Mike's 2018 SSR

[Mike V]

Hi y'all!

As I wrap up my current SSR in its original thread, I want to make a new post for my upcoming one, as there's a lot of hardcore stuff going on here!

I'm really curious what others think.

Posting the birth data again just for convenience:
December 20th 1989, 10:20pm, Ridgewood, NJ USA

Currently living in Hackensack, NJ.

The SSR shows:

t. Pluto on Asc +0*30'
t. Venus on MC +0*57'
---t. Pluto 90 t. Venus 0*27' PVP
---t. Neptune, non-foreground, 120 t. Venus 0*07' in longitude
r. Mercury on Asc +1*32'
---t. Pluto 0 r. Mercury 0*52' in longitude
---t. Venus 90 r. Mercury 0*35' PVP
r. Saturn on Asc -3*48'
r. Neptune on Asc -6*24'
t. Saturn on Asc -7*35'
---t. Saturn 0 r. Saturn 3*47' in mundo
---t. Saturn 0 r. Neptune 1*11' in mundo
r. Jupiter on Dsc -9*49'
r. Pluto on MC +9*53'
These last 2 might not even be there depending on where exactly I am at the time the SSR activates, and they're so wide they're likely just afterthoughts. I've noticed this cutoff around 8*30' or 9* for foreground planets in SSRs after which I have a hard time detecting them at all.

Additionally:
t. Moon 45 t. Uranus 0*01'
t. Moon 90 t. Neptune 0*09'
t. Moon 180 t. Jupiter 4*12'
t. Moon 180 t. Mercury 4*22'

t. Venus 45 Sun 0*51' (I don't know if this really means much, though Venus is foreground)
t. Uranus 120 Sun 0*55'
t. Mercury 0 t. Jupiter 0*10'

Nothing seems notably background except t. Uranus, a bit widely, but that's not likely to affect much here.

Summary:
Wild, intense changes, likely in the area of love, and my entire thought structure around it (as a continuation of the Pluto transit to r. Mercury that's been going on). Separately: my life is transformed; lots of Venus experiences naturally coming to me, most of them very hard to pin down and understand, potentially seducing me or appearing as a guilty pleasure; busy, studious, logistical year full of learning and engaging with people, which I get a lot of enjoyment from. Business likely goes well as a direct result of effort and learning being natural for me.
Very dramatic; I respond with intense emotion. Emotional tension if I don't learn to relax and/or channel the energy in some fashion. Transiting Saturn conjunct natal Neptune in the foreground (which will soon be an active transit too) is disillusioning and bursts bubbles of fantasy and uncertainty via confrontation with reality (which we could also say about Pluto foreground). Unhappiness comes as a direct result of resisting (...I mean, more pointedly than usual!).
Broad redefinition of the structure of my life, the way I steer and control it, my limits and boundaries, the way I handle responsibilities and maintenance, etc, on every level - but I keep getting the sense that this is really very self-directed and intentional, not layers of stuff being "dumped on me" to be done.


Long-form analysis:
There's really quite a lot going on here, but let's break it down.

First, transiting Pluto and Venus are both on angles within a degree, and are in partile mundane square. Nothing is going to contest that on any level. Wild, radical, life-transforming change is pending for me, and most of it is likely to intrinsically involve the way that I receive, and respond to, love and affection. I get the sense that this transformation, while as disruptive as Pluto nearly always is, is likely to be perceived as a gift. Also, perhaps I'm biased due to Avi's recent Pluto-Venus SSR, but I would love to interpret this as "powerfully transformative relationships abruptly appearing, changing me, and disappearing." Perhaps the presence of all of that Saturn will anchor it more firmly than that. In any case, I have been getting the vibe recently that the next step on my journey of self-reinvention is on the romantic front, and this is the perfect chart for that.
I'm interested to see if Pluto or Venus will be the dominant planet. The mundane positions say Pluto, and I'm much inclined to think Pluto anyway, but next year I'll review and comment on what I found.

Transiting Saturn is more widely on Ascendant (alongside natal Saturn), but this is the year of my Saturn Return; those themes are clear and not surprising; of course I'm going to be working on redefining the boundaries, limits, and responsibilities of my life, and likely learning to work with a new level of expectation from the outside world, as I'm 2 weeks away right now from completely changing careers (another perfect manifestation for Pluto in and of itself).

