Tag Archives: chart angles

Ask Real Astrologers: What Changes Will Uranus in Aries Bring?

Looking for AnswersThis week’s question comes from Ellen in British Columbia, Canada:

The subtle surprises and wonderful changes that I’m experiencing now, will they intensify with Uranus in Aries, and what advice can you give me that will help me through this bumpy period? (Yes I will be wearing a seat belt and a helmet.)

Ellen, as you correctly noted in your message to me, your Ascendant is 24 degrees Aries. So although Uranus is in Aries as of yesterday (May 27), he will not enter your first house until 2016, at which point the seat belt and helmet will be required gear.

This is definitely a case in which knowing your chart can help you plan. Most people only know their Sun sign, although these days, more and more people know their Rising signs and even Moon signs, which of course is very gratifying for us astrologers!

Unfortunately, that means that when you read an online horoscope, you can end up confused. Even the good ones sometimes make general statements about what a planet entering your sign means, when it really depends on the degree. As I explained in a recent column on cardinal signs, degree does matter in this cardinal T-square.

That said, your Midheaven and IC (the cusps of the tenth and fourth houses) are 11 degrees Capricorn and Cancer. So as the planets in cardinal signs move toward these degrees, you may notice some developments in your career and home life.

Also, we’re currently in a series of eclipses in Capricorn and Cancer, and this may be the driving influence in those bumps you’re feeling. The solar eclipse on July 11 will be in your fourth house, which rules home and family, and it will be in a square with your Ascendant and Descendant, which could put some pressure on your close relationships.

On the bright side, Jupiter is about to enter Aries as well, and he moves much faster than Uranus. It takes him only about a year to move through an entire sign, so you’ll have some of Jupiter’s protection beginning next year.

That’s not to say you aren’t feeling any effects of Uranus in Aries at all. Those subtle surprises may be an expression of Jupiter and Uranus conjunct in your twelfth house. Transits through this house do tend to be less noticeable, but, as you point out, they can be quite wonderful, too.

I hope that helps make sense for you, Ellen, and thanks for writing.

In general, I’d like to repeat that we’re all going through changes as the cardinal T-square builds toward a peak in early August. The questions coming into my box for this column are increasing in number and desperation. Some of the messages I’ve received are truly heartbreaking. This configuration of planets is far too complex, and there are way too many variables, for me to be able to tell you in a few short paragraphs how it will affect your entire life. If you are facing serious challenges and need guidance, please consider contacting me for a personal consultation.

Much love and courage to all.
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. You must use this form to contact me, or I won’t get your question. Be sure to fill out all the fields, and please spell out the month of your birthday. If you don’t know your time of birth, indicate “time unknown.” You can also use the drop-down menu above under “About Us” to get to the question form. THANKS!

Ask Real Astrologers: What’s Ahead for Us Cardinal People?

Looking for AnswersI’m addressing two questions together this week, since they essentially are asking the same thing.

Libra is in my ninth and tenth house, and my first house is Capricorn. Over the past 15 months I have fallen on hard times and in the past few weeks things have picked up. What I don’t understand is this T “zone” and what it means. I was hoping that you could explain a little. — Kaye, Las Vegas, Nev.

I read about all the T-squares and cardinal stuff occurring. I am concerned and confused about my whole life — relationship, business, etc., because I am primarily cardinal. How does this affect individuals like me with all this square stuff during this timing? — “Henry,” Cotopaxi, Colo.

Kaye and Henry, before I answer your questions, let me clear up some of the confusion by explaining what a cardinal T-square is.

The 12 signs of the zodiac are divided into three qualities: cardinal, fixed, and mutable. The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. A T-square occurs when planets occupy three signs within one quality. If all four signs are occupied, then it’s called a grand cross.

Since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008, there has been a build-up of planets in the cardinal signs. We are approaching a powerful T-square in 2010 and 2011, with Pluto at the apex. Uranus and Jupiter are about to enter Aries, and they will oppose Saturn in Libra this summer (Saturn is currently retrograde back in Virgo). There will be some periods this year and next when the early degrees of Cancer also are activated, and so the T-square then becomes a grand cross.

As I wrote in a recent article on the cardinal build-up of 2010 and 2011, such alignments are rare, and when they occur, dramatic events unfold here on Earth. The nature of cardinal energy is dynamic and very active, which is why astrologers are warning of sweeping change ahead.

Anyone with personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) or chart angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, and IC) in the early degrees of the cardinal signs will be particularly touched by this planetary pattern in the sky. And that may be just as well, because cardinal people need action, and you haven’t been getting nearly enough in the past several years. To the contrary, many of you have been feeling very stuck.

Kaye and Henry, you are among the many “cardinal people” who will be heavily affected by this configuration. Some of what develops for you will be surprisingly positive, even though the breadth of the changes may cause you a lot of stress.

