Midlife Is Not a Crisis—it is a chrysalis—and the proverbial butterfly that emerges from its pages is depth-full, magical, and rare. This delight-full book shows you how and why to age and live juicily and inspires you to fully live your radiant life at every stage. This marvelous book is a poetic and educational journey about juicy aging, and how to prepare, prosper, and thrive in the second half of life, and it also beautifully applies to all the stages of living and growing.
—SARK co-author and artist of Succulent Wild Love and creator of PlanetSARK.com
“In Midlife Is Not a Crisis, astrologer Virginia Bell has written a consequential, compelling book that roadmaps life as an unfolding journey and reveals the purpose and heart of each life phase as an opportunity for creative change. Based on the cycles of the planets, this is a practical yet lyrical guide to the stages of life through the language of astrology and the power of its timing and the wisdom of new paradigms beautifully carved from myth, archetype, and real life.
“Midlife Is Not a Crisis will inspire you to find renewal of purpose and amazing, unique opportunities for self-discovery at every age and the rich, ripe fruit of wisdom that lovingly connects you with the elder within awaiting at each cycle, honoring each as the doorway to a higher soul consciousness. Virginia Bell has written a classic, a book that will empower you to thrive in all the stages of your life.”
—Ronnie Grishman, editor-in-chief, Dell Horoscope Magazine
“What a clear, practical, and totally fascinating guide for how to thrive in all the phases of your life! With her brilliant mastery of astrology, Virginia Bell gives you the map to navigate your entire life and to become your fully authentic self. Keep this book on your bedside table!”
—Jean Haner, author of Your Hidden Symmetry: How Your Birth Date Reveals the Plan for Your Life and The Wisdom of Your Face: Change Your Life with Chinese Face Reading
“Appealing to master astrologers and avid horoscope readers, Virginia Bell looks brilliantly at the heavens and sees in the stars a spiritual road map revealing where we come from, where we are now, what lies ahead if we pay attention to the signs, and what's likely to happen if we don't. Midlife is not a crisis and neither is any turning point in life once we, too, open this book and take an enlightening look at the heavens above in order to understand soulfully what's happening below.”
—Karol Jackowski, author of bestseller Ten Fun Things to Do Before You Die
“The world is awash in information right now, but starving for wisdom. Virginia Bell's book on the astrology of maturity is utterly timely. It is a thorough, well-written guide to the loving cultivation of the wise elder within each of us.”
—Jessica Murray, author of Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America and At the Crossroads: An Astrologer Looks at These Turbulent Times, and creator of MotherSky.com
“With her ageless wisdom, Virginia Bell has written a book for the ages. Using astrology's key cycles, she shows us that life has a plot and that its unfolding will give you new-found opportunities for growth. No matter what stage of life you are in, however, her book, Midlife Is Not a Crisis, is for the young-at-heart, for it will inspire you to embrace the changes and challenges you face with courage and a sense of adventure.”
—Shirley Soffer, author of The Astrology Sourcebook: Your Guide to Understanding the Symbolic Language of the Stars
“Sigmund Freud may have introduced us to the ‘mid-life crisis,’ but he left us high and dry when he led us to believe that it's all downhill from there. In a culture that has been deliberately ‘youth-anized’ by the media, it's time to open our eyes to what astrologers have always known: that time, repetition, and experience are the only teachers here. From our perspective, the so-called mid-life crisis is, in fact, the entrance to higher levels of wisdom and experience. With that said, I am here to applaud Virginia Bell. With Midlife Is Not a Crisis, she has tapped into the ‘Secret of the Ages’: little did we know that life really does begin at forty. It may come as even more of a surprise that no one has enough experience or wisdom to become consciously aware of their life's purpose, until they turn fifty. If we live to be sixty, a whole other realm of consciousness opens up. From that point on, the heart and the soul and the mind enter realms that are inaccessible to those who have not lived long enough to go there. YES! There is life after the mid-life crisis. It is where the sidewalk ends and real life begins. This is a worthwhile book that will be a boon to astrologers, psychologists, and laymen alike. Now that the world is over-populated with Baby-Boomers, Ms. Bell will find a receptive audience for a book that could be just what the doctor ordered for anyone who suffers from the belief that ‘You can't trust anyone over thirty’ and life is over and done with on the day we turn forty.”
