I recently released a new set of posters that depict the astrology of 2018, and while I was working on creating those it gave me some time to reflect on the major planetary alignments that will happen over the course of the next year.

In this post I want to highlight the top 5 transits that I found that seems like they will coincide with important turning points for people during the course of the year.

While some of these alignments may be more or less important for you personally, depending on where they fall in your chart, it is good to be aware of them ahead of time since they will be the hot spots for many people over the next 12 months.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the list!

1. Uranus Ingress Into Taurus

By far the biggest shift that will occur this year is the ingress of Uranus into Taurus, which first happens on May 15, 2018. This is notable because Uranus is a slow-moving outer planet that takes about 84 years to go all the way around the zodiac, and the last time that it changed signs was when it moved into Aries back around 2010/2011.

The ingress of Uranus into Aries seven or eight years ago set of the Uranus-Pluto square, which was associated with a tremendous amount of change and upheaval in different parts of the world in terms of mundane astrology, such as the events of the Arab Spring.

This is also an important transit in terms of people’s personal lives, because in my approach I use the whole sign house system, and from that perspective when a planet changes signs it also moves into a different house in a person’s chart. This means that the planet associated with change, upheaval, revolution, and liberation will be shifting its focus to a new area of your life, and it will stay there for the next seven or eight years, until Uranus eventually moves into Gemini around 2025/26.

While the intensity of the immediate aftermath of the ingress of Uranus into Taurus will vary from person to person depending on how your birth chart is set up and if you have any planets or sensitive points in the early degrees of the fixed signs, for just about everyone this will mark the beginning of a new chapter of Uranus’ transits through some part of your chart, and you will see a culmination of some of the themes that are kicked off in May sooner or later.

2. Overlapping Venus and Mars Retrograde Periods

This year is also unique because Venus and Mars will both be going retrograde this year, and these retrograde periods occur so close together that the tail end of one will be finishing right as the other is about to begin.

Mars begins slowing down towards the middle of the year, and eventually stations retrograde at 9° Aquarius around June 26. It then begins moving backwards in the zodiac over the next couple of months, until it eventually stations direct at at 28° Capricorn around August 27.

By this time in August Venus is already starting to slow down as it enters its pre-retrograde shadow period, and eventually it stations retrograde at 10° Scorpio around October 5. Venus then spends the next forty days or so moving backwards through early Scorpio and late Libra, before eventually stationing direct at 25° Libra around November 15.

Venus goes retrograde around the same spot in the zodiac every eight years, so this Venus retrograde is a repetition of a similar period in time from October/November of 2010, October/November of 2002, 1994, 1986, and so on. If you have important placements in your natal chart tied in to those degrees and had notable events occur in your personal life during one or more of those times in the past, then you may see some similar repetitions occurring under this upcoming Venus retrograde period.

Interestingly, both Venus and Mars make multiple hard aspects with Uranus during the course of their retrograde periods, since they will both be moving back and forth between the cusps of the cardinal and fixed signs, and that is where Uranus will be hovering around most of the year on the cusp of Aries and Taurus. I suspect then that the Venus and Mars retrograde periods will end up being the initial triggers in many people’s lives for the long-term changes that are indicated by the Uranus ingress over the next decade.

3. Lunar Eclipse in July

In 2017 a lot of people focused on the solar eclipse that was visible across the United States, but this year a lot of astrologers are focusing their attention on the lunar eclipse that will take place in July.

A lunar eclipse shows up in an astrological chart as a Full Moon that takes place close to the north and south nodes. This particular eclipse will go exact with the Moon at 4° of Aquarius, and the Sun of course in exact opposition at 4° Leo.

What is unique about this eclipse is that it takes place right in the middle of the Mars retrograde, so that Mars is very closely conjunct the Moon at the time of the exact eclipse, with Mars being at 3° Aquarius. If that wasn’t enough, by this time Uranus has made it to 2° of Taurus where it is slowing down and preparing to station retrograde, and thus Uranus is creating a T-square between Mars and the two luminaries in Aquarius and Leo.

This alignment creates a pretty explosive dynamic, which at best provides a sudden opportunity to assert change in some area of one’s life, and at its worst may force change and upheaval in a sudden and dramatic way for those whose charts are closely tied in with this transit.

To top it off, Mercury stations retrograde only a day or two before the lunar eclipse occurs, and so some of the typical Mercury-retrograde type hi-jinx are thrown into the mix as well, as if the rest wasn’t enough.

4. Saturn in Capricorn

The other major shift that we will all still be getting accustomed to this year is Saturn’s recent ingress into Capricorn, which just happened in December of 2017, after completing a three-year transit through Sagittarius.

The transit of Saturn through Sagittarius was surprisingly literal in many ways, especially in terms of the general Sagittarian theme of of “that which is foreign”, and Saturn’s tendency to bring challenges, fears, and apprehensions to the areas that it transits. I would expect Saturn’s transit through Capricorn to be even more literal in many ways than the Sagittarius transit was, as Saturn returns to its home sign and therefore begins producing a more pure form of his natural significations.

Of course, one of the interesting things about Saturn’s transit through Sagittarius is that many of the people who went through their first Saturn returns during that time also had their natal Uranus in Sag activated as well, which often created an unexpected or surprise component, in terms of what their Saturn return story ended up being about. We will likely see a continuation of similar themes for those who are just starting their Saturn returns in Capricorn now, as Uranus was in Capricorn with Saturn in the late 80s and early 90s, along with Neptune.

Additionally, while it will not get anywhere near to going exact in 2018, Saturn’s ingress into Capricorn did begin the process of applying to a conjunction with Pluto, which will eventually occur around the 2019/2020 time frame. Many of the dynamics and themes that will eventually culminate with the completion of the exact degree-based conjunction between those two planets in a few years will start to be set in motion now that the two have moved into the same sign.

5. Jupiter Moving into Sagittarius

To end this on a high note, the fifth and final major transit that I would like to highlight this year is Jupiter’s ingress into Sagittarius, which will take place in early November.

While Jupiter will be spending most of his time in Scorpio this year, and that has already coincided with some interesting and positive developments in terms of people seeking justice for past wrongdoings and abuses of power, there is something about the ingress of Jupiter into Sag that seems like it will lighten up the mood of what is otherwise going to be a pretty heavy year.

In a year that will largely be dominated by the seriousness of Saturn in Capricorn or the unexpected disruptions of Uranus and its aspects to retrograde Venus and Mars, it is nice to know that there is a relatively positive light at the end of the tunnel, if even just in terms of a shift in the mood and demeanor of the times. Plus Jupiter returning to its home sign should be great for the purposes of electional astrology, and that is something we can all look forward to.

Conclusions and Tracking the Transits for 2018 At A Glance

Well, that’s it for this article! Let me know in the comments section below what you think the most important transits are for 2018, and if there are any others that I should have put on this list.

If you would like a handy reference where you can see all of the major planetary ingresses, lunations, and retrograde stations over the course of the year, then you should check out my 2018 Astrology Calendar Poster Package, which display all of the major transits for the year at a glance.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great 2018!

Video Overview of the Astrology of 2018

Here is a video version of this post, with an overview of the astrology of 2018:

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