Transits and Cycles

Transit astrology is not predictive astrology. It is navigational astrology: it indicates when certain energies are active in your life, and what kind of inner work is available at each moment.

Understanding transits means learning to work with the rhythm of the cosmos rather than against it.

What Is a Transit?

A transit is the current position of a planet in the sky, compared to the positions of the planets in your natal chart. When a transiting planet forms an aspect with one of your natal planets, it "activates" that planet and the corresponding life domain.

Slow planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) create the deepest and most lasting transits. Fast planets (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) create frequent transits that are often more superficial.

The Saturn Return

When: around ages 29-30, then 58-60. Duration: 2-3 years.

The Saturn return is the most famous maturation transit in astrology. When Saturn returns to its natal position, it sounds the hour of reckoning.

The first stretch of life (0-29 years) is a phase of learning and experimentation. The Saturn return marks the end of this youth and the beginning of genuine adult responsibility. It poses essential questions: "Is the life I am living aligned with who I truly am? Which structures support my growth, and which stifle it?"

The second return (58-60 years) marks the transition toward wisdom and later vocation. It is a period of transmission and distillation of experience.

This transit is often uncomfortable — Saturn does not spare. But it is also deeply constructive for those who welcome it consciously.

The Jupiter Return

When: every 12 years approximately. Duration: approximately 1 year.

The Jupiter return is a period of expansion, opportunities, and renewal of luck. It coincides with "Jupiterian anniversaries": 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 years.

Unlike the Saturn return, the Jupiter return is generally experienced as a period of opening and momentum. It is a good time to launch projects, travel, and open to new perspectives.

Jupiter's invitation is always to go further — in vision, relationships, growth.

Eclipses

Frequency: 4 to 6 per year. Duration of effect: 6 months to 2 years.

Eclipses are inflection points. They always come in pairs on the axis of two opposite signs (the lunar nodes), and they accelerate changes in the corresponding life domains.

Solar eclipses (eclipsed New Moon) represent a radical new beginning, often accompanied by an ending or an unexpected change.

Lunar eclipses (eclipsed Full Moon) represent an intense emotional revelation or closure.

Eclipses are particularly significant when they fall near a natal planet or a chart angle. They can trigger important events, major realisations, or inevitable course corrections.

Planetary Retrogrades

A retrograde is a period when a planet appears to move backward in the zodiac from our earthly perspective. In reality, it is a perspective effect related to the relative speeds of orbits.

Symbolically, retrogrades invite revision, integration, and inner movement rather than outer expansion.

Mercury Retrograde

Frequency: 3 to 4 times per year. Duration: 3 weeks.

Mercury retrograde is the most famous. It is associated with misunderstandings, communication problems, technological glitches, and delays.

In practice: revise, re-read, reflect before sending. Avoid signing important contracts or launching major new projects.

The "re" is the keyword: re-read, re-contact, re-plan, re-connect with people from the past.

Venus Retrograde

Frequency: every 18 months. Duration: 6 weeks.

Venus retrograde invites reconsideration of values, relationships, and one's relationship to beauty and pleasure. It is often a period when old relationships resurface or personal values are re-evaluated.

Mars Retrograde

Frequency: every 26 months. Duration: 2 months.

Mars retrograde slows action and invites revisiting one's strategy. It is a period when energy is less available for new initiatives. The invitation is to purify desires and motivations.

Retrogrades of the Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are retrograde for several months each year. Their retrogrades are less dramatic in daily life but significant when transiting natal planets.

Secondary Progressions

Secondary progressions advance the natal chart by one degree per year of life. They measure the individual's inner and psychological development over time.

The progressed Moon is the most personal: it changes sign approximately every 2.5 years, colouring the emotional themes of each period.

The progressed Sun evolves slowly, changing sign approximately every 30 years — a profound mutation of identity.

Significant Transits by Planet

Planning with Astrology

Transit astrology does not predict events — it indicates the themes and types of energy available. The same period can produce very different experiences depending on the person's level of awareness and their choices.

Active Jupiter periods: ideal for new initiatives, expansions, travel. Active Saturn periods: ideal for consolidation, lasting structures, discipline. Active Uranus periods: invitation to release what has become too rigid. Resistance creates turbulence. Active Neptune periods: ideal for creativity and spirituality. Periods of potential confusion in practical reality. Active Pluto periods: deep and often irreversible transformations. Resistance increases intensity.

Working with transits means learning to distinguish moments of building from moments of letting go — and honouring both.