Health question

[Kimmyness76]

Hello! I’m back, this time with a question related to health. I found out at the end of 2022 that I have paroxysmal afib and a small hole in my heart ( patent foramen ovale, PFO for short). The afib is treated with meds and the hole is something we are all born with that usually closes on it’s own within a few days after birth, in a small percentage of the population, it doesn’t close and I’m one of those people. It increases the chance of stroke and I’ve already had a “ mini stroke” so my neurologist has advised my cardiologist to close the hole which will most likely happen later this year. My question is, is there anyway to know if there will be anymore health related issues coming up this year? I’ve done some research on the closure and it is considered minimally invasive, they don’t open your chest up , they go in with a catheter through an incision in the groin area to place the closure device where it’s needed so I’m not terribly frightened by the idea of it. I’m just hoping this is it for a while!

Birth data: 8/26/1976 at 11:59 pm in Managua, Nicaragua
Currently residing in Tampa, Fl

Thanks !

[Jim Eshelman]

Good-morning, Kimmy. Let's take a look.

First, it might be worth looking over at the overall health profile of your chart (with the usual caveats that I'm not a physician and you should always consult with your doctor on health matters). The horoscope maps most likely health vulnerabilities in much the way we fantasize genetic testing one day being able to give a newborn a lifetime health vulnerabilities report: It doesn't mean that everything that comes along in life is something from the "vulnerabilities" list, but these are things to keep an eye on.

Health indicators in a chart tend to center on the body parts reflected by Moon and Mars signs, and on functions shown by strong, dynamic aspects - usually those away from the angles, reflecting strong parts of ourselves demanding urgent expression but being denied expression. More rarely, strong aspects on the angles indicate important illness matters when it is more the sort of thing that objectively marks the life.

Your heart condition sems to fall in the last category. You have Sun and Neptune each a little more than 3° from an angle and in 0°28' mundane square. Sun signifies overall vitality and the heart in particular. Neptune usually shows as some sort of weakening, as by atrophy or enhanced vulnerability. Sun-Neptune, when manifesting as a health condition, most often shows as a weakened vitality, or weakness or atrophy related to the heart; sometimes edema or other fluid excess; and sometimes blood disease (anemia is common, I've seen a family of hemophiliacs). Your objective condition is a little different, but seems in the same line (the same sort of thing), so it's pretty clear this is the astrological indicator of your condition. (They could flip and show Pisces parts of the body - mostly lower abdominal matters - but feet and nervous system are most typical.)

Otherwise, your Moon and Mars are in Virgo, which can affect the nervous system in general (mostly through "nerves" and nervous irritability) or specifically the feet. Your other reasonably close hard aspects (both ecliptical and mundane) are conjunctions of Moon-Mercury, Moon-Venus, Moon-Mars, and Mercury-Mars. These aspects are all middleground and not expected to have specific adverse health effects. (That would change if circumstances or how you lived your life blocked their expression in your character. We all break out in adverse health consequences when we deny expression of what is fundamentally true about us.) If you are curious about their typical health consequences, you can read the following link, though, in general, I wouldn't expect them to affect you that way. https://solunars.com/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=3370

[Jim Eshelman]

My question is, is there anyway to know if there will be anymore health related issues coming up this year?

Astrology can show times of increased chance of health issues. These "events" don't always emerge as health matters - they can emerge in various areas of your life - but there are definitely indicators that are more likely to be health matters than other things.

I take it you're asking about potentially serious health concerns - not a cold or routine matter. There are so many overlapping effective astrological techniques that we might miss something lesser, but bigger deal matters tend to show in most of the major charts.

So, let's take a look at what most important techniques show, if anything.

First, to rule out extreme matters, Solar Arc directions are slow (two-year effect) patterns that single out most of the defining turning points in life. There are none of the louder, "activating" solar arcs operating in the next year. (You have a lesser Venus to Saturn that has been linked in the past to the "hole in the heart" sort of congenital condition and likely just means that it's coming up as an issue that you have to take care of this year. More likely, it refers to events in your emotional life, e.g., Venus-Saturn directions are more likely to "break your heart" figuratively than literally, especially without luminaries or angles involved.)

