The Multi-Aspect Pile-Up
The multi-aspect pile-up is when multiple transiting planets are all hitting, through some aspect or another, the same point. This can happen in mundane transits, as we have been seeing this year with a plethora of planets in Tropical Capricorn, along with other planets (notably Mars) also making various aspects from the last decan of the other cardinal signs, or it can happen through transiting planets hitting a given point in a chart, natal or otherwise. This type of event can range from exciting to debilitating, depending on the planets and the aspects involved, but regardless of how such a moment manifests, when it is happening in your natal chart it always feels synchronistic, almost like the Universe has cooked up that particular configuration just for you.
I want to start this with an example. In my own natal chart I have Mars at 12 degrees of Tropical Sagittarius. On April 18, 2020 when I wrote the original text of this post, my natal Mars was being touched by a sextile from transiting Mars in 12/13 Tropical Aquarius, a square by transiting Moon at 12 Tropical Pisces, a trine from Mercury at 12 Tropical Aries and an opposition from Venus as 12/13 Tropical Gemini. That's a lotta transits for one day to one natal planet, so as an astrologer, I would say that day held "strong Mars energy". What it felt like in practice though was a wash of nervous energy that made me want to run about doing things at high speed, being aggressive and argumentative. Undoubtedly, I could have gotten lots of things done that day, but at what cost?
Certainly, while the Moon was in its exact square, that was the worst period, but the Moon has an effect, especially applying to the aspect, but departing as well, of thirteen degrees each side of the exact aspect, so that is 26 degrees of influence, or from the time the Moon entered Tropical Pisces until it was nearing departure from the sign. So while the hours around the exact square of transiting Moon to natal Mars are fraught, the entire 26 degree span will carry the energy, and it will really be when Moon exits Tropical Pisces that the square will fully end. By the time the Moon exited Tropical Pisces though, the other planets - Mars, Mercury and Venus - had moved on past the exact aspects they were making, though they were still within orb. That made it feel like taking no action meant I would "loose" the opportunity of the good aspects, but I felt that the Moon was a clear indicator that there was a high potential for negative issues to rise. The key was found in the opposition of Venus - compromise.
Because I have a Day Sect chart, Mars is my out-of-sect malefic, and I was also in a year where Mars was the Time Lord based upon profection. So Mars aspects were very intense throughout that year, and plentiful to boot! Because Saturn is prominent and well-aspected in my chart, I learned years ago that I have to deal with Mars transits by 'taking it down a notch'. That is, I have to work to be calmer, find gentleness and kindness, and in general, be patient. In other words, while the trine from Transit Mercury and the sextile from Transit Mars were making me want to do things, get things done, and be very physical and active, the real opportunity in this particular multi-aspect pile-up was, for me, to practice Saturnian discipline and stay focused on my regular work, choose kinder, milder actions, be careful, not start fights or arguments and in general yield to whatever aggression I might encounter from others. This is the Venusian compromise. While this might be galling, it is the key, for me, to dealing with such an astrological pile-up, which feels a lot like a combination of a test and a trap, all combined into one. Pass the test or trip the trap... My choice.
So I sat in the house that day writing, itching to be out doing manual labor in the garden, knowing my shoulder was stiff and hurting and my lower back was threatening to go out, so that if I get carried away, I could easily end up injured (very Mars...) Someone sent me an email that pissed me off earlier on that day (just as the Moon was applying to that square), and I really wanted to be nasty about it, but instead, I thanked them for their input and let it go. Venusian compromises.
This is just one example of a multi-aspect pile-up, and how I dealt with it. You might have chosen different ways to deal with it, based upon differences in your chart, and that might have been right for you. Past experience told me that this was my only way through. If you had this aspect with a night sect chart, it might feel very different, and you might deal with it differently. If I had been in a different Time Lord profection, I might have approached it differently, but I suspect that the lunar square would make this a little toxic for anyone, regardless of sect or Time Lord.
What I have noted though is that such transits seem to arise with some regularity in charts. I have had a series of squares from Tropical Capricorn to my natal Venus for three years, and it seemed that every eclipse, retrograde, and multi-planet transit of the last three years somehow managed to be right in orb of my Venus, but I am not the only one that experiences these 'clusterfuck' moments, where the universe gets cute. So what is the Universe up to? Is it just a karmic punishment, a shitty sense of humor, or maybe just that life sucks? Well, I doubt it, because what I have found is that if you can figure out how to maneuver such times and transits, that afterward, you seem to move up a level in some regard. It is almost like building muscle through resistance training...
