Saturn | Gaye Mack

WHEN THAT OLD DEVIL SATURN SHOVES YOU THROUGH THE REBIRTH CANAL

If you’ve been feeling as if you’re being pulled through a keyhole backwards, it’s quite possible that old devil, Saturn, has been moving by ‘transit‘ through the twelfth house of your birth chart, across your ascendant(the eastern horizon of your chart) and whoosh, bam…you’ve just come through the rebirth canal into first house of self.

Poor Saturn. Ancient and traditional astrologers assign unflattering descriptions of his impact on a chart such as restriction, lessons to be learned, tiresome practicality, excruciating patience and let’s not forget, the wet blanket in any situation…definitely not someone jovial Jupiter wants to sidle up to at a party.

Naturally because it’s astrology, there’s never one ‘simple’ consideration. How moving Saturn impacts a chart depends on several variables including transiting sign and mathematical relationships to a chart’s other ‘sensitive’ points besides the ascendant. However, through the evolutionary lens, when Saturn’s on the move through the final frontier of our twelfth house, across our ascendant into the first house, he’s the driving force pushing us toward our highest potential.

In December Saturn temporarily finished its two year tour through, as Steven Forrest calls it, ‘the spooky sign of Scorpio,’ entering the expansive sign of Sagittarius. Scorpio’s nature among other things, brings our unconscious to the surface, forcing us to look at those things that have been safely buried in the watery depths– usually things we’d rather not face.

Saturn in Scorpio makes us do what we don’t want to do…urging us to clean out the closet. For those where this process is happening in their twelfth house, the landscape is vast. While traditionally, this sector or circumstance of life is that of the mystic, the house of hidden things, a monastic life, it’s also our unconscious, the dungeon, –and the house of endings. Quite simply: the old you is no longer the person your Soul has mapped for this lifetime.

But here’s the catch.–in order to move on, WE have to let go …relationships, perspectives, jobs, dreams…the list can be endless, making us feel as if we’re standing naked in the eye of the Universe. However, the Universe is also ‘elegant’ as Forrest tells us. Now that Saturn’s in Sagittarius, while perhaps it hasn’t finished moving through one’s twelfth house quite yet, if we’ve done our clean-out work, we’re afforded the benefit of fresh perspectives, even new dreams, if we CHOOSE to use this opportunity, as choice is always astrology’s intent.

What if we haven’t done such a great job of cleaning out? The Universe recognizes that sometimes we’re asleep and things slip by us. Not to worry…in June that ‘Old Devil’ Saturn turns retrograde, backing up into Scorpio for a brief last pass before it finally moves on for the next two years in Sagittarius. Have you swept out all the corners? Have you looked hard at those things you’d rather not? Have you let go?

Don’t let your life pass you by.

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THE SECOND SATURN RETURN-TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF WHAT HAS BEEN, WHAT CAN BE

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Gaye Mack in Karmic and Self-Discovery Astrology, Uncategorized, Writer's Work Leave a comment

It’s my great pleasure to welcome back Dr. Judy Tsafrir, holistic psychiatrist and Evolutionary Astrologer. Judy’s thoughts on the second Saturn return within the cycle of life offers a wonderful perspective on the importance of this energy through the years of what is life’s final trimester for most of us. In traditional astrology, Saturn has always been viewed as a ‘malefic’–the harbinger of dire and dark times ahead or for some, depending on where he sits in the natal chart, a deep hole you might just never get out of. However in Evolutionary Astrology we can look at Saturn’s psychological energy as an important teacher; an influence meant to assist us in manifesting our greatest good. Sometimes the lessons come hard, sometimes Saturn trips us up; but at the end of the day there is always the intentional goal of pushing us along on our Soul’s evolutionary path. Much like Pluto’s transits in some ways, Saturn’s transits across our chart will not be ignored; one way or the other he makes his presence known. The key is for us to be aware of when, where and how best we can navigate these cycles. So for further insights on this subject, I bow to Dr. Tsafrir’s excellent perspective!

Cycles are at the heart of the human experience. In New England the seasons change dramatically and rapidly, yet seamlessly blend into one another. Similarly seasons define the developmental process of our lives; infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, the middle years, the elder years, culminating in death of the physical body. Each epoch unfolds predictably, sequentially and inexorably unless interrupted prematurely. And each is characterized by certain stage specific maturational tasks and experiences. The Sun, Moon and planets all have their cycles too. We are familiar with the Moon’s orbit around the Earth; 29 days or a month. The Earth’s orbit around the Sun; 365 days or a year. But all the other planets have their own periodicity as well. Saturn takes approximately 29 years to travel around the Sun and arrive back at the exact point it was when you were born. The average human life span can be divided by the Saturn cycle into three stages, birth to 29, 29 to 58 and 58 until 87 or death.

