Last summer, a woman I know underwent a couple of major life changes. Within the space of a few months, she embarked on a strict diet and exercise regiment, lost a significant amount of weight, and launched her first business. As I stood washing dishes one evening, musing on the radical changes in this person whose life had been fairly static for decades, I had what Oprah would call an “ah ha” moment. I ran to my computer, pulled up the chart and progressions, and sure enough: just a few months before took steps to radically remake her life, her Progressed Sun had moved into take-charge Aries.
By secondary progression, the Sun moves at a rate of about one degree of the zodiac per year. Unless you were born with the Sun at the very end of a sign, it’s unlikely you’ll experience more than a few Progressed Sun sign changes in your life. Since they’re rare, they represent profound opportunities – in this case, to reboot your life and move in a new direction.
Since the progressed Sun moves at the rate of approximately 1 degree per year, a quick and dirty way to figure out the current position of your progressed Sun is to find the degree of your natal Sun, and deduct it from 30; the resulting sum correlates to your age when the progressed Sun first changed signs. Approximately every 30 years thereafter, the Sun will enter the following sign. The progressed Sun’s exact rate varies, so while this gets you in the neighborhood, you may end up “off” by a half a year or so.
It’s easy to find the current placement of your progressed Sun online at astro.com. If you’re not exactly sure how to find the progressed Sun’s exact placement, or the years when it changes signs, this video gives you a couple of easy methods. Click the “expand” icon (four arrows pointed outward) in the bottom right-hand corner to view full size:
Ultimately, the progression of my natal Leo Sun into Virgo (during my senior year in high school) marked the beginning of the Craftsman era of my life, the era of refining Leo’s creative urges. Indeed, during the pr. Sun in Virgo years I killed every hobby I had by turning each one into a job, and then picking on myself mercilessly when I didn’t do the job well enough. Ah, the Virgo years.
Since my progressed Sun entered Libra last year, I’m beginning to feel that my long, difficult apprenticeship is over. Libra, and the seventh house, represent the marketplace, the process of exchanging goods and services with others; and just as the progressed Sun entering Virgo marked a progression from creating (Leo) to refining (Virgo), the focus of my work (and to some extent, of my life) is shifting again – from the pursuit of elusive perfection to the simple joy of sharing with others what I’ve spent nearly a half century (gah!) learning.
Have you experienced the Progressed Sun moving to a new sign? What important shifts in focus and consciousness took place for you?
