Tag: saturn

Three Ways to Work with Saturn

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There comes a time when you first start learning astrology that you learn about Saturn. Nobody really likes to deal with him, if we’re being perfectly honest; we would much rather spend our time cozying up with Venus and partying with Jupiter. They’re better company.

But the reality is that everyone must deal with Saturn. We can’t escape it. But, we can learn to become friends with Saturn—well, maybe not BFFs, but we can get on better terms with him.

And the truth is that I honestly love Saturn. But that hasn’t always been the case!

In our birth charts, Saturn represents the places that box us in. We all have a pinch point in our life where we seem to get stuck, an area which demands discipline, diligence, and structure. In those spots, he says “no” to something in our birth chart. He says to us, “this is where your hardest work will be.”

A part of our life that challenges us to learn how to say “no”—sometimes it even challenges us to learn how to say “no” to ourselves. Even with that being the case, we can embrace the hard work that Saturn demands. Saturn stands ready to give us what we need to thrive when we make that hard choice.

Some of us have Saturn in our eleventh house, where he makes it harder for us to find community and kindred spirits. Some of us have Saturn in our fourth house, where he can make our home life feel like a prison. Some of us even have Saturn in our first house, where he demands that we learn how to say “no” to ourselves.

Saying “no” to yourself isn’t necessarily a fun Saturday activity.

Let me put a pin in that real quick, though: think about the gift of Saturday. Each of the days of the week has a planetary ruler, and Saturday is no different. Naturally, the day is Saturn’s own.

But in other languages, especially those deeply connected to the Jewish diaspora, Saturday is still called “the Sabbath.” Sabado. Samedi. In Russian, Subbota.

The ancient stories of the Jewish tradition suggest that it was on Saturday that the Divine said “no” to further creation so that the Divine could rest.

And likewise, for millions of people throughout history, Saturday has been the day where Jewish people have learned to say “no” to work and to fear in order to say “yes” to the richer things of life that neither labor nor money can procure. Things like family, community, rest, relaxation, feasting—aspects of life that empower us to live with soulfulness and depth.

These aspects of life need a container. And what Saturn does is that he hollows out a space in our lives through teaching us to say “no” so that we can contain a life that’s rich with fullness and depth.

Wherever Saturn is in your birth chart, there is an opportunity for you to experience the boon of “sabbath.” You have the chance to say “no” to something to make space for what can grow there.

So how do I work with Saturn?

One: Know What You’re Up Against

The first step is knowing which house Saturn falls in, which is easy to do if you know how to run your birth chart on astro.com or another service. Whichever house Saturn falls in is the area that demands that hard work of hollowing out space by saying “no” in order to say “yes.”

For a brief refresher, here are the life domains that each house represents:

  • First house: the self, the body, physical appearance, physical health & vitality, circumstances
  • Second house: our own resources, whether financial or energetic
  • Third house: our siblings, our local communities & neighborhoods, short trips, commonplace things, communication
  • Fourth house: our upbringing, our parents, our home, and the things that we inherit
  • Fifth house: fun, creativity, enjoyment, pleasure, children, and anything we do to create more of ourselves
  • Sixth house: hard work, duty, responsibility, and the people and creatures for which we are responsible (employees and pets)
  • Seventh house: partners in love and conflict, coalitions
  • Eighth house: other people’s resources, whether financial or energetic; other fearful things, like death and debt
  • Ninth house: expansion of perspective & knowledge, teachers, mentors, religion, spirituality, philosophy, long voyages
  • Tenth house: the legacy we leave, our career and public status, what we are remembered for
  • Eleventh house: our friends, associations, and fidelity to others
  • Twelfth house: that which imprisons us and limits us, isolation, retreat, sorrow, the unconscious

For example, let’s look at the chart of the famous choreographer and dancer, Martha Graham.

martha graham birth chart

We see that Saturn is in Libra in her fifth house. So, in her life, Saturn demanded her to apply diligence, structure, and shape to her artistic pursuits. If you’re familiar with Martha Graham’s choreography, you know that diligence, structure, and shape are perfect descriptors for her approach! By doing so, her artistic vision radically influenced dance in the 20th century (notice also that her midheaven degree is in Aquarius, which is traditionally ruled by Saturn!)