—Cal Garrison, author of The Astrology of 2012 and Beyond and The Old Girls' Book of Spells: The Real Meaning of Menopause, Sex, Car Keys, and Other Important Stuff About Magic
“A generation or two ago, people expected to work at their jobs until age 59 or 65, if they were lucky, receive a gold watch, and possibly look forward to a few more years subsisting on Social Security or whatever they managed to save. But things have changed. Many of us live well into our 80s and even 90s and are enjoying marvelous second and third acts AND new careers. Virginia Bell's Midlife Is Not a Crisis: Using Astrology to Thrive in the Second Half of Life has arrived right on time to serve and inspire Boomers, Gen-Xers, and anyone planning to make the most of the awakening that occurs at 40–45 and give it their all after age 50.
“The book begins with a fabulous primer for astrology newbies (deliciously well-written and an enjoyable review of the basics for veterans) and then forays into the much needed and under-discussed planetary transits and patterns that all 60-, 70- and 80-somethings experience. Virginia leaves no stone unturned as she provides a precise and uplifting road map with which to navigate and enrich one's golden years.”
—Shelley L. Ackerman, astrologer, author, actor, entertainer at www.karmicrelief.com
“It's easy to be depressed about getting old, rather than optimistic. That's why I love Virginia Bell's book Midlife Is Not a Crisis: Using Astrology to Thrive in the Second Half of Life because it lets readers know—whether they are 29 or 84—that it's never too late for happiness. Virginia shows us what to expect during common life cycles and how to navigate their challenges for desired self-transformation.”
—Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, The Big Book of Practical Spells, and the Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints, and Sages
This edition first published in 2017 by Weiser Books, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
Copyright © 2017 by Virginia Bell
Foreword Copyright © 2017 Steven Forrest
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-612-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.
Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Interior by Frame25 Productions
Typeset in Garamond Premier Pro
Printed in the United States of America
M&G
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
www.redwheelweiser.com
www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter
Foreword by Steven Forrest
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Introduction to the Cycles: Our Power Years
An Overview of Astrology: The Birth Chart
THE CYCLES
The Saturn Return: Growing Up and Getting Real (Age 29)
The Midlife Journey: Breakdowns and Breakthroughs (Ages 37–45)
The Chiron Return: The Youth of Old Age (Ages 49–51)
The Second Saturn Return: The New Elder (Age 58)
The Closing Uranus Square: A Second Wind (Ages 62–63)
The Seventies: Real Problems, Real Possibilities
The Uranus Return at Eighty-Four: The Homecoming
Appendix: Profiles
Suggested Reading
In the interest of journalistic transparency, I do need to report that Virginia Bell is much older than me—well, five and a half years older anyway. I therefore bow before her venerable wisdom when it comes to life's passages; and—giggles aside—a compassionate, wise look at life's passages through the clear lens of astrology is the subject of this very fine volume.
To further preserve my integrity, before I launch into the heart of this foreword, I should add that I am biased. I have loved Virginia Bell since the moment I met her. That was at an astrological conference in Connecticut, probably a quarter century ago. I had mailed her several recorded readings before that, so I “knew” her in that strange way an astrologer gets to know someone via hieroglyphics on a sheet of paper. But when we met face to face, the karmic violins played. Miracle of miracles, in that moment, the main meeting hall at the conference hotel cleared of every soul.
That simple fact demonstrates one basic truth about Virginia Bell—as befits her Sun/Moon conjunction in the magical eighth house, Ginnie wields some serious ju-ju. The crowd went poof. She and I were left standing there solo, without interruption, talking and connecting, and I was impressed on a whole other level. I also felt as if we had known each other for a thousand years. Which is probably the approximate truth of the matter.
