March 2023 - Reflections

Looking at Your Astrology Transits Using an App

Use an astrology app to find your current or past astrology transits and read about their effects.

MOON PHASES — The moon has phases – so do our lives.

Looking at your astrology transits with the Time Passages astrology app will enable you to find your current or past astrology transits and read about their effects. You can then compare the descriptions of the transit effects with the actual events or feelings in your life. What if more than one transit aspect is going on in your life? In reality, that is usually the case. Consequently, you will want to identify which of the transits seems to be most potent for you. Was it a type of aspect, such as the square, sesquiquadrate, semisquare or opposition, or was it the trine? Or, were several several aspects to a particular planet giving more emphasis to its energies? An app can help you learn more about astrology, in general, and about your own reactions to planetary energies.

Astrologers pay close attention to transits, the daily motion of the planets in relation to the natal chart.

TIme Passages astrology app makes it easy to find your transits and read about how they may affect you. — Use an astrology app like Time Passages to track transit effects

I look at transits daily, either by viewing the planetary positions using a sophisticated computer program, an ephemeris, or an app. For a newbie, I recommend Time Passages app for your phone. For a solo user, it is free and available on Google Play. I don’t have any “interest” in the app, but I suggest it to my students and other learners because I like the way it shows the dates that each transit will be in effect.

I made a short video to show how to read about the transiting aspects once you download the app and put in your own birth data. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66cxaaUXzxM&t=12s

Want to see your astrological transits for a full year ahead?

Order a PDF that I will send to you via email. Learning about the transits on a daily basis, really noting and feeling them is very convincing. The first yearly transit report that I read was way back in 1975. By reading it daily and observing myself, it became apparent to me that I reacted strongly whenever a transiting sesquiquadrate was happening. Most astrologers focus on major aspects, such squares and oppositions. Yet, by self-observation I noted a correlation of my reactions to the transiting minor aspects. This helped me to feel, observe, reflect, and choose to react or not, rather than go with the, often negative, emotional flow.

You can order a full year transit report that includes the minor aspects from me here: https://py.pl/2IKUVK

Have a one-on-one conversation!

For the caring and deep personal look at your astrological transits for the year ahead, schedule a conversation which only a human can give. I’ve done readings for years in person and for the last five years I do them by phone. I genuinely help people in a way that changes lives! Schedule here: https://carolynrelei.bookafy.com

Looking at Transits

Looking at transits in a personal forecast differs in many ways from the generalized forecasts in magazines.

tides are affected by the moon's phases — Full moon over water reminds us that the tides are affected by the moon’s phases.

When I look at transits, I compare of the planets’ positions in the sky at a given moment to the planets’ positions in a person’s natal chart.

I’ve explored astrology for over 50 years, so I am well aware that we are all born with very different charts. The planets today affect each of us differently based on our natal chart.

Since many people happily follow astrology weekly prediction articles, I wanted to find out what the popular astrology column authors used as the basis of their weekly predictions. I wanted to know how the writers generalize their predictions to cover a large group of people with different natal charts

Comparing several columns by different astrologers revealed that not every astrologer focuses on the same transiting degrees. With many aspects at play during any one week or month, the weekly column astrologers appear to pick and choose among them.

Surely, using positive directed thoughts can mitigate fear and open the mind to avenues of response which provide a more favorable outcome to a temporary condition.

The common thread in all the astrology columns was not the aspect and the type of outcome that the aspect would cause. The common thread was actually advice or suggestions of the need to respond to all changes by using one’s own positive directed thoughts to guide one’s own life.

optimism and positive thinking are valuable strategies for all astrological signs — Positive thinking is a valuable tool!

The suggestion to develop a positive outlook solution for dealing with each possible scenario is a feature common to all columns I read. Because the nature of newspaper or magazine forecasts is to generalize by looking at transits for an entire group (all Leos or all Scorpios or all Geminis and so forth), positive thinking advice gives the reader a generally useful mental strategy for disarming fear, which can apply to everyone.

Unlike a generalized horoscope forecast, the transit forecast reading applies only and accurately to you.

Trust the timing in your life — An astrology forecast reading reveals the cycles of time in your life.

The transit forecast specifically for you is based on your birth time, place and date – your natal chart, that applies to you and you alone. Because of its accuracy and specificity, it will show opportunities, reveal challenges to be aware of, and describes emotional or psychological states that you are encountering. In addition, by calculating the transits for several years in the past, we can, with almost uncanny accuracy, describe conditions in a person’s life in a time in the past.

A professional personal astrology forecast is based on information in the current skies as it specifically relates to your own natal chart.

Your natal chart, or personal horoscope, is based on the exact time, date, and place of your birth. Astrologers compare the information coded in your natal chart to the current sky positions. We call this “looking at transits” or doing the transits. Interpreting it is called a “transit forecast”.

next: Looking at Your Transits part 2

Time is the Realm of Astrologers

Time Is the Realm of Astrologers

Time is the realm of astrologers. Time is ordered by the circling of the planets, the rotation of the earth, the phases of the moon. Astrologers kept track of these cycles of time in ancient societies. To mark the cycles, ancient peoples built temples and pyramids, erected stone altars or inscribed rocks.

Because time is the realm of astrologers, astrology has been called the “clock of destiny”.

As beginning astrologer, I was fascinated by the connections of the astrological transits to things that happened in my life. In addition, I easily saw astrological correlations in the lives of family members. Whether real or not, the correlation between celestial events and human ones is the basis for predictive astrology. At times, the practice of astrology has been forbidden, based on a belief that astrologers could predict when a ruler would be vulnerable to harm by enemies. Dating back to at least Roman times, royal astrologers served the ruler and not the general public.

