Preparing for transits

When I was a young gardener on a new homestead in the wilds of Northern California, one early Spring day I noticed some small thistle plants in a seldom used garden bed. Too much in a hurry to pluck out these tiny plants, I vowed to get to it later. When “later” came, the plants were seven feet tall and dangerous with spines. I needed a chainsaw to take them down.

Most people come to me for an astrology reading when they are under dire stress, invariably from Pluto and Saturn transits, and they have waited until life was barely bearable before reaching out for help. Had they asked for a consultation before the transits had began, we easily could have strategized how to take these high energy situations and channeled them for growth and healing, but instead they are handing me a shovel and asking me to dig them out of a rock slide that is crushing them.

In Aikido, the sooner the practitioner recognizes an attack, enters into it, becomes one with it, the easier it is to redirect it to harmony. If taken early enough one can literally throw the attack without touching them. But if recognized even earlier, a few words, a gesture, or even a simple smile could interrupt the aggressive impulse and turn it into a real connection with meaning.