Good work, both of you
I would break Curtis' 4/16/18 SLR down as follows:
t Venus on Asc -0°55'
r Saturn on Dsc -2°35'
t Jupiter on Dsc -2°55'
r Uranus on IC -3°15'
-- t Jupiter conj. r Saturn 0°20'
(in mundo)
-- t Jupiter sq. r Uranus 0°20'
(in mundo)
-- -- NOTICE:
Ju = Sa/Ur 0°00'
-- r Saturn-Uranus sq. 0°40'
(in mundo)
-- t Venus-Jupiter op. 1°03'
-- t Venus op. r Saturn 0°22'
-- t Venus sq. r Uranus 2°20'
(in mundo)
r Mercury sq. MC +1°34'
t Moon sq. M -0°55'
Moon-Uranus conj. 3°25'
t Uranus op. r Mercury 0°56', op. r Neptune 0°13'
t Saturn sq. r Sun 1°09'
Mostly, I would have led with Steve's first impression, that the Venus-Jupiter opposition across the horizon marks this as an overall pleasant month; but it isn't that simple, and the first clue of trouble is what the natal planets bring. Especially, natal Saturn and Uranus are closely angular, forming a mundane square (0°40') that doesn't show in the natal chart.
I still would have leaned toward the "transits win over natals, thus benefics win over tensions" direction, since Venus and Jupiter are transiting that natal Saturn and Uranus (among other things). But, the more I dig into it, the more difficult it seems. Transiting Moon, Venus, and Jupiter angular vs. natal Mercury, Saturn, and Uranus... that sounds like a happy event for which someone is anxious, worried, providing difficulties, etc.
Something I might well have missed - and would have missed entirely without a careful breakdown - is the one strongest, most precise configuration of the entire chart: Transiting Jupiter is not only closely angular, conjunct natal Saturn, and square (mundane) natal Uranus - patterns that still seem "difficulties but ultimately good fortune" - but:
in mundo, Jupiter is 0°20' conjunct natal Saturn on one side and 0°20' square natal Uranus on the other: It's 0°00' from the midpoint of these two aspects.
Ebertin hits this almost exactly on the head: "losses, damage to a building"!
Was there some special way that he was protected, saved from personal losses (other than the opportunity), etc.? I still get the strong leaning of "ultimately saved: risks and danger, but aff pulled out of the fire at the last minute" sort of stuff.
There are lots of tensions and opportunities for things disappointing or leaving one agitated, and certainly plenty of room for
surprises. As mentioned, transiting Venus opposes natal Saturn. It also squares natal Uranus (mundane). Moon conjoins Uranus (and the Moon is angular). Natal Mercury is angular and, though transiting Uranus is not within realm of foreground or angularity, its partile oppositions to that angular natal Mercury and non-angular natal Neptune are partile - they count regardless of angularity. I'm not at all sure I'd have read this correctly other than the general sense of surprise: In fact, if I'd been Curtis' friend and following him in this project, I'd likely have been telling him that the longer picture of Uranus transiting his Mercury-Neptune was the fulfillment of his dream regarding this new concept theater.
I also can't miss that transiting Saturn is
almost partile square his natal Sun. In fact, Saturn is
stationary at 14°09' Sagittarius, 1°09' from square his Sun.
What a way to spoil a nice Venus-Jupiter opposition! This is a very cmplicated chart, and I'm not sure I'd have read it correctly... but it certainly would have left me uneasy.