Midheaven transits: career change

The midheaven represents the zenith of our human accomplishment. The sign that sits on your midheaven, as well as any planets that lie on or near the midheaven, will determine what kind of accomplishment this will be, and in what niche, or profession you are likely to achieve it.

The midheaven represents the time and sphere of our lives when we reap the fruit from seeds we planted earlier in life, and to a lesser extent by our parents when we were children. Some say that such seeds can also be planted far further back, in lives we no longer remember. The midheaven shows our status in society and how we will influence and shape the world around us. Whether this influence is powerful or weak, positive or negative, depends on the sign on the cusp of the midheaven, as well as any aspects from the planets or points.

Midheaven transits by the slow moving outer planets often initiate big changes to the role we play in our community, triggering some of our most important life lessons and opportunities. The nature and extent of this change depends on the planet involved and whether natal aspects are activated by its passing.

My own experience of midheaven transits

In 2007 Uranus passed over my mid-heaven in Pisces. During that year I quit my comfortable full-time job with a government agency and took off to spend time teaching in a Permaculture centre in Brazil. Upon my return, after some pretty mind-blowing experiences, I set up my own business in an unusual field. I was independent, my own boss, and I was working for the revolution: all strong Uranian qualities.

Since then Uranus has been moving slowly through my tenth house of professional life bringing with it one dramatic career change after another. And it’s not like I planned it that way; on the contrary I feel that as I’ve responded to life’s opportunities and taken new directions I’ve had to quickly adapt to my changing circumstances. At times I’ve felt as though my skills were suddenly useless, only to turn around and find myself using another set of skills in a completely new context.

Midheaven transits and how they might affect you

• Mars: During this transit you’re likely to feel great enthusiasm for your career and have a lot of energy to invest in moving it forward. You may become more assertive, even pushy (depending on sign and aspects), in the pursuit of what you wish to achieve and more prominent in your community. Others may find you a tad aggressive, especially if this is not your usual mode of behaviour. This is a transit of short duration, a rocket boost of energy to initiate change rather than sustained fuel for a long-term project.
• Jupiter: Especially good fortune is likely to come your way and career change will occur through chance meetings with the right people or being in the right place at the right time. Others may remark on how lucky you are in your career and you’ll probably agree! Jupiter brings abundance, opportunity and expansion in any area of life that it touches.
• Saturn: Things may start to get serious and you are likely to be given heavy responsibilities in your career that could push you in one of two directions. Either you will feel claustrophobic and trapped, eventually breaking free to pursue something that allows you more freedom, or you will take up the burden willingly and achieve great things through your determined efforts.
• Uranus: During this transit you may find yourself unable to tolerate hierarchy, authority figures, rules or schedules that curtail your freedom to choose. Both the inner rebel and the inner revolutionary will come to the fore; the one most prominent in you will depend on the other planets and signs that are involved. Neither you or your employer is unlikely to tolerate this stressful situation for long and something will have to give. Let go and enjoy the ride: you are moving towards a role that better suits your thirst for independence, innovation and social change.
• Neptune: Ah Neptune! Both visionary and illusionist she will surely lead you from your path. You may find yourself sacked for spending too much time on Facebook during work time, escaping from the fact that your current role bores you out of your mind. Or you might have an epiphany, realising your purpose in life for the first time, and throw in your high powered career to become a meditation teacher. Much depends on how awake you are…
• Pluto: All Pluto transits bring some kind of death or ending and this is no exception. Like Uranus, Pluto changes are often intense and sudden. You may fall from grace or experience a drop in status or influence, or conversely you may find yourself having to deal wisely with a sudden increase in your power. Someone else may appear to be involved, as we project our lessons outward, and you may find yourself encountering someone who is manipulative, controlling or obsessive.

How you experience these midheaven transits depends to a large extent on the other factors in your chart that are interacting with and modifying its affects. However the most important thing here is how present and responsive you are. If you are able to accept each moment as it arises, whether or not it is what you planned or wanted, you will glide through these changes and emerge in a role that is far better suited to your evolving soul.

For more on midheaven transits read this excellent article by Dana Gerhardt.

If you don’t have one yet, you can get a free birth chart at astro.com. To understand how to read your birth chart, and follow the transits in your own life, download my free ebook The Language of Astrology.