What I find most interesting is that we either have a remarkable series of coincidences, at times, when we see these multi-aspect pile-ups and sequential hits to a given point or degree or there really is some guiding principal at work in how astrology unfolds. Either one is remarkable in its own way. The lesson I find again and again in such aspects is that you have to first consider the point being activated by the multiple transits. What is its nature? Is it in sect or out-of-sect, beneficial or malefic? How is it placed in your natal chart, and what has your experience and relationship with that planet been throughout your life? Is it the Time Lord for the year? What are the other points that are aspecting it? Review all the above for those other points, as well. Then consider, what is the worst aspect, and what planet is making it. Then consider, what is the best aspect, and what planet is making it. How does all that add up?
Sometimes when all the aspects are positive, you can make extraordinary breakthroughs. At other times, when all the aspects are negative, we seem to have major meltdowns, make mistakes of monumental proportion or have one or more major life-crises. In some instances, the mix of positive and negative aspects offers some of both sides. Such periods are always an opportunity, though, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant. It is important to remember that in instances where all the aspects are positive, you are still likely to have to make choices and take action (or non-action) in order to active the potential. With heavily negative aspects, you may be asked to sacrifice something or have unpleasant experiences to move through to a new place in life. The negatives can offer as much reward as the positives, they are just harder, while the positive aspects, being easier, tempt us to squander their potential on pleasure and laziness. Rarely is anything 100% as it seems on the surface.
Here is the thing, you have probably had intense transits, even if short, to that particular point before. Maybe you will be lucky and the multi-aspect pile-up will be of fast moving planets like my example here with Mars, or maybe it will be of slow moving planets, like the three year agony-a-thon with my natal Venus. Whichever it is, you probably aren't just being punished. You are probably being offered an opportunity to make the right choice. Chances are good you have made poor choices with all the planetary energies at some point in the past, so you might have some inkling of what any given planet is about for you, unless this is the first astrology article that you have ever read and you don't know anything about your chart. You see, astrology offers us the choice - make things as good as they can be, or make them a total train-wreck.
My experience suggests that we humans have a proclivity to the latter, but also the capacity for the former. Make good use of your bad transits, applying the wisdom astrology offers, no matter how much pressure you are feeling. When you do, the Universe might not give you tickets to Disneyland, but it does notice, and every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Get to stepping!
What I find most interesting is that we either have a remarkable series of coincidences, at times, when we see these multi-aspect pile-ups and sequential hits to a given point or degree or there really is some guiding principal at work in how astrology unfolds. Either one is remarkable in its own way. The lesson I find again and again in such aspects is that you have to first consider the point being activated by the multiple transits. What is its nature? Is it in sect or out-of-sect, beneficial or malefic? How is it placed in your natal chart, and what has your experience and relationship with that planet been throughout your life? Is it the Time Lord for the year? What are the other points that are aspecting it? Review all the above for those other points, as well. Then consider, what is the worst aspect, and what planet is making it. Then consider, what is the best aspect, and what planet is making it. How does all that add up?
Sometimes when all the aspects are positive, you can make extraordinary breakthroughs. At other times, when all the aspects are negative, we seem to have major meltdowns, make mistakes of monumental proportion or have one or more major life-crises. In some instances, the mix of positive and negative aspects offers some of both sides. Such periods are always an opportunity, though, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant. It is important to remember that in instances where all the aspects are positive, you are still likely to have to make choices and take action (or non-action) in order to active the potential. With heavily negative aspects, you may be asked to sacrifice something or have unpleasant experiences to move through to a new place in life. The negatives can offer as much reward as the positives, they are just harder, while the positive aspects, being easier, tempt us to squander their potential on pleasure and laziness. Rarely is anything 100% as it seems on the surface.
Here is the thing, you have probably had intense transits, even if short, to that particular point before. Maybe you will be lucky and the multi-aspect pile-up will be of fast moving planets like my example here with Mars, or maybe it will be of slow moving planets, like the three year agony-a-thon with my natal Venus. Whichever it is, you probably aren't just being punished. You are probably being offered an opportunity to make the right choice. Chances are good you have made poor choices with all the planetary energies at some point in the past, so you might have some inkling of what any given planet is about for you, unless this is the first astrology article that you have ever read and you don't know anything about your chart. You see, astrology offers us the choice - make things as good as they can be, or make them a total train-wreck.
My experience suggests that we humans have a proclivity to the latter, but also the capacity for the former. Make good use of your bad transits, applying the wisdom astrology offers, no matter how much pressure you are feeling. When you do, the Universe might not give you tickets to Disneyland, but it does notice, and every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Get to stepping!
Back
to
