Modern astrology often divides planets into “benefics” and “malefics,” reinforcing the illusion that some transits are helpful while others are harmful. But from a nondual understanding, this duality dissolves—because life is not divided.

Still, let’s be honest: some transits feel far more intense than others. They can bring loss, isolation, endings, or deep discomfort. These are not punishments, nor are they the arbitrary dictates of fate. They are the natural movements of consciousness dismantling egoic structures that no longer serve the unfolding of life.

What we call a “painful” transit is simply an energetic confrontation with illusion—often the illusion of control, identity, or permanence. It is consciousness inviting the individual to soften, to surrender, to let go of resistance.

No transit is bad. Some are just more direct.

And the tighter the ego clings to its preferences, the more disruptive the transit feels. But when resistance dissolves, even the so-called malefics move through us as forces of alignment, clarity, and peace.

What distorts their expression and produces great suffering is not the planet or angle, but the ego.

What is the Ego Again?

The ego is inner resistance and conflict. It arises from the illusion of separateness—from the false belief that there is a “me” that is in control and must protect itself from life.

The ego continually resists the present moment through its attachment to mental images and beliefs. In doing so, it obstructs the natural flow of life energy and generates deep tension within the body-mind. This tension eventually manifests as heaviness, intensity, and suffering in one’s lived experience.

When the ego softens or dissolves, life is no longer something to fight, fix, or flee from. Transits no longer “happen to you”; they simply unfold within awareness, leaving you in a state of peace and alignment. In this state, the form itself becomes refined—your outer life naturally reconfigures to mirror the serenity and authenticity of your inner being.

The universe is always working to bring about your highest expression.

Revisiting the Malefics

Let’s consider the “malefics”, Mars, Saturn and Pluto. Mars is typically associated with conflict and severance, Saturn with limitation and restriction and Pluto with death and rebirth. These are the energies that most egos find uncomfortable—because they challenge the ego’s demand for control, comfort, and sense of permanence.

But from the nondual understanding, none of these energies are “bad.” They are transformational forces—agents of dissolution that strip away false identity and restore alignment with truth. Through them, the deepest, most authentic, and most enduring sense of self is awakened.

Mars: The Flame of Clarity

When filtered through the ego, Mars can feel like a raging fire—reactivity, anger, compulsive action, and severing from a place of fear or domination. It fights for “me” or “my tribe”, for position and validation.

When the ego falls silent, Mars reveals its true nature as a force of lucid courage. It no longer seeks to conquer others but becomes devoted to severing illusion. Its fire, once reactive and impulsive, transforms into a disciplined flame. Action no longer arises from egoic struggle, but from inner alignment. It is not the will to overpower or force, but the duty to serve what is true and authentic.

Saturn: The Sacred Architect

When filtered through the ego, Saturn becomes a harsh authority—rigid, punishing, withholding. Its laws feel cold and burdensome, its limitations suffocating. It manifests as fear of failure, self-doubt, or the endless need to prove one’s worth through external achievement and control.

But when the ego falls silent, Saturn reveals its true nature as the wise architect of form. It no longer imprisons, but anchors. It teaches that true freedom is found through discipline and responsibility to something greater than the self. Its boundaries become not walls, but foundations—structures through which essence can be expressed with integrity. Saturn does not suppress, it hones and shapes.

Pluto: The Baptizer

When filtered through the ego, Pluto is the archetype of fear and destruction. Death, loss, betrayal, and the collapse of everything familiar. The ego experiences Pluto’s touch as annihilation. It fights desperately to hold on to identity, status, relationships, and control. It mistakes dissolution for punishment.

But when the ego falls silent, Pluto is accepted as a priest performing a baptism. Its apparent darkness is not malevolent—it is cleansing. It plunges the individual into the depths so that the eternal light within is rediscovered. It is the path to awakening. Without Pluto, we would go on living a life devoid of real joy and wakefulness. We would remain zombies.

In our modern age flooded with artificial brightness, Pluto extinguishes the external lamps to allow one to retrieve the inner light. It reminds us that true illumination is self-generated, arising not from circumstance but from being itself. Through its descent, the soul remembers what cannot be destroyed—the light that was never dependent on the world to shine.

A Note on Non-Prescription

As an important reminder, nondual astrology is not a prescription for how to optimize life, but a description of what happens when deep understanding takes place.

Therefore, this is not a call to “try to express planetary energies in a higher way.” That would still be the ego attempting to control and manipulate.

When the illusion of separation falls away, alignment happens naturally. Effort dissolves. And every planetary energy—yes, even the malefics—manifest harmoniously and peacefully.