All of the planets are linked with particular archetypal aspects of human experience. Saturn is thematically linked with time and maturation, credibility, experience and the wisdom of the elders, responsibility, duty, authority and alignment with universal laws. Many patients appear in my practice when they are 28 or 29 years old, at the time of their first Saturn Return. It’s a time when many young people feel an urgent need to figure something out about their lives. In our culture there is acceptance that a 24 or 25 year old may still be searching, perhaps feeling a bit lost, still experimenting. But when they reach 28 or 29, it is no longer as appropriate to feel so uncertain and undecided about partnership, children, career or direction. There is a developmental pressure at that time to finally leave childhood behind and become a responsible adult and contributing member of society. Similarly at the Second Saturn return the developmental pressure is felt again. This time it is linked with an awareness of mortality. Saturn slows you down and forces you to take a long hard look at reality. How much time do you have left? How do you want to spend it? There really is no time left for procrastinating, otherwise time will be up and those books will never be written or paintings painted. Ironically as time the remaining time diminishes, subjectively it passes with ever increasing speed.

The Second Saturn Return is a time of life review and soul searching. How did you get here? Is this really where you want to be? Often it represents a cross roads of sorts, and an opportunity to deal at last with unfinished business. Sometimes this means getting rid of people, jobs and situations that no longer fit who you are or want to be. There is a taking stock that can culminate in a kind of purging and reordering of your life. This death of the old way of doing things can be painful, but subsequently there is often a feeling of relief and gratitude that you are no longer stuck in circumstances that no longer served you. Saturn is also known as the Lord of Karma or Lord of the Harvest. You will reap what you sowed. It is a time when hard work will be rewarded, but if there has been neglect or carelessness, the natural consequences will not be able to be avoided. Saturn asks you to claim your authority, to step up to the plate. It is inappropriate to wait for someone else to do it.

In my own case, I am 57 years old and just on the cusp of my Second Saturn Return. I am thinking about letting my hair go grey. There is less of an investment in vanity and more in spiritual wisdom. I am accepting invitations to do public speaking, even though it makes me want to cry and throw up. It feels more important to share my thoughts and make my contribution, than to give into shyness at this late date. I am writing about Astrology, even though there are few subjects in our culture more generally viewed with contempt. But Saturn is asking me to make a contribution and give voice to what I believe is true, and to write about what is important to me and on my mind. I have no idea how Astrology works, but empirically I observe that it does, and it provides an invaluable context for making sense of our experience, guidance for making choices that are most meaningful and a perspective on ourselves and others that promotes compassion and understanding. The Second Saturn return is often not an easy passage, but it is rich with opportunity to re-create our lives in order to have the most meaningful and vibrant remaining years, so that when we are on our death beds looking back, we can sigh and say, “Ah, that was a life well lived.”

SATURN, YOU OLD DEVIL

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THAT OLD DEVIL SATURN AND DR. BACH’S GENTIAN

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Gaye Mack in Balance, Karmic and Self-Discovery Astrology, Uncategorized, Writer's Work 2 Comments

Recently a gifted medium friend of mine gave me an unsolicited message: “Follow Saturn.” At first I thought this odd, as this friend’s knowledge regarding astrology is modest. However the more I thought about it, I recalled my ‘transit’ chart reading with Steven Forrest last spring which focused heavily on Saturn transiting the 12th house of my natal chart.

For those unfamiliar with ‘astrospeak’, a brief side bar on what ‘transit’ means. Each of the planets in our solar system has an orbit that rotates them through the twelve signs of the zodiac; some planets for example like speedy Mercury and Venus move quite quickly. The ‘outer planets’ i.e., those furthest from the Sun take a very long time to lumber their way around the heavens. For example, Saturn takes approximately 28 years,(give or take), Uranus takes 83.75 years, Pluto takes 248.6 years and etheric Neptune takes 163.72 years.

From an evolutionary perspective, there are no accidents in a chart. Everyone’s chart is uniquely orchestrated for optimum Soul growth opportunities. When a planet’s orbit pings a sensitive point in our natal chart, such as the birth position of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant (i.e., the sign on the horizon the moment of your birth), as well as other important points including houses(the circumstances of life), this is called a ‘transit’. Transits can be very important because the psychological energies they carry come with updates, so to speak, in a personal agenda for us. Whether or not we take advantage of these perfectly ‘timed’ events is another matter; we can respond positively or negatively, the choice is ours.

The ancients viewed Saturn (that old devil) as a malefic, along with Mars and Pluto. Depending on their placements in a birth chart or by transit, it was believed that these guys portended inauspicious outcomes. Even today traditional astrologers may view a client’s chart with a wary eye when Saturn is ‘acting up.’ However, no doubt about it, Saturn’s job is to teach us lessons we need for growth and yet provide a sturdy foundation under our feet. Thus, if we opt for the evolutionary lens, we’re better tuned in if we view Saturn’s transit with a higher perspective.

