Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #1—Houses & Areas of Life Affected

Identifying the Houses–and Areas of Life–Affected by the Transit

©10-30-09 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

How many of you have emergency preparedness kits at home and in the trunk of your car? And how many of you have a first aid kit?  I couldn’t find any statistics online, but I’d venture to guess not more than one in three of you do. 

This new series isn’t about those sorts of kits–although this wouldn’t be bad timing to create one.  Instead, we’ll be talking about how to prepare for the long square that’s forming between Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn.

We’ll be learning about ways you who’ll be affected can gear up to meet any challenges that pair of transits might provide. At each stage, we’ll be taking stock of possible vulnerable areas to see exactly where your weaknesses and strengths lie. We’ll look at pitfalls that could result from the transits and how taking action in advance could help prevent the worst outcomes. And we’ll consider resources you can tap to bolster your capacity to cope with any difficulties that might arise. 

That’s a big chunk to bite off, and I can’t promise any magic amulets to ward off destiny.  You’ll be tempted to slip into denial and just coast until it’s over—or on the other hand to walk around chewing your nails and fearing the worst. 

 I’m not recommending either extreme, just asking you to get real.  It’s time to take an honest look at where you just might have to contend with a rough patch. Then start to analyze what you need to start doing right now to prevent or alleviate a problem. 

Prevention is where astrology can be a godsend–if everything were really written in stone, what would be the point of studying it?  Astrology is not an augery of fate, it’s a practical, problem-solving tool.  At least that’s how my background in social work has conditioned me to see it.

In this first stage of our joint project, I’m sure the terminally positive astrologers out there will label me as negative, but that’s not my intent. I just want you to consider both the worst that could happen and the best that could happen in the areas of life affected by this transit. Then, if you do identify a problem area, figure out what you need to do to prevent the worst, as well as how to direct energy toward creating the best that might come from it.

Not knowing you and your situation, I can’t suggest which actions would work best, so if it looks like you need support, seek it out locally. If your astrological situation is complex and looks especially difficult, find a qualified professional astrologer to discuss it with.

Stage 1:  Taking Stock of the Houses Involved

Your first step would be to identify which houses of your chart will be affected by transits from Pluto and Saturn. Download a blank chart form, complete with house meanings, for you to work with:  Blank chart with house meanings.   Here’s what to do: 

1. Get a copy of your birth chart done with your date, time, and place of birth.
2. Locate or have someone who knows astrology locate the house that contains the early degrees of Libra. Put Saturn there.
3. Locate or have someone who knows astrology locate the house that contains the early degrees of Capricorn.  Put Pluto there.
4. Figure out how many years slow-moving Pluto has already been in that house, as this usually signifies a process that has been ongoing for some time.
5. Note and highlight any planets in those two houses that are between 0-5° of Libra or Capricorn. Has Pluto already been transiting those planets since its entry into Capricorn in January, 2008?
6. Also note and highlight any planets in other houses that are between 0-5° of Aries or Cancer.  Has Pluto already been transiting those planets since its entry into Capricorn in January, 2008?
7. Now consult the table below to find out what areas of life those 4 houses represent.  Usually they will be 3 houses apart, but in some north-south latitudes, they might be closer or further apart.

               Here are the symbols for Libra and Capricorn, with Libra left and Capricorn on the right: 

THE 12 HOUSES AND WHAT THEY REPRESENT:

First: First impressions and first  approach to situations, appearance, image, self-presentation, the basic physical vehicle.

Second: Money and ways of earning it, money management and attitudes toward finance, things valued more than money.

Third:  Communication, thinking and learning style, siblings and near relatives, neighbors, basic coursework, commuting.

Fourth: Home and home life, roots, family ties, heredity, family influence, the nurturing parent, senior years.

Fifth: Children, romance, creativity, self-expression, performing, leisure activities, gambling and other forms of risk-taking.

Sixth: Work and its meaning, work habits, types of jobs, coworkers and employees, health and health habits.

Seventh: Partnerships—personal and business, close, committed relationships, types of people we attract, sharing.

Eighth: Sexuality, money you don’t earn (inheritances, grants, etc), taxes, partner’s resources, birth, death, transformation, healing.

Ninth:  Religion and philosophy of life, higher education, advanced studies, legal matters, foreign lands, distance travel.

