How to Find + Interpret Your Secondary Progressions (a.k.a. the Secret Subtext of Your Astro-Life) 🌙⏰
I did not want to learn Progressions. 😣
WHY ADD ANOTHER LAYER…?? We have our birth chart, we have our transits, we have our transit apps and newsletters, we’re full.✌🏻
But learning synastry (comparing two natal charts for relationship potential 💕) through search engines kept fetching me articles that cautioned, If you want to really understand whether anything is going to happen, you need a PROGRESSED chart... otherwise you’re just looking at POTENTIAL. 😳🤦🏻♀️
OKAY SO, “progressions” matter, whatever the hell they are!
“Frankly, speaking for myself, I wouldn’t attempt to do an analysis without it. How can you advise someone if you don’t know the state of their inner being, or what the soul is requiring us to focus on?”
— The Inner Wheel, “The Chart Workshop: The Progressed Chart Confusion”
what exactly are “secondary progressions” in astrology? 🤔 >
Basically, your chart is “progressed” one day for every year you’ve had a birthday. One year = one day.
FOR EXAMPLE, I am thirty-five years old, born March 22nd, 1987. For my secondary progressions, my chart is progressed thirty-five days to April 27th, 1987.
“The days used are those immediately following your birth. This means that whatever planetary aspects and influences were active 10 days after your birth will influence you when you are 10 years old. If you are 35, 42 or 57, it’s the planetary activations when you were 35, 42 or 57 days old that influence your life now.”
— Astrology University, “How to Use Progressions to Track Changes” ✨
Progressions push your closer, faster, more personal planets into whole different signs or houses of your chart…
(Your Aries Sun is now in Taurus ♈️♉️, or your Scorpio Ascendent has scootched into Sagittarius ♏️♐️, etc.)
…thereby tinting your most essential, immediate experience with the secret styling and concerns of their “progressed” signs and houses. ✨
Basically, the subtext of your super-secret inner life shifts according to your Secondary Progressions.
but… why would astrologers do that…? 🤨 >
I know, dude—it sounds fucking insane (lol and all the rest of astrology is super sane 👌🏻), but astrologers use progressions for prediction. Our progressed chart paint a picture of our most palpable inner perceptions. Progressions reveal the “inside feel” of our in-the-moment experience and help astrologers consolidate all the options. understand timing.
Though your Progressed chart is basically just a transit chart from the past (from your birth year), your progressions at the time of any current transit moment give spooky-accurate insight into how you might process coinciding events, and make the choices that will broker your fate. ✨
What makes progressions predictive is that your progressed planets weight or anchor the evolution of your natal chart. Your natal chart is inert until tripped by transits, and Secondary Progressions help astrologers understand what choices you will most feel like making, depending on the potential outlined, where those planets are heading, combined with thee opportunities / pains presented by your current transits.
“The progressed chart shows how you’ve moved on, according to a measurement of time. The progressed chart reveals nothing more nor less than the slow unfolding of your spiritual development. It’s the big picture. It’s also the ‘why’ to the natal chart’s ‘what’ and the transit’s ‘how’. ”
— The Inner Wheel, “The Chart Workshop: The Progressed Chart Confusion”
There are other predictive techniques (I link to some under “resources” below 😁), but secondary progressions are the most popular, and for most of us, the most intuitive. 👁
So basically, your progressions speak to your secret, inner-most mood, and “chart” your subjective evolution.
I feel like… if you understood the bookcase scene from Interstellar (even if you can’t explain it in words 🤔🤷🏻♀️), then you will be able to use and get a ton of clarity by applying secondary progressions to your boss astrology studies. 🤘🏻✨
(Here’s the bookcase scene… 👇🏻)
TL; DR [spoiler alert] > REMEMBER?? Because Matthew McConaughey was ejected from his rocket ship and floating in fucking SPACE, but in… like… the fifth dimension ✨, and through the gravitational force of LOVE 💕 was pulled to a moment in his past, like—hella years in the past 😳… in fact, to the moment when he was explaining to his daughter (baby Jessica Chastain) that he’s leaving on a rocket ship to find a new planet for humans to relocate to, and she’s like, “Why you gotta save humanity, why can’t you just stay and be my dad?” And then alluva sudden, the books start dropping off the bookcase in her bedroom, and she’s like, “SEE, WE’VE GOT GHOSTS, WHY YOU LEAVIN’ ME??” And he’s like, “Ghosts aren’t real, but famine totally is, and Michael Caine over at NASA has asked me, so I gotta go…”
…So then, Matthew McConaughey (floating in the fifth dimension) is overcome by heartbreak and starts banging on the barrier between him and his past in the third dimension, knocking books off the bookcase, and you realize that HE WAS THE GHOST… 😧🤭🥺
…Secondary Progressions in astrology are basically a fifth-dimensional glimpse into our three-dimensional reality (I think).
