Saturn in Aquarius

Sunday poetry: The world was made to be free in.

Art by Melissa Chen

The yearning to be free is a hallmark of the Aquarian energies in which we find ourselves. Mercury and Saturn have been in Aquarius, and now they are joined by Mars and Venus. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is creating ripples of political conflict that sets basic rights of freedom against authoritarianism.  We cannot change the world, but we can change our own inner state of self-repression and despair. Towards this end I offer a beautiful poem by David Whyte.  ❤️


Sweet Darkness
When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb
tonight.
The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing:
the world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.


~ David Whyte ~

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By |2022-03-06T07:55:41-05:00March 6th, 2022|Inspiration|2 Comments
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Full Moon in Scorpio, April 26, 2021: Challenging the Saturn/Uranus square

Photo from PixelsTalk

A portion of this article was posted last week but has been updated.  All Full Moons are formed by a polarity between the Sun in one sign balanced against the Moon in the opposite sign. Each opposing pair is a cycle of energy that flows from one sign to the other, each sign containing what the other lacks. Scorpio and Taurus are both fixed signs, both are highly personal signs with one being ruled by Mars (Scorpio) and one by Venus (Taurus). Both are concerned with matters of earthly life, but in Taurus we hold on to who we are, and in Scorpio we must let go of who we think we are in order to become transformed in the purging fire. Taurus seeks harmony and serenity, and Scorpio seeks passion and drama.

Tonight’s Full Moon (culminating at 11:30 pm EDT) is a SuperMoon (™ astrologer Richard Nolle). The SuperMoon occurs when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth – the Moon appears bigger than usual in the sky, and the qualities of the lunar influence intensifies – higher tides, heightened emotions, etc.

Until Mars entered Cancer last week there was a lack of the water element in the skies – we have lots of Aquarian air of the intellect, and some Taurus earthy grounding energies, but the watery energies of feeling and emotion have not had an easy conduit through which to flow.  The Scorpio Full Moon will change all that: Scorpio is the sign of intensity and passion, the impulse that pulls us into the deepest part of our soul and forces us to experience life in the most profound way possible.

At the Scorpio Full Moon […]

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By |2021-04-26T07:33:11-04:00April 26th, 2021|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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12.17.20 Saturn in Aquarius, 2020-2023

much of this article was originally posted when Saturn first entered Aquarius in March of 2020. 

art by Krystle Marie Smith

Saturn first entered Aquarius on March 21, 2020, then retrograded back into Capricorn on July 1st.  Throughout most of November and December, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto were in lockstep within a few degrees, and because Mars was in challenging aspect to the Capricorn trio there was a great deal of conflict and chaos.  Saturn re-enters Aquarius on December 17th, 2020 and will remain in that sign until March 7, 2023.

Before we can understand the meaning of Saturn in Aquarius, we need to understand Saturn’s role in human existence.  This is especially important because as the traditional ruler of Aquarius, Saturn is said to be in its domicile in Aquarius (as well as in Capricorn).

Understanding astrological Saturn

Before the discovery of the modern planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (not to mention Chiron, the asteroids, and all of the other points that are now used to some extent by astrologers) there were seven planets and lights: the Sun, the Moon, and the five visible planets.  Saturn marked the outermost boundary of the solar system, and was surrounded by rings of containment.  These physical attributes reflect the astrological depiction of Saturn as governing limitations, physical boundaries such as gateposts and doorways, and the limitations we place on ourselves through self-doubt and fears.  Saturn was traditionally viewed as the Lord of Death – unlike the modern planet Pluto, which is associated with death as the ending of one aspect of life and the beginning of something new, death under Saturn is finite and final.

Saturn (in the northern hemisphere where astrology developed) is associated with the two zodiac signs […]

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By |2020-12-17T15:22:06-05:00December 17th, 2020|Planetary cycles|6 Comments
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12.16.20 A harbinger today of the upcoming final Mars/Pluto square

art by Fiona Owen

When two planets are about to meet but haven’t yet connected and a faster moving planet (or luminary) connects them, we say this faster moving planet has “translated” the planetary cycle of the other two.  This is exactly what we have today as the Capricorn Moon squares Mars this morning (Eastern time) and a few hours later conjoins Pluto, setting us up for the challenging square from Mars to Pluto on December 23rd.  Under the Capricorn Moon we are serious and eager to work at whatever situation presents itself, but the square from the Moon to Mars today can inspire some irritability and stimulate any lurking anger or frustration.  A few hours later the Moon conjoins Pluto and intensifies these reactions to a greater degree, resulting potentially in the exposure of conflicts that will become more apparent as we get closer to the exact Mars/Pluto square.

Saturn is at the critical or anaretic degree (29) of Capricorn right now, a degree which I call the “make it or break it” phase of a planetary cycle through a sign.  There may be a last minute adjustment required before Saturn moves into Aquarius tomorrow (December 17th) and begins the opening of the door to the new Aquarian energy which lifts us from the mundane world of Earth into a period of perspective and rational thought in Air. ❤️

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By |2020-12-16T07:56:23-05:00December 16th, 2020|Planetary cycles|0 Comments
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The dance of the Mars square to Saturn and Pluto

If you know the artist of this wonderful piece please let me know!  As Mars (planet of action) pirouettes through the sky and prepares to turn retrograde on September 9th, it has already formed a challenging square to Jupiter (ideological conflict) and Pluto (power conflict). Today it makes the first of a series of squares to Saturn (repression and conflict). Interactions between Mars and Saturn are often described as the attempt to drive with the brakes on, but of course we already have that kind of scenario with so many retrograde planets this summer (retrograde planets appear to be moving backwards from our vantage point on Earth).

The dance between Mars and the three Capricorn planets as they retrograde and turn direct is an interesting one. In this first phase of Mars challenging Saturn and Pluto, Mars is in direct (regular forward) motion and Saturn and Pluto are retrograde. In the second phase on September 29, Mars will be retrograde and Saturn direct. At the third phase, the conclusion, they will both be direct. So at this first phase there is the desire for action and the will to exert influence blocked by Saturn which in retrograde motion is reflecting on the past and turning our attention to the rear view mirror.  Mars says, “Why can’t I do this thing I want?” and Saturn replies “I am the ghost of the past,  [apologies to Charles Dickens] look at why you can’t have this right now.  Meanwhile Pluto is overseeing all of the drama and directing the action so that the Will of the Higher Self can be executed properly with the right action taking place.

In the second phase at the end of September with Mars retrograde and Saturn […]

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