Planets in Transits: Life Cycles for Living

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Summary: The Definitive Book on Planetary Transits
Review: Most astrologers regard "Planets In Transit" as the definitive book on transiting planets. In Hand's own words, "a transit occurs whenever a planet, moving in its orbit during your lifetime, forms an aspect to a planet, the Sun, Moon or any of the house cusps in your natal horoscope" (p. 3). In this book, Hand reveals what "you are most likely to experience, emotionally psychologically, and circumstantially, under each transit" (p. 3). Since modern astrology is geared toward self-empowerment and most astrologers shun fatalistic interpretations, this book provides you with the basis upon which you can choose suitable directions to harness the energies of planetary transits. Consequently, a great benefit of understanding transits is that you can expect and plan accordingly for them, since they function within time. Armed with that awareness, your potential for success in handling both easy and challenging transits is quite good.

As with all of Hand's books, this text is easy to read and informative. Hand's writing style is positive and insightful, and the cookbook format makes a nice handy reference guide for both beginners and professionals. If you are new to astrology, then this text is great to own. Originally published in 1976, this book has been a standard classic in most astrologers' library and is as insightful today as when it was first written.

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Summary: the greatest astrology book in my collection
Review: My neighbor/mentorloaned me this book a year ago. I just now gave it back, it was so good. I refer to it almost on a daily basis. Mr. Hand has done an outstanding job in collecting the various pyschological effects that transits can have on us. I am able to plan very accurately according to the descriptions in this book. It let me know what to expect in all my Plutonian transits I have been having lately and, this is the greatest part, it has saved my marriage from collapsing. My wife and I figured out that the Pluto/Venus/Ascendant combos was causing the strife in our life and so we decided to wait it out instead of ending it.
Thank you Mr. Hand

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Summary: Still the definitive book on planetary transits!
Review: Over 20 years old, this book still remains one of the modern classics that no contemporary astrologer can afford to be without. Just about every serious astrologer I've ever met has got a copy of this on his or her shelf.

For most of the book, Robert Hand explores the meaning of every possible combination of planets in transit to each other, this being one of the most commonly used techniques of astrological prediction. In addition to the planets, the ascendant and midheaven are also included but astrologers using Chiron will have to look elsewhere. The introductory chapters about the interpretation and timing of transits are well worth a read, and these are followed by a case study of Nixon and the Watergate scandals in the early 1970s. Then its on to a chapter for each planet and the transits it makes to all the others.

Hand's interpretations are full of psychological insights, but the nature of specific events that may occur are also covered. For the first few years I had this book I tended to focus on the more obvious long-term transits of the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) but eventually I became just as intrigued by the uncanny accuracy of the "insignificant" daily or even hourly transits of the Sun, the Moon and Mercury. The smallest and the largest life cycles have their part to play.

Buy this book and prove or disprove predictive astrology for yourself!