Then again… all astrology might be a higher-dimensional glimpse at 3D reality…? 🤔
(BTW, I totally have a 6 1/2 minute verbal essay about how all the major characters in Interstellar correspond with our astrological “meta” cycles > Saturn [Michael Caine], Uranus [Matthew McConaughey], Neptune [David Oyelowo], Pluto [Anne Hathaway], and Chiron [Jessica Chastain], buy me coffee and I’ll tell you all about it, and also how astrology can save the world! 🤩☺️)
Anyway… ✨
below, i’ll show you where + how to cast a chart with your secondary progressions ✨, along with guidelines for interpreting it >
We’ll learn how to cast a chart with progressions, and how to interpret it in relation to a natal chart…
…and then next time, deep-examine our Progressed Moons, which are not only super-useful in synastry (for timing relationship readiness 😍🥰), but also for guiding your lifestyle and self-care focus for 2 1/2 years. ✨
heads up, this is intermediate-level astrology learnin’, but you can totally master it in an hour or so…
…especially if you’re already familiar with your natal chart ✅, and have learned how to compare it to your current transits / larger astro cycles. ✅
I also link hella to sundry Internet witches and astrology articles to help you detangle all the details of your secondary progressions, so that even if you decide you’re not totally in favor of using progressions, you’ll feel dialed in, and know where to find that intel when you need it.
(And don’t worry, they move so slow you only have to check on them occasionally. 👍🏻)
WHERE + HOW TO CAST A CHART TO SEE YOUR SECONDARY PROGRESSIONS ⏰💫
Visit the Astro Seek homepage, hover your cursor over “Free Horoscopes”, and select “Secondary Progressions” from the dropdown menu
Select “Secondary Progressions” again from the list that appears (it will be second from the top). Enter your birth data, and the date you’re casting the chart for
Click “calculate”, and see ALL your secondary progressions, yay!
Scroll down to see the Astro Seek’s descriptions of your Secondary Progressions, then compare to articles you find via Google and Internet witches ✨
HINT 1 > Your natal chart is on the inside with your natal planets in blue, while your progressed planets will be on the outside and in orange (exactly like when casting a transit chart via Astro Seek 👌🏻).
HINT 2 > That “progressed” chart doesn’t become your new natal chart. ❌ Your progressions must always be read in reference to your natal chart. Our natal chart is our ultimate source and potential, and doesn’t change.
In fact, the natal chart is rather inert (like a poem, or a watercolor painting) until triggered by transits. Our natal chart explains our disposition towards the experiences detonated by our transits. What’s actually triggered by those transits depends on our grander astrological cycles (Saturn, Chiron, Pluto, etc.).
And whatever you feel like doing with those transit moments depends on what’s going on in your Progressions. 👐🏻✨
I’ve already dropped this quote, but it’s the perfect definition for why progressions matter, and how to use them, so here it is again >
“The progressed chart reveals nothing more nor less than the slow unfolding of your spiritual development. It’s the big picture. It’s also the ‘why’ to the natal chart’s ‘what’ and the transit’s ‘how’.”
HOW TO INTERPRET YOUR YOUR SECONDARY PROGRESSIONS ⏰✨>
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE 💫, FIND OR CREATE SPACE TO STORE ALL YOUR RESEARCH 📝 > You’ll want to download or take screenshots of the charts as they pop up on the Astro-Seek software, so you can refer back as time goes by.
For a full-picture perspective, you’d want to delineate (“break down”) the PROGRESSED chart all on its own (I’m about to show you what to look for 💫), then compare the Progressed Chart to your Birth Chart.
There’s a bunch of stuff that you could fixate on—all the same markers you like looking up in your your natal chart (except new 🤩), but remember, your Progressions are not very pronounced… only your Progressed Moon, Sun, and maaaybe your Progressed angles.