All this of course makes it sound like Virginia Bell and I were “an item,” but it wasn't like that. There was never a grand romance or even a “moment” for that matter. Instead of skidding down that slippery Romeo and Juliet slope, we instead planted our four Earth-sign feet upon the solid ground of that human masterpiece: a lifelong friendship—one that has now stood for nearly half my life.
In the fashion of friendship, there has always been a sense of spiritual parity between Ginnie and me. I would turn to her for help or perspective as easily as she would turn to me. Over the years, I have confidently referred many clients to her. When she decided to become a student in my apprenticeship program, I had a moment of feeling as if the Dalai Lama had asked me for meditation tips. I was flattered and a little disoriented. Ginnie is a true wise woman. Read any page at random in this excellent book, and you will immediately see what I mean. What could I possibly teach her? But one of Virginia Bell's virtues is her ability to learn something from everyone she meets—and again, these pages will demonstrate that to you.
Albert Einstein famously said, “When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a redhot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.” Well, our clearing that room at the conference in Connecticut seems like it just happened yesterday. We were both in mid-life then—and now we are gray-haired and wrinkled enough that younger folks fancy us wise. Life goes by so quickly. Those words have become a cliché. Pronounce them in front of a group of intelligent young people in their twenties, and they all sagaciously nod their heads. And they do understand—but not as they will understand when they are fifty or seventy.
There are plenty of fine young astrologers today—and no shortage of pontificating old fools. Age itself teaches us very little. But one point is sure: those fine young astrologers will mostly be even better with another few decades of experience. That is true in general but especially so when it comes to the actual subject of this book: life's chronological milestones. It really helps to have experienced them personally before we speak about them! Only an arrogant young fool, destined to become an annoying old one, would argue against that idea.
I vividly recall the vague sense of illegitimacy I had at age thirty while talking to a wise “old” man or woman about the meaning of the Second Saturn Return at about one's fifty-ninth birthday. I laugh to remember that one of my struggles back then was to avoid speaking of their lives in the past tense. Such are the illusions of youth . . .
Robbie Robertson put it so well in one of his solo tunes: “We grow up so slowly, and we grow old so fast.” I guess everyone over fifty would agree with that line. What makes the difference though are the usual pivotal questions: Have we honestly examined our own experiences? Have we taken responsibility for the repeating patterns in our lives? Have we actually gotten anything deeper than mere memory from them? Did we acknowledge our own errors truthfully enough to have learned from them? Did we love, and dare, and occasionally fly though fog on pure faith with no plan B and no parachute?
No one can answer those questions about another soul. But I am going to ditch my parachute and take off in the fog anyway. Virginia Bell has lived that way. She embodies these human virtues with humility, grace, and—blessedly—with a naughty twinkle in her eye. Many a tree has been turned to pulp in order to rehash old astrological ideas and print them yet again under a new title. This is not one of those books. In these pages, a wise woman has left us a treasure.
I wish Ginnie a long life, but I am confident that people will be reading this book long after we are both gone. And they, like myself, will be thanking her for illuminating the path we must all follow, a path that society has festooned with needless fear, draped in anxiety, and spiced with gloom—the path of aging. In Virginia Bell's hands, that path is no longer so foreboding. Instead it beckons.
—Steven Forrest, author of The Inner Sky
I am profoundly grateful to Mary Elizabeth Wakefield and Michel-Angelo for making the connection with Red Wheel/Weiser. I couldn't have found a better home for this book. It's been a joy working with Judika Illes, not only a superb editor but a kindred spirit. The entire Red Wheel/Weiser team has been both professional and kind—a rare combination! Thank you Michael Kerber, Jane Hagaman, Bonni Hamilton, Eryn Carter, Debra Woodward, Greg Brandenburgh, Tania Seymour, and a heartfelt thanks to Kathryn Sky-Peck.
A big karmic thank you to Ginny and Bob Duffy for driving me home from the Berkshires so many years ago and for Ginny reading Steven Forrest's book out loud. Steven Forrest, thank you for being such a generous teacher and friend and for the beautiful foreword. Ingrid Coffin and everyone at Blue Sky Ranch who are involved in producing Steven's Apprenticeship Program—you are the best!
I'm indebted to the extraordinary astrology teachers I've studied with: Wendy Ashley, Eileen McCabe, Anne Ortelee, Michael Lutin, and especially Shirley Soffer, who has been such an angel to this book. Amy Hertz and Susan Golomb were instrumental during the early stages of this project, as were Ronnie Grishman and Dell Horoscope magazine. I love being a part of Watch! magazine, and I am so grateful to everyone there.
Hadley Fitzgerald is not only a dear friend, but her expertise and wisdom throughout the writing of this book has been invaluable. I owe so much to photographer and website designer Irene Young for the stunning photographs, website, and blogs, not to mention the forty-plus year's friendship. I don't know what I would have done without Susan Kennedy, Kate Wechsler, and Judith Adler, whose support and friendship kept me sane. Thank you, Andrea Hanson, for the summers in Maine, the Arrowsic Writer's Retreat, and so much more; also Petra Hanson, Bret Cox, and Dali-da, for the Mill Valley haven.
Deep thanks to Karol Jackowski, Sally Davies, Christene Barberich, Sharon Hillman, Anne Hardy, Lisa Rosman, Hilda Giordano, Kate Rogovin, Janice Zwail, Joel Wechsler, Elizabeth Spring, Chris Zydel, Marvin Garriott, Joey Reiman (for your cosmic enthusiasm), and Lisa Zimmerman (for the late-night astrology talks and laughter). And to my dear family: my sister, Kate Bell; plus Hannah and Chris Sutton, Evan and Becca Gould, and Jordan Smith. I also thank Philip Lynn and Manny Wolf for always believing in me. A very special thanks to Brandy Gillmore for her treasured guidance. And last but not least, to all the wonderful clients I have had the privilege to work with. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
I have to give Father Chase, my parish priest at St. Aloysius, credit for pushing me toward astrology, although he would be horrified if he knew. At fourteen, I was obsessed with the monthly Dell Horoscope magazine; not the in-depth articles, just the daily forecasts. I was miserable at home and wanted desperately to know if anything positive would happen to me.
I grew up in a wealthy Jewish community on the North Shore of Long Island; my parents were poor and Christian. My father worked as a short-order cook in an all-night diner; he was alcoholic and abusive. My mother was fragile and childlike and was slowly fading away; years later she would be diagnosed with schizophrenia. The magazine became my lifeline. Every month, I pored through the pages searching for some hope that I could grasp.
One day after Sunday school, I casually asked Father Chase his opinion of astrology. “The devil's work,” he replied harshly, not missing a beat. I was shocked by his rigid attitude and closed mind. I knew almost nothing about astrology (apart from the fact that I was a Taurus), but I decided then and there to put my faith in the stars and not the saints. My fate was sealed.
I didn't immediately begin studying astrology after my encounter with Father Chase, but astrology seemed to follow me like a song on the radio that kept getting my attention. My next rendezvous with the stars was in the mid-sixties when I was living in Italy. I wanted to travel, be a film star, and live like Holly Golightly (the protagonist in Breakfast at Tiffany's), so I moved to Rome when I was nineteen. It was the early 1960s, and the film business in Rome had exploded; it was a time of Fellini's La Dolce Vita, Spaghetti Westerns, and big, splashy American coproductions. I found steady work, traveled all over the globe, and met fabulous people, but my career never really took off. I had a love/hate relationship with show business, with Rome, and with myself as well. At twenty-six, I didn't have a clue about who I was, what I wanted to do, or where I wanted to live.