Oh, by the way, a fun astrology history fact: the important 20th-century astrologer Dane Rudhyar was, for a time, Martha Graham’s rehearsal pianist!

Whichever house Saturn occupies in your birth chart is the area of life that Saturn is asking you to structure, organize, and say “no” to certain factors so that you can say “yes” to the gifts that will be planted there.

Ask yourself these questions, and spend time answering them honestly:

“What part of this area do I need to say no to? What does it look like for me to put some sweat into tilling this earth? What can I cultivate here after I do that?”

Two: Look Inward with Compassion

The problem with Saturn work is that, if you haven’t given it a lot of thought before, it can be a rude awakening. You might feel like you’re being read for filth. You’re not filth. But Saturn is reading you for sure; it’s what he does.

Gentle reminder: you’re not alone.

If the process of looking at the Saturn part of your life raises some difficult questions for you, it’s crucial that you give yourself the gift of looking at that area with compassion. If you can’t learn to look at that area of your life and see it with the same eyes that those who love you most see you, then you’ll stay stuck on this Saturn piece. It’ll make dealing with your Saturn return even harder, too.

But Saturn thoughts don’t have to be the destructive emotions that we so often make them out to be. (I hope I’ve hammered this point home!)

One of the most helpful resources in my journey with learning to look at myself with compassion was a book given to me by my therapist, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Dr. Christopher Germer. This work is a fabulous introduction to the basics of mindfulness meditation. But it’s not only that. You’re learning how to do mindfulness meditation with techniques and visualizations specifically geared to learn how compassion feels in your body. I return to his “soften, allow, heal” technique all the time.

If you’ve got any interest in meditation practice at all, it’s a fantastic starting place, and his accompanying website has free tutorial recordings that you can access. Do yourself a favor and get a copy (this is an affiliate link, full disclosure).

Get Your Copy of The Mindful Path to Self Compassion

Real talk? As long as looking at this Saturn-filled part of your life causes you to cringe and run away, you won’t be able to do the necessary work of softening it, allowing it to be, and letting it heal. It’s a necessary step on the journey.

Three: Attune Yourself with Saturn’s Spirit

Here’s where we get a little bit woo, but I’m trying not to go too hard here. Stay with me!

The idea is that each of us have a little bit of Saturn in us, and we can attune ourselves to that piece of the sky that’s lodged in our souls through prayer and mediation on its principles and properties.

This is what some astrologers call a “remediation,” and essentially it’s a way of balancing out a planet that’s too active or not active enough by making that planet more a part of our conscious experience. So how do you go about this?

In the Vedic tradition, there are mantras for each planet, and you can easily find a Saturn mantra to utilize in this way. Kelly Surtees features a wonderful write-up on this practice on her site that serves as fantastic angle of approach. We can dip into other traditions, too. Here’s one that I especially like for Saturn from the Greek Orthodox tradition:

“O Lord and Master of my life, grant me not a spirit of sloth, meddling, love of power, and idle talk, but give to me, your servant, a spirit of prudence, humility, patience, and love. Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brother, since you are blessed to eternity.”

Any prayer or affirmation that focuses on themes like prudence, humility, patience, and self-assessment is great for Saturn. If you can’t find one that you like, you can even write your own in words that feel right for you! There’s not a wrong way to do this.

Essentially, you take whichever mantra you want to use that encapsulates a planet’s principles, and you pray with it repeatedly until it sinks into your bones. Over and over again, breathing the prayer in and out as you go. There’s a reason that the earth’s major spiritual traditions each have some sort of prayer beads: this meditative repetition entrains your subconscious to the wisdom contained in the prayer.

It’s basically like reprogramming your brain’s circuitry so that it runs more harmoniously with the planets within!

For extra oomph, try doing this on a Saturday just after sunrise, or on a Tuesday night just after sunset.

What else can I do?

Even if you know what you’re working with, you’ve learned how to look at it compassionately, and you’re working on attuning yourself with Saturn, that doesn’t magically make everything go easier. (Well, it might. A little.)