THOUGH, as we’ll find out next time, it’s mostly your Progressed Moon (and her whereabouts in your chart, as well as her relationship with other progressed planets) that determines the expression of your secondary progressions. 🌙⏰
🌟 FIRST, CHECK UP ON YOUR PROGRESSED SUN AND PROGRESSED MOON 🌻🌙✨
What we all learn in astrology 101 (nerd alert 🤓), is that the Sun and Moon are not considered “planets”, but lights.
Our Sun (natal, progressed, or by transit) is the direct light of consciousness, our wide-awake, alert, emanating life force.
Our Moon (natal, progressed, or by transit) is the indirect light of consciousness, or subconscious, reflective of the conscious light.
In our secondary progressions, the Sun and Moon represent the super-subliminal lights of consciousness, and knowing the conditions and whereabouts of your Progressed Sun and Moon (sign, house, aspects, etc., we’re about to dig into it 👍🏻) will help you hone in on where your subtle vortex of self-awareness is actually fixated.
Like—it might be helpful to visualize the Progressed Sun and Moon as glowing from somewhere beneath your natal, transit, and synastry charts, like underwater lamps, radiating the hue of the progressed sign wherever they’re stationed, with any near-conjunct progressed planets striating its deep glow. 👐🏻✨
Find out the sign, house, and aspects to your Progressed Sun 🌻 ⏰ >
“The Progressed Sun travels through a sign in approximately 30 years, some characteristics of the natal Sun sign will remain throughout your life but as the Sun progresses through the next sign it takes up some of the features of that sign and also of the modality of the sign it enters. For example if you are born with a Gemini Sun which is a mutable sign then sooner or later your Secondary Progressed Sun will move into Cancer a Cardinal Sign and eventually into Leo a Fixed sign. The year in which your Progressed Sun changes signs or makes an aspect to a natal or progressed planet or angle will probably be an important period of personal development and self-expression.”
— Kepler College, “An Introduction to Secondary Progressions”
Our Progressed Sun corresponds with the very germs of our ego, the roots of our most personal self, what emanates from our life force.
Which house is the Progressed Sun currently stationed? What zodiac sign is natural to that house (if Aries were cusping the first house)? How compatible is the style or flavor of the sign that’s currently cusping it? Does the Sun appreciate the concerns represented by that house? …said another way, is the Sun able to shine?
“As your Sun, which symbolises identity and essence, settles into a new sign, you will be influenced by a new element and modality. Your interests, habits and hobbies will be updated. It’s a bit like having a personality transplant, in that you become a new and refreshed version of yourself. This can bring latent talents to the surface, or mark the end of a longer chapter.”
— Astrology University, “How to Use Progressions”
This PDF article explores the Progressed Sun in the signs, while this article describes the Progressed Sun in both the signs and houses.
This PDF article explores the Progressed Sun in the signs, while this article describes the Progressed Sun in both the signs and houses.
You might want to apply your knowledge of “planets in the signs” to determine whether your Progressed Sun is dignified, exalted, or debilitated (a.k.a. whether the planet prefers the condition of that sign, based on element and mode).
FOR EXAMPLE, my natal Sun is exalted in Aries ♈️, and soon progressing into Taurus (July 2022). ♉️ Aries is an assertive fire sign ♈️🔥, while Taurus is steadfast earth. ♉️🌿
TRANSLATION: My nuclear-level angst (which will heighten as my Sun progresses towards the “anaretic degree”, more below ✨) will slacken from a propulsive heat (such as a blowtorch) to more of a broil… a light and heat quality more compatible with baking seeds and shit-packed top soil into fertile mush, transforming heat and light into subsistence.
From wildfire (♈️🔥) to photosynthesis (♉️🌿). 👐🏻✨
FOR YOUR SELF-EFFICACY, this article explains more about the elements and modes of the zodiac signs, and this one is focused on how the Sun functions in each sign.
Astrology University also suggests peeking at the progressed house cusped by (“lined up with”) Leo ♌️, ruled by the Sun, for hints about emerging talents and opportunities. 🏆
To assist you in that, this Astro Fix page features descriptions of summaries of Leo on the houses, while this page describes how the Sun shines in all the different houses. 🌻✨
Does the Progressed Sun conjunct another progressed or natal planet? How tight is the orb? What are the themes of their relationship (based on the zodiac sign they share)? How does the other planet synergize with the Sun? How does the house they’re progressing through support their interaction?