Though you only asked about this year, I might as well mention that you do have a harder period (emotionally and perhaps health-wise) beginning about a year from now, lasting about two years, and peaking about two years from now: Directed Saturn will conjoin your Moon. This could be other things like simply working terribly hard, becoming more realistic about your life and its circumstances (and it often means hard times with mother figures); but one possibility with Moon is always health, so I thought I'd mention it. - Not an immediate concern now, though.


Coming back to more "local to this year" matters, we need to look at transits. It may not be a great health year. Transiting Neptune opposes your Moon by spring, when you have several Saturn transits in a row. This could be a period of convalescence, a period of generally feeling more frail, a period when it's harder to keep a strong, positive frame of mind. Without knowing the particulars, the only general advise is to make use of the time and circumstances as positively and creatively as you can. (I've just come through two years of Neptune conjunct my Moon which was neither fun nor deadly - I felt more vulnerable in several ways, had to work at keeping my energy up, and a sense of frailty as if I were aging very rapidly; though it wasn't really aging effects since, coming out of the transit, much of that has reversed. In a perfect world we'd probably all go off and meditate for two years when this hits and let some unknown entity provide our needs. I had strong engagement in my job, in this board, in my marriage, etc. to keep my objectively anchored and connected when it would have been easier to go to sleep for two years:) )

The biggest deal is that Saturn, which recently opposed your Sun (perhaps coinciding with your recent health problems), is currently crossing your Midheaven. This is usually a demanding, often denying time that requires enormous effort, carrying great weight. It can also be a time of considerable achievement if you've prepared for it in the last several years because achievement tends to come from this sort of effort. It likely feels like a "weighty" time and perhaps you are more concerned about the health matter than you're letting on.

This transit will pass in a couple of weeks and Saturn will then move on to square your Neptune in March (climaxing mid-March). It's the combination of Saturn and Neptune that is often emotionally hardest. Saturn-Neptune usually feels worse than the objective reality warrants. That is, it's an aspect that tends to drag up our most negative feelings, sometimes reaching very dark levels but usually just "putting the worse possible spin" on what's actually happening. It could be a time of convalescence, for example. I mention it because it can also have a health consequence, ether from objective weakening or from the effect that dark moods can have on physical health.

The good news is that it doesn't last long. You come out the other side having gained whatever you can from the experience. Since you are currently dealing with a health matter (marked by your Sun-Neptune) that requires surgery, there's probably a great chance that this "downtime" will be somehow connected to the health concern (e.g., convalescence or immediate aftermath). - Saturn squares your Ascendant late April, so there are a couple of more weeks of the "heavy burden, much weight to carry" drag that could slow you down (but it only lasts two or three weeks, so if it's health related it's more the duration of a virus; it could just be normal life stuff). - It comes back in late August and early September.

By the way, I'm focusing on the negative stuff because that's what you asked about. Along the way you have strong patterns that alleviate or ease some of the sense of burden or (perhaps) isolation. Jupiter squares your Saturn the last half of this month, as literal an "ease the burden" as can be - tending to fix worrisome things that let you regain practical equilibrium. (I suppose that could be a great time for the surgery.) Jupiter moves pretty fast this year, crossing your Jupiter ("Jupiter return," a somewhat more lucky time but especially giving you the chance to reorient life direction, career direction, etc.). This is the last half of May (also marking a nice improvement of things after March-April transits). Jupiter squares your Sun and Midheaven in mid-to-late June - luckier, and probably happier, weeks - opposes your Neptune mid-July (the opposite of Saturn to Neptune, tending to feel upbeat and, if anything, that things are better than they are in reality), and crosses your Ascendant in August. Jupiter crossing your Ascendant is usually a quite positive, lucky, upbeat time. Jupiter comes back across your Ascendant in December, ending the year with positive energies (December 7 looks like an especially good day).

[Jim Eshelman]

So life will swing between strong feeling swings of positive and negative - dark and bright - over the course of the year. This always happens to some extent: Life has these light and dark rhythms. (This is probably one of astrology's most practical lessons.) Now that we know that no giant life-redirecting thing is happening this year, and we see the positive and negative swings (with some practical advice on each), what's left is to see how these fit within the main framework of your year: this is your Sidereal Solar Return.

The solar return - a birthday chart - describes the overall picture of "what kind of year will this be." I think we talked about this before and you told me you spent your last birthday in Tampa (is this right?). That wasn't a great place (from an astrological perspective) to have your last birthday. It does put health on the line between now (actually: since last August) and your birthday in 2024.

