Transits Without Fear

By Dehyana

I’ve noticed something over the years when people come to me for astrology readings. Sometimes they’ve already looked at their upcoming astrology transits before they show up. And they’re terrified. I’ll hear things like oh no, Pluto is going to square my Sun. Saturn is coming to my Moon and Uranus is going to oppose Venus.

And from the tone of the message you’d think an asteroid had been confirmed for tomorrow morning. But I get it.

There’s an enormous amount of astrology available online now. You can look up almost any planetary transit within seconds and find twenty different interpretations of what it might mean. The problem is that some of them make you want to hide under the bed until 2029.

So let’s talk about transits.

What Are Transits in Astrology?

A transit occurs when a planet moving through the sky forms a relationship with a planet or point in your birth chart. And yes, some transits are more significant than others.

The slower-moving planets—Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto—can describe longer periods of development and change, particularly when they’re making strong aspects to important natal placements. But a difficult transit isn’t a cosmic punishment. And it isn’t a prediction that something terrible is going to happen.

One of the biggest problems I have with predictive astrology is that once someone has been frightened by a prediction, they begin looking for it. Now every argument becomes Pluto or every unexpected bill becomes Uranus. While every tired Saturday becomes Saturn. And Neptune is probably responsible for the missing car keys. Poor Neptune.

The chart becomes something we’re afraid of rather than something that helps us understand the season we’re moving through. I prefer to think about transits as periods of emphasis. Something is being activated, asking for our attention. Or something in the natal chart is being brought into the foreground.

I’ve written before about why I see astrology as a path of remembering rather than a tool for prediction.

Why the Same Transit Doesn’t Mean the Same Thing for Everyone

Suppose Saturn is crossing your Moon. We could immediately say, Oh dear. Emotional hardship. Loneliness. Depression. Problems with mother.

Or we could slow down. What does your natal Moon already tell us? What sign is it in? What house? What aspects does it make? And what has your relationship with emotional security been throughout your life?

Now Saturn arrives. The transit isn’t happening to some generic Moon described in an astrology book. It’s happening to your Moon and that distinction matters.

The same is true with Pluto. Pluto square the Sun for one person can coincide with a very different life experience from Pluto square the Sun for another because the natal charts aren’t the same and neither are their lives.

This is why I don’t think astrology should frighten people with certainty about events. We can talk about themes. We can talk about cycles. We can look at pressure points and periods when certain issues may become more important. But life still has mystery in it. Thank God. Otherwise somebody could hand us our birth chart at eighteen and save us the trouble of living.

You’ve Already Lived Through Thousands of Transits

And there’s something else worth keeping in mind. You’ve already lived through thousands of transits. Saturn has squared things. Pluto has opposed things. Uranus has arrived unannounced and maybe pulled the rug out from under your feet. Neptune has fogged up the windows while Jupiter has opened doors and Mars has started arguments.

And here you are.

Some transits coincided with beautiful periods. Some were difficult. And some probably passed without you knowing anything about them. Astrology didn’t cause your life. It gave you another language through which to understand some of its timing and patterns. That’s how I prefer to use it.

How to Work With Astrology Transits Without Fear

When I see a significant transit coming, rather than thinking what’s going to happen, I look to what’s being activated. What is this period inviting me to pay attention to and how can I work consciously with it? That puts us back into relationship with our own lives. Because astrology should never take our authority away from us.

If looking at your transits leaves you feeling powerless, frightened and waiting for something terrible to happen, we’ve missed something important. The planets aren’t sitting up there plotting against you. Saturn doesn’t hate you. Pluto isn’t coming to ruin your life. And Mercury Retrograde probably doesn’t deserve half the things we’ve blamed on him.

Your chart is a map. But you’re still the one living the life.

And that’s the part no transit interpretation can do for you.

With love,
Dehyana

Curious About a Transit in Your Own Chart?

If you have an important transit approaching—or you’ve read something about one that has left you worried—this is exactly the kind of thing we can explore together in a personal astrology reading.

Your transits don’t happen in isolation. We’ll look at what’s being activated in your birth chart, how it connects with the rest of the chart, and what this particular period may be inviting you to pay attention to.