Evolutionary Astrology – The Difference Between Transit to Transit Aspects and Transit to Natal Aspects

One of the first things I learned when I began studying the art and science of Astrology in 1971 is that there is a difference between natal aspects and an aspect made from a transit to a natal planet. Natal aspects show internal relationships between those planetary parts of our inner nature; transiting aspects to our natal planets show how the “real world” is interacting with our internal responses.

That’s why we cannot take transit to transit aspects personally. They are general “phase relationships” between the ongoing planets which recur from time to time. They mark general turning points, phases of stability or friction, phases of specialization, and other phase shifts in the relationship between those two transiting planets.

They are generic and may not have any noticeable influence in our lives, despite the press releases about how intense or whatever an aspect may be. I take the view that dramatic statements about transiting aspects to transpersonal planets, such as the recent Mars square Pluto, don’t give us the whole picture, since these aspects may or may not impact us personally. Any personal impact by a transit to transit aspect, in this case Mars square Pluto, only occurred if Mars made a significant aspect to our natal chart.

Pluto is so slow and pervasive in its collective influence that it works over time, with shifts happening only when one of the “Sacred Seven” visible planets also makes a significant aspect to Pluto. That’s why we cannot take Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transits personally. While they will influence our lives to whatever degree when their energies are released by another transit, bringing major changes, it is a long range pervasive influence and requires other triggers to be set into motion.

However, we do see real shifts when the visible transiting planets make significant aspects to our natal planets. This is when the outer, “real world” transiting planetary influences intersect with our natal tendencies, bringing us phase shifts in the areas that our natal planet influences.

A transit to transit square between planets may or may not have a personal influence; a transit to natal square will have a personal influence. However, squares and oppositions are not “bad” aspects; they are phase shifts in the “whole cycle” which began back when that transiting planet conjuncted our natal planet.

A square can be good for putting on the brakes, turning a corner, moving in a new direction, or finding the “right action” to deal with whatever crisis of change comes with the square. I discuss this in my book, Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. When we learn to navigate the challenges of squares and the awareness which comes at every opposition, then even the most frictional aspects can be turned to good ends.

In my 50+ years of counseling others, I’ve learned that most people don’t get it together because they see the light; they get it together because they feel the heat! It is through our challenges that we achieve greatest growth. Challenges force us to think outside our own perceptual box, set aside certain assumptions, and learn how to manage our responses as best we are able. Both “good” challenges and “bad” challenges give us opportunities to practice “right action.”

Our natal squares and oppositions show what we were born with, and the areas where we have to learn “right action.” Transits to our planets activate our natal energies within the complex of aspects our planets make to each other. That’s why transit to transit squares and oppositions are great times for us to accelerate our evolution from ignorance to awareness and hesitancy to competency.

Transit to transit squares may accompany circumstances which are intense, frictional, and/or unstable, but if the planets in transiting square make productive aspects to our natal planets, we have an excellent opportunity to grow spiritually despite the outer tension. A transit to transit square may be just what we need to redirect the energies to chart a better course in our spiritual life!

While the recent transiting Mars square Pluto did agitate the general collective energy, if Mars made a favorable aspect to planets in your chart, then you had the potential for favorable responses and favorable events; if Mars made a frictional aspect to one or more of your planets, then that internal planetary response was confronted by the need for “right action,” depending on the aspect made.

Every aspect made by a transit to our natal planets brings a potential for spiritual growth, whether through moving forward or letting go, rising to a challenge or relaxing into a stable momentum. That’s why we can’t sweat the afflictions to our chart by transit to transit aspects. They can all be used in productive ways, if we find the right point of view and the willingness to change our planetary responses in ways which demonstrate our strengths and adaptability.

So the next time one of your natal planets is squared or opposed by a transiting planet, see it as an opportunity to take command of your growth into greater awareness of who you are and how you can rise to the challenge of the moment, demonstrating your love, wisdom, and understanding in that unique circumstance.

Copyright © 2025 Robert Wilkinson