I have a big year for progressions in 2022, all involving Venus and Libra. To prepare, I’ve been looking back at some of my earlier experiences to get a feel for how it works. There are various ways to track progressions and two main types: Secondary Progressions and Solar Arc. Secondary progressions are calculated by counting a day-for-a-year using an ephemeris, while solar arc progressions move all the planets forward by the same degree as the Sun.

I’ve only used secondary progressions to date, so I can’t comment on the solar arc method – it’s something I’d like to explore, perhaps in a later post. According to Stephen Arroyo, secondary progressions work best for inner psychological changes in a person’s life, rather than specific events, but they can coincide with events too.

They work in a similar way to transits but often go deeper. Transits can come and go without making any real changes to your deeper self, unless you work with them consciously. Progressions seem to be more likely to change you in a deep way that persists over time. They can reveal shifts in how you see yourself or feel about life, as well as new interests and new directions in your life.

When a planet (especially the Sun or Moon) progresses into alignment with another planet in your chart, it means you’re ready to develop a deeper understanding of that part of your being. How it plays out depends on your chart as a whole and the level of awareness you bring to your experience. So your experience of both transits and progressions should evolve over time.

I need to write a separate post about how progressions work, but in a nutshell, when progressed planets change signs it subtly changes how you express that energy. It’s also important to note when progressed planets connect with other natal placements, and when they change direction and station either retrograde or direct. Progressed planets can also be affected by transits.

My big problem with progressions (and transits) is that I can’t remember much of my childhood – the memories are fragmentary and jumbled and it’s hard to sort them out into a timeline (maybe I’m a replicant?!). Only the obvious events and turning points stand out from the past – not the subtle internal shifts. But in this series I’ll share a few highlights from my notes, starting with the Sun…

Progressed Sun

My Virgo Sun in the 7th house progressed into the 8th house when I was 15 years old. This progression brings deep and transformative experiences that change your sense of who you are, especially in relationship to others. At that age, I was a typical teenager and feeling depressed and misunderstood. The month the progressed Sun entered my 8th house, I took a small overdose; not enough to cause real problems, but enough to make me question what I was doing.

I remember thinking: “You got yourself into this mess so you can get yourself out of it.” By the end of the year, I had turned my life around and got myself a boyfriend! Other transits that contributed to the situation included: Saturn opposing my natal Saturn, square Mars, and conjunct Neptune, plus support from Jupiter conjunct my Ascendent and opposing my Moon.

The transformation continued when the progressed Sun reached my natal Pluto when I was 21 and at college studying music. With progressed Sun conjunct Pluto you can expect intense experiences and a process of deep and radical change. It’s a profound evolution of your whole life and sense of self when anything that’s broken will need to be fixed or healed.

For me, this progression triggered a total breakdown of my psyche in a death/rebirth that turned my perception of reality inside out and upside down. I was a different person from this point on – a moment of rebirth, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes. It coincided with Saturn’s first visit to my 12th house while Pluto was also opposing my natal Saturn. I wrote about it in this post: First Contact, and my first novel in a fictionalised form: Addled: Adventures of a Reluctant Mystic.

The next stop for the progressed Sun was my natal Mercury which is closely conjunct Pluto. With progressed Sun conjunct Mercury your mind is fired up with lots of thoughts and connections that spill over into greater activity in your daily life. You can gain greater mental clarity which helps you to understand yourself more easily and communicate that to others.

This progression happened when I was 22-23 and helped me to recover from the breakdown by educating myself. I read tons of books about psychology and philosophy and taught myself how to think, deconstructed my worldview and learned new ways of seeing the world – including astrology. I helped out at a studio and started to learn the basics about sound recording, and then did counselling training with people struggling with drug and alcohol problems.

All of this made me realise I was stronger than I thought I was, and it inspired me to return to college to follow my dream of becoming a sound engineer once this progression was over. This was a major turning point in my life which coincided with my progressed Mercury stationing direct – more on that later.

After all the Scorpionic transformation, it was a relief when the Sun progressed into Libra when I was 25. When the Virgo Sun progresses into Libra it brings a greater need for balance and harmony in relationships, and a time when you’ll learn more about yourself through others.

In my case, the Sun is already in the 7th house so the emphasis on pivotal relationships was there from the start. However, I did notice a definite lifting of the mood. During the early part of this progression I was back at college learning sound engineering, and then later working at various jobs. There was a lot more socialising and a year after the ingress into Libra, I met the man who would become a major part of my life for many years.

That relationship ended thanks, in part, to the progressed Sun moving to conjunct my natal Uranus when I was 32. With progressed Sun conjunct Uranus you’re more aware of your individuality and need for freedom. You need to be yourself and may have many original ideas and feel drawn to unconventional activities.

Prior to this progression I had been feeling frustrated with the lack of creativity in my life and was drinking too much and being a bore. Looking back, I can see that I needed to accept the mystical side of my being but was running away from the realisations that were brewing in my subconscious. But then two months after the progression became exact, I suddenly began to make changes.

First, I stopped taking the Pill and that cleared my depression almost instantly. I gave up the booze and started doing yoga (or trying to) and began to embrace my creativity again. By the end of the progression, I was feeling better about myself but the relationship was finished – and of course, Jupiter had just entered the 7th house!

Finally, the progressed Sun moved to conjunct my natal Venus in the 8th house when I was 37. With progressed Sun conjunct Venus you’re more focused on relationships, your values and need for harmony, balance and creative self-expression. You may be more charming and can attract what you want more easily, but you may also be lazy and self-indulgent.

I didn’t notice anything significant for this progression, which was a disappointment for me at the time. My values had already started to change but this was more to do with other progressions and transits, such as progressed Mars conjunct my natal Pluto and Pluto transiting my 12th house. However, I did publish two books that year.

Looking ahead, the transformative changes will return (or continue) when my Sun progresses into Scorpio when I’m 55 – only a few years away in 2025 – it never ends!

Obviously, not everyone will experience this kind of relentless transformation or the focus on one or two signs. The way your progressions unfold will depend on the shape of your chart and the starting positions of your natal planets. My planets are mostly gathered in the 7th and 8th houses – hence the endless death and rebirth. I should be an expert by the time I actually do die! 😉

Next time, we’ll explore progressed Mercury...

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