I decided to go and look up my astrological transit data, find out what "they" (and this time a good they, not a bad one...) said was going on, planetarily speaking. It was rather interesting and made me want to get ahold of Shelly, my former therapist. The one that is also an astrologer, and the neatest woman a person could hope to meet. At least, one of the neatest woman a person could hope to meet.

Anyway... this is what they had to say:

Saturn sextile Saturn: Limited warranty End of September 2008 until beginning of July 2009: This is a time of equilibrium and balance in your life, because now you have a pretty good idea of how to handle your own world. Events will run along more or less easily during this time. But it is important to note that it will not necessarily be an especially happy or peaceful time. Our lives are directed by our own demands much more than we realize, but very often those demands are unconscious. We would often be horrified if we knew what we are really trying to do. We try to protect ourselves and what we feel belongs to us from "threats" that often are not real threats according to adult criteria. Yet we structure our world according to them. This influence only guarantees that you will be successful in patterning your world. If you are very unhappy at this time, you had best get in touch with what you are really doing. This can be a time when you are successfully approaching your main conscious goals in life. Or it can be a time when you are being run largely by unconscious "programs," as if you were a computer. Usually you will experience a little of both of these effects. However, in the long run the positive possibilities are more useful to know about. Concerning the negative side of this influence, suffice it to say that the difficult and unsatisfactory aspects of your life that you are experiencing now require you to look into yourself more closely. At this time you are particularly good at working with other people. You are able to see your individuality and differentness in a way that makes it possible for you to work with others in a complementary way so that neither you nor they feel competitive. You can work just as well with people who are above you and with those at your own level. You approach your own goals methodically and practically, for you are not particularly idealistic at this point. You are much more concerned about how to achieve what you want in concrete practical terms. Use this time well, for it gives you the opportunity to lay a foundation that will protect you in the future

. Neptune sextile Ascendant: Keep it human Beginning of March 2009 until beginning of January 2011: This influence will change your relationships with people, usually in a positive way, although there are some pitfalls to be observed. Its principal effect is to greatly heighten your sensitivity to the feelings of other people. You become aware, at least on a subliminal level, of the deeper and more complex attributes of friends, neighbors and those whom you contact on a day-to- day level. Persons whom you have taken for granted now assume a very different look as you go below their surface appearance and look into their hearts. Thus you are able to be much more compassionate and giving to those around you. You may also become more interested in the plight of disadvantaged groups, which may lead to working with a charitable organization or an informal group to help these people. But even in your everyday contacts you act more selflessly and with greater understanding. Someone may enter your life in very casual guise who will show you deep spiritual truths. And you may become involved in spiritual or religious groups in which you can share the new understanding of this period. You may study mystical philosophy and metaphysics for the first time in your life. But no matter how you react to this influence, the central issue is that in your immediate environment you learn to act toward others with much less ego involvement. You are less selfish and not so concerned with getting your own way. The danger of this influence is that you may overidealize people, especially acquaintances who have made a profound impression upon you. You may regard them as spiritually and morally superior to any of your old friends, whom you may neglect as a result. The important point here is that these new people in your life are human also, and they may still have something to teach you. Most of us have a strong tendency to think that only a very spiritually elevated person can teach us about higher truth. During this time you will learn about higher truth through everyday contacts. Do not invalidate what you learn from these people simply because you discover that they are only human.

  Jupiter trine MC: Boundless enthusiasm Beginning of April 2009 until beginning of December 2009: This is a time of increased optimism and self-confidence. You feel capable of doing much more than you have ever done, and you are willing to make the effort. This influence quite often signifies professional success, and you may receive a promotion of some kind. Others will look to you for leadership, for they recognize your self-confidence and see that you deserve it. You have a good idea about where you want to go at this time, and you have probably mastered the techniques and skills needed to get there and have acquired the material resources as well. Under this influence you may gain financially, but you are not likely to squander your money. You will use it to get ahead. If you are in business for yourself, you may want to expand your business during this time, and you may have an opportunity to do so. You may want to make improvements in your home or move to a larger and more spacious one. Even if nothing very obvious happens on the material plane, as may be the case, this is usually a time of inner peace and contentment. You feel good about yourself, with none of the torments and insecurities that may afflict you at other times. Your confidence comes over to other people, and they feel good being with you. As a result you may be able to support or cheer up someone who is not feeling very well. At this time you should be careful not to overextend yourself or become overcommitted in your boundless enthusiasm. Keep in mind that even now your energies are finite.