Tenth: Career and long-term goals, how you are remembered, parental authority, bosses and the type of boss you are.

Eleventh:  Friendship, relationship to peer group, group membership, social consciousness, activism, aspirations.

Twelfth: Secrets, things that are repressed or hidden, self-defeating behavior, chronic illness, service, retreats, spiritual quest.

Each house of the horoscope represents several crucial areas of life, and as you study astrology in more depth, you’ll find they’re all related at a deeper level.  An important transit—especially by one of the slower-moving outer planets–can set off changes and challenges in several of them at once. It can be a turning point in one’s life.

 It would take weeks for us to go through all 12 houses in depth on this blog, so what I’ve decided to do is to upload the chapter on houses from my basic to intermediate level ebook, An Astrological Guide to Self-Awareness. You can find it at this link:  AGSA ch13-houses  (The book itself is for sale at http://www.moonmavenpublications.com/astrologybooks.html . It contains additional chapters on transits and on each of the planets.)   You can also download  an article with projects for all 12 houses here: Shovel-Ready Projects for the 12 Astrological Houses.

The next stage will be an inventory of the risk factors and strengths in those areas of your life.  For now, however, start thinking about how you’ve been operating in those areas and how other important people in your life contribute to problems, solutions, or both in those areas.

PLEASE NOTE: I can’t comment on how this transit affects individual charts on this blog, by phone, or through private email. If you write to me at moonmave@spiritone.com, I’ll send you a list of people whose work I am well familiar with and respect, but that’s as much as I’m able to do. No exceptions. I am retired from active duty in order to write pieces like these that can reach many more people in this difficult time. 

I wish I were 40 years old again–you can bet I’d be right out there on the front lines with you. But like the old codger in my astrodrama the other day  said, “there’s a time to shine, and then there’s a time to go home.” What I’ve learned from joining the blogosphere is how many gifted and well-qualified astrologers there are in the Pluto-Uranus in Virgo generation. This is THEIR time to shine, and mine to go home.

If you’re affected by that early Cardinal square, there are many pieces on this blog that can help with issues that are likely to come up. Take a look at any on the list below that apply to you or your loved ones. Donna

More Posts for your Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit:

• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—an Overview of the Series
• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—Part 1 (Houses and Areas of Life Affected)
• The Pluto-Saturn Square—Two Examples of How It Works
• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—Part 2  (Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios)
• Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #3: How to Use these Energies Well
• Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #4–Taking Concrete Action to Change your Life
• Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #5: Key Players in your Drama
• People who Misuse Pluto and Saturn—Don’t be Fooled by Scare Tactics!
• From Clutter to Closure–Using the Pluto-Saturn Square
• Pluto-Saturn Kit #6: The Train is Coming. Are You Stalled on the Tracks?
• How the Pluto-Saturn Square may Affect People born with that Aspect

More Posts about the 12 Houses Here:

• Download a chapter on the houses here: AGSA ch13-houses  
• Download a chart blank here:  Blank chart with house meanings.
• Download: Shovel-Ready Projects for the 12 Astrological Houses
• Saturn Transits the 7th House—a Rare Interview with Father Time Himself
• Pluto in the Career Houses–The Power to Manifest or Fail for Spite
• Uranus In The Career Houses—“You’re Not The Boss Of Me!”
• Friendship, Equality, and Neptune in the 11th House
• 7 Secrets You May not Know about the 12th House
• 12 Famous People with 12th House Suns
• Jupiter in the 12th—When Does Good Luck Turn Bad?
• Night and Day: Transits from the 12th House to the 1st

 Related Posts for Using the Transit to Change Unwanted Patterns:

• Cash in on the Hidden Gold Beneath Your Fears
• Saturn Transits—What do They Mean to your Career?
• Healing Tools For Plutonians: Transforming The Self And Others
• Understanding Healing Reactions or Healing Crises
• Purge Yourself of Pluto’s Negativity—Get Free of Bitterness
• Stuck For What Seems Like Forever? Maybe Areas of Unforgiveness are the Cause
• What Makes a Person Controlling? How Can It Stop?
• In a Crisis? Rescue Remedy Can Help You through It
• Internet Find of the Week: New Resources for Healing Grief and Loss
• More Insights into Healing Grief and Loss
• Hope for Those in the Dark Night of the Soul

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