Astro Library has a database of references for Progressed Aspects for your Progressed Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Mars (yay!), and this Dark Pixie article has summaries for the Progressed Sun in the signs, houses, and also aspects to other planets. 💫
“When the Sun progresses to make an aspect to natal planets, it is time to become conscious now of different aspects of the ‘Ego Self’. These are times when our ego defences can be very strongly resistant; however, the soul has a great need at these times to identify with this energy consciously and to strive to integrate what the planet (being aspected) symbolises in our lives. Some planets the Progressed Sun touches, by nature, are much more challenging to the soul (for example aspects to Natal Pluto or Saturn). At these times, we are often confronted with owning the shadow aspects of our psyche. In this way, we are given an opportunity to accept and own the darker aspects of the ‘Ego Self’, as well as different ways of being, which is important for our soul’s evolution and growth in this lifetime.”
— Jeanni Monks, “Progressions”
FINAL CONSIDERATION, how is the Progressed Sun’s relationship with the Progressed Moon? How do they aspect each other? How tight is the orb (more about orbs below, but note any progressed planets within 0-2°)?
HINT > The relationship between the Sun and Moon determines the phase of the Moon, thus, the luminosity of the Moon in the chart (I’m about to say more about that…). ✅
Find out the sign and house, aspects to, and phase ✨ of your Progressed MOON 🌙⏰ >
I have an in-depth tutorial all about analyzing (+ interpreting) the Progressed Moon ✨, but this is what you want to know: your Progressed Moon sign, house, and phase.
Your Progressed Moon sign tells you the mood, and the house tells you the field of perception, or the life category you invest the most emotion into, and the concerns your thoughts always settle on.
“Moon is about moods and feelings, protection and nurturing as well as patterns of behaviour and routine. It progresses through the signs in about 2 ½ years and takes on the flavour of the sign it progresses into. Every 28-29 years the Progressed Moon will begin a new emotional cycle as it conjoins the natal or the progressed Sun in your chart. This is known as the Progressed New Moon. Transits from and to the Progressed Moon are very important since the Moon moves quickly and each degree of orb will be active for approximately two months. This is one of the most important planets to follow in the Secondary Progressions.”
— Kepler College, “An Introduction to Secondary Progressions”
Your Progressed Moon’s Phase determines her luminosity, or how illuminated the themes and field of experience of the sign / house she’s progressing through. Every 3(ish) years, the Progressed Moon changes phase, depending on her aspect (“relationship”) to the Progressed Sun, and takes 27-30 years to cycle through all 8 moon phases before finally returning to your birthday moon phase (click here to find out your’s, and go here to learn more about it).
And when your Moon progresses through all 8 phases, and all 12 zodiac signs and houses, you have a Progressed Lunar Return! 🥳🌙
The “condition” of your Progressed Moon sets the whole vibe for your progressions, and some astrologers (Stephen Arroyo, Dane Rudhyar, probably more 💫) believe that the Progressed Moon actually activates the rest of the other progressions. 🧨
In fact, you don’t need to invest a ton of research into your progressed chart (but other stuff to note below👇🏻), not unless any planets / angles are within 0-1° of the Progressed Moon…
…or the Progressed Sun... 🤔
...but mostly the Moon.
Probably only because we tend to become absorbed by our Moon, while our Sun just emits and emanates. Our Sun simply shines, whereas the Moon draws into itself.
“You can also watch for when the progressed Moon will conjunct each of your natal planets. For example, when your progressed Moon passes over your natal Venus you can better understand your true desires around love, beauty and pleasure. When your progressed Moon passes over your natal Uranus you learn more about what freedom and independence mean for you.”
— Astrology University, “How to Use Progressions”
also, determine the “who, what, where” of the dispositors (a.k.a. the “rulers”) of your progressed sun and moon signs ♈️♉️♊️…
By rulers / dispositors, we mean the planets that "rule" the sign(s) of your Progressed Sun and Moon.
The dispositors of any sign reveal where the energy from your Progressed Sun and Moon will "spill over." As Dawn Bodrogi explains, dispositors don't rule, own, control, or do anything to your planets, but receive from them.
