My Fourth House

Figure 1 shows the transits to my chart as of the evening of May 7th 2025. I'll display it in monochrome as I think that's easier to read.

Figure 1

As transiting Mars rapidly approaches my Ceres-Pluto conjunction in Leo in the Fourth House, I got to thinking about this conjunction as it played out over the course of my life. The mid-point of these two bodies in around 12º30' of Leo which places it in trine aspect to my natal Sun and sextile aspect to my natal Neptune. 

For the first twenty years of my life, I'd say my domestic situation was quite stable. I moved from grandparents' house around age 2 and from then to age 21, I lived at 21 Mayneview Street, Milton. There were no disruptions. Of course, I was uprooted at age 21 when I was conscripted. On May 5th of 1970, almost exactly 55 years ago, transiting Saturn in my First House was square this midpoint and my misery had already begun. Saturn then swept through Taurus, stopped and then retrograded to become stationary direct in 15º42' Taurus on January 17th 1971, very near the time I was liberated. This was a pivotal point in my life. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

For the next two years, I was back at Mayneview Street until finally leaving the nest in December of 1973. Thereafter there was never any residence that was permanent until finally settling in Maleo in late 2005. Even then however, I was uprooted by needing to work in Shanghai and then needing to stay in Australia for two years after my retirement. With Desy trying for her partner visa we were back and forth between Brisbane and Jakarta until early 2020. After Covid, we have been back and forth to Australia and that continues to the present day. Now Mars is approaching the Ceres-Pluto conjunction but interestingly Saturn is also closely sesquiquadrate (135º) aspect to this midpoint. It's a turbulent time and the aspects reflect this.

I'm being a bit superficial by focusing on my place of residence because the Fourth House, more deeply, represents the foundation of my psyche and this is certainly being shaken up by my forced preoccupation with death and dying. The foundation proved solid and I was able to build a stable and functioning ego with which to navigate life but it has really served its purpose now. However, I'm stuck with it along with all the habit patterns and entrenched modes of thought that go along with it. Perhaps an NDE is what is needed to really shake things up.

73rd Solar Return Approaches

Figure 1 shows the current transits as they affect my natal chart, a day before the Sun returns to the exact position it occupied at the time of my birth.

Figure 1

What struck me was the looming opposition of transiting Saturn to my natal Saturn. I'd forgotten how important the transits of this planet to its natal position have been in my past. Figure 2 shows the time in years since my birth when the planet has been in square, conjunction and opposition to its natal position. Of course these times are not exact because the ignore retrograde motion but they represent approximations.

Figure 2

All these times are associated with important events in my life and in particular the last opposition, soon after my 44th birthday in 1993, was quite dramatic in many ways. Could this coming opposition turn out to be similarly dramatic? Things are stirring, that's for sure. Time will tell.

Saturn in currently moving forward through Aquarius and will station in 25°15' on June 4th 2022. It will retreat to 18°35' by October 23rd 2022 and then move swiftly forward to an exact opposition in 0°01' of Pisces on March 8th 2023. After moving forward into Pisces, it will later retrograde before stationing in 0°30' Pisces on November 4th 2023. The full force of the aspect will probably be felt around that time. The 73.64 years shown in Figure 2 is a rough average of all these backwards and forwards motions of the planet.

It's interesting to note that transiting Pluto just hovers around Jupiter and my MC over this entire period. When Saturn stations opposite its natal position in November of 2023, Pluto is in 28°02' of Capricorn. Currently, on April 1st of 2022, it is in 28°24' of Capricorn! 

Update on the Mars-Venus Conjunction

The Mars-Venus conjunction of mid-February has passed and another conjunction of the two planets is about to occur. Figure 1 shows a chart in which the two planets are almost conjunct and right on the horizon here in Jakarta. Pluto as can be seen is very, very close by.

Figure 1

The two planets remain close together over the next few days. For example, currently (early Saturday morning) Mars is 28d55m of Capricorn and Venus is 28d45m. On Monday, at the same time, Mars will be in 0d25m Aquarius and Venus will be in 0d29m with the latter beginning to move slowly away.

This conjunction occurs in a sensitive area of my chart so I'll have to wait and see if there are any marked inner or outer effects. So far, all is quiet. I'll report back in a few days.