Foremost, that Neptune transit to your Moon is exactly angular: It's the big deal of the year. Transiting Mars is also closely angular with Neptune and also aspects your Moon and other planets. If we'd known you last August, we likely would have picked health as a matter of concern (or other inflammatory conditions etc.) and this would lead to some withdrawal and soul-searching from the implications (natal Pluto nearly as strong). A time near late November (Moon-Pluto conjunction) would have been singled out as a critical time. Another point seven and a half months after your birthday - mid-April - has a Moon-Uranus suggesting a feeling of "waking up" and refreshment. - We probably would have suggested you try to get away to someplace on the longitude shared by San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle to set up the best year-chart possible for you.

But now, half-way through, is no time to fret about this. You're already handling these matters, already managing the health matter that needs surgical correction. This "project" is the main feature out of the current year of your life, so you likely will be "on this health project" past May - which is just what the Saturn and Neptune transits already suggest.

We need, then, to turn attention to your next birthday chart so see how you can plan the twelve months beginning in late August.


If you are in Tampa for your next birthday, it draws out your Mercury-Mars while also continuing to highlight Neptune's transit to your Moon. (Once you live a place Neptune is angular in your solar return, it tends to stay angular year after year.)

The best news is that the next birthday chart (August 2024) has an exact Moon-Jupiter conjunction no matter where you are in the world. It also has a wider (wider than Moon-Jupiter) Moon-Saturn square, so you will be juggling pushes and pulls between advantage and challenges - but with luck being stronger and having the final word.

To make best use of this Moon-Jupiter, I recommend you do not spend your 2024 birthday near Tampa. (As you've already had a mini-stroke, you don't need to put your Mercury-Mars exactly on the angles for the year, since Mars raises blood pressure and Mercury-Mars can accelerate neurological concerns.)

You could get a much better year for yourself if you went, for example, to Austin for your birthday. (What do you like to do? Austin is a nicely cultured city with blues and BBQ scenes resembling Memphis, but with a distinctive Austin style.) Saturn remains present - you'll get that anywhere you put your Moon-Jupiter next year - but not nearly as strong. Your Venus is also reasonably strong. Most importantly, it lifts the Neptune-Moon fog-and-frailty off the angles.

Of, if you don't like Austin, we can look further, though I think it's the best spot in the U.S. for your upcoming chart. In particular, I don't recommend being anywhere east of the Mississippi River.

I hope this review is helpful. I said a few dark things but they probably don't surprise you; and they are interwoven with upbeat periods. In particular, remember that in Saturn-Neptune periods things seem darker than the reality.

[Kimmyness76]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write a very detailed analysis, I have been thinking of traveling around my birthday this year. I have family all over and spoke with a cousin about visiting her in Greece closer to my birthday. If not, I could travel to California or New York as well. I have a niece in California dealing with much heavier health issues so it would be a good time to visit and a friend in NY , actually former coworker who I worked with remotely for two years, that I’ve been wanting to meet. I realize my health issues could be much worse and I’ve struggled really most of my life with some sort of health problem. I’m pretty grateful things aren’t worse. I DO think anxiety tends to be my biggest issue which is completely psychological but I know can also lead to physical symptoms. I AM currently in Tampa, I’ve considered moving since I really have no family nearby other than two nephews I barely see. How does NC, Alabama or Georgia look in regards to relocation? I have some family in these areas.

[Jim Eshelman]

Kimmy, those locations won't give you the best benefit. I'll look at each of them quickly for more notes - but want to be clear on the theory of what we are doing.

Your next solar return occurs August 27, 2024 at 9:16 AM EDT (or 8:16 AM CDT, or 6:16 AM PDT). Where you are standing at that exact minute imprints your solar return chart for a year. Different observers on this site have suggested different levels of this certainty. Some thing that this chart (for where you are standing at the exact moment of the solar return) is the only location that matters for the year. Others think it is the most important location for the year, but that you pick up some of the characteristics of the changed chart when you return home.

FWIW, based especially on my own chart and that of my wife, I lean very heavily toward the idea that the actual geographic location of the solar return - where you are when it happens - is the only decisive factor. (Lunar returns are more malleable.)