The reality is that there’s a lot that you can do. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, though; if you’re interested in how to manage and nurture your unique Saturn situation, the best thing you can do is reach out to an astrologer who’s on good terms with Saturn and let them help you develop a strategy for working with Saturn that is tailored to you!

(I happen to know a guy.)

Help me figure out my Saturn stuff!

Lastly, if you’re dealing with Saturn stuff it’s important that you have people around who can help you carry the load he puts across your shoulders. And if you’re engaging in this process, I want to hear about it! Shoot me a note to let me know how your Saturn story is going. We’re in this together!

Disclaimer: this post contains an affiliate link. If you buy a copy of Dr. Germer’s book through the link above, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Widow and the Judge

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What is it about Venus transits that freaks people out so much?

This week, on the 19th, we have a transit that has generated a modicum of consternation among those I’ve asked, and even beyond Mars’ entrance into Taurus and the Sun’s entrance into Pisces, this one is what’s occupying many people’s attention.

We’ve got Venus encountering Saturn on the Old Man’s own turf. It’s interesting considering that most of the transits that begin this week, except for Mars’ entrance into Taurus, are events that happen once a year.

My hunch is that collective attention fell on Venus because, especially around Valentine’s Day, relationships are one of the most significant pinch points in our common life.

Whether we are aromantic or polyamorous or celibate or just ain’t got time for that, we are still social creatures, and so Saturn’s looming contact with our social starlet is not something that we want to countenance.

We love beauty, fun, and love. Don’t harsh our mellow, Saturn.

But is Venus in Capricorn that mellow to begin with? I want to assure everyone reading this that, first off, Venus’ conjunction to Saturn is not anything before which to cower. You’re going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine. “But it’s Venus!” Yeah? “Conjoining Saturn!!” Yeah, so what? “AAAGH”

Get the image of Venus’ contact to Saturn in your head. Let whatever dread you have about it fill you. Now, think about this parable, from Luke’s gospel, chapter 18:

Jesus said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.’ (Saturn in Capricorn much?) ‘In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”’

The reason that the Venus transit to Saturn this time around is not anything to be overly concerned about is because of something called “reception.” When a faster planet applies to the aspect or conjunction of a slower planet from that other planet’s home turf, the slower planet is obligated by celestial ethics to give the faster planet a hearing.

The slower planet may not be predisposed to being helpful, but the faster planet is coming to the slower planet in a style that agrees with the slower planet’s personality. So, hear the story anew. Venus in Capricorn, boss-ass lady that she is, is coming to Saturn demanding justice.

Saturn’s no philanthropist, we all know that. He’s the unjust judge; his M.O. is maintaining his own status quo and not bothering with the petty concerns of the unwashed masses. But Venus demands a hearing. She fights for it. She marches her ass into the courtroom day after day until she can wheedle a judgment out of this crap judge.

Venus at 16° Capricorn has the powers of triplicity and term. She’s among friends. She sets her own agenda for how she’s getting Saturn stuff done. She has zero time for Saturn’s nonsense—even though she knows that Saturn is the one who can get her the solution that she needs.

Venus needs Saturn to help her say no to something here. Think back to the parable: the widow needs justice against her opponent. In the ancient world, widows had no safety nets unless they had kids to take care of them. This is a woman who is not satisfied with her situation and is trying to do something about it.

Think of the healthy Capricorns that you know in your life, especially the Capricorn women. Do you know them as people who just sit there and let life happen to them? Not in the least, right?

Think of Dolly Parton, a Capricorn woman. That’s Venus in Capricorn.

Do you think Dolly Parton is going to let Saturn boss her around? Not at all. She came to prominence amid the patriarchal nonsense of the music industry and did so by playing the game in her favor. She made the resources of the gatekeepers her own. She did it on her own terms.

So as Venus conjoins Capricorn this week, keep an eye out for the way beautiful opportunities help you to game the system. Pay special attention if you’re in a Venus- or Saturn-ruled year (you’ve got to know your rising sign for that—count forward one sign for every year of age to tell you the ruler of your year).

