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How
to Figure Out If You're Having a Midlife Transit
Midlife turbulence as indicated in a chart can begin as young as age 35 and it can extend until the end of the second Saturn return at age 60 or so (although life is usually not continuously turbulent during this time, thank goodness!). So let's talk about what happens and when, so you can gauge for yourself if you may be dealing with midlife transits. First, I should note that I use a specialized technique I developed called "Life Phases." This technique isn't something you can read about in your regular astrology books, although the concepts are quite simple. The technique is based on my own observation, and it helps me (and you) identify the primary life tasks that need to be addressed and completed during a particular Life Phase. For most people most of the time a new life phase begins at age 35. Thirty comes and goes and most people are just glad to have survived their first Saturn return (which typically begins around age 28 and lasts until around age 30). But as people begin creeping towards age 35, they begin to get this feeling that they need to be doing something 'adult.' This feeling is often a sign that the tasks of their new Life Phase are calling to them. As early as age 37 or so (it varies because Pluto's orbit is irregular), Pluto square Pluto kicks in. This is what might be called a 'separating' transit, in that it generally seems intended to separate you from something that you'd really rather not give up. But it can also be a time of new beginnings and false starts. If you're in this age and you have the feeling that either a) you're being forcibly detached or removed from some element of your life that you never intended to let go of or b) that you've got the itch (or even compulsion) to try something bold that you didn't think you could do before, you may be feeling the effects of Pluto square Pluto. Bottom line with this transit: something in your life wants to kick over the traces and wrestle some control over your life back into your hands and out of the hands of the patterns you've built up from the past. But Pluto is nothing compared with the Big Kahuna of midlife transits:
Uranus opposition Uranus is the source of the old saying that life begins at 40. This transit takes place between the ages of approximately 40 to 42. And it's a doozy. Uranus is sometimes called the 'Awakener' and this transit does have a tendency to light a fire under a midlife person's butt. Suddenly the person feels more alive and impulsive than they have in years, and intense desires to live lead to all sorts of behavioral changes, fresh starts, sports cars (I bought one!), crises marital and otherwise, desires for meaning, startling insights, and bold new actions. It's not a coincidence that my latest copy of People Magazine has a stunning array of pictures of female celebrities aged 41--all with their first children. Talk about a major life change at age 40. In fact, the potential changes that can occur at this time run the gamut. John Wayne became a real star for the first time in his life after he got his lucky break during the Uranus opposition Uranus transit. He finally became popular at the age of 42--which turned his life around. For others, the trend seems to go in the opposite direction. After years of corporate success, a top executive gets fired. Or after years of corporate loyalty, a top executive burns out, climbs off the career ladder and goes home to figure out how to do something more meaningful with her life. Careers change, marriages change, domestic life changes, inner life changes, and...life begins. The tricky part is that although Uranus opposition Uranus can be the best news you'll ever get in your life--it often comes wrap in packaging that doesn't look all that great. Instead of an attractive Tiffany box, Uranus opposition Uranus can come into your life disguised as an upsetting event or a series of them. If your life has suddenly started to feel turbulent in a way you don't much care for, or if you have received some rather upsetting news, you could be entering the initial stages of Uranus opposition Uranus. Bottom line with this transit: It can be the best thing that ever happened to you, but you gotta figure out how to hang on until the good stuff appears.
