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What are the planetary transits ?
The continuous movement of planets around the Sun, at different
speeds, causes that every day exists in our Solar System a combination of
planetary positions unique.
A Natal Charts is a symbolic representation of the
positions of planets in the sky, in a while determined in the time: our birth.
When we compare the planetary positions at any time of our life, with those
of our birth, we obtain a picture that shows the tone and the quality
of our integration with the cosmos at that moment. This technique of
astrological prediction is denominated Transits.
Since we know the trajectories and
speeds of planets, we can know its exact position, and therefore the interrelation
with our Natal Chart, at any time: past, present or future.
Horoscope of transits shows where are the planets at a moment in relation to the
position that they occupied at the time of birth. The transits of the Sun, Moon,
Mercurio and Venus are those of smaller importance since they last little: only
hours in the case of the Moon, and few days in the others. From Mars to Pluto the planets
have greater periods of revolution and their effects in the houses can be
noticed some months or, in the case of Jupiter, even a year or more.
Jupiter takes 12 years to turn around the Sun, Saturn takes 29 years, Uranus 84
years, Neptune 168 years and Pluto needs 248 years to cross the complete zodiac.
The transits of slow planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) indicate
critic periods . In the case of Neptune and Pluto its period of activity usually
lasts more of a year.
Any transit of these planets notices times keys of
learning, lessons that appear through change and of the crisis. The best way to
confront a crisis is to glimpse the meaning and “to cooperate with the
inevitable”. Old the Chinese called to a crisis wei-chi, a combination of
the words wei (danger) and chi (opportunity). We can consider a crisis like a
tragedy, that there is to avoid whatever the cost, or a little while decisive
that offers the opportunity to change and to evolve - and pass more in the
school of the life.
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Types of transits: by aspect, by house. |
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We call aspect in astrology to the angle formed between two points of the Zodiac.
The most important aspects are:
 Conjunction 0°
 Sextil 60°
 Square 90°
 Trine 120°
 Opposition 180°.
Example: if your natal Mars is at 25° of Virgo and Jupiter today is at 25° of
Piscis, the opposed sign, it means that today you have a transit by aspect: Jupiter "in
transit" makes opposition to your natal Mars.
The transits by house take place
when a planet in transit is within the limits of the house.
Considering an orb of 1º,
The APPROXIMATE normal duration of transits is as follows:
| Planet | Transit by aspect | Transit by house |
| Moon | 3 hours | 2 days |
| Sun | 2 days | 30 days |
| Mercury | 1-2 day periods | 30 days (highly variable) |
| Venus | periods of 1-2 days | 30 days (highly variable) |
| Mars | periods of 3-4 days | 1 month and a half |
| Jupiter | periods of 10 days | 1 year |
| Saturn | periods of 1 month | 2 and a half years |
| Uranus | periods of 1-2 months | 7 years |
| Neptune | 2-3 month periods | 14 years |
| Pluto | 2-3 month periods | 20 years |
In transits by aspect, these periods are (usually) repeated at irregular intervals when the planets are retrograde, so the total duration can be multiplied by up to 10.
(The Sun and Moon are never retrograde.)
In some forecasts, where the transit duration is shown with asterisks, each asterisk (*) is equivalent to approximately 2-5 days.
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What's the Orb |
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The orb indicates the force and intensity of the influence of the transit.
Minor orb indicates the greater influence.
Technically the orb of an aspect is the deviation of its exact
angle. When the orb is ZERO the aspect is EXACT, then it reaches his
strongest influence possible.
For example: your natal Mars is at 25° of Virgo
and Jupiter today is at 27° of Piscis, the angle among them is of 178°.
As the angle of exact opposition is 180° the deviation is of 2°, for that
reason we say that Jupiter in transit makes opposition to your natal Mars with
an ORB of 2°.
In order to interpret a natal chart orbs of until 8° can be
admitted, but for the transits the orbs usually do not admit majors to 2°.
In most reports the time period for a transit is given as:
Jupiter square Saturn: April 1, 2012 (from Feb 15, 2012 to May 15, 2012)
"Jupiter square Saturn" means that during the given dates "transiting Jupiter" is squaring your "natal Saturn". That is to say, the first factor that appears is always
the transiting planet (present position of the planet in the zodiac), while the second component of the pair is "natal", or the position it was in the
zodiac at your birth.
That transit starts in mid-February, reaches greatest intensity around April 1, and ends in mid-May.
The first date listed is the time when the influence has reached maximum strength; we can call this date the "peak date".
The influence starts on the beginning date (Orb=2º), gradually increases in strength until the peak date is reached (Orb=0º), and then it gradually fades out until the ending date is reached (Orb=2º).
You may also notice that the same transit shows up periodically during the year; this is not unusual
and is due to the retrograde effect.
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