How do we approach conflict? How do we handle stress? How do we perceive setbacks and losses? Depending on how willing we are to find higher meaning behind life's disappointments reveals how well we will fare under stressful Saturn transits. That is not to say that we don't grieve or express anger when facing loss. Grief and anger are
appropriate responses. So is acknowledging the root of our pain. But the way we negotiate the overall process can mean healing at a deeper level or stagnation through attachment to the past.
Saturn is responsible for "matter." In other words, Saturn is the
vehicle that compresses matter into a physical body. When the soul incarnates, it is forced to stay inside the vehicle. Once we're here, we're here. Only fatal illness, homicide or suicide will get us out ahead of schedule, (unless you see this as part of the Plan). Since no one gets to play hooky in Earth School, sooner or later the errant entity will be called back by Saturn to engage in another round of the karmic dance. That is true whether "Elvis left the building" by his own hand or not.
Saturn has been likened to the spirit entity Shiva, the destroyer and separator. Saturn, visible and known long before Pluto's discovery (1930), accepted the Shiva role and carried the burden of Plutonian transformation solo. Balancing the world like Atlas on our shoulders, biting off more than we can chew, and being saddled with responsibilities we deem "not ours," is akin to Saturn's ancient role of Moiria, or fate. Saturn's function is to define the limits of physical reality, to make us painfully aware that we cannot always have what we want when we want it. Saturn's delays and denials are calls to our psyche alerting us that more soul work needs to be done. Saturn concedes nothing and dogs our every step until the lesson is completed. Yet once the lesson is integrated, Saturn rewards us like no other task master. Its gifts reside in permanent change that alters karma. We are free from the illusions that held us in bondage.
Saturn is also linked with conscience and the super ego. Conscience and healthy shame are built-in mechanisms that alert us when we are deviating from the path. We feel pangs of guilt when catching ourselves in a lie, when stealing, or coveting our neighbor's spouse. The Ten
Commandments are strongly Saturn-Mars. Saturn equates to "rules" and Mars is the ruler of the Ram, the symbol of the ancient Jews. The tribes of Israel roamed the desert in search of the promised land during the planetary age of Aries. At that time, the tribes engaged in the
cleansing ritual we call scapegoating. Once a year a young goat was endowed with all the sins of the people and driven off a cliff to its death. The ritual was enacted to propitiate a vengeful, jealous God, an irritable God, who was not unlike Saturn in Aries. If you remember the story of Abraham and Isaac, you will see that a shift in consciousness occurred. When God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, we received the gift of enlightenment. Finally, humanity perceived truth: it is possible to have a personal relationship with a compassionate creator. God does not want the stench of our guilty sacrifices, only the perfume of our loving surrender.
Scapegoating (Saturn/Capricorn) today is enacted by our blaming people, places and things for that which lurks in the shadow part of our own unconscious. It is the "guilty ritual" of finding an external reason for why we perceive failure. The truth lies within the unhealed and scattered fragments of our psyches. Projection is the indicator that we are not yet at home in our At-One-Ment. Driving ourselves over the edge with anger, desire, denial, and fear is the modern equivalent of scapegoating. We leap from the sacred into the abyss of the profane
every time we project onto another or denigrate ourselves.
To befriend Saturn is to say that it is okay to be shy, sad, vulnerable, insecure and to flounder. It is an open acceptance of one's humanity. It is the acceptance of the human condition in all its unpleasant as well as pleasant manifestations. It is having the courage to look within and
take responsibility for our perceptions, beliefs, and defenses. To befriend Saturn is to accept the body regardless of its current state of beauty or decline. We are all evolving images of Aphrodite, Hera, and the Crone. It is also to embrace the The Three Fates and the Goddess of
Necessity. We weave the thread of our lot within the time and destiny given in which to reach the ultimate goal -- union with the higher Self. The journey cannot be completed without the vehicle and the limitations which define the lesson. The ultimate "separation" is that which comes from releasing egoistic self pursuit in favor of that which honors the
soul's calling.
Saturn's Sojourn Through Aries:
Saturn entered Aries on April 7, 1996 and will persevere through this Mars ruled sign until June 8, 1998 when it enters Taurus. Saturn and Mars are not happy bedfellows. Martian energy, impatient to thrust forward and gratify its desires, is thwarted by Saturn's slow, deliberate and painstaking moves toward security and the status quo. Brash Mars doesn't harmonize with shy, insecure Saturn and the result is frustration. Saturn in Aries was a head banging two and a half year trek through lessons of patience, stability, fortitude and acceptance. Often the teeth-grinding need to hold our mud turned inward into bouts of depression, suppressed rage, and loss of libido.
Part of the purpose behind the Mars-Saturn uncomfortable dance was the need to learn disciplined energy and continued focus upon our goals under extreme hardship. We were sometimes successful, and sometimes unsuccessful. Depending upon our strength at the moment, we often felt frustrated by our own irritability. We looked at ego, examined our anger, and met outer circumstances that mirrored our inner states in all our relationships. Some of those relationships hit critical mass and didn't survive the eclipse of February 26, 1998. The midpoint between the Midheaven at 27 Capricorn and Saturn at 17 Aries on eclipse day was 7 Pisces -- the exact degree of the Sun and Moon in eclipse. If we simplify meanings and say that Sun equals male and Moon equals female, the Saturn-Midheaven midpoint on the eclipse degree certainly was an indicator of losses experienced in relationships.
Saturn, among other things, represents losses and separations. But what we lose is what we are called to release anyway. Saturn is the great separator and limiter. The pain and frustration experienced in relationships from eclipse time to the present clearly indicate that
another shift in the form (Saturn) relationships are taking is eminent. With Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius, strong focus on internet liaisons where people merge (Neptune) and then separate abruptly (Uranus) may not be one of the more positive trends of the Aquarian age. People still get hurt regardless of our lack of physicality. Relationships in real time were even more severely tested. It is easier to turn off our computers and avoid another then it is to pack up and move while the dream dies.
The eclipse Sun and Moon in Pisces, ruled by Neptune and impacted by the Saturn midpoint, indicated endings of not one relationship, but of many. The fact that the south node of the moon was also at 10 Pisces in the eclipse chart appears to be a strong indicator that reasons to connect
intimately with others is subject to tremendous change. Mars and Saturn energy is also a signature of accidents such as falls, trouble with teeth and bones, and arthritic joint pain. Cuts and bruises are the result of Mars' action. More dentists profited from the last two and a
half years of Saturn in Aries than ever before. Also, domestic violence statistics reached an all time high, as have homicides. Auto accidents during Mercury retrogrades escalated in severity, and communication devices often broke down. Sometimes we were unable to perceive the real intent of the person on the other end of the cell phone or fax.
1998 got off to a rough start with Venus retrograde in Aquarius for a few weeks, dragging out last Christmas's lack of spontaneity and drive to rack up credit card debt on more consumer items to place under the pagan tree. December is Saturnalia, the time of Saturn's joy as the Sun
enters Capricorn, the sign which Saturn rules. In ancient times laws and morals were suspended for Saturnalia which gave everyone from ruler to slave an opportunity to indulge in baser pleasures without judgment. It served a good function in that society, as most people were Saturn oppressed due to lives of servitude. Our socially acceptable Saturnalia was less than satisfactory and our batteries weren't sufficiently recharged. Once Venus turned direct in mid January, 1998, the power grace and pleasure were restored. Unfortunately, we were hard on the
heels of the February 26 eclipse and are still reeling from that experience.
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