What transits are
A transit happens when a planet, in today's position, forms an aspect with a planet or point of your birth chart. For example: Saturn squaring your Sun, or Jupiter crossing your Ascendant. It is the most widely used way of following time in astrology.
Fast planets and slow planets
The Moon goes around the whole chart in about 27 days and colours the mood of the day. The Sun, Mercury and Venus set the tone of the weeks. Mars, in about two years, shows where the energy and the urgency are.
The transits that mark phases of life are those of the slow planets:
- Jupiter (a cycle of about 12 years): expansion, opportunities, the wish to grow.
- Saturn (about 29 years): structure, responsibility, tests of maturity. The well-known "Saturn return" happens around ages 29 and 58.
- Uranus, Neptune and Pluto: deep, slow changes that can stay on the same point for more than a year.
How to read a transit
Ask three things: which planet is passing (the nature of the theme), which point of your chart it touches (the part of you involved) and in which house it happens (the area of life). Add the type of aspect: a trine opens doors easily, a square asks for action and adjustment.
The orb is the distance from the exact aspect. An applying transit is getting closer and is usually felt more as it becomes exact; a separating one is moving away.
How to see your transits on Arkanova
- Open the birth chart in transits view with your details.
- See the bi-wheel: your chart inside and the sky of the moment outside.
- Step forward or back in time by year, month, day, hour or minute, and see when each aspect becomes exact.
- Check the ephemeris and the alerts for retrogrades that affect you.
If you'd like to be told in advance about important transits, Arkanova Pulse does that follow-up for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between transits and progressions?
Transits use the real positions of the planets today. Progressions are a symbolic technique in which one day after birth stands for one year of life.
What is the Saturn return?
It is when Saturn comes back to the position it had when you were born, around ages 29 and 58. It is often lived as a step into more maturity and responsibility.
How long does a transit last?
It depends on the planet. A Moon transit lasts hours; Jupiter, weeks to months; Saturn or the outer planets can last more than a year, especially with retrogrades.
Are retrograde planets bad?
No. Retrograde motion is apparent and makes the planet pass the same point several times. It is an invitation to review, not a bad omen.
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