Transiting Venus is also nearly exactly trine transiting Neptune, which isn't foreground. That's a weird vibe to add to the Venus-Pluto core we have here. It seems very hazy and surreal, like something Venusian that's immensely powerful that I can't pin down or put my finger on exactly, sucking me in, seducing me with its bizarre otherwordly tentacles. Maybe I'm tired and rambling now (I'm at least one of those things!).

Wrapping up the first pass, Solar Moon has some gnarly aspects to Uranus and Neptune. I'm expecting the Moon-Uranus to be an extension of what it was this year: high intensity, high tension unless I maintain good ways to relieve it. Probably wildly creative with the presence of Pluto and Neptune all over the place. Moon-Neptune is likely a more acute, outer-world-initiated experience akin to what it is in my natal chart (with essentially the same orb). Seems to reinforce the Plutonian theme of "really intense things transforming your life" by making it "really intense dramatic things happening."

Solar Moon has a wide opposition to that transiting Mercury-Jupiter conjunction. Seems positive for business, and separately, this Mercury-Jupiter-Neptune interaction with Moon seems rather spiritual in a hyper-mystical sort of way (I'm super biased in saying that, as it's the same cluster of factors in a friend's upcoming SSR, but I do think it's true).

Transiting Venus octile to Sun really doesn't add much that Venus foreground doesn't already say, IMO, just ties it in a bit more to my core experience of the year (or something).
Transiting Uranus trine to Sun echoes and adds another layer to Pluto being foreground; my sense of self is evolving, changing, and I have the feeling that I'm primarily following out my intuition and inner guidance on this rather than relying on others to initiate or direct that.

Layering in the natal, there's also Mercury tightly conjunct the Ascendant, also conjunct t. Pluto and square t. Venus. Great for business; great aspects; great considering I'm entering a new field and have a lot to learn! Mercury to Venus suggests that the learning is fun, maybe even social (working on code in groups is a thing).

Natal Saturn is also in there, closer than transiting Saturn. Again, given that this is the year of my Saturn Return, this almost doesn't tell me anything I wasn't already expecting.

Natal Neptune is also just more reinforcement of the Solar Moon - Solar Neptune square. It's going to be quite dramatic; I'm going to react intensely to the wild ride that this year is.

Finally, natal Jupiter and natal Pluto are seemingly foreground, very widely. Neither adds anything new to the discussion given the themes present here (although any amount of Jupiter is always a welcome addition).

[Jim Eshelman]

I wouldn't count trine-transits at all, so I'd simplify it a bit (for now, dropping those last two fringe scraggler planets at the end). (PS - Venus-Pluto isn't a PVP aspect, just a standard "in mundo" aspect. PVP aspects are between one planet on prime vertical and the other concurrently on horizon, meridian, or PV.)

Using your numbers and tallies with these tweaks:

t. Pluto on Asc -0*30'
t. Venus on MC -0*57'
---t. Pluto 90 t. Venus 0*27' in mundo
r. Mercury on Asc -1*32'
---t. Pluto 0 r. Mercury 0*52' in longitude
---t. Venus 90 r. Mercury 0*35' in mundo
r. Saturn on Asc +3*48'
r. Neptune on Asc +6*24'
t. Saturn on Asc +7*35'
---t. Saturn 0 r. Saturn 3*47' in mundo
---t. Saturn 0 r. Neptune 1*11' in mundo

Additionally:
t. Moon 45 t. Uranus 0*01'
t. Moon 90 t. Neptune 0*09'
t. Moon 180 t. Jupiter 4*12'
t. Moon 180 t. Mercury 4*22'

t. Venus 45 Sun 0*51' (I don't know if this really means much, though Venus is foreground)
t. Mercury 0 t. Jupiter 0*10'

Though weaker, I would add the following to the aspect list (just keep them in proportion of strength compared to the stronger, closer ones):

t Pluto conj. r Saturn 4°18' in mundo
t Venus sq. r Saturn 4°45 in mundo
r Saturn-Neptune conj. 2°36' in mundo
t Saturn op. r Jupiter 3°04' (that's where their foreground comes in)

Summary:
Wild, intense changes, likely in the area of love, and my entire thought structure around it (as a continuation of the Pluto transit to r. Mercury that's been going on). Separately: my life is transformed; lots of Venus experiences naturally coming to me, most of them very hard to pin down and understand, potentially seducing me or appearing as a guilty pleasure; busy, studious, logistical year full of learning and engaging with people, which I get a lot of enjoyment from. Business likely goes well as a direct result of effort and learning being natural for me.
Very dramatic; I respond with intense emotion. Emotional tension if I don't learn to relax and/or channel the energy in some fashion. Transiting Saturn conjunct natal Neptune in the foreground (which will soon be an active transit too) is disillusioning and bursts bubbles of fantasy and uncertainty via confrontation with reality (which we could also say about Pluto foreground). Unhappiness comes as a direct result of resisting (...I mean, more pointedly than usual!).
Broad redefinition of the structure of my life, the way I steer and control it, my limits and boundaries, the way I handle responsibilities and maintenance, etc, on every level - but I keep getting the sense that this is really very self-directed and intentional, not layers of stuff being "dumped on me" to be done.

