In past articles I have looked at the effects of planets visiting our charts – particularly in terms of events. In todays article, I am going to look at how it feels when we are being paid attention by these giants in our skies.

Short term planets, i.e. the faster moving energies, will impact on us very differently from the slower moving planets. The Moon will only have an effect of a few hours at most, unless it is working in tandem with a heavier and more powerful body such as the Sun. This is why New and Full Moons can have an impact on our lives, particularly if they are also eclipses – a New Moon can affect us for a month, an eclipse for a year.

Mercury and Venus will hang around for 3 or 4 days and we will certainly notice how we suddenly become more chatty with Mercury and more social with Venus. Mars can be around for a week and energise us into taking action where we may not have bothered before. Jupiter is around for about 6 months and can expand our horizons, mental and physical. Saturn hangs heavily for almost a year and everything slows down.

The three outer planets – Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have particular agendas that take us out of our ordinary way of thinking and being and it can take a few years to adjust to the changes.

This is all on the surface level, on the event level of planetary activity and today I want to look deeper. Don’t get me wrong – it is events that embody planetary energies – however, often all we look at is the event – we fail to ask the important question “What does it all mean?” and “Why do I feel like this?”

I think that the whole process is for us to become conscious of who we really are and then start acting like it. There isn’t anyone anywhere on earth who won’t at some point of their lives be touched by ALL the planets as they orbit us. So we will all get the opportunity to step up to the Karmic plate or not – our choice. However, it is worth realising that if we struggle against what is being demanded of us, we will get stuck one way or another for a period of time. At some point in the future new opportunities will arise and reiterate the offer over and over. Remember Karma is kind and punishes no-one.

The Planets and how we react to them:

Jupiter – the planet of expansion, optimism and self-belief. When Jupiter pays us a visit, such as now (March 2012) for early Taurus, there is a distinct sense of well-being and looking forward to the future. While nothing necessarily happens when Jupiter’s around, it’s the sense of confidence that can be felt can be very attractive – positive energy emanating from us can bring all manner of goodies into our lives.

Saturn – is the opposite of Jupiter in our reaction to it. Saturn is about hard work and duty – not the most sexy of values – and we tend to react to this heavy sensation by feeling weighted down, which in turn makes us feel as if life is a grind. This is our reaction – it is not the truth, however. If we recognise this weighty feeling that keeps us in one place, focused and working into the night, and embrace it, we can move mountains and make huge steps towards achieving our goals. We may still feel slower moving than usual – it is how Saturn functions to ensure that we dot all the ‘I’s and cross all the ‘T’s.

Uranus – first of the Outer planets – i.e. beyond Saturn’s orbit. We can often feel completely charged up when electrical Uranus is around in our lives – early Aries people will be having that now. There is no opportunity to sit and contemplate what we would like to do – we are whisked through some fast moving events that can quite take the breath away. It can feel like a roller coaster ride but for the 18 months or so that it’s around change is the order of the day. It can hype up the body’s energetic system so sleeping can be difficult, so can sticking to a routine. I have noticed that a complete change of direction can be excitedly followed – such as a stockbroker leaving the luxury of suburbia to become an organic farmer in the Welsh mountains, for example. Life will never be the same again once Uranus has moved on.

Neptune – second out from Saturn. Early Pisces will be living with this now for the next couple of years. We can feel spaced out by the hard to pin down energy that wafts vaguely around us. The overall feeling can be one of compassion for others, a desire for perfect love, confusion and yearning – you may be driven to do “something meaningful”. It can trigger off Divine Homesickness and have us looking for God, the Divine, or whatever codeword you us to describe the indescribable. You may find that the sense of “otherness” is comforting and gives you an insight into different levels of consciousness. For young people it can be particularly difficult and many can look to escape through alcohol and drugs. If your child has Neptune writ large right now, you will need to put strong boundaries in place so that they don’t drift off too far. For more mature types it can be enlightening and a period that can open up a whole new take on reality and spirituality.

Pluto – third out from Saturn. Early Capricorn has Pluto going through right now. The general feeling can be one of intensity towards a goal and some deep desires can be triggered that you didn’t even know were there. It can be a time of being reborn into a whole new you – at a cost, however. You may achieve a position of power that will mean that many of the people you have spent time with up until now will no longer be part of your scene. So you get the leg up but leave others behind. You may simply find that you have little to say to old friends and even family – this is not wrong, it is the function of profound change happening for you. The gift, because there always is one, is that you will be stronger and more true to yourself than before.

If reading about these last three planets seems daunting, remember, we’ve all been through it with them. Sometimes one single event can occur that can change everything and then you get on as you were before with added insight into yourself.

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