Kaye, as you correctly stated, your Ascendant is not Capricorn, but as a late Rising Sagittarius, you have a first house that is almost entirely Capricorn. That means your seventh house is Cancer. As you noted, you have Libra on the Midheaven. The apex of the T-square, Pluto, currently is moving through your first house. I’m guessing that things started to break down in your life when Pluto crossed your Ascendant in late 2006. You are going through a sweeping transformation.

A big factor in this year’s cardinal buildup is the eclipse series in Capricorn and Cancer. When they fall in our first and seventh houses, as they do for you, Kaye, it may suddenly feel as though something or someone else has taken control of our lives and is pushing us in a particular direction. While this may seem like too much disruption all at once, it gets you to a new place a lot faster. You just have to grit your teeth and withstand the G-force.

Believe it or not, you are approaching a career peak, which will happen toward the end of this year or the middle of 2011.

Henry, as a late-degree Rising Cancer, you won’t feel the deep personal impact that Kaye is experiencing. Rather, you will notice this buildup most in your career and home life. With Uranus and Jupiter about to cross your Midheaven, there is the potential for a sudden professional opportunity.

However, at the same time, you may face restrictions in your home life, or a situation with your home and family may come into direct conflict with your career. These constraints will continue for a couple of years, so you may have to put up with less-than-desirable living arrangements in order to advance your professional standing. Try to keep in mind during these challenges that you are working toward building a more-solid foundation under your life.

Thanks you both for writing. Have courage, and let us know how it goes.

I’d like to add that just about everyone is going to feel the effects of this T-square, even if it’s not as disruptive as the changes that people like Kaye and Henry are going through. While I am able to answer some of your questions in this column, it can’t be a substitute for a complete reading. If you are facing serious challenges that affect all areas of your life and need guidance, please contact me for a private consultation. Others have taken the leap and were very happy they did.

Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. You must use this form to contact me, or I won’t get your question. Be sure to fill out all the fields, and please spell out the month of your birthday. If you don’t know your time of birth, indicate “time unknown.” You can also use the drop-down menu above under “About Us” to get to the question form. THANKS!

Neptune and Chiron Transiting Chart Angles

Home on the farm

My childhood home in Unadilla Forks, N.Y.

About a month ago, I had a sudden urge to check out my childhood home in upstate New York on Google maps. With the new “on-the-ground” feature, it was as though I were standing right in front of the house!

Two days later, I discovered a new online history of the village. The author had been in the 4-H Club chapter started by my father, whose name was mentioned in the registry of previous inhabitants. There was a link to some old photos, two of which showed my former home. This photo was taken before my parents moved to the farm in the 1950s. The other, which I posted last week, showed what was left of the barn after a tragic fire.

As an astrologer, I tend to look at everything through the lens of astrology, so of course I wanted to know why I suddenly got all of this information about my early childhood. I lived on the farm for less than seven years. Then, upon reflection, I realized how important these formative years are for us … and how wounding it was when my family was forced to leave this idyllic location. What’s more, all of my photos from my childhood have been lost or destroyed. Seeing these images was a shock, but it also opened a window for some deep healing to take place.

And therein lies the answer to my question.

I’ve written a lot here and on my former blog about the healing potential of the Neptune-Chiron conjunction. For the past couple of months, it has been in an exact square to my Midheaven and IC (fourth house cusp). Transits to the Midheaven typically show up as obvious events or situations, while transits to the IC may be felt internally and often relate to our early childhood experience or our genetic and spiritual roots — what some call “past lives.”

With Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius, much of the healing is taking place in the collective mind, but the collective is composed of individuals. Where this conjunction falls in your natal chart can tell you where you are doing the deepest healing work now. If it falls on a chart angle or conjoins personal planets, the healing potential is extremely powerful. A dear friend has 27 degrees Aquarius on the Ascendant, and you can bet that she is feeling this transit intensely. Her self-image is undergoing a radical change. It is a portrait of a healer being healed.

Hard aspects of Neptune to the Moon or IC are especially likely to bring up memories of the distant past. And to those memories, I now return…

We left the farm in 1963. Four years went by, and then two weeks before my birthday, my mother died of Hodgkin’s disease. A couple of months later, near what would have been her 45th birthday, the barn burned to the ground. I learned later that the entire herd of dairy cows perished in the blaze. I was fond of those cows and spent a lot of time in the barn “talking” to them. In the years following my mother’s death, I used to have recurring nightmares of her burning up in a fire, calling for help. Could there be a connection?

I’ll never know, but I do know that revisiting my childhood home via the Internet has been a powerfully healing experience, and that, too, fits with Neptune in Aquarius, sign of technology.

You see, there are many ways to heal.

Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat