A short while ago, I discussed how to live with the transits of the transpersonal planets; this article can be seen as its counterpart, approaching the subject from the opposite angle.
First of all, let us define them: fast transits refer to the planets that move “quickly” through the zodiac, and therefore imprint frequent changes, setting the pace of everyday life and its constant effervescence.
The nature of these transits is to “light the fuse”, to trigger surprise or sudden shifts.
They bring a punctual energy to the sector they are passing through and can help move things along on secondary points, details, or peripheral elements.
Let us recall here the approximate durations of their revolutions around the Zodiac:
- the Sun, 365 days, see the Sun transits
- the Moon, 28 days, see the Moon transits
- Mercury, 357 days, see the Mercury transits
- Venus, 340 days, see the Venus transits
- Mars, 585 days, see the Mars transits
Note that for planets undergoing a retrograde phase, these durations can vary from one year to another; the figures given here are simply average estimates.
Supporting everyday life
It is essential, in any interpretation, to understand the inclusive nature of transits, something akin to a set of Russian nesting dolls.
Schematically, each transit is embedded within another, slower transit, while itself containing within its cycle smaller, faster transits (one can therefore classify transits from the longest to the shortest).
Slow transits truly paint the background canvas, the fundamental scenery, whereas fast transits are more like the small details that embellish and color that scenery.
A fast transit, whatever meaning one may attribute to it, harmonious or challenging, cannot run counter to the direction of the underlying transits in which it is embedded.
For example, if Saturn is conjunct your Sun this year, this represents a major, heavy influence that will necessarily dominate, imprinting seriousness, rigor, and potentially a decrease in vitality.
The fast transits you experience throughout the year can only accompany this underlying factor.
When Venus, for instance, also comes to join your Sun, it will have to contend with the Saturnian influence, not the other way around.
Admittedly, this Venusian activation may bring a welcome touch of optimism and lightness amid the limitations, but it will not be strong enough to override what is required by the background transit.
Fast transits are therefore somewhat like salt and spices in a dish: they are not the main substance, but they do enhance and sharpen the overall flavor of what we are experiencing.
Here too, it is important to find a conscious expression for them, that is, to work with their meaning in order to encourage the most constructive outward expression possible.
As a reminder, and schematically speaking, among fast transits we can say that the Moon sets the rhythm of our emotional responses and describes our perceptions and receptivity; the Sun represents our will, our capacity for engagement, and our vitality; Mercury highlights where we place our mind, our thinking, and our capacity for exchange; Venus helps us attract things toward us and build our value system, defining what we assign value to; and finally Mars, often feared and misunderstood, yet absolutely essential, as it lies at the root of all other planetary energies by enabling action itself.
In transit, Mars shows where our desire for engagement is directed, where we can act as a driving force for our environment and for those close to us.
Because their passage is rapid, when one needs to refine predictive questions it can be useful to widen their Orb of influence in order to truly “bring the chart to life”.
In some cases, one may even consider the entire sign or house being occupied.
So, concretely, how should we interpret them?
Their speed often goes hand in hand with a certain superficiality: the faster the transit, the less profound it generally is in terms of the changes demanded or evolutionary potential.
Nevertheless, they act as an additional layer of color, another stratum in the spiral of evolution (see the generic cycles where I discuss this notion of spiral evolution). Think of it a bit like a 3D printer that forms an object through successive layers, while at the beginning of the process one would be quite incapable of guessing the final result.
The same logic applies here: fast transits weave, day by day, the fabric of our birth chart’s fulfillment.
We know that each year these planets will come to activate our natal planets throughout their entire cycle, forming almost all aspects, thereby depositing an additional layer in their meaning and in the way we express them.
I tend to prioritize house placement above all else, at least when the birth time is reliable, as it clearly indicates the life area where the energy will be used in a concrete way, whereas the sign mainly provides a tone or style of expression.
Returns to the natal position are particularly significant, as are the Trine, Square, and Opposition phases.
It is also worth noting that their placement during the solar return is especially useful to study, particularly when it forms recurring patterns with the birth chart.
Fast transits are often useful for identifying triggering factors, Mars in particular of course, but not only.
A fast transit signals a “change of state”, which may be highly fleeting and end as quickly as it began, but which can also provide the necessary energy and impulse to take a chance, initiate something, or break a stalemate.
They are obviously well suited to measuring influences over short periods.
For instance, if you need to determine the climate of a specific month almost day by day, it is wise to cast a lunar return and analyze the Moon’s daily transits (as well as, of course, the New Moon of the month).
For slow transits, I previously emphasized the need to work with time, to put things into perspective and gain altitude.
Here, it is somewhat the opposite: one must pay attention to detail, still working with time, but on this scale it is more about short- to medium-term daily organization, using a magnifying glass or even a microscope.
See also a few notions on how to live with challenging transits, which may be helpful…