A conversation over lunch with the great screenwriter Tullio Pinelli turned out to be life changing. One day, my dear friend, director Alberto Lattuada, invited me to lunch at his home. He and Signore Pinelli were collaborating on a film script. Over lunch, Signore Pinelli asked me about myself. I explained my dilemma; whether to remain in Rome and continue pursuing a career in film or return to New York. Signore Pinelli suggested I seek the advice of a group of alchemists who lived in Turin, the industrial city in the north of Italy. They were great seers whose work was the basis for the Federico Fellini film, Juliet of the Spirits. Signore Pinelli had grown up in Turin. It had been his idea for the film, and he was also one of the screen writers.
He provided me with a list of their names and phone numbers, and in a few days I was headed north on the Rapido (express train) to Turin with all my belongings. I decided that if these wise men told me to stay in Italy, I would return to Rome; if they advised me to leave, I would go on to New York. It wouldn't be the first time I put my fate in the hands of total strangers. Unfortunately, I forgot it was mid-August and the Italian holiday of Ferragosto; everyone in Italy goes on vacation, including alchemists. All except one, an astrologer named Doctor Arno—Italians love titles.
I was mesmerized by Doctor Arno, who sat behind a huge desk surrounded by piles of mysterious books. After consulting one of these enormous tomes, which I now know was an ephemeris, he assured me that I had extremely good luck (molto fortuna) in Europe, along with many other fascinating bits of information. I knew he was right about my luck, but something told me that I needed to return to the States. Although I didn't know it at the time, I was experiencing my Progressed Lunar Return, which precedes the Saturn Return—a period when our intuition is particularly strong. I decided to listen.
Back in New York, I could feel something within me shifting, and I knew it was time for me to get serious. That happens at the Saturn Return at age twenty-nine. It's as if we get a wake-up call, and we're finally ready to grow up, make a commitment, and take on more responsibility. For most of us, our late twenties and early thirties is a time to stop drifting and begin doing; we sober up—sometimes literally. We can't train forever; at some point, we have to step up to the starting line and begin the race. Saturn is that starting line. It is the first major cycle and the foundation for all the others.
I longed to do something, but what? I was obsessed with two things: exercise and health foods. I considered opening either an exercise studio or a natural foods restaurant. The food won; I'm a double Taurus—Sun and Moon in the sign of warm scones and crème fraiche.
In 1974, I opened one of the first gourmet natural foods restaurants in New York City. Naturally, I consulted an astrologer about an opening date. I had no experience and very little money, but I had a vision for the kind of food I wanted to create, plus something else that would prove indispensable: Saturn. I didn't know a Saturn Return from a tax return, but that's exactly what was going on. I made a commitment, worked really hard, and hung in there. The restaurant became a success, and I grew in the process.
Most of us spend our early to mid-thirties building something: a career, a family, or perhaps going back to school. What's important is that we commit to some task and work hard to make it happen. In the process, we gain stature, credentials, and experience. There may even be financial rewards and recognition. It can be a heady time; on our own and no longer tied to our families, we seem to have it all figured out. That is until around the age of thirty-seven.
Cracks appear in the structures we've carefully erected, and they begin to crumble. We're approaching forty, almost halfway through the average lifespan, which is a wake-up call. And while this cycle is commonly called a midlife crisis, and can certainly feel like one, it's really a mid-course correction. Whatever we've left out of the equation, whatever we've ignored, begins to rise up and can no longer be disregarded. This cycle involves four planets and is spread over a decade. Welcome to life's most important cycle.
I had been running the restaurant for about six years, and it was doing well. Thanks to glowing reviews in the Village Voice and New York magazine, customers were lining up around the block for the small planet casserole, our popular salad dressing, and the peanut butter ice cream pie. Plus, I was learning a lot, not just about the business and food but about people and myself. Then, in my late thirties, everything came crashing down. I thought I was having a nervous breakdown; instead, it was midlife. Who knew? My father died, and, as a result, I inherited the responsibility of taking care of my mother, who was mentally ill. At the very same time, I had problems in the restaurant and in my relationship. Basically, all my worst fears surfaced at once; I was raw, panicked, and in tremendous pain. It turned out to be a giant wake-up call. Not only did I survive, but my life and my business transformed in ways I never thought possible.
