I ran into one of my list members last weekend, and he said to me, “Thanks a lot, Lynn, for telling me about Mercury retrograde. Now I’m having all these problems.” He was joking, of course, but his implication was that the antiicpation of Mercury retrograde somehow instigated the series of events of which he was complaining. Had he not known about the Mercury retrograde period, his life would have gone on without any problems.

This reminded me of a time years ago when a close friend of mine who didn’t really believe in astrology asked about what the planets had in store for her. I saw that she had a tough time coming up (a challenging transit of Pluto) and I carefully let her know that she could be in for some rough waters ahead. I talked with her about what she might expect and how she could manage this time more effectively. Soon after, her live-in boyfriend left her and her father died. (Pluto transits often bring life changing events and sometimes, BUT NOT ALWAYS, bring us face to face with death.) Refusing to believe that planetary cycles really do have meaning, she somehow associated my cautionary words with the events that followed.

As I’ve written before, it’s impossible to predict the future. If a client is about to undergo a Pluto transit, I can only tell them of the possibilities they are likely to encounter. A transit of Pluto tends to remove from our lives anything that does not serve our highest good, and its effect on our lives depends upon how readily we are willing to let go of those things and surrender to the fact that some things in life are beyond our control. These periods can be exhilarating times of change and transformation. Even facing the reality of death (Pluto remember was the god of the underworld) can bring us face to face with the reality of life in a way that transforms us forever. Or it can bring us endless misery and mourning.

Understanding the nature of planetary events helps us to navigate them more effectively. Each planet has a different nature that brings new challenges and new opportunities. (More on this subject can be found in my article Transformation through Crisis.) Sometimes clients don’t want to know what is in store for them, they say “don’t tell me anything bad!!” This is just because we don’t understand that sometimes what we consider to be “bad” is actually a crucial process for our development that brings us into a life that is more truly authentic and in harmony with our real Self. The process will occur with our cooperation or without it, and if we add our cooperation we gain the opportunity to co-create the process and help to determine its outcome.