About the time you're getting off the roller-coaster that is the Uranus opposition, Neptune asks you to strap on your safety belt again. Neptune square Neptune occurs at about age 42 and this is usually a pretty darn happy transit. I consider it a person's spiritual initiation. This is the time when a person usually subtly or not so subtly starts feeling the need to somehow someway tap into the universal source consciousness and start living as someone who contributes to the greater good. In some ways, this transit is about actualizing your purpose in life, or more accurately, actualizing the universal purpose of leaving the world a better place once you leave than it was when you came in. This transit marks the beginning of spiritual adulthood, but it often doesn't feel like a very 'adult' transit. It often seems to serve to remind people that happiness is possible, and it doesn't come from a big box store--it comes from meaningful interaction with the world around you, even if your world right now consists mainly of the 2 year old you gave birth to as a result of Uranus opposition Uranus. Furthermore, if you haven't adjusted your career path to reflect your updated ideals, Neptune square Neptune will often prompt you to consider doing so.Bottom line with this transit: your world will expand if you are able to go within. This transit also marks the beginning of another Life Phase shift. You got through the adjustments of your late 30s and the new beginnings of the early 40s. Now it's time for you to take on new life tasks and at a higher level. Your aspirations become really important at this time because you have begun to realize that you don't have unlimited time to fulfill them. You also realize that you have come to know some things about yourself that you had no way of knowing before. This is a very important time in terms of midlife transits.
As if that wasn't enough life-changing astrological energy to pack into the early 40s, there's more. Specifically Saturn opposition Saturn, Neptune opposition Uranus, and Uranus opposition Pluto. Saturn opposition Saturn occurs at about age 45, half way between the two Saturn returns that you may have heard about. It's your midlife checkup and if Saturn's not happy, you're not happy. Saturn often relates to career in anyone's chart, and Saturn opposition Saturn can feel like someone punched a hole in yours. For other people, Saturn opposition Saturn is not so much about career as it is about other life structures. In many ways, this transit can be the most telling of all. Let's give an example. You live through the upheavals of Uranus opposition Uranus and begin to realize what's important to you. Your ideals come more into focus through Neptune square Neptune. You know a lot more about what you want out of life in a true internal sense. You are no longer as dependent on other people's opinions. You know yourself more. But...your actual life hasn't changed much. Saturn is the planet that often actualizes things in the outer world. If you need to change career fields--Saturn is the one that helps you investigate your financial options, sends you out on interviews, manages the stress of making an outer life change, forces you to work hard to find a better opportunity, and actually hands in your resignation. Saturn opposition Saturn is the transit that often makes things happen. Meanwhile, Neptune opposition Uranus and Uranus opposition Pluto happen at varying times in people's lives. In some people's charts, major outer planet transits like these pile up like cars in massive freeway wreck. People often use metaphors to describe these times in their lives, because it is hard to know what to do when so much is going on. So people say things like "I feel like I've fallen into a deep well and I can't get up." Or "I feel like I've hit bottom but I keep going down anyway." Or "I need to know if there's a light at this end of this tunnel." Some people (myself included) end up feeling almost totally physically drained during a combination of midlife transits (especially if additional transits to personal planets get involved and they often do). They know that something's gotta give, and they wonder what. A very compelling question during these time periods often becomes "When will this end????" This is where astrology can really help--because it can tell you when it will end. It can help you sort out what's going on. And it can help you begin your life again on a new, vastly improved track.
You might be experiencing your first round of midlife transits if.... You're between 35 and 45 or so... Your life is changing whether you want it to or not... You want to make major changes in your life and you are trying to figure out how... You can tell that you are trying to outgrow old patterns, but those old patterns seem to be resisting your efforts to outgrow them... You are experiencing some sort of hellacious personal, career, or marital problem and you are wondering what the heck is up with your life... You feel like you've fallen, and you want to know how to get up again... You need to see the light at the end of the tunnel... You are trying to actualize the changes that you envision... You are trying to get a handle on how you can live a more meaningful purpose... You feel exhausted and drained by all that's gone on and you need a way to sort through it all... For a limited time (as they say on TV), you can get a comprehensive midlife transits reading by telephone for only $100 (through August 24, 2008). We'll talk about your transits and your individual situation for as long as we need to. After August 24, 2008, the price for a comprehensive midlife transit reading is $180.00. Which is still a pretty good deal, considering that a way forward through the thicket of these things is worth a heck of a lot in terms of peace of mind and sheer relief. Plus, although the initial focus is on the midlife transits, the process will help you understand your overall chart better. Last but by no means least, you'll get an outside perspective on your chart, which I can tell you from personal experience, can be invaluable.
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