Nevertheless, our experience of Saturn can be a lonely road to travel; often we’re ready to quit, throw in the towel and second-guess our judgement. These possibilities are particularly highlighted when Saturn by transit is in the sign of Scorpio as it is currently. Here, Saturn will remain until until this time next year when it shifts into Sagittarius for a time before backing up for a last past through Scorpio and then moves on for good in September 2015. So, we have our work cut out for us, each and every one. When Saturn’s in the sign of the Scorpion, we’re challenged to look at things within our psyche and past experiences we’d rather not. While in the end such excavations make us stronger, help us to grow by understanding how we could have behaved or done things differently, it’s not always a particularly good time making us want to run the other way.

Dr. Bach’s Gentian is the perfect flower remedy for times when Saturn is wreaking havoc. As one of Bach’s original ‘Twelve Healers’, the negative Gentian mood state is all about discouragement, self-doubt and perseverance. According to Dr. Bach the purpose of the Gentian remedy is to lead us to an: “ understanding that there is no failure when you are doing your utmost, whatever the apparent result.” This understanding helps us realize that steady perseverance is essential to overcoming self-doubt. A vital key to our own Soul evolution is to remember that cosmic law dictates trusting the perfect timing of the universe; that the universe provides us with whatever we need for our expansion and growth. When we find change and challenge difficult, Gentian helps us to understand the value of, and engage in, perseverance in the face of adversity and disappointment.

THAT OLD TEACHER SATURN

DR. BACH’S GENTIAN

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EDWARD BACH’S WATER VIOLET FOR JUNE’S WATERY GRAND TRINE

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Gaye Mack in Balance, Karmic and Self-Discovery Astrology Leave a comment

As I write, we’ve just experienced the energetic embrace of Sunday’s incredible ‘SuperMoon’ in Capricorn, illuminated by the watery Cancer Sun. As with all astrological events and configurations, they symbolize a range of expressions and possibilities, not unlike those a Bach practitioner considers with each of Bach’s 38 flower remedies! While the powerful ‘shadow’ energy of this full moon reminded us that we must learn to return in favor for acquired status (Capricorn) as well as receive nurturing that’s been denied, (Cancer), there’s more to come. Today, June 26^th, the Sun forms a ‘watery’ Grand Trine with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces.

35 years ago, the famous and well-known Chicago astrologer, Katherine DeJersey explained to me why astrologers ‘jump up and down with great glee’ when they see a ‘Grand Trine’ in a birth chart. “Traditionally,” she said, “Grand Trines indicate an ‘ease’ in the flow of energy between the three planets and their sign placement- people who have these configurations in their charts seem to always land on their feet.” However, the highly respected astrologer, Noel Tyl cautions us… ‘not so fast.’ Tyl maintains that Grand Trines are a ‘defensive function in the personality;’ but what does this really mean? As a chart is really about the flow (or not) of energy, in consideration of Grand Trines as a defensive mechanism, Tyl maintains that we’re looking at a form of emotional self-imposed isolation within the Trine’s planetary and elemental framework; ie., fire, earth, air or water.

If we apply this interpretation to the forthcoming Grand Trine in water, then we’re looking at a self-imposed defense against emotional hurt that basically says, “I don’t need, want your emotional comfort and I certainly am not extending any.” Thus, with this approaching trine we’re considering the watery energetic symbolism of Saturn in Scorpio (internal retreating to the depths), Sun in Cancer (retreating into the shell) and Neptune in Pisces(escaping into the cosmos)… all wrapped up in the concept of emotional defense. Such reactions are what bring me to think of Dr. Bach’s Water Violet flower remedy.

As I wrote in my book, Igniting Soul Fire, Spiritual Dimensions of the Bach Flower Remedies,

“…for the water-violet soul, a facet of their sorrow or grief stems from repeated experiences of betrayal. In their silent grief, the contracted Water Violet comes off as keeping ‘a stiff upper lip’, while appearing detached, prideful, and aloof. The reality is that this behavior is a means of emotional protection. Even in simple friendship, intimacy is a hardship for them. Even more of a challenge is finding a level of comfort in the intimacy of a romantic relationship. Physically, the contracted emotional state of this soul-type makes its subjects appear rigid and apart from others, as they exude an air of superiority and entitlement. Water-violet souls have the lesson this lifetime of learning the virtue of joy by sharing their wisdom of experience through participation in the environment that surrounds them. In working through emotional excavation using Water Violet as a remedy, the resulting connection to their feelings brings awareness that detachment is the source of their grief and, what was once good for them—an old defense mechanism that worked—is no longer good for them.”