Your next solar return has a good start with an exact Moon-Jupiter conjunction anywhere in the world, though it also has a wider (still close, but weaker) Moon-Saturn square. To maximize the benefit, we would need to get you not just away from how the chart looks in Florida, but also add very strong positives on the angles. In the United States, the very best, strongest, most positive locations are on the exact longitude of Austin, TX.

All that matters is where you are at the exact minute. If you want to go elsewhere for your birthday, one approach is to stop in Austin - make sure you are there at 8:16 AM CDT (which, given airline uncertainties, means landing much earlier, and knowing you will stay until after that time), and then travelling on to another location. (On charts that matter a lot, my wife and I have flown into an airport, stayed overnight, and flown back home the next morning. Generally, though, for annual solar returns we pick a location for a birthday vacation together.)

I'll add some notes below on anything that stands out for the other locations you mentioned, so you have alternatives of where to be at the exact moment of your solar return.

• New York City. This is a weaker version of how the chart looks for Tampa. I don't think any location east of the Mississippi River is advantageous for you this year.
• California. You didn't say where your niece lives in California. You do have a Uranus line through part of California - it touches the coast around Santa Barbara - that could be exciting. In fact, that area provides an advantage I'd missed: You get NATAL Jupiter (Jupiter at your birth) on an angle instead of the solar return's Jupiter. This might indeed be the place to spend your birthday. Different locations in the region play up transiting Uranus and your natal Sun and Jupiter.
  Los Angeles. For example, for Los Angeles, Uranus is 2° from Midheaven, natal Jupiter 2° on the other side, and your Sun 2° below Ascendant. This gives a "hidden" aspect, called a mundane square, between Sun-Jupiter that is quite close. - I've changed my mind! Los Angeles is better than Austin because you have both a Moon-Jupiter and a Sun-Jupiter (one transiting, one natal) in the chart and you avoid having Saturn anywhere near the angles.
  Santa Barbara. Two hours north of LA in Santa Barbara, Uranus is closer to Midheaven (28', half a degree) and your Jupiter is 09' off Zenith. Sun is a little weaker but Jupiter and Uranus are exactly angular.
• Which? I don't think it matters much between the two. The LA may be easier for travel and a little bit astrologically better: Though Uranus and Jupiter are slightly farther from the angle, their midpoint is 0°02' from the exact angle.
  San Francisco. Since you didn't say where in California I should check the north as well as the south. San Francisco is OK. Not as exciting and super-strong positive as LA and Santa Barbara, but the same planets dominate. (We prefer having the best planets within a few minutes of the angle to completely overwhelm any negativity.) In San Francisco Mercury strongest, with Uranus 2°13' from Midheaven and Jupiter more than 1° from Zenith. Nothing wrong with it... just not as much right about it. Southern California is a much better location and either is OK.
  San Diego. At the other extreme of the state, you also have great opportunity. Natal Jupiter is 0°59' from Midheaven and the other planets line up reasonably well. It isn't quite as powerfully positive as LA/SB, but it's stronger on positives than SF. - If there is some other location you want me to check in California, just ask (perhaps your niece lives inland) and I'd still recommend LA or maybe SB for the exact time of the return.
  Greece. A Greece trip sounds wonderful. I don't recommend it for the date of the solar return, though. While Greece (especially with the surrounding islands) is large enough to have variations (the north would be harsher for you than the south), there are astrological disadvantages across the country. In Athens (just to pick a spot) Neptune opposite your Moon is strongest - not bad for a vacation, but not what you want for your new year. You also pick up a Moon-Mars-Neptune to natal Moon plus a Moon-Pluto square. Get a good solar return and then go to Greece

I’ve considered moving since I really have no family nearby other than two nephews I barely see. How does NC, Alabama or Georgia look in regards to relocation?

For a "permanent" relocation - seeing how your birth chart looks, rather than a temporary chart like a solar return - all of these have advantages and most have disadvantages.

The Carolinas play up your Mercury-Mars. This will sharpen your mind further, enhance creative and strategic thinking, etc. However, most people find living on a Mars line gets them in trouble and is ultimately unpleasant.

Georgia, especially south-central, has an intersection of Moon and Neptune lines. This is probably better as a retreat location than a permanent relocation, because you become even more sensitive than in Tampa. Many people feel "at home" in a "secure nest" sort of way under a Moon line, though I'm not sure picking a Moon-Neptune spot just as transiting Neptune opposes your Moon is the best idea. (In fact, it's a bad idea, for at least the next couple of years.)

