The Transits of the Planets
By Robert Hand
Robert Hand is one of the world's most famous and renowned astrologers. His books on transits, aspects, houses, and partnership horoscopes are standard works found on many astrologers' bookshelves. His major opus “Planets in Transit” became the standard work on predictive astrology.
The interpretation of transits
Some time ago, Robert Hand approached Astrodienst and offered us new, extensive texts on the interpretation of transits. He wrote his "Planets in Transit"in the mid-1970s — almost five decades later, he once again devoted himself in depth to the same topic. The result is an extraordinary work that reflects the great life experience and profound knowledge of this eminent astrologer. You can find the newly written transit interpretations every day in the PREMIUM Daily
Horoscope.
Understanding the essence of the planets
However, Robert Hand did not simply rewrite the interpretations of the transits — he also wrote about the fundamental qualities of planetary energies and their combinations. These insightful texts are intended for astrologers and those who aspire to become one. They explore the characteristics, areas of manifestation, and effects of transits, as well as the core themes of the transiting planets. Robert Hand’s explanations not only shed light on the various dimensions of a transit but also provide a profound understanding of the essence of each planet.
We are pleased to present Robert Hand's in-depth guide to transit interpretation here and hope you enjoy reading it!
One chapter per week
A new chapter will be published every Monday, starting with the Sun. The dates can be found in the overview below. Each chapter contains an introduction to the characteristics and functions of a planet, an overview of its effects, and explanations for each of its transits.
Transits of the Planets
The Sun
The Sun is one of the most important planets in the natal chart and represents both the principal physiological energy of the body and the psychological energy of the mind and soul. The ancients saw the Sun as the visible manifestation of the cosmic mind, known in Greek as Nous. For this reason, the Sun is associated with the idea of consciousness as light.
Read more...
Mercury
Mercury is both a very important and a very peculiar planet in traditional astrology. The energies of Mercury represent how anything that transmits or receives information, including all living beings, communicates. Mercury is also the only one of the traditional planets that can be either masculine or feminine, diurnal or nocturnal, or malefic or benefic.
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Venus
Venus is often called the “Lesser Benefic.” This label implies two things: first, that the energies of Venus are uniformly positive and creative; second, that the term “benefic” is generally taken to mean uniformly “good,” with Venus being one of the two benefics, the other being Jupiter. Neither assumption is correct.
Read more...
Jupiter
The planet’s Latin name, Jupiter, comes from an ancient Indo-European root that means sky-father or day-father. One of the colors most commonly associated with Jupiter was the blue of the daytime sky. This helps us understand the chief peculiarity of Jupiter’s energy in astrology.
Read more...
Saturn
Traditionally, in ancient, medieval, and even modern astrology, Saturn has been regarded as one of the most difficult planets, and by ‘difficult’ most of these astrologers meant ‘bad’ or ‘negative’, a gratuitous cause of pain or suffering for no good reason. More recently, there has been a trend in astrology to redeem Saturn and to see it as a more positive energy in the chart, even if not necessarily easy.
Read this chapter starting December 15 2025
Uranus
Uranus breaks up old social structures that have, in most cases, outlived their usefulness, so that new ones can come into being. It also represents new forces in the world that challenge the status quo. Some of these changes produce benefits that are almost immediately noticeable. Others take longer.
Read this chapter starting December 22 2025
Neptune
Neptune’s effects do not suddenly appear out of nowhere. They almost seem to ooze or seep into one’s awareness, at first undetectably, until they overwhelm consciousness completely, leaving one lost in a curious kind of chaos where nothing quite makes sense or can be clearly defined.
Read this chapter starting December 29 2025
Pluto
The energies of Pluto represent powers that slowly and relentlessly bring about transformation. A fitting Plutonian metaphor is the slow movement of tectonic plates over the surface of the earth. It was not until the twentieth century that we realized that the continents were moving and that this motion was the cause of both earthquakes and volcanoes.
Read this chapter starting January 5 2026
New!PREMIUM Daily Horoscope
Can excellent astrology be made even better? Yes, it
can! The brand-new daily horoscope with new
transit interpretations by the exceptional astrologer
Robert Hand shows you which moods are
influencing you right now, which risks you should be
aware of, and which opportunities this phase offers you.
Try it out! Just go to the Daily Horoscope and click the PREMIUM button above.
About Robert Hand
Robert Hand is one of the world's most famous and renowned astrologers. He takes a special interest in the philosophical dimensions of astrology and is quite dedicated to computer programming. Currently he is fully engaged for Arhat Media as an editor, translator and publisher of ancient astrological writings. Rob Hand lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Rob is an honor graduate from Brandeis University, with honors in history, and went on for graduate work in the History of Science at Princeton. Rob began an astrology practice in 1972 and as success came, he began traveling world wide as a full time professional astrologer. In 2013, he was designated as a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) by The Catholic University of America.
More Information
Robert Hand, Author at AstrodienstTransits of the Year, Horoscope report based on your personal transits
Horoscopes by Robert Hand in the Astro Shop
New!PREMIUM Daily Horoscope
Can excellent astrology be made even better? Yes, it
can! The brand-new daily horoscope with new
transit interpretations by the exceptional astrologer
Robert Hand shows you which moods are
influencing you right now, which risks you should be
aware of, and which opportunities this phase offers you.
Try it out! Just go to the Daily Horoscope and click the PREMIUM button above.