Eris

Having made a post about Eris in my Astrology blog (link), I've now added it to my natal chart (Figure 1) and considered its current position relative to my chart (Figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

As can be seen, transiting Eris is now retrograde and sitting right on my Ascendant and is likely to be in that vicinity for quite some time. Transiting Chiron is close by. Eris will turn stationary direct in 24º37' of Aries on January 11th of 2026. This dwarf planet will remain in Aries until 2044.

Spiritual Discipline

I looked back at the last time Saturn transited through Aries. It entered Aries shortly after my birthday in 1996 and exited in March of 1999. This time period was a very significant period of my life. It marked the start of my life overseas during which time I visited Meherabad in India with my then wife Sylvia. My appreciation and knowledge of Meher Baba deepened and culminated in Bhau Kalchuri's visit to Singapore in 1999. I also travelled to China and Nepal with students from the school at which I was teaching. I'm sure I've reviewed my Saturn's transits before but I'll push on as if I hadn't and maybe compare the two time-separated reflections later.

Saturn's first transit through Aries took place from March of 1967 until May of 1969. This was again a very important phase of my life. It marked the start of life beyond school. In 1967, I inadvertantly came across mention of Meher Baba in a book by Paul Brunton, titled "A Search in Secret India". It had been lent to me by my good friend Steve Ross and remember sitting in the sun at University and reading it. The next year, I attended a talk by Bill LePage about Meher Baba. That cemented Baba's name in my memory and proved the trigger to my acquisition of the book "God Speaks" in 1981. Academically this period was rather dismal but I made good friends during this time and was slowly growing into adulthood.

So the two previous transits of Saturn through Aries marked transformative phases of my life and both involve Meher Baba, the first laying the groundwork for my later epiphany and the second consolidating this same epiphany. Perhaps third time around there will be further developments in my relationship with Meher Baba. The presence of Neptune in Aries at the same time certainly makes this a possibility. However it plays out I must embrace these dual influences and perhaps "Spiritual Discipline" is a good phrase to describe their very different energies. Lately I've been in a very negative state of mind but I have snapped out of it in the last couple of days and I need to ensure that I don't relapse.

I'm not sure what "spiritual discipline" entails but my physical discipline has certainly improved. I'm doing my usual round of exercises at least once and sometimes twice a day. This upcoming Saturn transit offers the opportunity to really make concrete skills and proficiencies that I've dabbled in but never fully mastered. 

The Coming Uranus Station

On September 1st of 2024, transiting Uranus will station in 27°15' of Taurus, about two degrees from my natal Moon. Transiting Mars will be in 27°56' of Gemini, closely semi-sextile transiting Uranus, and in conjunction to natal Uranus is 26°52'. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

I'm naturally wary of Uranus and its station on my Ascendant back in 2016 that triggered my gallbladder collapse. I'd prefer not to lose any more organs. The major ailments at the moment, thymoma and rheumatoid arthritis, are chronic but that doesn't mean that something acute can't emerge. Uranus is the planet of the unexpected however, and so predicting what might happen is fairly pointless. Alternatively, it might all be a storm in a teacup and nothing of any significance will transpire. Meanwhile, the time draws near.

More on Neptune into Aries

 Here is a summary of the passage of Neptune into and out of Aries in the coming years.

• Enters Aries on the 30th March 2025
• Retrogrades into Pisces on the 22nd October 2025
• Re-enters Aries to stay from the 26th January 2026
• Dips into Taurus on the 21st May 2038
• Final visit to Aries from the 21st October 2038
• Enters Taurus to stay on the 23rd March 2039

Source

This blog gives a good account of the passage of Neptune through Aries from an historical perspective. For me, this transit of Neptune marks its passage through my twelfth house and its consequent conjunctions with Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Sun and my Ascendant. Of course, Neptune takes 165 Earth years or 60,190 Earth days to orbit the Sun and so this is its first passage through my twelfth house. 

In my natal chart, Neptune is located in 13°50'R of Libra and so transiting Neptune will reach an opposition to its natal position when I'm about 82.5 years old. When it finally leaves Aries and enters Taurus to stay, I'll be almost 90 years old if I'm still about. Prior to that however, it will have crossed over my Ascendant. For the remainder of my old age then I'll be under the auspices of Neptune.

The transit could mark a lapse into senility or it could herald a renaissance of an interest in psychic healing and psychic experiences. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. The first planetary contact that Neptune has with my natal Mercury will be in 2°15' of Aries. Significantly, Neptune will turn stationary retrograde in 2°11' on 4th July 2025 and this should correspond with a crucial inner or outer contact that will orientate me as to how to harness the energies of Neptune for the benefit of those around me.

A Chance Encounter

Yesterday I ran into a teacher from the school that I used to teach at in Jakarta. I hadn't seen him since 2009. Like myself, he's married to an Indonesian and has only recently returned to Jakarta. Oddly enough, one of the first things that he said to me was that he remembered me as an avid chess player. This was odd because I can't remember playing any chess at the school.

It would be nice to have a regular chess opponent as opposed to an online computer program so hopefully we can get together in the future for some games. Our meeting took place with transiting Sun and Jupiter conjunct in Aries, near my Ascendant. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

If we develop a rapport then my social horizon will be expanded which is in keeping with the nature of Jupiter as it nears my Ascendant.