The best spots in Alabama for you are the gulf coast. You have a Venus line that cuts almost exactly through Mobile. It then angles northwest, leaving Alabama quickly and heading through Memphis, through the center of Missouri, etc. Anywhere along that Venus line seems the most positive for you of the places you mentioned.

By the way, you also have a strong Venus line through Boston and due north. I don't know if the area attracts you, but it's an astrological good spot for you.

[Kimmyness76]

I’ll do my best to be in Austin that day, thanks again.

[Jim Eshelman]

I’ll do my best to be in Austin that day, thanks again.

As you can see, I changed my mind. LA/Santa Barbara is even better. Where does your niece live?

[Kimmyness76]

She lives in Laguna Niguel and I have a sister and niece in Anniston, Al. I’ll keep all of this in mind when I make my plans. Thanks so much

[Jim Eshelman]

The Laguna Niguel chart is, of course, very similar to San Diego. It's fine but doesn't get you full benefit. I recommend being in LA proper around sunrise on your birthday for best effect. In California, the timing is August 27, 6:16 AM PDT.

Since that's a Tuesday, you might look for an excuse to go up the night before - find an inexpensive place to stay overnight, maybe find a nice place to eat the evening before your birthday. What kinds of food do you like, maybe I can recommend a place. (Southern California is the heartland of phenomenal Mexican food in the U.S., along with almost anything else you want. There are even favored Nicaraguan restaurants, though maybe you've had enough of that already <g>.)

[Kimmyness76]

I’ve never had Nicaraguan food, I was born in Nicaragua but only spent about three months there after my birth then my parents came back to the States. My family is Chilean so I’ve had Chilean food but know very little about Nicaragua other than it being a very poor country. Maybe I’ll go ahead and give it a try.

[Jim Eshelman]

My wife is half-Ecuadoran - in fact, half each Italian and Ecuadoran. Not far from where we live, there used to be a really good Italian-Ecuadoran restaurant - in fact, she eventually realized she had taken her mother there years before we met. Regrettably, it's gone, having first expanded into much larger quarters and become very expensive. Then, during Covid lockdown, it permanently closed.

You can Google Nicaraguan restaurants in Los Angeles for ideas.

Arguably the best Mexican restaurant in the city is El Cholo on Western Avenue near 11th Street. They just celebrated their hundredth anniversary last year. The place is always festive and high quality. During weekdays (like the night before your birthday) they have a happy hour 4;6 PM with very low prices on some of their food plus the best Margaritas in town. (We will go there every month or two for a couple of Margaritas and a carnitas quesadilla that is plenty of food for both of us. And of course their full menu is excellent.

And, of course, there are all sorts of places - more or less any food type you want, more or less. La Jolla (not far from Laguna) has a dozen amazing Italian restaurants, for example. (I'm not sure why so many Italians set up shop there!) LA proper has strong Asian sections (e.g., Thaitown and Koreatown), most forms of Central and South America (we have 200 or so Salvadoran places near us where we live in Koreatown plus an Argentian grill; there is a great Yucatani place near Culver City on the west side). European is mostly Italian (or I've missed the rest in 40 years and you'd have to rely on Google).

I'm sure you can figure it out

[Kimmyness76]

Thank you for the suggestions. Today I had to make the difficult choice to put one of my dogs down, oddly enough, she was suffering from congestive heart failure. She was 12 yrs old and diagnosed a year ago although I think it started in 2022. My daughter was 13 yrs old when she got this dog as a birthday gift and she just turned 25 last month. Needless to say, we are heart broken but the dogs lungs and abdomen were filled with fluid. It seems like the past few years have been nothing but loss. My mother in 2022, although we were mostly estranged, she’d been living in another country and had dementia for over a decade. My brother in 2023 also in another country and had been years since I last saw him and the ex that I mentioned in another thread lost his grandmother the day after my daughters birthday this year now one of my dogs. I’m no stranger to heartbreak since I lost my father at 25 but it just seems like one thing after another these past couple of years. I know I’ll get through it but really? When will death stop hanging around me? I know that sounds really dramatic, I’m just sad.

[Jim Eshelman]

I am so sorry to hear this. I've been there a couple of times with my cats over the years. You have my deep sympathy.

[Kimmyness76]

Thank you