Planets in Transit: Life Cycles for Living

This book is written honestly and honesty is refreshing in this day and age where so many prefer to ignore reality in favor of being placated. This book is NOT for the hobbyist; it's for only serious students of astrology who plan on becoming serious Astrologers. As far as negative transits are concerned? Truth be known, some are challenging; some are easy; some are both. The author has no choice but to tell the truth. You need to be able to handle it. And most importantly? The negative IS the positive. All challenges transform us. Once you realize the negative is just the positive in disguise, everything is positive. It's the lens in which we see the world that makes a difference in how one reads this book. I don't like challenging transits, personally, but I'm a realist enough to realize that whatever challenging transit comes my way, it's going to change me for the better. If you find the author negative, it's only because you are unconsciously or consciously resisting change and growth.

If you are looking for reality sugar-coated or if you want to be told that a challenging transit is easy peasy, this book isn't for you.

This book is an absolute "must" for serious students of Astrology. My first copy fell apart from so much use after a number of years, & I had to order a new one. I constantly hear from other astrologers that "The stars don't lie!" -- this book helps you see the possibilities of what may/might occur when transiting planets in the sky go over the planets in your natal chart (which is like your fingerprint -- it never changes) & you can get an idea of what to expect. If it's a bit negative, you learn to deal with it & at least you know why stuff happens. Ditto on the positive transits to your natal chart. Good stuff coming your way? Prepare in advance & have fun! A very informative book.

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 planetary transits, including those to the ascendant and midheaven (astrologers using Chiron however, 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!

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 planetary transits, including those to the ascendant and midheaven (astrologers using Chiron however, 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!

With all the nonsense written about astrology it's good to have a reliable book to explain the daily influences in your horoscope. Put down the newspaper. Put down the book that claims to tell you about your day based simply on your Sun sign. Those things are completely worthless. I was once fired on my supposed lucky day in one of those magazines. The newspaper and magazine daily horoscopes have given astrology a bad name.
Planets In Transit by Robert Hand is the real thing, the kind of book Sir Isaac Newton would have approved when he defended his belief in astrology to Halley (of Halley's comet fame) by saying - I have looked into the subject, Mr Halley, and you haven't.
This book is not for novices. You have to know the fundamentals of astrology to use it. You have to know what transiting Mars trine natal Venus means in astronomical terms before Robert Hand can explain it to you in astrological terms. You also need your chart and an ephemeris. If you don't have these things and don't know what I'm talking about, pick up a basic primer in astrology before graduating to Planets In Transit. I recommended the book to my astrology students when I taught an adult education course.

The book brought by Robert Hand is a "magnum opus".In this book I find not even a single word of waste or repeating the same again and again.Hither to Astrology was mainly dealing with results of aspects from Radical planetary positions to yearly progressions.Almost in all, writers did not attach much importance to transitions. The book deals all transitions of planets from Sun to Pluto.And the aspects of transitions to Ascendent and Mid-heaven also.It is a very useful book to be kept on the table of a beginner aswell with a professional.I appreaciate the language, manner in presenting the matter and the authoritative command on the subject. The book contains all the subject without wasting the pages with endless sample horoscopes. The book is a BRISTLING STAR in this subject and stays shining for ever in the Galaxy of Astrology Books.(I am 60 yrs. old and having an experience of 40 yrs.)

Planets in Transit is a "must-have" book for anyone serious about astrology. Robert Hand's detailed descriptions of transit aspects are so good, you may find yourself to referring to them even for natal chart readings. Because transits, unlike one's natal positions, are an ongoing affair, you'll probably be referring to this book more than any other astrology text you own. Hand's insightful analyses will help you understand the cosmic energies of the transits you or your clients are or will be experiencing, and also provide positive, spiritually oriented suggestions for dealing with them.

Planets in Transit by Robert Hand is an absolute must in the library of any student of Astrology. I purchased the book in 1976. So my hard cover copy is well worn because I use it constantly. There is no other transit book that even comes near to the factual information that is in Hand's book. And I have read them all or almost all the Astrology books written about transits.
I would recommend it to anyone with even a tiny bit of interest in Astrology. Mr. Hand has covered every phase one could expect during any transit. He is well versed in Astrology and is extremely talented as a writer.
It is clearly written and easily understood even for those who have little knowledge of Astrology. He outlines what to expect from every transit including the Sun,Moon and Mercury to Pluto. I can't imagine life in Astrology without his fabulous book.
I recommend it to everyone interested in learning about the transits of the planets.
I mentally thank Mr. Hand for writing the book every time I pick it up and read it.