Yoga Swami lecturing on the Bhagavad Gita. — Swami Mahesh lectures on the chakras, Bangalore, India 2011. Astrologers in India have been well regarded since ancient times.
©Carolyn Relei 2023

In India, astrology is revered

One role for astrologers in India is to pinpoint auspicious (favorable) times for certain activities. Astrologers assist people who want to marry by helping in the selection of a suitable marriage partner. People seek their advice for the correct amulet, prayer or gem that can ward off danger during inauspicious times. In the West, however, though Christianity acknowledges that astrologers from the “east” came to honor the baby Jesus by following his star, detractors have often vilified astrology through the uneven course of its history.

temples on the rooftops in Bangalore, India 2011 — Rooftops shrines, Bangalore, India. Vedic astrology uses amulets, prayers, and gems to counteract negative celestial influences.
©Carolyn Relei 2023

The gods of the “Hindu” pantheon are visible everywhere in Bangalore, a city in the southern part of India. I am reminded of the verse of the Bhagavad Gita, wherein Krishna states his amazing attributes, among them: “Time I am…”. India held to ancient traditions which, in most parts of the world, were overwhelmed by the “scientific” views of the modern era centuries ago. But time has cycles and what was once old is now new. Interest in astrology is waxing like moon!

Memories: Visits to Egypt in 1961 and 1965 inspired this blog post

Visits to Egypt

Carolyn, the Secret Astrologer, was only 15 years old in this photo of her walking along near the pyramid. — Carolyn, the Secret Astrologer, in Egypt 1961. ©Carolyn Relei 2023

Visits to Egypt in 1961 and 1965 inspired this blog post. It’s been many years since those visits. I am sure that Egypt has changed a lot in the past 55 years, just as everywhere has changed. Though I’ve spent most of my travel time in other locations, I would love to go to Egypt again. Because I love to travel, visit museums, read history and prehistory, and admire beautiful buildings, Egypt is a choice destination. Egypt has all that and much much more.

Egyptian people forged their identity long ago, long before the Arabs swept through to disseminate the religion of Islam and the Arabic language. While Arabic is the main language of Egypt, our Egyptian friends explained that they consider themselves to be “Egyptian” rather than Arab.

The Nile is the source of life in Egypt

Young goat herd boys of the desert near Luxor were happy to pose for a photo in 1961. — Young Men, Luxor 1961 ©Carolyn Relei 2023

The annual flood cycle enabled agriculture in a rainless desert. During my visits to Egypt, farmers still used the shaduf – a human-powered device that transfers water from the river to the fields. The beautiful green along the Nile contrasted greatly with the beige desert beyond. Away from the Nile River, the land was extremely dry. You can see how barren and dry the ground is in the picture of barefooted young men, taken at Luxor, 1961.

Cairo is a gigantic city

Cairo had over 4 million inhabitants in the 1960s when I was there. Because I stayed in a hotel above Midan El Tahrir (Tahrir Square), I was close to the Egyptian museum and a short walk from Nile.

You must visit the Egyptian Museum

When you go to Cairo, visit the Egyptian museum! The museum houses thousands of years of artifacts – statues, jewelry, and the fascinating small models of everyday life that were placed in the tombs to accompany the deceased and serve them in the afterlife. Although styles somewhat changed over the millennia, the elements of design remained recognizably and consistently “Egyptian”.

Hire a Guide!

We had a wonderful guide in Luxor and Thebes in 1961. I scanned this photo, and others, from slides in 2006.

To get the most out of your visit to the monuments, it’s a good idea to hire a guide. We found that the guides in Egypt take great pride in their work and are knowledgeable in explaining the monuments and the rich history of Egypt.
During our time in Luxor, my mom and I had an amazing guide who spoke seven languages and captivated us with his extensive knowledge and fascinating stories about each monument and their builders.

Cairo has an impressive university

Cairo is the home of what has been claimed to be the biggest university in all of Africa, the Al-Ahzar University and Mosque complex. Students from all parts of Africa and the Muslim world study there. We met students there from countries south of the Sahara, including South Africa.

The minarets brought back memories of the call to prayer which I heard during my visits to Egypt in 1961 and 1965©Carolyn Relei 2023

A few more memories of my visits to Egypt

During Ramadan, in the winter of 1965-66, we found the streets alive after sunset. I remember going out for food at 3am. Everything was alive with color and sound and people were everywhere. That night we ate fatira, a kind of thin pancake with a sweet sauce.
From the hotel room windows we had a view of Midan el Tahrir square (which is really a circle) right below. Buses, cars and carts passed by day and night. The sounds of the clip clop of horses, harnessed to the their flat bed carts, were common. One day, walking along the street near the square, we were offered a ride and we accepted. This was my first and only ride on the slow moving horse drawn cart. It is but one example of the kind and open generosity that we experienced there.

Looking in a different direction from El Tahrir square we could see the extent of the city. The view below is of the closely packed buildings as they were in 1965.

Cairo in 1965 was a lively and densely populated city. Looking through my photos of my visits to Egypt in 1961 and 1965 inspired this blog post — Cairo in 1965 was a lively and densely populated city. Memories brought by looking through my photos of my visits to Egypt in 1961 and 1965 inspired this blog post

Cairo minarets 1965. This picture reminds me of how the sound of prayers wafted across the city. — Cairo, Egypt, 1965 Minarets rise to the sky