Which transits have been the hardest for you to deal with?  You can included your saturn return or transits that fit within a theme.  Take your pick.

Why were they so hard?  What's the astrology behind it?  What was going on in your life?  What did you learn?

For me, saturn transits to my personal planet hit the hardest...  In high school, one year saturn conjuncted my venus and then the next my sun.  I have my sun, venus and mercury in the eighth house in cancer.  My grandmother was basically dying at the time (family restrictions, older person).  And the whole experience caused all kinds of calamities at home (mother spending her days/nights in the hospital, me being displaced from my room and not having a place to sleep/study, our father trying to step up to fill in the gaps and being woefully unsuited for the job).  I also received zero support from school.  I'd chalk that up to me being from a different culture, income level from most of my classmates.  The year after, wasn't a lot better.  I remember having saturn conjunct sun and sleeping a ton.

I had an equally terrible experience last year when saturn in libra squared my venus.  I started a new program, I had an extremely difficult time fitting in.  I remember feeling like I was only partially accepted by the group that took me in and feeling that overall, I was really a terrible fit for the group....  I was wondering if I was going to be profoundly screwed for the rest of my life socially (having three planets in the eighth house means that being a part of a family can be very important to me).  The transit really got in the way of me having a love-live.  For the first time in a long time, someone came along who I really wanted to date.  And like clock-work the transit would mess things up.  We met, were moving closer, transit hits, we argue and I avoid him for months.  Several months later, the transit goes away, we get much closer and it comes back same deal....

This year, I have saturn squaring my sun.  And for once, I was a lot more prepared for it.  For the most part, I feel like it's taken my luck from me (ie it's so hard to shine even at things I'm good at) and made me so exhausted physically.  I've learned just to go with the flow and stick to doing only what's absolutely necessary.  I'm also doing my best not to make big judgements about my future/abilities based on this year.  Both times, the saturn-venus transit was much worse than the saturn-sun transit.  I don't know if that says something else about me...

I'll be having some pretty heavy saturn transits coming up in the next few years.  Saturn going through 12th (also hitting my pluto) and on the ASC.  And then my saturn return.  If anything, I wonder (well actually hope!) that these heavy transits will help sort things out and my saturn return won't be so bad...

Anyways, I've also gone through some pretty "heavy" pluto transits.  A few years ago, I had pluto trine jupiter (which was honestly very good for me).  Now I'm going through pluto conjunct neptune, pluto opposite mercury and now recently pluto opposite venus.  So far *knock on wood* they haven't been too bad for me...  It's definitely a time of radical change for me, but it isn't been so harsh.  I wonder if it's because I have so much pluto in my chart (Scorpio asc, 3 planets in the eight house).  Or it's becase I have pluto trine mercury and pluto trine venus natally. 

Neptune transits were probably one of the hardest things I've dealt with, ever. It passed through (by way of opposition) my natal stellium and that just about wiped away all my assertiveness and willingness to act. That was really hard.

I, too, have t. pluto going (having gone through) my natal Neptune - what has your experiences been like?

If anything the pluto going through my neptune has me disillusioned about my life-long dreams.  But that happened when I had very tough saturn transits and I think that played a big part.  I have neptune in the 2nd house in sag. 

It's supposed to be a generational aspect isn't it?  I could see how a lot of new college graduates could be hit hard by it, have a hard time finding a job in this economy.

How has it been for your debdeb?

When Saturn was opposite my Sun, then my Moon, back in late 2005/early 2006. That was one of the worst times of my life. I felt that everyone was against me and I had no where to go and no one to turn to. I struggled with extreme depression and felt like there was no way out. I ended up in a lot of places I didn't like, with people I didn't like, and doing things I didn't enjoy, just because I thought this is what I "should" be doing. I had almost no money and had no support from family members. I couldn't afford the supplies or transportation to go to school so struggled in school. Didn't have clean clothes or a nice place to sleep at that time. Was being constantly psychologically guilted by family members for a decision I had made during the summer, when Saturn first opposed my Sun. They harped on this mistake during that entire transit, lol.I also inadvertently got involved in a cult type of situation with this person who called himself a "healer" but really exploited people. I felt tremendous guilt from my family and from the "healer."

I then started dating someone 9 years older than me, who I didn't really like in that way, and moved in with him, for the security and stability I thought it would bring. He tried to tell me how I should be doing dishes and how to act in public. I lost my group of friends. I got into drinking after having gotten sober earlier in the year. I started stealing pills from my mom's medicine cabinet.

Needless to say, it was a completely miserable time. At the end of that transit, I ended up getting sober. I inherited a property that allowed me to have money and do what I wanted. I took off traveling, and honestly the contrast it made me feel to how things were before, made it one of the happiest times in my life. Being free, doing what I wanted to do, meeting interesting people who did not fit a mold, and not answering to anyone and not having to fit into society or other peoples idea of propriety.

Oh my, I think the roughest was Pluto transiting my n.Neptune and H1, which the end of that was amped up by Saturn transiting my natal Moon-Pluto conj in Virgo!

During that time I left one career for another (not surprising I have n.Uranus in 10H), I was in both for approx 7 years, and then I left the second career to be a college student! My first two careers were spent around electronics, telecommunications engineering, etc. I went to college to study Environmental Science/Sustainable Living! The electronics and communications stuff makes sense with 3 planets in Gemini and 2 of those trine my Uranus in Libra.

Then I left college early, it was a private college and too expensive for me to stay. I also had that Sagittarius itch to move on, and move I did, across the country. At the same time my father got sick and I became pregnant. The pregnancy revealed to me that my relationship was abusive. My father has fair health now, but he is not even close to the same healthy older man that he was 5 years ago. Before my daughter's first birthday I left my ex, and lived in various shelters for 11 months with only welfare to survive on. That was in '09. I finally got us into our own apartment, and was able to get a steady income. Then right after Labor Day '10, my baby brother committed suicide. Saturn was still within orb of my N.Moon-Pluto although by then it was on the Pluto side of the conjunction.

Really, it was so many things. I also had Uranus transit my IC when I was homeless. It was just 2 degrees from exactly conj my IC on the day I entered shelter.

Milano and Luckyduck!  You two have been through some incredible circumstances.  Makes me almost want to cry or you :(  I hope both of you are doing better now.  Certainly you deserve it.

Thank you Cecile. It's really better, although in many ways it's just a day at a time. But those were some extremely rough times/transits.

Pluto/Sun was the worst. It was like all the light went out of my soul. I wanted to die. I tried to kill myself. I was very young and very sad. It's weird to think back on that now, but yeah. That transit was absolute hell (partly because I was a kid and felt helpless).

Thanks Cecile :) I'm doing better. The lesson learned for me was to walk my own path. Peanut gallery be damned, lol. ((hugs to those that need it))

Saturn in Virgo transiting my Virgo Sun/Pluto/SN conjunction. Worked too hard to the point of burnout.

Pluto in Capricorn transiting my Cap ASC. Destroyed my health.

@Kash,

are you talking about Pluto opposing your Sun in Taurus in the 80s and early/mid 90s? If you are then you and me must've been through the same transit as I did. Too bad I didn't know astrology then. If I did, it would've helped ALOT.