  Uranus opposition Mars: Psychological explosions Beginning of April 2009 until beginning of March 2010: With this influence you can expect rebellious and explosive energies to enter your life. You may begin to chafe at the restrictions on your life and break free of them, or others may rebel against restrictions that you have placed on them. You are likely to be in a fighting mood toward anyone who says that you cannot do something. You will act more impulsively and fly off the handle at the slightest provocation, especially if you usually tend to hold everything in. You want to assert yourself, and you are not terribly concerned about the obstacles you come up against. One manifestation of this influence can be a new fondness for taking risks. You take chances and do things that don't have much chance of working out. Subconsciously you may be trying to prove yourself by pulling off a "long shot" or making a big splash if you fail. Sometimes you can suppress this feeling of rebellious self-assertion and make your life go on as if nothing were happening. But this is not a good idea, because the energy does not go away. This influence signifies that you need to make changes in your life that will allow you to be more self-assertive than you have been. This influence may also affect your relations with other people. If others feel the need to be more assertive with you, let them state their case and then try to come to some accommodation with them. If you allow others to be themselves with you, it will be easier to be yourself with them. Trying to live according to your old plan is not likely to work out very well at this time. Psychological explosions are expressions of unresolved tensions that should have been handled before when there was less energy behind them. Even now it is not too late to handle them, if you are willing to be flexible. You may have to make truly revolutionary changes in your life, but you will benefit in the long run.

  Uranus square Ascendant: Sudden separations End of April 2009 until end of December 2010: This influence is likely to have a very disruptive effect on your relationships. Influences may enter your life, either through your home or your profession, that will challenge the foundations upon which your life is built. This challenge will be reflected in surprising encounters with others that upset your way of living or in sudden separations from persons who you thought would remain in your life for some time. Or it may be that you yourself are the catalyst of all these changes as you seek to become free of circumstances that have become oppressive. During this period it is quite likely that you will do things and go places you never would have thought of in the past. The old patterns of your life simply can no longer encompass what your life is becoming now. From all of the above it should be obvious that this is not an "evil" influence, although anyone who is wedded to the status quo in life or to their own past will find this period difficult to contend with. Old patterns that have acquired a stranglehold over your life will break up. You may not have been aware of these patterns, because many people find their "strangleholds" quite comfortable, at least until much later on. The people who enter your life at this time may be quite different from anyone you have known before. Some of these relationships may be quite brief. You may encounter someone for a specific purpose, which you may not be aware of at the time, and once that purpose is accomplished, the relationship ends. If a new love interest enters your life at this point, it is likely to be exciting, free and totally unpredictable. Do not make a permanent commitment to it until well after the end of this period, for such a relationship is likely to be very unstable and brief.

  Jupiter opposition Venus: Lavish tastes Beginning of May 2009 until beginning of January 2010: This is usually a very pleasant influence, indicating harmony in relationships and perhaps even a new relationship that will be of great significance in your life. You want love very much, and you are able to give it to those around you. This influence encourages a taste for the lavish and beautiful, and you are not likely to let much stand in the way of what you want. Therefore you must be careful not to waste valuable resources and squander money. If you are cautious, it is possible to make excellent investments at this time, but only if you examine all of the possibilities very carefully. This influence has the negative attribute of carelessness, so you must concentrate on being careful. On the physical level, this influence signifies the danger of gaining weight, because it stimulates your desire for rich, sweet and otherwise fattening foods. It may be necessary to avoid such food for awhile.

Ah. Hah.

It is sometimes so very validating to see something like this, something that gives a celestial reasoning to all of the insanity of the past couple years. It doesn't really matter to me what anyone else thinks about the entire situation, I am becoming more certain of what it is that I believe.

I believe that good things are coming. Bad things are coming too, but no worse than I can handle... and damn it all, I can handle a LOT. It is rather surprising sometimes... but I'd still like to be a size ten.

It was good while it lasted.

xoxo