Heather Rose of Enchanted Rose, LLC, who completed my Esoteric Tarot certification program, emailed me with a problem she was running into doing astrological chart readings.
Here’s the question:
“I have done some chart readings. I feel like I have that all down pretty well, and can give a great reading on a birth chart (needing to memorize better the houses). BUT – what I can’t do at all is talk about the NOW. I have no idea how to integrate the NOW into a reading. So I can tell them exactly how they came into this world and what was going on that set up their foundation, but I always feel like I leave the reading a bit empty when I can’t produce anything about what is occurring for them NOW.”
Here’s my answer:
The natal chart is a snapshot of the time the client was born and a blueprint of the personality, but to address what the client is experiencing now or what’s coming up for them, we need to look at how the natal positions are affected by where the stars are today–this is called transits.
The transits are the “now.” When you’re in a chart on Astro.com, you can pull up the transits really easily by clicking the blue “with transits” button on the top right portion of the chart page. Or, you can select “natal chart and transits” when selecting your chart type. Make sure your software is defaulting to the current date (under Options in Astro.com), or select a date that they are inquiring about. Then you look for planets that are transiting or affecting different houses, natal planets, or points like the Ascendant or Midheaven. The transits show up as green planets outside the circle of the chart.
It’s good to hit the big ones—is a planet transiting the 2nd House of Resources, the 7th House of Relationships, the 10th House of Career? I like to start with those if I see a transit. Also, transits to the natal Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Midheaven are good places to start.
Also, keep the speed of the planet in mind. Moon highlights something for a day; Mercury, Venus, and the Sun for a week or so; Mars will hit something for a couple weeks to a month; Jupiter several months to a year; Saturn for 1-2 years; and the outer planets for several years. I tend to focus both on when the planet is in the same sign as the planet or point of the natal chart (which will happen for a longer period—entering the sign of the natal planet or point will initiate a cycle), as well as when it’s plus or minus a few degrees of the natal position (which will be the more intense period). Also look for times multiple planets come together and turn up the volume.
Transits are the primary way of doing predictive astrology in the Western system.
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If you’d like to get started working with transits, please take a look at my Through the Shining Veil handout. I cover some ways to work with transits there, focusing on when the transiting planet ingresses, or enters, the sign of the natal planet or point, thus beginning the transit cycle.
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If you’re interested in taking a class in Denver, CO on techniques used in professional astrological consultations, please contact me or sign up for my newsletter. I’m forming a class now.
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Joy Vernon has been studying and teaching energetic and esoteric modalities for more than twenty years. She is the organizer of the Denver Tarot Geeks, Denver Tarot Meetup and Denver Traditional Reiki Meetup, and she served on the faculty of Avalon Center for Druidic Studies. She is one of the psychics at Isis Books and is a Certified Professional Tarot Reader and a member of the American Tarot Association and Tarosophy Tarot Association. Joy also teaches Traditional Japanese Reiki. For information on upcoming classes or to schedule an appointment, please visit JoyVernon.com.
© 2016 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved.