“All of this activity, all of this new energy, has to have a focus, a pulling point. If the aspects are ‘squeezing’ the planet, the energy of that developing planet has to go somewhere. It has to spill out, play out someplace. This is where the dispositor of a planet kicks in. The dispositor of a planet will receive that planet’s newly forming energy and test it out, use it within the house it finds itself in. The planet has an indirect, but important, influence on the dispositor’s house.”
And we LOVE checking up on dispositors, because they point us to the secret exits, miraculous tools, and benevolent characters that might dodge in to assist the evolutionary development our Progressed Sun and Moon. 👍🏻
Which planets are your Progressed Sun and Moon disposed to? What archetypes do those planets represent? How do they behave within their sign and house of your progressions?
…has anyone reminding you of this archetype traipsed through your life, or within these contexts?? 😳🤔
Just more stuff for introspection. ✨
KEEP IN MIND, that progressions are the super subliminal, deep-historic netting of your astrological soul 👐🏻✨, so they can be interpreted SUPER loose and intuitive.
That’s why I think it’s important to build a sense-rich, intuitive model of your Progressed Sun and Moon, so that you can superimpose it over your natal x transit charts, and appraise your soul-mood and set point in the context of your transits.
In terms of significance (or weightiness of your progressions), pay keenest attention to your Progressed Sun and Moon 🌻🌙 , followed by your changed or changing angles, and the other useful factors I’m about to unpack below. 👇🏻
🌟 NEXT, CHECK OUT THE PROGRESSED ANGLES (AND THEIR DISPOSITORS) ✅ >
Look at the Progressed ASCENDENT (left-hand side) and Progressed MIDHEAVEN (topmost angle). The angles are basically the “antennae” of our chart, and where they progress might reveal internal shifts regarding our orientation (ascendent) and public perception (midheaven).
Our Progressed angles can also be activated or energized by any planet that transits (or progresses 💫) over them.
If your angles have progressed into new zodiac signs, or conjunct any of your natal planets, you’ll be feeling that planet throbbing away in your subtle awareness… at worst, like your foot falling asleep, and at best, like getting a hand massage.
“For example, if progressed Venus conjunct the Midheaven, there may be some development in your long-range plans, in your vocational outlook, or in your place in society which seem promising and pleasant.
On the other hand, if progressed Venus conjuncts the natal Ascendant, it is more likely that the dimension of experience symbolized by Venus will come to your attention in some immediate personal way, e.g., a love affair, financial developments, artistic activities, or pleasant social contacts, any of which may awaken you to the significance of Venus in your particular birth chart.”
— Stephen Arroyo, “Astrology, Karma, & Transformation”
We all experience our Ascendent progressing by age 30, or much sooner, if your Ascendent was at a very late degrees of a sign. Every zodiac signs spans 30 degrees, though the angles can fall at any degree number of the sign… birth time determines where the angles land in a sign. ✨.
When the ASC progresses from the First House (“identity, persona, appearance”) to the Second House (“personal values, skills, and inner treasure”), we’re ready to lead from our values more than spearhead our identity. The zodiac sign (and any natal or progressed planets in that sign) might clarify an internal shift, almost like an about-face turn.
FOR ME, POUR MOI 💕 > The Ascendent has literally juuust progressed from natal Scorpio into Sagittarius ♏️♐️, and the Midheaven has also scootched from Leo into Virgo ♌️♍️.
REMEMBER, these shifts might not correlate with any grand, coinciding events—they only indicate subtle shifts, like when a movie or a novel returns to the present after a flashback to the past.
ALTHOUGH, INTERESTING TO NOTE… within days of this switcheroo, I had to update my make-up palette. 😳😅
Like—for real. I’ve worked a black, winged cat eye since 2016 (typical Scorpio ASC 🙄), and it suddenly looked too stark, almost cartoonish, though I hadn’t changed my hair color, nor had the seasons (thus, the lighting) changed.
So, I got a consult with an aspiring drag artist (and make-up connoisseur), and he suggested I go from “Raven” to “Midnight”, and now everything is wonderful (thank you, kristopher, here’s some Vegas Britney 🤗💕).
“Since house cusps are connected to the life areas and activities ruled by the house, it is important to note when they change signs by progression, because it heralds the beginning of a major cycle in a person’s life and describes the type of events that are going to unfold.