I had always been interested in psychology and had engaged in a lot of therapy. During the seventies and early eighties, I began exploring various spiritual paths, self-help seminars, and healing techniques. I did est (Erhard Seminars Training), Actualizations, studied yoga, discovered spirituality in Findhorn (in Northern Scotland), studied A Course in Miracles, and got in touch with my power by walking over hot coals with Tony Robbins. Although I didn't study astrology, it was never far away. I had an astrologer on staff at the restaurant; I fed him in exchange for readings. At the time, I thought of astrology only in terms of predictions and was always asking the same questions: When would the current crisis be over, or when would I meet my soulmate? I didn't realize it was deeper and more complex. But I was about to find out.
In my mid-forties, I decided to open another restaurant. Unfortunately, it was in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts: the area was extremely seasonal—super busy in the summer but dead in the winter months. Not only did I lose a ton of money, the situation put pressure on the restaurant in Greenwich Village. Yet it was during this period that a friend, whom I met in the Berkshires, lent me a book by astrologer Steven Forrest entitled The Inner Sky. Steven's book brought astrology alive for me; his descriptions of the planets, signs, and houses were clear and accessible yet poetic and deeply meaningful. I began to see that astrology wasn't something merely happening in the sky but was within us as well and could be a valuable tool for self-discovery.
The Chiron Return takes place between ages forty-nine and fifty-one, when Chiron returns to its natal place. In mythology, Chiron was a great healer and teacher, and this passage is one of the best times to become fully conscious of whatever has not been healed. For many of us, our lives take off in a different direction from what we had anticipated, and often there is a failure or loss that serves as a catalyst for this.
I experienced plenty of both, including closing the restaurant in the Berkshires and then the one in New York City. The restaurant had been my identity for twenty years; without it, I didn't know who I was. An old life was ending, a terrifying thing—especially for a stubborn Taurus—but a new one was rising up from the ashes. I began studying astrology in my early fifties, not thinking of it as a career but simply because it gave me joy. But eventually, a career is exactly where it led.
At fifty-eight, we have our Second Saturn Return and enter the phase of the elder. Don't confuse elder with older; not everyone has the privilege of becoming an elder and embodying Saturn. Just as in our earlier Saturn Return, we need a great work, something that will define us in our elder years. For many, this third act is a period when life really comes together. I know that was true for me.
I was already doing astrology readings and writing Sun-sign columns for a couple of magazines. Then, in 2000, I joined Steven Forrest's apprenticeship program. Not only was it was an opportunity to study with a master astrologer, but also to learn about Evolutionary Astrology, which is the basis for the astrology that Steven teaches. Evolutionary Astrology is not simply another technique but also an approach that is based on responsibility, freedom of choice, and a respect for people's ability to grow. For me, it provided a spiritual framework, one that is holistic and soul centered, and became the basis for my own astrology practice.
The planet Uranus takes eighty-four years to come back to where it was at our birth. In our early sixties, it makes the last aspect before returning to its original position. The Uranus square is really a second wind; there's a sense of freedom that comes from this edgy aspect, provided we are willing to take some risks and extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone. It's worth doing, because the actions we take now will impact who we become at eighty-four when Uranus comes full circle.
By the time I was in my early sixties, I was well acquainted with the life cycles. I was approaching my final Uranus square and, given that change-at-all-cost Uranus was orchestrating this cycle, I knew I needed to take a big risk. For me, that meant selling my dearly loved house on Long Island. I did it, and it brought me the freedom I had been craving. It was in my early sixties that I began to notice something else: I finally began to feel good. I mean really good—happy, content, at peace. There were times when life wasn't challenging, and I felt good. But happy? It wasn't even on my radar. As I began to study aging, I saw that this wasn't unusual. Providing we are willing to do the inner work, these late-in-life transitions offer immense opportunities to grow, develop, and deepen.
