The Role of the the Transcendental Planets in the Mid-Life Crisis

Written in June 1995 by Peter Burns
The outer planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are often called “the transcendental planets”, meaning that they operate beyond the purely physical and personal realm of existence, and beyond the realm of the inter-personal. The energy associated with these planets takes us beyond the limits of “normal” existence.

The planets associated with “normal” existence are the Sun and Moon (traditionally included under the title “planets”), Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The Sun and Moon are the most personal of these, while Jupiter and Saturn relate to inter-personal psychological functions and social interaction.

The Planets

The ‘word’ planet is derived from the Greek word ‘planētēs’ which means ‘a wanderer’.
In ancient times the cosmic bodies which were seen to wander relative to the backdrop of the fixed stars, which we now understood to include galaxies and other celestial phenomena, were known as ‘wandering stars’. They were points of light which appeared to move relative to those points of light which did not appear to move.

Astrologers have traditionally used the word ‘planet’ to include ‘the luminaries’, which are the Sun and the Moon. The luminaries are also referred to as ‘the lights’. The Sun lights up the day sky and the Moon lights up the night sky.