Whenever I see that a house cusp has reached 29 degrees by progression, a “red alert” sounds in my head because I know the client is on the verge of a new cycle. Oftentimes, the person is starting to feel that “something’s coming, something big” but they lack any sense of definition or clarity.
When the house cusps move from 29 degrees of one sign to 0 degrees of the new sign, the transition connected to the affairs of the affected houses actually begins.”
— Debra Anne Clement, “Predicting with Progressed House Cusps”
IF YOU NEED A REFRESHER, this article explains the concept of and rules of interpretation for your chart angles, while Dark Pixie Astrology has this article to help you delineate the relationship between your progressed angles and natal planets: how they might feel, and what might manifest in your awareness. 💫
“The passage over the Ascendant is particularly important, for it often correlates with a change in one’s environment or in one’s psychological or physical relation to the environment. The change should lead to some kind of personal readjustment, perhaps the readjustment of one’s intuitive feeling of identity in terms of the new environment or of a new realization of the meaning and value of the already familiar life-situation — the sense of individual selfhood being always intimately related to and most often conditioned by the various kinds of close relationships and associations one has entered, positive or negative as these may be”
— Dane Rudhyar, “The Astrology of Transformation”
ALSO, LOCATE THE RULERS OF THE PROGRESSED ANGLES (A.K.A. THE “DISPOSITORS”) > Transits to the rulers can reveal tucked away influences that will play out in the overall scheme of things. You’ll want to note both the natal and progressed placements of the angle rulers.
Because my Ascendent just switch signs, I took a peek at its “new” ruler, Jupiter. In my natal chart, Jupiter conjuncts my Sun (☀️👑).
HINT > Unless aspecting one of your inner planets (especially your Progressed Moon 🌙), you can skip reading for the “Social” and “Outer” Planets in your secondary progressions.
Jupiter and Saturn (the “social” planets) and Pluto, Neptune, Uranus (the “meta” planets) move too slow to actually progress through your chart, so unless they’re in the flightpath of one of your other natal or progressing planets (or angles), don’t worry about mixing them into your analysis. ✅
I mean—you totally can read for them, and probably should if you notice them sidling up on anything interesting in your chart, but remember that secondary progressions are super, super subtle, and unless the Progressed Sun or Progressed Moon is forming a very close aspect with one of ‘em, you might not notice.
(You can totally scroll down the Astro Seek page that produced your progressed chart to see the robo-descriptions and summaries for these planets anyway. 👍🏻)
🌟 NOW, NOTE ANY “INGRESSES” OF YOUR OTHER PROGRESSED PLANETS >
Any planets progressing into new signs or houses soon or recently? Ingresses, or planets entering new signs / houses, often correlate with a palpable shift in your concerns and circumstances.
“The most important shift is when a progressed planet changes signs. This means that everything ruled or symbolised by that planet is being refreshed, and that new desires will emerge. If your progressed Venus changes signs, you will want new experiences in relationships.”
—Astrology University, “How to Use Progressions to Track Changes”
You’ll have to consult with articles provided by Google witches to find out the specific effects and influence of your progressed planets changing signs or houses.
Just Google for “Progressed [ planet ] in [ the sign ]” and “Progressed [ planet ] in [ the house ].”
Where is the planet progressing right this moment? What’s the sign? What’s the house? Does that planet prefer the element and mode of that sign? Given that sign, how would that planet express itself through the activities of the house?
What each of the Progressed planets represents (Mercury, Venus, Mars…) 🌟
REMEMBER THOUGH, unless in very close aspect (0-1°) of your Progressed Sun or Moon, you might not register much of that planet, or it just won’t show up or factor into the super quiet subtext of your life.
…Not unless one of the following is happening.👇🏻
🌟 NOTE ANY PLANETS OR ANGLES AT 29° OF ANY SIGN OR PLANETS GOING RETROGRADE ✅ >
Also known as the anaretic degree, any planet at 29° of any zodiac sign feel agitated, intense… as though that planet is waiting for the clock to strike midnight, so it can preorder concert tickets.
“The progressed personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) can show how you shift in personal ways. When they’re anaretic or in new signs, this can be felt deeply and personally. If Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto are anaretic or change signs in the progressed chart, this can be quite significant, and show a period where there is major change, upheaval, developments, growth. They move much slower than the personal planets, so most people don’t experience them anaretic or moving into new signs, which makes it significant when they do.”