There was something changing in me, but also in the world. The whole concept of aging and the second half of life were shifting: old walls were falling and new paradigms were emerging. In the not-so-distant past, aging was a taboo subject; senior citizens were shunned and excluded from mainstream society. But the tide is beginning to turn. With the youngest baby boomer just past fifty and the oldest in their seventies, there are simply too many to ignore. In the 1960s, we had the youth quake; now we're having the age quake. Like any movement, it's not perfect; but there is a new awareness, a bigger conversation, and a growing respect for people who are in the second half of life.
Simultaneously, astrology was having a renaissance. It has always been popular, but thanks to the Internet—with its websites, articles, and blogs, plus easy access to birth charts—its popularity has exploded. The idea of writing about the cycles and aging began to come together.
Looking back over my life, I wish I'd had a handbook for these great milestones and some instruction on how to negotiate them. Like any journey or excursion, it helps to have some knowledge of the terrain, so you can prepare and pack accordingly. There's an advantage to learning from others who have taken the voyage and returned with some wisdom as well as tales of setbacks and successes.
When I first went to Europe in 1962, the popular guidebook Europe on 5 Dollars a Day was my bible. I studied it endlessly on those long train rides across Europe; writing notes in the margins while making plans and plotting adventures. The book you hold in your hand is the guidebook I wish I'd had while traveling through the generational cycles. It offers information but also inspiration about each decade; how to prepare but also prosper, thrive, and evolve in the second half of life.
I look forward to you joining me on this journey. You don't need any prior knowledge of astrology, but I have included an overview of the basics. It comes with a warning: astrology is seductive and can become addictive. You will enter a magical realm, one filled with mythology, archetypes, and stories that can capture your imagination, open your mind, and shake up your beliefs. No bad side effects have been reported. Astrology is simply another lens through which to view the world.
Our Power Years
Just as there are power places in the world—sacred locations such as Glastonbury, Machu Pichu, and Sedona that are said to vibrate at a higher frequency and accelerate transformation—there are also power years. These years correspond to the generational or life cycles that we all share at the same ages:
Transits are a method of prediction. They describe the movements of the planets overhead, and, like our transit systems here on Earth, they are always in motion. Because transits are linked to individual birth charts, they can occur at any time in our life. For instance, the planet Saturn can “make an aspect” (the relationship between one planet and another within the zodiac) to your Sun (or other planets in your chart) at any time. That is unique to your birth chart. When the planets arrive at a point in the sky that corresponds to a point in our chart, they generate an event, and something happens—this is the transit.
These power years or life cycles are determined by our age and shared with others born at the same time. These cycles take place when a planet makes an aspect to its own natal (birth) position. For instance, at age twenty-nine, Saturn returns to the place it occupied at birth; this is called the Saturn Return.
Just because many people experience these cycles at the same age doesn't make them less powerful or relevant. Think of those treasured rites of passage such as a Bar Mitzvah, Sweet Sixteen, or high school graduation: these events are imbued with meaning specifically because they are shared by so many and are deeply rooted in our culture. These rituals mark a person's progress from one stage to another. The generational cycles operate in the same way; they are the significant passages we all experience and that, strung together, tell the story of our lives.
We are all individuals with our own unique path, but on this journey called life, each and every one of us will come to certain crossroads or cycles. Although our fate may differ, the timing of these cycles is the same. These cycles or power years are the great turning points in life; at every juncture there will be challenges, lessons, and loses—in this we have no choice. Our freedom lies in how we respond: consciously or unconsciously, awake or asleep, with fear or with love. The planet that governs the cycle acts as a wise elder or guide and holds the key to navigating the cycle successfully and releasing the potential that lies within. This book is the story of these cycles. Ultimately, it describes the process of becoming whole.
