saturn saturday - our first volunteer - we will call her Faith (since she has some crazy faith I know what I am talking about here - I will give her a chart of her planets so she can check out what real astrologers have to say about it, too - since I can only guarantee my accuracy in corks and dog biscuits)

available at gritty city goods

Life is a series of checks and balances (to use my old banker jargon).

We create, we review, we keep what works, we tear down what doesn't or what is finished and we move on to create again. This never stops.

When I was in banking I would often sneak a peek at clients' charts before looking at large investments or commitments to see whether they were more motivated by safety or growth, any significant financial or work related pitfalls ahead, etc - but I haven't looked at charts in a decade plus.

Last week I put out a call for some guinea pigs volunteers to help me get my feet wet again and was grateful to find a few takers. I am going to look at each chart's Saturn, 10th house and North and South Nodes first and then see where my favorite female goddesses rear their heads (next month) - all of this geared to our maker businesses.

During times of transition it can be a clearing exercise to check out what Saturn is doing in our charts. Saturn moves every couple years bringing changes to whatever part of our chart he is hitting and every seven years he creates some hard aspects to shake things up.

The incredibly rich narrative of Saturn in Roman and Greek (Cronus) mythology is too important for me to do it justice here in a paragraph - astrologer Liz Greene has a wonderful book on Saturn and of course the web has lots of info if you are drawn to finding out more.

In astrology Saturn is an aspect of the father/authority figure - it's the 2nd largest planet, it's the planet of contraction (Jupiter, the largest planet, is the planet of expansion so we expand a little more than we contract) - it's about boundaries, responsibilities, karma, commitments, self-control - the stuff that defines (meaning = outlines) us.

Some of Saturn's harder tests are our first Saturn return

(Saturn takes 28 -29 years to come full circle back to the place he occupied at our birth)

in our late 20's and our second Saturn return in our late 50's.

(there are also other aspects like the Neptune Square Neptune at about the age of 41 and the Uranus/Uranus opposition at about the age of 43 - one or both of which throws pretty much every one of us into a mid-life crisis, Chiron return 48-50, Pluto trines Pluto at 58, Uranus Squares Uranus at 63 - both new beginnings)

First up is Faith (names changed to protect the innocent).

When Faith was born Saturn was in Libra and since Saturn was again in Libra from late 2009 until just a couple months ago, I knew at a glance that Faith has just been through her 2nd Saturn return.

This is like our own little (often not so little) personal earthquake- allowing us to shake off anything that is not really us (note- this shaking off may feel kind of like being water-boarded at times and in a partnership house like Libra might lead us through some loneliness and depression).

It can create dramatic change!



This was a very powerful Saturn Return because it came at a time of the Cardinal Cross Climax (say that 3 times fast) that supported Earth's ascension and affected everyone.

Things that are lost under a Saturn shake-up are more like liberations than losses.

(although they do not feel that way at the time).

Sometimes the loss lets us see where we have gone wrong by closing a door - so for example, if we don't do the work we will lose the job or sometimes it closes a door so we are forced to open a new one - it may not be that we didn't do the work, it may be that our work there was finished and Saturn is the force that will push us on to something else.

(and this something else may be another part of our journey entirely - this isn't always about a job replacing a job or a marriage replacing a marriage - this is more about the stripping away of something to show us who we are without it - it gives us permission to look toward something else)

Back to Faith - as far as her life's work - Saturn is in Libra and Libra represents the archetype of the Peacemaker, the Artist and the Lover - all the energies Faith is here to master.

Libra is here to create both relationships and art and to perfect the art of relating.

"When you have succeeded in creating inner peace and harmony, and have honed your artistic and relational skills, you are ready to manifest your outer world mission. Your work might take the form of an artist or writer, crafting fine art that inspires others. You might engineer beautiful environments – as an architect, designer, or decorator – creating atmospheres where people experience harmony and ease. You might be a relationship counselor, applying the wisdom you’ve earned by working through your own intimacy issues, or you could apply your relational and peacemaking skills in a diplomatic or political position. You might express your commitment to social justice by working as an advocate for the dis-empowered. "
(astrology thru the houses, 1997 for libra in saturn)

The North Node is our "True North" (Faith's is Aquarius). The sign of the North Node is an energy that's new for us on a soul level, so it always feels alien and challenging, but when we take a leap and embrace this new energy, we receive support and validation from life - this is how we accomplish our life's greatest mission.

The South Node, which is the sign opposite the North Node, indicates past-life experience (Faith's is Leo). It's the "been there/done that" energy that we have already mastered and maybe even overdone, so it no longer works for us. While this way of being feels comfortable, when we operate through these old patterns, we actually block what will really make us happy.

With a South Node Leo, Faith has been the king of the jungle with many past lives of privilege, risk taking and doing things on her own - this is not a do-it-yourself lifetime this time around..

For instance she might instinctively approach a project with the idea of doing it herself and when she does, not a lot of energy comes back- things get bogged down and difficult. But she has excellent friendship karma so when others are involved and she is forced to stay open things will more easily expand and become more innovative. The more she gives credit to just "seeing ideas" rather than personally "having ideas" the more ideas will come to her!

She needs to avoid any tendency toward needing the spotlight or wearing the crown - it's time to abdicate that throne! No more melodrama, emotional danger, living through her children, bad love affairs, having loved and learned better, Faith's North Node Aquarius is asking her to bring her warmth and self confidence to a larger circle - it's her lifetime to bring out the talent and expressive light of others. She's been there, she's done that - she can help others do it, too!

She can do this by: being objective (seeing the big picture), creating friendships and making decisions for the group's best interest, sharing unconventional ideas, championing humanitarian causes and participating in groups, supporting equality, creating win-win situations and acknowledging and appreciating others' talents (letting go of any jealousy)

and by eliminating: insistence on getting her own way, making changes just to exercise authority, any attachment to risk taking in gambling or romance, stubbornness, going to extremes, pride, the need for other's approval and attention (any negative Leo trait).

When Faith dedicates herself to a larger cause she will find that the universe will fulfill her on a personal level as well. She needs to be thinking what would an Aquarian (the archetype) do?

She was a powerful creator in past lives and knows how to do this. As long as she gives credit to "good luck" or the universe or Angels, etc for the ideas she puts out she is totally free to succeed and can literally manifest anything. She has many guides and the source material for big success literally at her fingertips.

The great news is that her Saturn return has ended and her Jupiter return (every 12 years) is just beginning in her 2nd house which includes personal finance. Jupiter is all about expansion and good luck so things can definitely be improving in this area!

Faith is here to help bring in the New Age - she can take the power accrued from past lives and give it back by building a bridge between the future and the present. When she does this any remaining past-life pride will disappear and her self confidence will return and soar!