Early Christmas Present: Saturn Gets a Move On.

Who is Saturn? 

     Saturn is like the strictest teacher that you've ever had. You are expected to learn all his material, turn in all your assignments on time, and get your work done, no excuses. In return, based on the quality of your work, you will be graded absolutely fairly, and when you pass, you know that you have passed. Saturn does not let you fail classes, as any lesson that Saturn teaches will be repeated in increasing severity until you learn it. Sounds rough, right? That's the price of being in Saturn's classroom, and that classroom is the material, the world limited by time and space. 

     So what happens when you pass one of Saturn's classes? You get the reward, and that reward is especially meaningful, because it has been earned. Saturn gives the hard won wisdom to his pupils. Mastery of the lessons of Saturn is the pearl of great price, and leads us inexorably towards the next step up the mountain of wisdom. Each step gives us new vistas to contemplate and process. Saturn rules age, and wisdom comes with age specifically because over time we learn more about the world around us as well as our inner world. Resisting the lessons that Saturn offers keeps us at the base of the mountain with no view and no real wisdom. 

     So, who is Saturn? Saturn is the teacher that wants you to succeed and grow in wisdom, but will not let you shirk your duty to do so. Saturn gets a bad rap because often the wisdom that Saturn teaches requires us to work hard, make sacrifices, and face uncomfortable truths. Saturn is the resistance that makes our muscles stronger, the obstacles that exist to be overcome and is in a very real sense the gatekeeper to greater understanding. 

Saturn's Classes

     Saturn teaches 12 subjects, and those subjects are the astrological signs. Encompassed within these signs are the archetypes of humanity. Astrology is a language of patterns and archetypes, and how those archetypes interact is the wisdom inherent within it. While I could dive deeper into each of the 12 signs, this time would be better spent focusing on what is passing and what is coming in. On December 23rd of 2014, Saturn will transition from Scorpio to Sagittarius. Saturn takes about 2 and 1/2 years to get through each sign, so when it transitions it is a big deal. 

     While Saturn has been in Scorpio, the tests that Saturn has given have been tests that relate to the archetypes of the sign of Scorpio. Scorpio rules sex, death, regeneration, shared resources, transitions, the subconscious, our deepest emotions, and the underworld both figuratively and literally. Saturn restricts and limits to teach, so let's just focus on how those two archetypes interpenetrate. Since focus is a keyword of Saturn let's just focus on one aspect of Scorpio that has been affected. 

     When Saturn is in Scorpio, it is difficult to regenerate. To define the term, regeneration is the process by which we get to root blockages and remove them, in order to get rid of those things that have been holding back our evolution and growth. During the transit through Scorpio, this power to regenerate has been severely limited, and the effect that has on people is a real difficulty to give emotional support and energy to others. There is work in the depths that is freeing up a veritable wellspring of energy, but it is not freely available. During this time, people have been feeling more drained than usual, less giving, and more needy. With lots of emotional needs being unmet, many close relationships have been tested deeply. The interesting and productive work that is happening is still under the surface. People are becoming more and more clear about what their emotional needs are and are starting to talk about them. 

     Those that have learned the lessons of this transit will be able to more freely express their deepest needs, and regenerate much easier. This lesson learned increases self-knowledge, removes some of deepest emotional blocks, and allows for people to acknowledge both their own repressed shadow aspects, and those of the greater culture they are a part of. Those that have passed this Saturn test will have tremendous capacity for healing. 

What's Next? 

     Saturn moves into Sagittarius right before Christmas this year. It's an early Christmas present to those of us that have been slogging through the emotional heavy lifting of Saturn in Scorpio. While Saturn is always a bit of a heavy, there are aspects of it moving though Sagittarius that are going to be very uplifting. Sagittarius rules education, philosophy, and truth. So to combine those two energies is to come to an awareness of hard truths. But the promise of this transit is the energy necessary to not only come to an understanding of these hard truths, but to step into an action phase. Sitting around is not favored under the tutelage of Saturn in Sagittarius. This transit calls for getting out and wrestling with these truths publicly. Even though it's still challenge, it's a welcome challenge to those that have been wrestling in the underworld for a couple of years now. 

    What are some of these hard truths? I'll list a few that are meaningful to me, but I welcome any reader of this blog to list their own. 

1. We are not in a post-racial world, and many of the systems and institutions are steeped in prejudice and racism. 
2. We are not being stewards of the planet and our collective actions are making real negative impacts on our collective future. 
3. We are moving towards a much more globalized world and there is real questions of who will hold the reins of this new global order. 
4. Many of our institutions, political systems, and economic policies are hopelessly corrupt, and there is little will within these systems for real change. 

     There are hundreds of truths, but these are to me some of the truths that are becoming more and more clear. Saturn will help us do the work to educate ourselves and take real and lasting action on our hard truths. 

    Merry Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, or whatever you celebrate! Find your truth and fight.