Yeah, pretty much. Maybe minor tweaks from the other things I mentioned. Venus-Pluto (edged by Saturn); Pluto to Mercury; and Moon-Neptune plus other planets are the biggest deals.

[Mike V]

I'm adding a quick retrospective/summary to this.

The Pluto foreground was at least reflected clearly in reaching an important spiritual goal that I've aimed at for many years, and the corresponding changes in my psyche. That one was an easy enough hit by itself.
The Venus was quite noticeable as well - besides going to three weddings (and officiating one of those), I was generally invited out to things a lot, and saw a lot of my friends.
The square between them, enhanced by a Uranus transit to Venus during the year, reflected some major, permanent changes in the way that I relate to my feelings and desires, as well as an evolution of the target of those desires (i.e. I know what I want out of life now, in large part).

Mercury was extremely prominent as a year of intense learning and communication thereon, in my new career. Business did indeed go well for me as a result of my ability to learn rapidly (which was an absolutely necessarily ingredient). It was mostly quite pleasant, as reflected by Venus's square to Mercury.

Moon's aspects are interesting here. I can see how both of these played out over the year - new circumstances and tons of surprises and abrupt shifts, as well as lots of emotions of all kinds - but they seem to have blended into the other themes of the year, rather than standing out on their own. I'm not sure if this is due to Moon aspects being inherently weaker factors than foreground planets, or if the foreground planets in this case just had such small orbs that they overpowered the Moon aspects.
There was a decent amount of emotional tension throughout the year that was eventually solved by my learning how to relax (as well as circumstances shifting in my favor, allowing me more freedom to be myself). The Saturn-Neptune themes are noticeable in hindsight, as reactions provoked by work stress, though they were clearly not the main themes.
Generally, my thoughts about the tone of the Saturn presence in this SSR were correct - it was mostly self-initiated rather than "dumped on me."

No actual relationships, nor did I put effort into finding any. I have yet to have that manifestation with any amount of Venus in an SSR or SLR. I think being in a place where my Venus is repressed is always going to overpower that.

I'm interested to see if Pluto or Venus will be the dominant planet. The mundane positions say Pluto, and I'm much inclined to think Pluto anyway, but next year I'll review and comment on what I found.

I would say the dominant planet was Pluto, but so much of the transformation related to Venus that it's hard to separate the two.

Transiting Venus is also nearly exactly trine transiting Neptune, which isn't foreground. That's a weird vibe to add to the Venus-Pluto core we have here. It seems very hazy and surreal, like something Venusian that's immensely powerful that I can't pin down or put my finger on exactly, sucking me in, seducing me with its bizarre otherwordly tentacles. Maybe I'm tired and rambling now (I'm at least one of those things!).

Hard to say. If present, this was far, far weaker than any of the other vibes present.

Wrapping up the first pass, Solar Moon has some gnarly aspects to Uranus and Neptune. I'm expecting the Moon-Uranus to be an extension of what it was this year: high intensity, high tension unless I maintain good ways to relieve it. Probably wildly creative with the presence of Pluto and Neptune all over the place. Moon-Neptune is likely a more acute, outer-world-initiated experience akin to what it is in my natal chart (with essentially the same orb). Seems to reinforce the Plutonian theme of "really intense things transforming your life" by making it "really intense dramatic things happening."

In hindsight, I actually was quite creative this year; I finished the first pass of a novel that I was working on, my first such success ever, which was a big deal for me. Besides that, I don't think the year was as dramatic as I expected. If anything, the weddings were the most dramatic things that happened.

The foreground planets tell the majority of the story, with some flavoring added by the Moon aspects. I'm not sure how much more potent the Moon aspects would've seemed if the orbs on the angular planets were significantly wider.

Besides that, the soft aspects in the transiting chart were too weak to notice.

[SteveS]

Mike wrote:

The foreground planets tell the majority of the story,

Indeed, they always do write the main themes of the story .