EYE ON ASTROLOGY: UNDERSTANDING THE SCHOOL OF SATURN
Saturn is beginning a difficult journey now until Thanksgiving a moves into the karmic knot located better know as the gandanta located between 3 degrees Sagittarius and 27 degrees Scorpio. Between now and June 20th it is in the Aries section of Sagittarius (0-3.20) where its darker energy comes up as it faces frustration, obstruction, delays, being overly critical. cruel and impatience, lacking social grace, working too hard and a bit angry when the frustration arises. Saturn retrograde in this section of the zodiac until June teaches being patient with overcoming the lessons of the past and the pain and suffering that we are feeling. There is a need to avoid being scattered and to focus deeply to accomplish work and yet the tendency is to rush around too much and do things carelessly and then pay the price.
The key into late June will be to shut yourself away from distraction and focus and not let every issue and distraction get in the way of your responsibilities. This will be hard and this energy will manifest most on Saturdays, ruled by Saturn or when the Moon is transiting Saturn’s constellation of Pusya (Cancer 3.20-16.40), Anuradha (Scropio 3.20-16.40) and Uttarabhadrapada (Pisces 3.20-16.40) or the signs of Capricorn or Aquarius and particularly when Mars is opposing Saturn from Gemini in late May. The most difficult part of the transit is June 10-20th in the 1st degree of the Sagittarius where deep karmic issues from the past need to be healed and there seem a deep sense of suffering. Get your house in order early and clean up your issue early. If you are Capricorn or Aquarius rising, running a Saturn period or have Saturn as the Atmakaraka (planet with the highest degrees in your chart), then the Saturn issues will be most pronounced the rest of the year.
Saturn is often misunderstood. If you have a strong Saturn in your natal chart in its own signs of Capricorn or Aquarius or exalted in Libra or connected to Taurus you may have learned the messages of Saturn. Saturn does well in the 3, 6th and 11th houses and is particularly challenging in the 12th and 1st house. Saturn in Aries or Cancer or Leo may be particularly difficult in many charts in the wrong houses.
Saturn is both the good and bad parent. The good parent is responsible, provides security for his children is disciplined and provides for our material infrastructure so that we can play in the life and move through our work. The good parent Saturn turns up in the chart when Saturn is well placed and in association with benefics like Jupiter and Venus and is connected to the better houses like the 3rd and 6th and 11th house and has other strengths.
Saturn as the bad parent has too much excessive fear and is prone to being too restrictive with his kids and saying no: you cannot go outside and play alone; you cannot have the ice cream and candy because it will be bad for your health. You cannot watch TV because you have to study for your exam. Over time as we grow up these restrictive messages run our lives and create too much fear around living life. Having a very restrictive Victorian nanny when I was growing up, I can attest to how these messages continue to run my life. When Saturn is weak in transit as it will be into Thanksgiving, the “bad parent” Saturn comes out and too much fear gets exaggerated into creating restrictions that block us from living life. The media pounds us with fears that the world is going to blow up everyday and activates Saturn’s lowest energy of survival but this gets so exaggerated and ignores Saturn the good parent who is connected to the Divinity that guides the planet and who is really in charge.
Saturn also gets us caught up in the past and particularly now with its transit through Mula nakshatra connected to Ketu which is about cleaning up the past karma and creating regrets: “I should not have done this.” It brings up guilt and remorse that keeps us swimming in a sewer pit which is not of much use. Catch the guilt and remorse thoughts that are coming up and dismiss them. There is no point living in the past and swimming in the sewer water. You are are a new and different person now. We have written about Saturn/Ketu and the need to use this time to address those we have hurt and make reparations and apologize and do something to change the way we have operated before.
When Saturn is too afflicted it creates too much fear and if we made a mistake and it is being revisited now but it may create too much blocking energy about moving forward. The past is really a dream and there are new and fresh circumstances to create a new life now and make new choices.
Its like the Bill Murray movie, Ground Hog Day (1993) If you are not familiar with the movie, Bill Murray plays a weather man who goes to Pennsylvania every Feb. to see if the groundhog will see his shadow. Bill is boorish and rude and insults his staff and gets trapped in a nightmare where he cannot leave the town and everyday, wakes up at the same time to the same silly tune on the clock radio and has to relive the same day. Since he cannot die, he keeps making bad choices at first like overeating or driving a car off of a cliff, but as the movie goes on he takes up piano, saves peoples lives, becomes an incredible romantic and the whole town suddenly looks up to him as a model citizen.
The movie is like a seminar in learning to be kind, artistic, creative and a humanitarian. It becomes a metaphor for reincarnation and overcoming our negative qualities of selfishness, addiction, and rudeness.
When we have a poorly placed planet or afflicted planet in our chart, it is as if we had not learned the lessons of that school. If it is Jupiter, it may be around children, respect of Gurus, judgement or wisdom. When the planet goes weak in transit, it brings up lessons for that school. Are we going to do it differently this time? Are we going to bring out the higher values?
Rather than blame the planet, learn what lessons you did not master in the past and get it right this time. Get out of your nightmare by being kinder and help others and then you will not suffer. The planets just want us to get it right this time so we do not have to wake up in the same nightmare every morning.
We can change our karma through awareness, self-reflection, service, giving to charities and doing things to bring out the highest qualities of those planets. Our strong planets are gifts which we are here to share with others so be sure to use them. Our weak planets are the ones that we are here for and need our attention but they do not make our job easy. We tend to gravitate toward things we are good at to get praise rather than face potential failure at the things that we are not good at. If you are not good at relationships because your Venus is weak, then that is the planet to work on so go for the relationship seminars, the painting and the singing even if you may fall on your face. Like Bill Murray, after repeated efforts you will get it right.
If you like this approach to astrology, you will love our new course starting on May 7th. We have moved the starting time up to 3 pm Chicago time for those who want live interaction to incorporate some of our students in Australia and on the US West coast.
For more details see:
Finalizing registration for my class: Spiritual Astrology and the Schools of Karma. See You Tube video preview at: See my You Tube Channel for an introduction to the tape ( see the new one from 1 week ago)