— Dark Pixie Astrology, “Important Points in a Progressed Chart”
Basically, planets at the anaretic degree feel tense, more so if they’re also conjunct (“side-by-side”) an anaretic planet in our natal chart, or when a transiting planet (in the sky right now) is also anaretic and conjunct an anaretic progressed planet. 😵💫
Retrograde planets are any planets that are going in reverse, or about to go direct, in your chart. All the planets (except the Sun + Moon) go retrograde or direct. They don’t actually change direction in orbit, but just look that way from earth. As they go backwards or direct (forward), it toggles where that planet directs its energy (into your third versus fourth house, for example).
Read more about anaretics here, and about progressed planets in retrograde over here. ✨
HINT > Is your Progressed Moon forming a tight aspect (0-1° orb, more about this in a minute) with an anaretic or retrograde planet? …then you’re mos’ def’ feelin’ it. 👍🏻
🌟 FINALLY, READ FOR THE REST OF YOUR PROGRESSED PLANETS IN ASPECT TO YOUR NATAL PLANETS AND ANGLES ✅ >
We have the most luminous awareness of our Progressed Sun and Moon (reportedly), and not so much awareness of our other progressed planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars), not unless they form a tight aspect with your Progressed Sun / Moon OR one of your natal planets or angles. 💫
HOWEVER, you can totally scroll down the page results on Astro-Seek to read the description of the dynamic symbolized by your close-aspecting progressed planets, and decide for yourself if it explains any subtle vibes in your life.
Focus on exact aspects, a.k.a. a “small orb” (about 1-2°) between your progressed and natal planets. Because Progressions move slow, even an exact aspect (“exact” = 0° orb) might influence the relationship between the two planets for about one year to eighteen months. 😳⏱
“Using a rigid orb of 1° or 2° for these aspects is not nearly so useful as utilizing an orb of time… I recommend using a maximum of a one-month orb (before and after the aspect) during which time the potential situation indicated may manifest.”
— Stephen Arroyo, “Astrology, Karma, and Transformation”
IN GENERAL, you want to pay the keenest attention to when the Progressed Moon is about 1-2° away from one of your natal or progressed planets, as the Moon progresses about 1° per month, indicating that for about one-two months, the Moon will be absorbing the influence of that planet. 🗓
“…the rationale for it is simply that many progressions (and transits also) don’t seem to ‘act’ until the transiting Moon trips them off. Hence, by using a one-month orb, there will be two different times when the transiting Moon conjuncts each point involved in the progressed aspect.”
— Stephen Arroyo, “Astrology, Karma, and Transformation”
Refer to Kepler’s College’s descriptions of all the Progressed Planets for hints about how to interpret the connections, and this article tells you more about how to find and interpret aspects in astrology charts. ✨
Also, here’s Cafe Astrology’s take on progressed planet aspects, just so you’re covered. ✌🏻
AN OMINOUS NOTE ABOUT WORKING WITH PROGRESSIONS… (+ WHY THEY SEEM MORE COMPLICATED THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE) 😳😩⏰ >
Most people live long enough for their Moon to progress around the zodiac and all twelve of their houses at least twice, and experience two-three of every Moon phase, in their lifetime. 💫
When I started to realize this... I got a little worried.
Disappointed. Disquieted. Angsty. 😓
If (like me 💕), you’ve used astrology for inventorying your personality (a.k.a. natal astrology ✨), then studying your Secondary Progressions might have brought upon you a certain kind of reckoning… the notion that whatever potential ✨ you discover in your natal chart…
Well, you might not… actualize it. 😳
I mean—not all of it.
Progressions reveal how MUCH of our potential can actually be developed.
Timing is everything, and our time is limited.
Magnificent opportunities and lovely encounters might arrive… but we’re just… not ready… it’s not the right mood… 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I really, really love this ominous note from astrologer-extraordinaire Dawn Bodrogi 🌟✨ about how… yes, studying your Secondary Progressions does induce a bit of existential anxiety, as it outlines the natural limits on our ultimate potential….
“I have a hunch that folks have a resistance to progressions these days because they in fact delineate the natural limitations of our lives.
Intellectually, we know that we can’t live forever, but most of us live our lives as if we can. The progressed chart outlines our natural limits. (😳😬)
In a life span, how many years can we expect to live? Let’s say we live to 90–the progressed Sun moves at roughly one day per year, so the chart at ninety days will move the Sun 90 degrees. That’s a generous limit of my life span, and the planets there at the ninety day mark will delineate the limits of my existence.