After passing the novice and acquaintance stage, this is the next building block to firm up the base of the student of astrology and hone his/her skills. Although astrology is a vast field, and this book is limited only to transit delineations, once a student "gets the hang" of transits, he can proceed further afield. Even after gaining that, this book will always remain an indispensable basic reference manual. It is a timeless classic, which many purportedly famous names have yet to excel. Some reviewers may criticise the quality of the book's binding (the 1976 one may be called average, but not bad) or the author's grammatical or syntactical proclivities and "lack of soulfullness" (I honestly don't know what that implies!) or, even what I see as a slightly blunt moralising overtone of "good" and "bad" - but such criticisms are immature and irrelevant, and detract from the author's actual work. Everybody has their own way of approaching and interacting with even the best books, and should therefore not expect a book to be 100% satisfying beforehand, without reconciling its content with their own mature judgement in some way.

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

Could anybody tell me why this book didn't include the transit aspects to the MC (midheaven)? Also I thought it would talk about the transit of Chiron, but it does not. A little disappointed. Other than that, this is a good book. I gave it a five star.

This book is a "must have" for anyone studying astrology. I purchased this book in the 70's and still take it from my bookshelf to consult when I need some additional information about a particular transit. It is well written with a psychological perspective, which helps an individual comprehend the manifesting trends. It is a definative 5 star resource.

This book is a must for your astrological reference library. Written by the world's greatest living astrologer, Robert Hand, and Charles A. Jayne, it is an invaluable "cookbook" of transit interpretation for the budding professional astrologer-to-be. As a professional astrologer myself, an astrology teacher and a contemporary of Hand's, I would venture to say from my own personal experience, that virtually every professional astrologer in the past two decades has cut their teeth on this book. Hand is learned, profound, and sometimes downright uncanny in his interpretations. As I recall, he wrote this book in collaboration with Jayne, while Saturn was transitting his third house. This transit would be a classic for giving someone the discipline it takes to write something as tedious yet invaluable, as this book. It IS the Bible of transit interpretation.

This is a comprehensive book to learn about the Transit analysis of the heavenly bodies. It explains how to theoretically analyze the aspects of multiple planets and gives us the author's interpretation of fundamental patterns of transiting planets. Personally, I enjoy his case study of Richard Nixon and the Watergate. Nixon's natal planets' linkages with transiting trans-Saturnian planets could explain the development of a series of events. I believe that serious astrological students would be pleased to read this book.

I have always associated the action of planets in transit with listening to the weather report and imagining myself as a fisherman; does this tide will be the right one to fish? Is this early morning the right moment to go out fishing with my boat? If not, I better go home and watch the storm by the window...and so on!
Despite of not allowing myself of being dependent on "facts", having read this superb work of Robert Hand has let me get wet in better understanding our life cycles' lessons.
"PLANETS IN TRANSIT" sheds heavenly light in this chapter of Astrology.
Both your soul and library should not miss it!
Thank you, the store! You're the best.
Cordially,
Andrea Minervini
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Had Gotten this Many Years Ago in conjunction with the 2000 Ephemeris Book and A Few Books That Explain The Intricracy of Astrology Reading[Natal Chart Interpretation]. Found this to be more elaborate in regards to each planet 'placement' or transit; however, rather than stick with one point of view, always search for different perspective(s) from different authors. Truth comes from many angles than just one.

Susan

Although I have found Robert Hand's description of my natal chart perceptive and accurate, his transits of the year tend to be extremely depressing for my birth date. When I compared mine with what Hand said for the birth date of a convicted murderer, the murderer was assured an outlook with a rosy glow, whereas my outlook was truly dire and foreboding. If my life is indeed that cursed, I think I'd rather not know about it ahead of time, and I certainly don't want to turn his predictions into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Similarly, on the rare occasion he did say something pleasant was in store for me, I was often facing a severe problem or obstacle. In any event, I prefer he err on the side of too optimistic an outlook rather than one that frightens.

Robert Hand's talent is making something radically new seem familiar and usable by the beginner.

When I first read this book, I was an intermediate level astrologer looking to expand my skills in the reading of client relationships. At the time of its first publication, Planets in Composite was all that was available on Composites, so I was grateful for its existence.

Now, after thirty-five years as a professional astrologer, I still pick it up when I need to jog my memory about a particular aspect, or house position. It's the best cookbook around on the "purpose" of a relationship.

Planets in Transit is a must for both professional astrologers and lay people. It contains explanations of transits and basic astrological knowledge. I recommend it for anyone interested in transit astrology.

Never received the book that I ordered January 3. I realize this is a review for the book, however I ordered 5 books on January 3 and only received 2. When I sent back seller feedback I accidentally gave them a 4 out of 5 rating when they should have gotten a 1; then another company I gave them a 1 but have since removed that feedback because I actually received that book