Planetary Transits & Cosmic Interplay for the week of Oct 14–20
The one planet that I don’t typically focus on when it comes to planetary transits is the Moon and its conjunctions and influences it is making in the sky. This is because the Moon’s transits happen for a much briefer time than the other planets do as it travels across the entire zodiac in 27-and-a-quarter days. To put that in perspective, Saturn is the planet that takes the longest and it takes 27 to 30 years (yes, years) to travel across the zodiac. Therefore, the conjunction and influences that Saturn makes are typically deeper, more focused, and more pronounced in one’s life, whereas the Moon’s typically make and leave less of an impression.
The Moon & The Mind
Speaking of impressions, in Vedic Astrology we relate the Moon to the mind. The mind is typically focused on and giving attention to the things that are in its environment and prevalent to it at any given moment. This can change from moment to moment as the environment does. In fact, the mind is notorious for never stopping and it is known that we can get lost in our minds and our thoughts, daydreams, and imagination for periods at a time until something else pops up and we’re then heading after that. This fickleness of the mind is very much related to the Moon in the sense that the Moon moves so fast through the zodiac that it’s never influencing nor holding influence from any one planet or house for that long of a period.
With that said, in Vedic Astrology and in our process of natal chart analysis we give primary importance to that of the Moon. This is because since it relates to the mind, it is more representative of one’s own personality and individuality and the things that make one different from the rest. It represents what one is more drawn towards and wants to bring into their life. The Moon is about making connections, both with other people and also of knowing what it wants to bring into its environment that it will derive fulfillment from. The Moon is the opposite nature of the Sun as it represents the feminine energy, not that of gender necessarily, but that of what we don’t have that we either want or don’t want in our presence. The thing is that this nature of wanting things isn’t necessarily practical nor is it the same things as another person needs. Like the saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” This is the essence really of who we are and what makes us individuals and why the Moon is so important.
The Impact of the Moon
I wanted to make this distinction of being important in natal chart analysis because when it comes to transits, I don’t want to marginalize the Moon’s importance. It is extremely important and primary to understanding one’s individuality, but it is just in this context of transits that its impact isn’t the same as the other planets. Now, this is not to say that it isn’t impactful; it’s just that the Moon’s transits aren’t typically those that are of a lasting nature or mark a huge significance, for the most part.
However, there is another way of looking at the Moon’s periods as it goes on its voyage around the zodiac. That is of looking at the extremities of its relationship to the Sun with this being the full and new moon periods. In fact, you will find countless articles, blogs, and video posts on the internet and such regarding astrology that just focus on these periods. I will talk about them in a very general sense and how they can relate to one’s life. I typically don’t invest much energy looking into these periods as they are very general and in practice I haven’t found them to be completely reliable in practice, but it is helpful to be aware of how they can be impactful.
Full Moons & New Moons
The full moon periods are when the Moon is at its brightest in the sky. This tends to be the time when something is coming into its fullest point of fruition. This is more indicative of periods of the mind and its ability to want to connect with something and not necessarily as much indicative of physical things coming to fruition. However, what we are fixated on can very well be the physical things in our environment. So, it’s about something becoming most prominent in our minds and the things that either the Moon is affecting through transit or the things influencing the Moon at this time can become more prominent focuses of our attention at this time.
Let’s look at an example to give a bit of clarity towards this. For example, let’s say the full Moon is crossing one’s fourth house which is indicative of vehicles. Then perhaps this is a time when one gets a new car. Things in our lives typically are set up over a long period of time and don’t just happen overnight necessarily. So, with this full moon example related to cars, it would most likely reveal the time when the focus of getting a new car dominates one’s experience the most. This can indicate the time when one finally decides that this is the day when they need to get a new car or is the day where they are at the dealership and invested in this new thing coming into their life. The key being with the full moon is this idea of bringing something to the forefront of one’s awareness and becoming fully immersed in it.
The new moon, on the other hand, is where the Moon’s light is not visible at all at night nor in the sky at all. This is also the period of time that marks the end of one lunar month and the beginning of a new one. Going back to the example of a new car, this may be the period in time where one reaches the conclusion that they need a new car. It can represent the time of a change of mind of wanting a new vehicle being born in one’s consciousness. It can actually represent the time also where one actually acquires the new vehicle and starts a new period of their life they are learning to adapt to all the changes that come with it.
Transit Planets in Your Natal Chart
With those examples being shown, when these lunar periods are occurring it can be a very interesting time to watch the focus of our minds at that time in relationship to our birth charts and the houses and planets that are getting activated. This is the important distinction between the Moon and the other planets in that the Moon being such a fast transiting planet it doesn’t really produce any lasting effects from that of the other planets. It’s more about the landmarks in one’s natal chart that it is crossing during its extremities of transit that are more prevalent.
There is another level to the Moon regarding transits and that is of the placement of the Moon in one’s natal chart and the transiting planets that are affecting this point. In fact, in Vedic Astrology there are whole techniques dedicated to just seeing where the planets are placed from one’s natal placement of the Moon and what this may indicate. This is the single most important usage of transits when it comes to the Moon and in my experience very revealing about some of the things that we are experiencing and going through, especially that of Saturn who I mentioned earlier. However, when it comes to these articles I write about indications of what the transiting planets in the sky are indicating at a given time, it’s not something I can really get into. That’s a whole other matter and best left to one-on-one sessions with a Vedic astrologist.
