering if you can help me find my transit and how it works. I was born on November 16, 1984 @ 9:46 a.m. I would greatly appreciate your help on this. Thank you for your time and your help will be greatly appreciated.

Your natal chart (a.k.a. horoscope) shows the position of the planets at the time or your birth -- these are your natal planetary positions. As time passes the actual planets move, and form aspects (e.g., square, trine) with your natal planets. So, e.g., after about 21 years Uranus has moved to where it forms a square aspect with your natal Uranus.

At any given time (after your birth) the planets occupy positions (along the ecliptic) such that some of them form aspects with some of your natal planets. These aspects last for a certain period of time, days, months or years. (The time depends on the number of degrees chosen for the orb of the aspect being considered.) A transit is the phenomenon of a planet being and remaining in some aspect to a natal planet. For example, it might be that a particular Mars-Jupiter transit consists of Mars forming a trine aspect to your natal Jupiter from, say, January 3rd to March 4th (in some year).

So transits begin and end. On any particular date there are usually several transits occurring. An astrologer can look at these and interpret them as having some significance for your life at that time (temporarily because each transit will end sooner or later). Here are your personal transits for August 18, 2012. Birth time and place of birth don't affect personal transits except for transits of a planet to your natal Moon (in this image the Moon is not shown). Transiting planets are shown as white-on-black, and natal planets are black-on-gray. Purple=opposition, red=square, green=trine, light blue=sextile.



This image shows that your personal transits on August 18, 2012, are as follows (in order of closeness to exact): tr.Jupiter opposite n.Uranus, tr.Neptune trine n.Pluto, tr.Neptune sextile n.Venus, tr.Jupiter opposite n.Mercury, tr.Venus opposite n.Jupiter, and tr.Sun square n.Sun. The last one (Sun-Sun) might not be so great, but lasts only about a week.

As to what these transits might mean for you at present, you'll have to consult an astrologer (I don't consider myself an astrologer). One of them reading this message might care to comment.

Thie image above was made using the PAT software, and you can use this to get your personal transits for any other date.

Since no interpretation of those transits has been forthcoming, or any comment on interpreting personal transits, I'll just point out here that (as with many facets of astrology) there are different schools of thought regarding this. The one that I prefer (though I'm just learning) is archetypal astrology, whose most well-known exponent is Richard Tarnas. This treats the aspects as does traditional Western astrology, but interprets the planets in terms of their 'archetypal' significance, e.g., Uranus is associated with the unexpected, creativity, novelty, new things bursting upon the scene, maybe to upset the old order. To learn more, follow these links or google 'Richard Tarnas' for more. See also the blog Grandtrines which tends to give more emphasis to aspects and transits than to signs and houses.