The Gods of Change: Pain, Crisis and the Transits of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

by Howard Sasportas

Life isn't always easy. It's impossible to live deeply and not to feel pain or go through times of crisis, breakdown or major disruptive change. Although this is clearly inevitable, what is not always obvious is the crucial role pain and crisis play in the process of growth and evolution. While some people fall apart altogether and never make it through difficult times, many others emerge from conflict and turmoil renewed and transformed, indeed, more fully alive. They 'return' to life with a renewed sense of commitment to a neglected potential, with a renewed sense of what one might call the 'sacred' in life, with a richly enhanced sensitivity to others. This lovely and important work from Howard Sasportas teaches us how to respond to the transits of Uranus,Neptune and Pluto with calmness and a knowledge that the more we work with them, the more worthwhile will be the end result.

Genres: Astrology, Occult, Philosophy, Mysticism, Nonfiction, Psychology

330 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

Reviews

[Dian Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the major transits these three planets are taking through the sky right now, this is a must read!

[Emily Alp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. I refer to it and send chapters from it to clients and friends when I know they have an upcoming Uranus, Neptune or Pluto transit. It's a must for any astrologer and incredibly insightful information about planets that might otherwise be swept under a rug during readings. The writing is clear and engaging as well as emotive. The examples of clients help ground the information tremendously.

[Lynn Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent intermediate level astrology textbook. It takes the usual cookbook approach of planets in houses, but it adds the deep mythological implications of same, which gives the information added and more psychologically sophisticated value.

[William Strasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for understanding the sometimes difficult circumstances corresponding to transits of these outer planets. Those who are into the more intense aspects of the human psyche will also find this interesting.

[Star · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found The Gods of Change deeply disappointing. For a book on Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transits, I expected something more substantial: evidence of long observation, serious client work, concrete case material, and insights that could only have come from years of astrological practice. Instead, the book often reads like a generic cookbook treatment of outer-planet astrology.

The main problem is not that the material is wrong in every detail, but that it feels thin. The interpretations are repetitive, heavily keyword-driven, and often assembled in a predictable way: Uranus means disruption and liberation; Neptune means dissolution and confusion; Pluto means death, transformation, and power. These themes are then applied to signs, houses, and aspects with little freshness or depth.

What I wanted was an astrologer showing what he had personally discovered through practice: patterns that surprised him, distinctions that only become clear after working with many charts, examples where the symbolism behaved in unexpected ways, or refinements that go beyond the usual textbook language. Very little of that came through for me.

The book may be useful for someone with almost no background in astrology who wants a basic introduction to outer-planet transit symbolism. But for anyone already familiar with standard astrological keywords, it offers little that feels original, rigorous, or hard-won.

Overall, I found it lazy, repetitive, and largely a waste of time. It felt less like a serious astrological study and more like an expanded cookbook entry stretched into book form.

[Jessica Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original editions of Howard's marvellous book change hands for a lot of money these days; he himself went through crisis, passing from AIDS after a short but brilliant career with Liz Greene, pioneering psychological astrology. This is the book so many turn to, when dealing with the transits of the slow-moving outer planets. Anyone who has been living through Pluto in Capricorn since 2008, for example, would benefit from seeing Howard's take on this symbol in the chart. Then there is the radical, revolutionary shock of Uranus (now in Taurus) which has been in opposition to so many Scorpio placements in the natal horoscopes of entire generations. This book was written years before anybody had even heard of Bitcoin but reading it today, even just in terms of the Uranus analysis, it hits the spot repeatedly. It takes a great astrologer to be pinpoint accurate years after publication, and Sasportas was and is a great astrologer.

[Dante x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book... Had mine for 20 years. And read many times

[Juan Obligado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for studying transpersonal planets and their associated mythologies

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very profound book that cut through the core of the subject and beyond.

[senseijutsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5.

[Luo Liuwei · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you interested in astrology, this book is highly recommended.

[Bekki Shining Bearheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite astrology books. Can't begin to express how insightful it is. A must-have for anyone interested in the topic and in in personal transformation and healing.