Gromit's Passing

My dog, Gromit, passed away shortly after midnight on July 12th 2021. Figure 1 my birth chart with the planetary transits superimposed and drawn up for 12:01am in Jakarta:

Figure 1

Pluto, conjunct my MC, dominates my chart at the moment just as it did when my brother passed away on June 8th of this year. The area around my Ceres-Pluto conjunction is quite active with the Moon, Venus and Mars all close. Mars and Venus will be exactly conjunct tomorrow and I wrote about this conjunction in my previous post. Other transits also affect this area, including:

• transiting Saturn opposite natal Ceres
• transiting Uranus square natal Pluto
• transiting Chiron square natal Ceres-Pluto
• transiting Moon trine natal Mars-Venus and natal Chiron

In fact, natal Chiron in the eighth house forms a transient but near perfect Grand Trine with the transiting Moon and my natal Mars-Venus (with transiting Chiron conjunct my natal Sun and very near my natal Mars-Venus).

Depression

This morning I woke up feeling distinctly depressed, which is not all that common for me. I thought I'd look to the stars to find out why. Figure 1 shows my early morning transits:

Figure 1: created in Astrolog

The almost exact opposition of transiting Saturn to the midpoint of my natal Ceres-Pluto in the 4th house could have been a contributing factor. As I marked on the chart, transiting Chiron and Ceres are in sensitive positions as well. As the day has worn on, the depression has lifted and been replaced by a feeling of ill-humour.

Pluto contains to backtrack toward my MC which it will pass over on June 24th 2021. The planet will later station in 24°19' of Capricorn on October 6th (Sabina's birthday and my half birthday). This position of course is closely square my Ascendant-Descendant axis.

The Weight of Saturn

Figure 1

Lately I've been feeling the "weight" of Saturn on my shoulders, so to speak. Transiting Saturn has just entered the 28th degree of Capricorn and so is between my MC in 26°07' of Capricorn and my natal Jupiter in 28°47' of the same sign. See Figure 1.

UPDATE: it's Thursday 19th November 2020 and transiting Saturn has moved to 27°26' of Capricorn which is almost exactly at the midpoint of my MC (26°07') and Jupiter (28°47'). I must say that this afternoon I've felt the weight of Saturn weighing particularly heavy on me. This is despite the fact that I've remained largely unaffected by the pandemic. If I feeling depressed, I can only imagine what those people are feeling who have lost their jobs, seen their businesses fail, or are separated from their families due to travel restrictions. 

Transiting Jupiter has just entered the 24th degree of Capricorn and perhaps, when it crosses my MC and catches up with Saturn on December 21st in 0°29' of Aquarius, I may feel the weight lighten. This is an important conjunction and this is what Astrology King had to say about its possible effect:

Jupiter conjunct Saturn transit is a time of opportunity, growth and good fortune. You have reached the end of a phase of life and will feel like you have to advance to a higher level. You may have a feeling of completion or contentment with your achievements thus far. Perhaps you realise you can go no further in your current career or just feel like a new challenge.

You may find barriers to your progress which you need to climb over or go around. But if you have planned well, are self-employed or have a lot of freedom, you could grow within the existing structures of your life. Either way, you will be breaking through barriers or expanding within larger boundaries.

This is a time of greater self-awareness when you may realise you are not content with things as they are. Too much responsibility, a boring job, stifling traditions, and rules, not enough time or a demanding boss or partner may become too much to cope with. You may even realise that your own fears and inhibitions are holding you back from happiness and success. If so, this transit will cause you so much frustration that change becomes inevitable.

Even if you don’t feel restricted you will still seek greater freedom and prosperity. Fated events, lucky breaks or deliberate actions will create opportunities for personal and professional growth. This could involve higher education, the law, religion, spirituality, long distance travel, a new career or a new relationship. This might be a good time to borrow for an investment property, to buy your own home or to renovate. Perhaps you could get financial backing to start or grow your own business.

These effects are fairly broad so they could apply to almost anybody but I do feel an influence of this sort. It's been nearly five and half years since I retired and I feel some sort of change is coming (whether self-initiated or thrust upon me I don't know). Transiting Mars is now in the 16th degree of Aries having traversed all my Arian planets. It will cross my Ascendant on Christmas Day but it is moving very fast and will almost be in my third house by my birthday. The main influences in my chart seem to be Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto around the MC at the moment.