Aries

If you need to ask an old friend to pay you back the money they owe you or approach your crummy boss for a raise at work, this is the week to do it. Get your money.

Taurus

Put yourself in the sights of an older mentor who can connect you with professional opportunities—and ask them to do it!

Gemini

If you need funding for a creative endeavor, figure out who it is that you need to ask and get in their face, but be careful that your approach doesn’t burn any bridges.

Cancer

A friend or family member will probably be asking your loved one for help with a home matter, so be attentive to the needs of loved ones and stand at the ready to help with whatever is asked.

Leo

Your boss is looking for some help from your coworkers but resist the urge to put yourself in the limelight because you might discover that what’s needed is grunt work, nothing that heightens your image.

Virgo

Don’t be afraid to spend a little bit of money on something fun for yourself this week; the return on investment will be worth it. But stay under budget.

Libra

If you need to approach your folks for financial help, feel free to do so this week. They’re not going to like it but plead your case well and you’ll have what you need.

Scorpio

Keep an eye on anyone who has it in for you for they may be working to create tripping hazards. Cross your T’s, dot your I’s, stay in your lane and you’ll be good to go.

Sagittarius

Looks like a friend will be coming to you to ask for a help. Define the terms of what you can do and set clear expectations; don’t just trust that they’ll honor their end of the agreement. Don’t let your good nature get taken advantage of.

Capricorn

Higher-ups will ask you for a favor, even if you’re not interested in what they’ve got to offer in return. Negotiate; you’ve got the upper hand here.

Aquarius

Less practical, more theoretical for you (which shouldn’t be a problem): meeting the needs of family and philosophy can help you maintain a sense of purpose during this long season of feeling apart from yourself.

Pisces

Ride the wave this week to get your day-to-day tasks done with support from old friends while you’re in the middle of a confusing fog. Get it done!

Thank you so much for your support of my work! If this was helpful to you, book a session with me today! I’ve got an audacious goal of ten consultations a week because that’s ten people who are getting insight into becoming who they’re supposed to be. https://bit.ly/2AAF2QL

Good for the Gander

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Sunday’s lunar eclipse marks the final punctuation in the story that has been playing out since this time of year in 2016, when we had the first lunar eclipse in Leo as the nodes began their slow journey through the opposing realms of the ego and the collective.

Like a celestial metronome, the eclipse cycle structures time in a way that allows us to see the unfolding of various musical phrases, calls, responses, and developments playing out in the realms of our life where those eclipses fall.

We have seen how the themes of tension between the fixity of the individual will and the fixity of collective responsibility have played out both for good and for ill, indeed. Each time the Moon’s dark body blocked out the radiant Sun, each time the Moon passed unseen through the Earth’s ruddy shadow, we were given a window into the deep magic where will and responsibility hold one another in tension.

This has played out on the stage of our national life, within our cultural discourse, as well as within the silent and secret chapters of our lives. So, what have we learned?

Those of us who have been able to work constructively within the measures tapped out by the Sun and the Moon in these last two years have seen that the individual and the collective will are connected to one another. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

For those of us who have found our wills drawn to that which we desire most in life over the last two years, and who, under Jupiter’s beneficent patronage in Sagittarius have discovered again what it means to aim high, I offer this line from the writer Wallace Wattles:

“The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.” And one of the best ways to do so is to employ the creative, effusive powers of Leo, where identity and expression reign, so that they may be united to Aquarius’ social ethic.

If we have not yet learned this lesson, we will be given another opportunity to do so when, in nine and a half years, the eclipses return to Aquarius and Leo, but the shoe will be on the other foot this time.

If you’ve not learned this lesson, do it now. Do it today. Do not put if off to tomorrow. We have a fantastic opportunity to do so this week, not only as a result of this final eclipse in Aquarius, but also because of the story being told by the trio of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

The day after the eclipse, January 21st, Mars on a warpath in Aries strikes a stoic and staid Saturn in Capricorn, who refuses to yield to Mars’ assault—for Mars in Aries reminds Saturn of times in which Saturn has had to engineer clever Saturnian solutions out of the most unlikely materials available, as though he had to build a house out of fire.

