This week’s question comes from Jackie in Brooklyn, New York:

Every month, I visit the blogs, websites, and online forums of several astrologers who say that Rising Leos should have Pluto in their sixth house now. In fact, all of these astrologers say that my work life is being “transformed,” and it is in a way. I just started a new job that I love and I feel the pains and pleasures of fulfilling, challenging work.

However, when I pull my transit chart, it clearly shows that Pluto, now out of retrograde, is retracing his steps in the earliest degrees of Capricorn. This means that Pluto is still in my fifth house (and causing me a lot of romantic relationship drama for the past year and half!). My fifth and sixth houses were both partially in Capricorn at my birth. How should I read this current Pluto transit?

I just love getting this kind of question, Jackie, because it allows me to explain, once again, why generic horoscopes are of limited value. Since you know your Rising sign, you’re getting more out of them than people who read only for their Sun sign, but you very clearly understand the problem you’re bumping up against, and it can be frustrating.

While most Sun sign astrologers advise reading for your Sun sign as well as your Rising sign, that still doesn’t address the degree of your Ascendant. Reading for your Rising sign generally is more accurate, but you have to know the degree of your Ascendant and adjust accordingly. For example, if you were a late degree Rising Leo, it might be better to read the horoscope for Virgo.

If your Rising Sign is in the middle of a degree, as yours is, that makes it even harder to know which sign to read for. You ought to do pretty well if you read for both Leo and Virgo. According to Sun sign horoscope “rules,” Virgos now have Capricorn in their solar fifth house. But then it gets so confusing – all the more so when the astrologer writing the horoscope refers to you as a Virgo and talks about traits of that sign that don’t apply to you.

One of my favorite monthlies is written by Susan Miller, who is amazingly accurate provided you read for the right sign – and that could change throughout the year or even from one aspect she’s writing about to another. I sometimes end up reading pieces of four different signs to get a complete picture. You almost have to be an astrologer to figure it out.

Now, as to your specific Pluto problem … Pluto will not enter your sixth house until February 2013. So it looks like your romantic relationship drama is going to continue for awhile. Sorry.

I’ve been contemplating teaching a class about how to use online horoscopes to their best advantage. I also have a new means of writing horoscopes on the drawing board in an attempt to solve this problem for everyone. Watch this space in the weeks ahead for news.

In the meantime, there’s no substitute for a reading with a professional astrologer. It costs more, but it saves you a ton of time and guesswork.

Pat

Related posts:
How Will the T-Square Affect My Sign?
What’s In Store for Taurus Sun?

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