I’ve been a lifelong student of astrology. I chalk it up to my Scorpio Rising, reading Sydney Omarr in the paper, as a child. Astrology isn’t predictive, you have free will and can do as you please, thank goodness for all of us! But it can be used to target auspicious times for different undertakings. It can also describe a person uncannily well. I hold a level 2 certification from the CAAE, and in these astrology blogs, meant to be a break for my usual topics, I’ll give you an insight into how astrology works and the big themes that astrologers are talking about right now. Note: For ease, I’ve put numeric values as opposed to writing out the numbers.
Who is Saturn?
In mythology, Saturn was the son of Uranus, god of the sky and Gaea, mother Earth. Uranus hated all the children that came of this union and hid them away. Saturn, out of his own ambition, or perhaps at his mother’s request, or both, castrated his father and threw his genitals into the sea. This resulted in the creation of Venus.
Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus is the most famous depiction of this myth. Venus emerges from the sea, a fully grown woman, arriving on her seashell.
Saturn is also the father of Jupiter, the latter eventually triumphing over him. Therefore in astrology, when Jupiter and Saturn are both involved in an aspect, Jupiter will triumph, bestowing his gifts, although Saturn will cause difficulties.
What does Saturn Represent?
Saturn represents constriction, delays, having to work for what you want. But also structure and boundaries. Or limitations, depending how you view them. There’s usually a love-hate relationship with Saturn, because for all the toiling, once you achieve your objective, you will have mastered a skill, gained knowledge, become more responsible, created something solid. In fact, the Romans held a yearly festival honoring Saturn as a god who brought stability and in turn, abundance. Saturn truly provides the fruits of our labors, but labor there will be.
Saturn in Aquarius
At the end of 2020, Saturn and Jupiter were conjunct (close together) in Aquarius. Jupiter has since moved ahead, all the way into Pisces in May. Now retrograde, Jupiter has moved back into Aquarius, but nowhere near Saturn. By December 29th, Jupiter will be crossing back into Pisces for all of 2022.
While Jupiter hovers at the final degrees of Aquarius, Saturn remains in the first third of the sign for all of 2021. While Jupiter stays 1 year in each sign, Saturn stays nearly 3. Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius. Any planet is strong in its home sign or the sign in which it is exalted. While exalted means it is put on a pedestal and has to behave in a manner worthy of this position, in its home sign it can let it all hang out. At home a planet can walk around in dirty underwear and sock with holes in them.
Saturn’s influence will be strong and aspects to other planets felt. While some of these don’t last more than several days, the square with Uranus is ongoing, in a back and forth struggle. We see it in attempts to contain, restrict, keep the same structure, way of doing things. This isn’t all bad. There’s a security to what is built under Saturn, a feeling of being on solid ground. Which may be why it’s hard to restructure. But on the downside, and there is one because the Saturnian influence is strong now, we can feel like Sisyphus, constrained to the repetitive grind, pushing our boulder uphill. Everything is work. The rewards are there also, but hard won.
The Saturn-Uranus Square
Saturn and Uranus have been squaring it off pretty much since the start of 2021. We felt a peak of intensity from January into March. Then again at the start of June.
The intensity is decreasing (a breather!) through July until we see the hard square again in December. It will be exact on the 16th.
The struggle between Saturn and Uranus is the old way versus the new way. In fact, Uranus challenges us to remake the structure created under Saturn into something new and better. Uranus says “It’s time to break free. So take it apart and go to the next level.”
This square is a lot of tension between who or what we’ve been and moving on to something totally new. It’s finding the balance between stagnation and the old expression throwing the baby out with the bathwater. How much of the old do we keep? How much of the new isn’t a good idea?
Because each planet sits in a different sign and, for each of us, a different house, you may feel this conflict between 2 areas of your life. Career versus relationship, for example. You self, individuality, personality versus your environment, your daily life, your siblings.
The squaring off means going back-and-forth, trying to change without too much fallout. Because Uranus can be a breakthrough but it can also be a breakdown. Think of Durkheim’s theory of anomy: rapid change brings about instability, old values and standards no longer apply (Brittanica.com). Uranus was discovered by accident in 1781, fitting for a planet associated with sudden innovations. Saturn loves structure. Stability is good, but it can also keep us stuck in the same place, not realizing our system is obsolete and inadequate. So, like everything else in astrology and in life, it’s about finding a balance. Can you relate to this in your life? Leave a comment.
I’m asked if there’s an astrology book out there to learn the basics of your chart. Understanding the Birth Chart by Kevin Burk is an easy to comprehend and will allow you to explore each placement in your chart. The writing style is engaging and humorous. No dry textbook here. If you just want to know about you and your future, try Georgia Nicol’s aptly named, You and Your Future. Georgia takes her forecasts to 2025 for all signs. She also has a great sense of humor. Finally there’s the classic: Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. She takes us through all 12 signs and who they are as a man, woman, a boss or a child. (The links are affiliated and you can learn more here).
Image by ParallelVision from Pixabay
Pingback: All Systems Go: Astro Update #9 • 4 retrogrades end, we get going again.
Pingback: Boundaries and Saturn Direct: A Sort of Astro Update # 10