These cycles are not confined to astrology; psychologists have been examining them for ages. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was the founder of psychoanalysis and, with the possible exception of William James, explored the human mind more than anyone who came before him. He laid the groundwork with his study of early childhood and how it influences one's life in adulthood. Carl Jung (1875–1961) made the greatest contribution to the study of adult development; he was the first psychologist to recognize midlife as a separate phase and the first to write about it extensively. He also coined the term “individuation” to describe the developmental process that begins at forty and extends throughout the second half of life. Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994) built on Jung's findings with his eight stages of life. In fact, his book Childhood and Society (1950) spawned a great deal of interest in the concept of the life cycles.
The late 1960s psychologist Daniel J. Levinson (1920–1994) gathered together a team and conducted a ten-year in-depth study of the adult life cycles. This study explored specific periods of personal development through which we all pass. He was building on the psychologists who had come before him, including his mentor, Else Frenkel-Brunswik (1908–1958), who was a pioneer in this field.
Journalist and author Gail Sheehy drew on these sources for her bestselling book, Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life, published in 1976. A superb writer and researcher, she was able to weave together psychology and sociology along with hundreds of interviews to create a clear map of the individual life cycles (through age fifty) that was both relevant and accessible. Her timing was impeccable: the late 1970s was a period of increasing self-discovery. People were waking up, and they needed to make sense of what they were experiencing. They recognized themselves in her themes: the trying twenties, the catch thirties, the forlorn forties, and the refreshed (or resigned) fifties.
There seems to be a kind of order in the universe, in the movement of the stars and the turning of the earth and the changing of the seasons, and even in the cycle of human life.
Astrologers have long been aware of these cycles, for they follow the same trajectory. Astrology may overlap with psychology at various times, but it is also distinct from therapy, counselling, or coaching—which are all extremely valuable. But astrology offers another perspective, one that is universal and tied in with cosmic awareness and a search for meaning.
Astrology, at its best, is a symbolic language and is therefore able to elude the cunning ego (so prone to judging and rejecting). It makes use of ancient archetypes, gods and goddesses of myth, as well as planets and stars that are much more exciting than those on reality shows. Although you may not be familiar with its technical language, references to astrology are everywhere: in poetry, Shakespeare's plays, art, song, books, movies—indeed every time we marvel at the heavens above and sing its praises. We experience astrology's connection in the passing seasons and nightly when we watch the moon. Knowledge of astrology's cycles gives us valuable guidance for navigating these great passages that we all share.
The Birth Chart
To paraphrase Carl Jung: Anything born at a moment in time has the characteristics of that moment. The birth chart is a picture of the sky at the moment of birth. It is a snapshot of the heavens and all the planets. It is frozen in time. In the next moment, everything moves, but that picture is yours forever; it is eternal, a piece of cosmic DNA.
We're born, and from that moment we carry inside ourselves a little hologram of the sky. As long as we live, it resonates with the rhythms of the planets and tides, stars and seasons. That hologram is our life; its breath is the breathing of an intelligent, conscious universe. Studying that hologram is the delicate, ever changing art we call astrology.1
I like to compare the birth chart to those little packets of seeds that arrive in the mail every spring. Inside the packet are the seeds, and on the outside is a brightly colored picture of the flower. The packet comes with instructions about the kind of soil the seeds require, as well as how much sunlight and water is needed. There is no guarantee that the seeds will flower to look like the picture on the front of the packet, but it has the potential; with the proper care, it can flourish.
We, too, come with instructions; that's the birth chart. It tells us what we need to stay healthy and happy; it describes our strengths, gifts, and goals and how best to actualize them. It also describes our weaknesses and vulnerabilities and how to heal. Nothing is preordained; we must participate with the process. The birth chart is merely potential, and, like the picture of the flower on the seed packet, it shows us what we look like when we get it right.
Astrology is astronomy brought down to earth and applied to the affairs of men.
Astrology is a language, so it helps to known some of the vocabulary. In astrology, there's an enormous amount of information, but there are three main concepts or functions, and if you have a working knowledge of these, you are on your way to understanding how to “speak” astrology. The three concepts are: planets, signs, and houses.
They are the verb, the action;