How do I read my own transits?

Compare your natal positions by sign and degree with where the planets are today. Look for Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto within a degree or two of a natal placement, and ignore the fast movers.

Why do transits happen three times?

Slow planets retrograde. A planet crosses a natal point moving direct, retrogrades back over it, then crosses again, three passes often spread across more than a year.

What orb should I use for transits?

One degree, two at most. Wider orbs leave a slow planet in aspect for years, which removes any timing value the technique had.

How to read your own transits without an app

Two lists, one table, and the discipline of ignoring most of it.

2 min read · Published 30 August 2026

In one paragraph

You need two things: your natal planet positions by sign and degree, and where the planets are now. Compare them and look for the slow planets, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, within a degree or two of a natal placement. Ignore the fast movers almost entirely. The Moon aspects everything every month, so its transits carry no information about a period.

What you need

Your natal positions, free on any chart, including AsterNym's natal chart. Current positions from an ephemeris, a free site or an almanac. No app.

What to look at, and what to ignore

Transiting planet	How long a contact lasts	Worth watching?
Moon	A few hours	No. It contacts everything monthly
Mercury, Venus	A few days	Rarely, and they retrograde back over the same point
Mars	About a week	Sometimes, particularly to the angles
Jupiter	A few weeks	Yes, as a lighter theme
Saturn	Several months, often across three passes	Yes · the most-watched transit
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto	One to two years	Yes · the major chapters

The ignoring is the whole skill. A reader who counts every contact finds significance every week, which is the same as finding it nowhere.

Do it yourself. The apps push notifications about Mercury; the slow planets are the only ones I'd bother with.

The three-pass pattern

Slow planets retrograde, so they usually cross a natal point three times: direct, back over it, direct again, spread across a year or more. Use a one-degree orb, two at most; wider orbs leave a planet 'in aspect' for years and the technique means nothing.

The record that makes it work

Write down the exact dates and what you expect, in advance. Leave it. Read it a year later. Without a record, memory keeps the hits and drops the misses. With one, you get an answer about your own experience.

The follow-ups

How do I read my own transits?: Compare your natal positions by sign and degree with where the planets are today. Look for Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto within a degree or two of a natal placement, and ignore the fast movers.
Why do transits happen three times?: Slow planets retrograde. A planet crosses a natal point moving direct, retrogrades back over it, then crosses again, three passes often spread across more than a year.
What orb should I use for transits?: One degree, two at most. Wider orbs leave a slow planet in aspect for years, which removes any timing value the technique had.