Have you ever wondered whether we have mid-life crisis astrology transits? Well, I turned 40 today and one of the delightful things I have to look forward to over the next couple of years is my Neptune square Neptune transit starting in 2021.
However there are actually multiple significant midlife crisis astrology transits that span over 5-10 years so in this blog I’m going to introduce you to them.
I have become quite familiar with the following mid-life crisis astrology transits as when I do year ahead readings I typically discover that the client is going through at least one of these transits.
What are the main Mid-Life Crisis Astrology Transits and when do they occur?
To begin with let’s summarise the core mid-life crisis transits.
It is important to note that these ages are approximate as these planets do not have elliptical orbits and that means that depending on when you were born the age you have this transit can vary substantially. In particular people are now having these transits MUCH earlier than their parents and grandparents did which is part of the generational divide that we experience.
To demonstrate this variance in the approximate age and actual age I have included the approximate age for this transit and the that age I will go through it.
Please note that there are other significant transits around this time like Chiron return, Saturn Opposition and Jupiter return but as they happen far more frequently throughout our life (because they are faster moving planets) I have not included them in this collection of transits. I have chosen to focus instead on the less common and more impactful transits for your midlife transition.
Transit | Duration (Approx) | Approximate Age | My transit age | Nature of the transit |
Pluto Square Pluto | 18 months-2 years | 36-38 | 39 | Limitations on your growth, transformation & personal power. |
Uranus opposition Uranus | 1-2 years | 40-42 | 43.5 years | Feeling like it is our last chance to rebel. |
Neptune Square Neptune | 1 year | 42-44 | 40.5 years | Disillusion, Confusion, Escapism |
Mid-Life Crisis Astrology Transit 1: Pluto Square Pluto
Pluto is the god of the underworld, of death and rebirth and transformation.
During a Pluto square Pluto transit repressed trauma and anger can rise to the surface. It can be a time of either feeling like the victim or claiming your inner warrior queen. It can be quite a dark and intense time and it is one that brings to the surface things that need to change. It can be a time of relationship difficulties, power struggles and pain.
During my Pluto Square Pluto Transit (Libra in the 1st natally & 4th house in capricorn transit) I had a major traumatic event with my father that culminated in a very scary night for myself and my husband and children where all of the repressed anger from my childhood burned up inside of me as I screamed over and over “Get out of my house, get out of my house” as I pushed him out the door – having never before laid a hand on him in anger.
Interesting how Pluto was transit in my 4th house of home and family and this event involved my father (I also have Mars Warrior god in my 4th house) and my home environment.
This was a dark time for me of trauma, getting therapy, building up my own strength and sense of inner power and claiming what I wanted and deserved for my family. It was also a time of my husband and I taking more responsibility for our lives together, becoming more independent on a number of different levels.
A year later we did finally reconcile but on very different terms to what had been before in our relationship and I feel a lot emotionally stronger after this transit. It felt like a right of passage into true adulthood.
Mid-Life Crisis Astrology Transit 2: Uranus Opposition Uranus
This is a transit where we tend to contemplate what we have done with our lives and whether we have lived up to our expectations of ourselves. It can feel like a last chance for change even though we logically have lots of time left – particularly change that is sudden, extreme and that provides freedom.
At this transit we are pretty much over being told what to do with our lives. We have the sense that our time is limited and we become willing to make changes that may be considered rather “selfish”.
If you have been someone who has conformed to society this transit will be more extreme because it asks you to unleash yourself. You may have married someone who you didn’t love but your parents approved of, or been someone who took the safe job or career or someone who had kids when you didn’t want them or perhaps you denied your true sexuality or identity.
This transit may be hard on you, it may ask you to put yourself first in a way that you never have before and this might require sudden, extreme and revolutionary change in your life.
I am yet to go through this transit but I will in 3.5 years time from now and it will involve my 2nd and 8th Houses. I’ve already experienced sudden ups and downs relating to money with Uranus being here and I expect that for me this transit will have something to do with my business and what other’s (husband, family) expect from me.
Mid-Life Crisis Astrology Transit 3: Neptune square Neptune
The Neptune square Neptune transit is the classic mid-life crisis transit where we are confused and disillusioned with life and often respond with escapist behaviours and rash decisions (hello men buying sports cars!).
This can be a time where we experience a crisis of faith, we may leave our lifelong religion or join a new one, we will certainly question the faith we have had up to this point and seek answers to existential questions.
Neptune can come in and cast a haze over everything we thought we knew about ourselves and our lives so during this transit my advice is to do nothing! And by this I mean don’t buy that new house, move to Bali, reject your faith or leave your husband!
This is not the time for big life-changing decisions – it’s a time to surrender to the unknown, to observe and reflect. You’ll likely find a renewed sense of clarity when this transit finishes.
I will get my first direct hit of this transit in about 5 months time involving Neptune in Sagittarius very close to my IC line of ancestry and Transit Neptune in Pisces conjunct my DC line of relationships.
So, I expect that this transit will involve relationships with my siblings, particularly those who are Sagittarians themselves – my two middle brothers.
I am a youngest child of 5 and I think a lot of my identity has been contained within this role as the youngest child and how they view me – a bit silly, irresponsible, frivolous and easy to make fun of. Yet as a child I idolised my family and my siblings – I looked up to them and my parents and thought that family meant everything to me.
However as I’ve grown the shine has come off and I’ve seen the high and lows and good and bad of all my family members. I no longer view us as some supreme unit – I see many many flaws, many struggles and many things I find hard to reconcile.
I feel like this transit will be another step in growing into my adulthood as my parents get older and I have to stand on my own in this (often volatile) family environment.
It may also bring up confusion around my partnership with my husband, who I serve in my business and more spiritual and creative work.
The key lesson for me is to not be rash and quick to act but know that the haze will pass with renewed clarity.
Want more?
I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to the key midlife transit cycles. In my Level 1 Business Astrology Training, I guide students through understanding their natal Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune placements and how these major transits will impact them.
You can also check out my year ahead reading to find out which major transits are coming up for you.