astrology Archives - Reflections

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

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

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!

Astrology Was the “Queen of Sciences” of our ancestors.

Astrology was the “Queen of Sciences” of our ancestors. How and why was this art so important?

Chichen Itza astronomical observatory, called El Caracol, in the Yucatan, Mexico — The observatory at Chichen Itza is an example of an astronomical/astrological observatory in the ancient Mayan world. Sciences, such as astronomy, were intimately tied together with religion in all ancient societies.
©Carolyn Relei 2023

Astrology was the “queen of sciences” of our ancestors. Its practitioners enjoyed high status as wise men or scientists in their societies. Though techniques and meanings varied, many complex organized societies had specially trained astrological specialists. Timing agricultural rites, predicting events, matching suitable marriage partners, determining the course of disease or the fate of an invading army were their specialties. Therefore these wise men had a role akin to scientist/priest. We call them astrologers now. Because their knowledge was so vital to their societies, we say that astrology was the Queen of Sciences of our ancestors. The art of astrology illuminated how the celestial sky interacted with the people and their society.

Eventually scientific advancements revealed that the earth is not the center of the solar system. Consequently, astrology slowly morphed into two disciplines, astrology and astronomy.

In the past, there was no distinction between astrologer and astronomer.

Astrologers were aware of the movements of the planets, the cycles of eclipses, and much more. Vestiges of their ancient observatories are scattered around the globe. Mexico has a few, such as those at Monte Alban and Chichen Itza (shown above). Simpler indications of astronomical observations are inscribed rocks. I visited this one at Rio Puerco Pueblo site in Arizona. The crevasse has an incised spiral that is illuminated during summer solstice. Although we don’t have written documentation, the incised rocks and the purposeful orientation of the monuments tell us a story in stone.

Solstice Marker at Rio Puerco Pueblo — Pueblo Summer Solstice Marker. In the dark crevasse is an incised pattern that is lit up by the sun at summer solstice. ©Carolyn Relei 2023

The Ancient Skies Invited Attention

Imagine a world without electric lights, the sky nearly black on a moonless night, thousands of brilliant stars scattered across, with brighter glowing orbs moving slowly against the backdrop of stars. Quiet figures scan the darkness, deciphering the patterns of movement of the wandering planets. These seers in the night build predictive systems over long centuries.

night sky has millions of stars — Astrology was the Queen of Sciences of our ancestors. Our ancestors had the vast canopy of stars, undiminished by electric lights, above them

The birth horoscope is a map of the sky at the moment of a person’s birth.

This is a birth chart. To an experienced astrologer, it reveals the individual's personality in great detail. — To an astrologer, this chart reveals this individual’s personality in great detail.

The birth horoscope is actually a map of the sky at the moment of birth. I view the birth horoscope as key to personality and potential. Consequently, for viewing past conditions and forecast possibilities the natal chart is essential. The accurate natal chart is key to the rest of the life story.

Scientists, astronomers and mathematicians now and in times past developed the charts and tables that astrologers use for their calculations. Astrological software programs make it simple to do the calculations. This ease in calculation enables the insights provided by astrology to be appreciated by an ever-wider audience. What was once the purview of only a few, is now accessible to the many. For that, I am grateful.