I am learning transit for the first time

Hello. I have studied natal and synastric astrology for years but I had always ignored transits and progressions. Today is my very first foray into transits.

Question: If I want to see what transits are happening right now, can I just go to an astrology charting service and plug in today's date, time, and the place where I am right now, and then just compare the positions of planets from this chart to the planets in my own birth chart? Is this how transits work? If not, please correct me.

Thanks.

Uh huh, that's how checking transits work. Some also use an ephemeris to see where the planets are located on the day in question.

Thanks for the reply, CT.

I looked at today's chart and it showed that Saturn is currently squaring my natal saturn and Mars is opposite my natal Mars. This means that I am going through a difficult period, right? But how come I feel pretty calm and happy and that things in my life are going quite smoothly?

wan said:

Thanks for the reply, CT.

I looked at today's chart and it showed that Saturn is currently squaring my natal saturn
and Mars is opposite my natal Mars.
This means that I am going through a difficult period, right?

Click to expand...

Not necessarily
A transiting planet requires activation by profection, solar return
or one of the many time lord methodologies

wan said:

But how come I feel pretty calm and happy
and that things in my life are going quite smoothly?

Click to expand...

The entire natal chart requires study to determine this issue

wan said:

Thanks for the reply, CT.

I looked at today's chart and it showed that Saturn is currently squaring my natal saturn and Mars is opposite my natal Mars. This means that I am going through a difficult period, right? But how come I feel pretty calm and happy and that things in my life are going quite smoothly?

Click to expand...

No, they don't necessarily mean you're going through a difficult period. Saturn square Saturn indicates you're going through a period of identity change which might result in a career shift or change. Mars opposite Mars indicates dissatisfaction with some facet of your everyday life and activities that might result in a decision or commitment that results in a change in your daily routine. In the post dated Sept. 20 that started this thread you wrote, "I have studied natal and synastric astrology for years but . . . Today is my very first foray into transits." That's the event related to this transit. You began studying transits! Since transits predict not outcomes, what happens in the world, but rather motivations, where we're coming from, they don't always coincide with external events. But in this instance an event did occur, the beginning of your study of transits, because you acted on your urge to know more about them. Urges, needs, motivations — strictly speaking, psychological drives — are what astrological transits are about.