Saturn is on the defensive and can withstand Mars’ siege as long as he needs, for he lacks for nothing in his frigid earthen fortress.

We will encounter stopping points and dead ends in our campaign towards our desires as a result of Saturn retaliating against Mars’ excitement with a deadening glare, but that’s not the end of the story for this week.

Mars’ blade throws sparks and a scintillating shower illuminates what it is that we desire. We’ll see that what Mars wants is not war, but simply to cut a new path to move forward, to blaze new trails in whatever area of our lives fall under his fiery demesne.

What better power to help him do that than Jupiter?

As Mars continues his journey forward, he carries with him the structuring power of Saturn as a result of this spat, and on the 25th, he brings this power to Jupiter in Sagittarius by a munificent trine, asking the All-father to help him find a new way.

It helps quite a bit that Jupiter’s daughter Venus has seen what’s been going on between Mars and Saturn and is bringing advance notice to her father as she visits him at home, carrying news of her brother Mars’ plight. Jupiter’s primed and ready to help.

Defeated but determined, Mars pleads his case, and Jupiter straightaway grants Mars the ability to accomplish what it is that he has set about to do, for Jupiter sees both Mars’ intensity and sincerity in his approach.

Since Jupiter sees Mars approaching from allied territory (for Jupiter is a stakeholder in every fire sign), Jupiter’s aid to Mars is in his own best interests, too. Goose and gander, once again, and Mars will be given what he needs to make the most of himself.

Wherever it is that we are striving and investing in our energy, signified by the place that Aries holds in our natal charts, we will encounter a barrier at first and then a breakthrough this week as the lesson of the Leo-Aquarius eclipse cycle sets more deeply into our bones.

Learn this lesson: the very best thing we can do for ourselves is to make the most of the whole world, and that the very best thing we can do for the whole world is to make the most of ourselves. In spite of barriers. Without delay. Today.

ARIES RISING

As you strive to manifest the most positive possible outcomes for your health and your personal circumstances, look for your spirit-attuned teachers to show you a new way to rise above the present challenges through fixing your eyes on that which is noble, true, and just in all things.

TAURUS RISING

Mars is on his warpath in places unseen to you, striking down those who would seek to undo you with a smile on their faces, and you will find secret and silent aid coming to you from the energies of people who you may have counted as enemies otherwise. “Love your enemies.”

GEMINI RISING

As you are striving to expand your social circles, be ready for challenge to come from people to whom you owe a debt of responsibility. New and gracious partners to assist you in connecting with communities where your insights can be validated and put to utmost use in motivating collective action.

CANCER RISING

Even though your workload seems like it has been growing beyond your ken as of late and you meet with resistance from your associates, the beneficent aid you’ll receive from far-sighted allies will help you manifest a tremendous payoff in your professional status. Remember to give credit where credit is due.

LEO RISING

As you strive for deeper understanding and a higher perspective, do not let the drudgery of your search have the final word but rather seek after new and creative ways of seeing as peers and superiors enrich your capacity to open the doors of perception.

VIRGO RISING

Striving for a way forward in your obligations to other people finds itself against creative blocks; you can’t keep doing the same thing. A return to ancient and nobler ways of advancing will give you the insight that you need in order to find this new way. Try going back to go forward.

LIBRA RISING

Willingness to engage in new ways of conversing—and perhaps putting some financial skin in the game—will allow you to find a new way forward in partnership with your beloved as they come up against the carefully constructed boundaries and restrictions defining your home life these days.

SCORPIO RISING

The tremendous effort you’ve been putting out to construct the best circumstances for yourself has met with utter resistance in your day-to-day environment (how are those resolutions going)? A new way comes when effort joins itself to viewing your financial powers from a higher perspective.

SAGITTARIUS RISING

Expect the energy you’ve been investing in your creative output as of late to trigger a notable breakthrough for your circumstances despite throttled resources. Knowing how to say “no” to the wrong materials will help you say “yes” to the right ones, even though “no” isn’t in your vocabulary. Think less Michelangelo, more Mondrian.

