When transits are at the edge of a sign and ready to move into the next zodiacal symbol they are always fascinating to observe and with the latest giant wave in Japan it might just attest to the power of the last degrees of any sign. Neptune was on the last degrees of Aquarius and Uranus on the last degrees of Pisces (both in mutual reception) when the power of the ocean (Neptune) unleashed its full force.
There are many astrologers that use the entry of planets into a new sign as a confident predictor for something happening on a large scale, of course, we are talking about the outer transits here. Case in point, and taken from a lecture by Stephen Arroyo on the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction: “Marc Edmund Jones recorded a prediction of Neptune’s entrance into Libra in the fall of 1942 bringing about an event so epic that it would drastically change the course of world history.
In the fall of 1942, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction took place in Chicago, and the atomic age began.” I examined the chart set for that date with Neptune in Libra a 0 degrees. Though many astrologers would naturally place Pluto in Leo’s transit for this massive use of atomic energy and it would be an equally contributing factor. On the face of it this doesn’t make much sense, for Neptune in Libra is the universal symbol of love and world harmony, but in fact there was the belief in the fact that atomic energy should not only enhance defence but also “promote world peace.”
It is worth paying attention to transits entering a sign as many changes can be seen. The beginning of a sign reflects the first rush of new energy and often exaggerates the sign’s energy. Look at Uranus’ current transit at the beginning of Aries and the worldwide rebellions, clashes with authority and riots all over the world. Planets at the beginning of signs don’t like to enter or leave their area quietly, and one often imagines the mundane astrologer circling the dates an outer planet enters and leaves a sign with a bright red marker. Even natal planets are said to be more extreme in expression when placed in the last degrees of a sign. Events tend to be magnified under transits in the beginning and the last degree of a sign, and we will all observe what happens when Uranus reaches the last degrees of Aries. Astrologer Liz Greene describes the 29th degree as the ‘last fling’ and it often strongly marks the person with the characteristic qualities of the sign. The astrologer claims that the most typical expressions she has seen of any sign have been 0 degrees and 29 degrees.