If the progressed Sun will only ever move 90 degrees within my lifetime, how important then is it when the progressed Sun changes signs, or houses, or makes aspects to planets? My Virgo natal Sun will progress to learn the relationship/balance lessons of Libra. Thirty years later, it will take the accumulated knowledge and move on to learn the intensity and focus of Scorpio. I remain a Virgo, but a Virgo who has evolved through the tests of the following signs and other planets that may reside there. The same goes for Mercury, Venus, Mars.
The progressed Moon moves relatively quickly and shows us what we are focused on right now. Progressed aspects to the natal chart matter, but hard aspects between progressed planets come alive in a unique way. They are great indicators of change, both inner and outer.”
— The Inner Wheel, “The Chart Workshop: The Progressed Chart Confusion” ⏰💫
SO BASICALLY, reading your progressions (and transits ✨) alongside your natal chart can help focus your attention on your feeling-based experience, reframe expectations for this phase of life, and give you language for an internal dialogue about your hopes, expectations, dreams, and obsessions.
ALSO, help you rumble with your natural limitations.
more RESOURCES FOR MASTERING your secondary progressions ⏰🌟 >
Astro Library has a database of references for Progressed Aspects for your Progressed Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Mars (yay!), and this Dark Pixie article has summaries for the Progressed Sun in the signs, houses, and also aspects to other planets. 💫
Here’s more: What you need to know about your Progressed Sun🌻, and what each of the Progressed planets represents (Mercury, Venus, Mars…) 🌟
IF YOU NEED A REFRESHER, this article explains the concept of and rules of interpretation for your chart angles, while Dark Pixie Astrology has this article to help you delineate the relationship between your progressed angles and natal planets: how they might feel, and what might manifest in your awareness. 💫
Combine the above with Kepler’s College’s descriptions of all the Progressed Planets, and how long they take to move ‘round your chart, and this article tells you more about how to find and interpret aspects in astrology charts. ✨
Also, here’s Cafe Astrology’s take on progressed planet aspects, just so you’re covered. ✌🏻
Also, did your ASC angle shift into a new sign recently, such as mine? 💕 > read more about when the Ascendant and Midheaven change signs.
Plus, this article lists all major aspects between Progressed and Natal Planets to help you delineate all the factors involved, and Nic says more about interpreting Progressed Suns and Rising Signs in this post.
ALSO, you’ll need this > Your Guide to Interpreting Astrological Aspects.
Want to trip out on progressions? Cast your progressions for 120 years after you were born. You’ll “see” how your life events are still playing out, long after you’re dead! This forum describes looking at progressions for hints about how your family might settle your affairs! 😳🤯 > “Will you receive any awards or accolades, or publish a book? No kidding, a guy in Australia found his grandfather's diary of life in the trenches during World War I. He published it. Guess what? It showed up in the progressions of the grandfather's natal chart.”
Remember, Secondary Progressions only point to subtext. Many progressed charts are cast not for their own sake, but to help an astrologer hone in on the undercurrents of your life, and better understand the questions you’ve asked, especially if you’ve asked about the timing of an opportunity or relationship.
Though a tight orb between your natal and progressed planets can last 18 months (😵💫), it won't be felt in your psyche, or become a dominant theme in your life the way a transit does.
So, reviewing your progressions is more like noticing the wind-chimes on your neighbor's back porch, or tuning into background chatter coming from your roommate's bedroom. You’re just trying to feel out the mood and ambiance of your inner life.
ULTIMATELY ✨, your natal planets show the what, transits show the how, while progressions show the why.
In my next post, I'll be focusing on delineating your Progressed Moon 🌙⏰, which is really the queen of your progressions. Your Progressed Moon feels the Secondary Progressions, and moves fastest around the chart (1° per month), eventually connecting with every body, angle, and point (progressed or natal) within 27 years. 😳
She’s on a journey, yo’!
And because she’s so swift (+ trying to connect with each body in your chart), your Progressed Moon has the most insight into your most subtle matrix of consciousness.
In fact, as you might have noticed earlier in this tutorial, it’s believed that your Progressed Moon might even activate your other progressions. 🌙🧨
WE NEED THAT INTEL! 🙀