CAPRICORN RISING

All the recent motion at home isn’t unsettling you in the least—if anything, it’s creating new advantages by which to steel yourself against the enemies wearing friendly faces. Don’t accept more help or advice than you need—not that you’ve ever had a problem saying “no” to officious advice, anyway.

AQUARIUS RISING

Getting the word out to new audiences is continuing to prove a challenge due to resistance from the dark and deadening walls that contain you, but you’ve got friends in high places who stand at the ready to help amplify your messaging and thereby get you out of the box. Since when was cardboard so strong?

PISCES RISING

Against the sensible urging of your friends you’ll probably make a tremendous investment in furthering your view of the world this week, using your cash or your cache of energy. The return on investment looks promising, as does the view from up there.

On Saturn in Capricorn

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We’re almost there—Saturn finally enters Capricorn in a few days after about 2.5 years hanging out in Sagittarius. The sagacious Saturn comes home to roost in the sign of the Letter of the Law, the sign of commandments and structure and strict judgment, the sign of Wisdom, the sign in which Caesar Augustus was born. Saturn, who is the greater malefic, is perfectly comfortable here and has everything he needs, unlike to cause problems unless provoked—say by Mars opposing him from Cancer or squaring him from Aries (which we won’t get for a while).

Saturn in Capricorn, though never fully “benevolent,” desires the best for the matters under his care and sets boundaries for his cattle, fences in his crops, and gives his workers schedules to assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities to the best of their abilities. Saturn in Capricorn—especially for those born around late 1988 to 1991 or so—demands that we assume fully the responsibilities that are ours to assume and set boundaries, learning how to say “no” in a way that encourages growth and not needless suffering.

Saturn in Sagittarius has been creating gaps and divisions between ideas and nations and journeys, making those far-flung reaches of our world even more distant. Yet he asks us as he comes home to Capricorn: “how shall ye bridge these gaps that I have made? Entropy belongs to life indeed, but it must be held in balance by connection, construction, and order, lest the world fall apart.”

It’s always so easy to say “no” to the other in order to say “yes” to ourselves, but in ways that are destructive and diminishing to people whose lives we have the opportunity to impact for the greater. We relinquish our opportunities to be agents of healing for the sake of getting our own desires fulfilled and our attachments assuaged. Remember too that Saturn rules Aquarius, the Social Worker of the zodiac.

Depending on the houses which Saturn rules in your chart, this may mean saying “no” to a promotion that won’t ultimately move you in the direction you want to go, or “no” to a parent who continues to try to parent you. It may mean saying “no” to things that bring you a lot of joy, not because those things are “wrong” in and of themselves but because those matters cause you to be so inwardly-focused that you cannot see your fellow human in need. That human is you, too, Saturn reminds you. The best way to honor this season is to learn how to construct healthy structures and disciplines for yourself—and for many, though the idea of asceticism might make us queasy, the benefits of saying “no” can make us appreciate the blessings in life all the more.

Where do you need to say “no” in order to free up the resources that building bridges within your own heart and world will require? Where are you over-invested and over-exerted in your life? What tethers you to the glimmering delights of the world such that you can no longer see the light of God in the people you meet from day to day? What benefits might come if you allow yourself to be freed by Wisdom that rightly and sweetly orders all things?

Consider the spiritual progress made by those who have said “no” to the things that we find ourselves attached to and instead have built systems of discipline in which they can explore their own Interior Castles—and consider what opportunities await you as you respond to Saturn’s invitation to do this work.

Saturn in Capricorn does not demand that we become monastics, but he does demand that our lives be ordered toward life and abundance for both ourselves and our neighbors—Saturn is, after all, a farmer, and without fences, furrows, schedules, tilling, hauling, composting, and patience, nobody gets to eat.

The prayers for Advent include this Saturnine invocation to the ordering energies of God, and may it be a blessing for you as you make ready for the Sun’s own ingress into Capricorn during this season of light: “O Wisdom, who proceedeth from the mouth of the Most High, stretching from one end of the world to the other, rightly and sweetly ordering all things: come to teach us the way of prudence.”

Peace and all good, friends.