Photo by Nicholas T. (cc)
There are two main types of transits:
Aspects being made between planets at a given point in time.
This is a bit like a weather report- these transits describe the factors affecting society and mundane events. For example, “Venus conjoins Mars at 29 Pisces today”, “The Moon squares Mercury at 8:15pm EST tonight”, or “tomorrow Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo” are all transit events. Everyone on earth experiences these transits at the same time.
Aspects made by a transiting planet to one of your natal planets or chart points.
This is a personalized weather report- this type of transit describes how a planet’s current movements affect you specifically. “Pluto has been squaring my Moon for the last six months”, “Saturn is finally near the end of my seventh house”, “My Venus return is this Friday”, and “Jupiter will be crossing my ascendant next month” are all examples of these transits. Other people only experience these transits at the same time as you if they have the same natal placement in their chart.
The length of a transit is determined by the speed of the planets involved. A transit of the moon might only last a few hours, while a Pluto transit to a point in the natal chart can last over two years. Planetary “speed” is determined by what astronomers call planet’s orbital period- the length of time it takes the planet to travel around the sun. Planets closest to the sun have very short orbital periods, while planets far from the Sun take many years to orbit the Sun just once.
Reading about astrological transits can be confusing because reports often don’t make it clear whether they’re talking about the first or second style of transit. The easiest way to tell is to parse it from the descriptions: if it references two or more planets interacting with each other, it’s a general weather report. It will apply on some level to you, your friends, your coworkers, and everyone else. If the article discusses where individual planets are at the moment, and remarks whether you have a planets in a certain sign or area of your chart, it’s a personalized weather report.
The two styles of transit overlap in their effects. Here’s an analogy:
A large storm system is covering most of the Midwest, promising scattered thunderstorms near St. Louis, Springfield, and Indianapolis. The sky is dark and rainy for everyone in the area, which is annoying, but if you are in Indy you should think twice about going swimming or working or your roof, because the weather is more intense in your area and you don’t want to get hit by lightning.
The first kind of transit is like the general storm system: it affects a huge group of people to a certain degree (in the case of astrology, it affects everyone on earth to some degree). The second kind of transit is like the scattered shower; if you’re in a certain location (if you have a planet in a certain area of your chart), then the energy is more concentrated where you are and you’ll want to be more aware of it, because it will affect you directly.
Transits are usually thought of as inconveniences at best, and huge, life-wrecking changes at worst. But it’s important to remember that there are beneficial transits that can bring you unusual opportunities as well as the “bad” transits that get all the press. It’s important to track the good ones because when they bring that feel-good energy and opportunity, it can be easy to fritter it away on just going out with your friends more often, or even by gaining weight, rather than gaining the new experience that transit could be making way for.
So don’t stress too much when reading about current astrological events and big transits out there. Remember, you’re just checking the weather so you don’t get caught in the rain.
If this helped things make more sense, take a look at some of the other astrology tutorials.
well thought out…