Thus, with this different perspective on the meaning of the Grand Trine configuration in the heavens, if you’re feeling particularly sensitive to this watery energy and withdrawn, perhaps Dr. Bach’s Water Violet might be just the remedy for you!

GRAND TRINE BETWEEN SATURN(SCORPIO), SUN(CANCER) & NEPTUNE(PISCES)

DR. BACH’S ‘WATER VIOLET’

Photography ©Dr. Edward Bach Foundation

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A BIG MONTH FOR SCORPIO, DR. BACH’S CHICORY, PINE AND STAR OF BETHLEHEM

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Gaye Mack in Balance, Karmic and Self-Discovery Astrology, Writer's Work Leave a comment

As I thought about the focus for this post, Scorpio’s energy kept pushing itself into my thoughts, increasingly deeper, increasingly insistent; clearly a reflection of its nature. Paraphrasing the adage, ‘whatever you resist the most, this is what you need to embrace’, this is definitely one of Scorpio’s mantras as well as a mantra for Dr. Bach’s flower remedy, Chicory.

But first, a look at Scorpio and just a few of the astrological aspects that he’s part of this month. Elementally, Scorpio’s a water sign. To quote the esoteric astrologer Joan Hodgson, water

“creates, nourishes and destroys physical form…[it] is concerned with the soul of things—with the psychic aspect of our being, that part of us which senses, reflects, and absorbs the impressions of the world around us.”

By sign, Scorpio rules the eighth house in the zodiac, the house of among other things, the occult…those things, circumstances of life that are hidden, that are deep. So first and foremost we’re talking about emotions, particularly those emotions lurking within the nadir of ourselves that we purposefully, consciously or with lack of awareness subconsciously, keep hidden.

On October 22^nd, the Sun moved into Scorpio joining by ‘conjunction’ that task master, Saturn (remember HIM from the last post?)…what a pair, one that takes no prisoners amidst their joint message, “you have some work to do, and excavation is afoot;” never mind that we really DON’T want to go there!

As Hodgson implies, all water signs (Scorpio, Cancer & Pisces) are highly sensitive. This sensitivity is now combined with the no nonsense energy of Saturn demanding that we look at what’s been holding us back, for us to ‘see’ and acknowledge where we’ve been limiting ourselves within the landscape of our evolutionary growth…this is pretty scary territory, its deep territory.

And still, we’re not done. On Monday, October 29^th the Full Moon is exact in Taurus, opposing the Scorpio Sun. The Moon by its nature is all about emotion. It doesn’t think. The Moon’s energy is that intrinsic part of us that just ‘knows.’ So now we have the Scorpio Sun (in cahoots with the teacher, Saturn) shinning its light on earthly Taurus… whose goal is to find inner peace and tranquility. The lesson is clear: in order to find peace we must excavate our deeply hidden feelings despite our fears, guilt and perhaps even shame.

Enter Dr. Bach with his remedies. Although I’ve written about Chicory, Pine and Star of Bethlehem before,

http://gayemack.com/2011/11/08/dr-bachs-chicory-the-flower-remedy-that-meets-the-energy-of-plutos-hard-questions

http://gayemack.com/dr-bachs-pine-flower-remedy-for-shame-based-guilt-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/

http://gayemack.com/2011/08/29/dr-bachs-star-of-bethlehem-for-shock-and-trauma

here they are again in different circumstances.

When we are in a contracted emotional Chicory state, we tend to expend a great deal of energy either consciously or subconsciously in order to avoid acknowledging feelings, emotions, past actions or behaviors that we’re responsible for. This contracted energy can manifest in overly tenacious, self-absorbed, controlling, micro-managing and often, narcissistic behavior that uses emotional manipulation to get what it wants. Worse, it’s typically directed toward those who are closest to us because if we project all over others, we don’t have to look at our own ‘stuff’.

Fortunately, Chicory helps us to see what it is that we’re doing to ourselves and others; it’s essential energetic action helps us to ‘let go’ with a feeling of safety to do so and when we do so, we find that we have more support from others than we thought possible.

However, in this excavation process it would be an anomaly if one were not to feel some form of guilt; after all, feelings of guilt and shame are part of our human condition. Fortunately we can look to Bach’s Pine. As I’ve written previously, this remedy goes very deep. It’s not unusual for someone to be taking Pine for a long time as the contracted Pine state can get set up when we are very young. Pine is very powerful and as you can imagine, has multitudes of applications…it’s the perfect pairing for Chicory and Scorpio’s energy.

Finally, we must always include Star of Bethlehem when embarking on any kind of emotional excavation. Bach referred to this remedy in so many words as ‘the ultimate healer of all wounds.’ Whether we’ve been ‘stuffing’ such wounds and guilt for a life time or as recently as days ago, this remedy must be part of our healing process.

Chicory, Pine and Star of Bethlehem; perfect partners for diving deep, doing our evolutionary work and finding peace.