dark night of the soul

This article was originally posted in September of 2006 when Saturn and Neptune were in opposition.  Many of my clients have been referring to a “dark night of the soul” resulting from the Chiron/Neptune conjunction so I thought it might be useful to repost it.

While I was on vacation I happened on a radio interview with Andrew Harvey, a mystic and Shakespearean scholar who believes as many do that the earth is heading for some troubled times. I was very impressed by the depth of his commitment to the spiritual life and his eloquence in describing the twists and turns that are required on the path to becoming one with the divine.

Harvey’s recent book is entitled The Sun at Midnight: A Memoir of the Dark Night , written about his long journey through the dark night of the soul. In the opposition from Saturn to Neptune, many of us are experiencing such a “dark night” in the form of the ending (Saturn) of our illusions (Neptune). Although Pluto is now associated with death and the principle of rebirth, before Pluto was discovered Saturn ruled over death’s domain. Death under Saturn is a cold hard ending as we come face to face with the fragility of our spiritual connections under Neptune. Although Saturn is a stern teacher, the rewards are great and when we face the hard lessons that Saturn brings we are given great rewards. In its opposition to Neptune, adopting or deepening the discipline (Saturn) of a spiritual practice (Neptune) will help to facilitate the progression of our cosmic education.

But there is a deeper death in Harvey’s writings: the death and regeneration that we associate with Pluto. The reclassification of Pluto into a […]