Saturn by Degrees

Technically a perfect example of a man-made eclipse, the Cassini spacecraft took position beyond Saturn so and photographed the ringed planet 'lit from behind' by the Sun.

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, Caltech)

Part of the symbolism derived from Saturn’s position as the planet farthest from Earth visible with our personal, unassisted eyes is the idea that Saturn both marks our ‘boundaries’ in life – those limits beyond which we cannot (or will never) reach along with the challenge to reach the fullest extent of our potential.

Bringing all that to Scorpio, Saturn in Scorpio thus becomes the sign that we’re in the middle of a (two-and-a-half-year-long) period when our ability to grow the fulfillment of that potential and the goals we have for our Self in life – when all that is intersecting and being confronted with the need to contend with whatever feelings, goals and needs everyone else has.

Known for a period when praise can be bullying and when what appears to some as bullying can act as structural support, Saturn in Scorpio can stand for a ‘cutting’ force which when used with skill “cuts through problems.” And yes, such solutions may seem sensible – even popular. But because Saturn in Scorpio also times out glitches in plans of sufficient size guaranteed to get our attention what we think we know we may well know, yes.

Then again, we could be completely wrong. During the whole of Saturn’s two-and-a-half year passage through Scorpio various forms of this knife-edge between polarized convictions will occur simply so that we’ll stop acting on instinctual desires to ‘win’ and ‘deter risk’ in order to build something which will not just provide a path into the future, but enough feeling of sufficiency and security to continue what in reality is an unsecured loan on eternity called life.

Still, let’s be real here…we humans don’t much like our plans going awry or getting stopped. Very few of us greet moments with glee. (And yes, if we did, that would be a whole other issue.)

However we want to think of it, Saturn in Scorpio often manifests in a sense of frustration over loss.

But is the loss real? It may feel final, but is it?

And is that an actual loss – or is there something better?

Until we get to the point where we cling to something as immutable bedrock because it’s our bedrock (our emotional ‘my way or the highway’ stance) Saturn in Scorpio tends to manifest as supportive. But once we do get to the point of clinging, whether it’s to some person, some idea, some method, means or condition (which in Scorpio is merely a back-handed attempt to control)…then Saturn in Scorpio represents the upset, the destabilization, the undermining of security real or imagined.

Remember: Scorpio is an emotional sign. The external stakes may be real enough. Then again, things positive and negative now may be what they are because of some internal emotional process – one which some might call an emotional blockage. Even denial.

Wherever we see such internal/external imbalances, stability ends.That’s something we’ve seen over these past few months in ‘spades’ (as they say). As a sign Scorpio tests and stands with great durability in many a situation which looks imbalanced, but which on the inside, isn’t.

That’s one of the premier Scorpio secrets. If a structure tangible, financial, situational, relational or of any other type is properly ‘calibrated’ or engineered…or to put it more in ‘people-ish’ terms wherever a matters gets fully discussed, negotiated and/or agreed upon without coercion, denial, manipulation or threat ensuring that both/all sides are able to own and operate from a conscious position of power, Saturn support and growth can be lastingly initiated.

Note please: Scorpio dynamics require that we respect both (or all) sides of any question – and this applies whether your debate is with someone else or with yourself. It also applies equally whether the question is something you’re on the positive or negative side by preference.

That Scorpio is also strongest during times of calm and clarified focus has been evidenced over the past few months as Saturn has been continuing its opposition to dwarf planet Sedna in Taurus, the signature of our desires. At some level we’ve all been being put through the personal wringer about who we are, what we believe is valuable, who doesn’t agree with us and how to have personal viability on a workable scale.

Solutions to problems have felt intractable. And yet, they must be solved. That solution – and the fact that we know there’s a problem (though the thing we’re staring at is probably not it) is a good and decent start of things. But it’s certainly not the end, the solution, the light at the end of our tunnel.

And that…that’s going to still take some time to come about. At the moment, all our evaluations are being put to the test and we’re bound to find a few things need tweaking (on the inside) through October, 2014 – at which point something integral will shift (reflecting the solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio on October 23, 2014).

But for now, we need to know what to do…which points to yet another possible function of the current Mars retrograde in Libra, a sign where our Mars energy may be down (have you been feeling tired or worn out lately?) and certainly we’re having a bit of a ‘think’ about who others are – and aren’t.

No, we don’t like all the answers. Plans and ideals are getting tumbled and jostled as we all cope with some sort of growing (Saturn opposition Sedna) realization that the way things ‘have been’ really doesn’t work any more.

But if we can’t do it ‘that way,’ how are we going to do whatever it is we do or be whoever it is we are being?

Wait…should we change?

These are the kinds of very basic…if complicated questions facing us now. And while they’re facing us…they’re also facing everyone we know, which is going to make for a bit of ‘being out of sync’ and/or some ‘dissipation’ of energy which could be all good or disappointing, to say the least.

Ahead of us (Huya/Saturn) is a task which needs doing in an interactive and public setting which involves harnessing that which we have learned through our hardest of hard lessons in the greater interest of all from which we make some sort of gain or gain ‘traction’ of some form.

But we’re not ready for that yet. In fact, for whatever reason peculiar to us we’re each ‘backing away’ from that ‘thing’…specifically some moment of decision or commitment which will trigger our taking on ‘the task.’ And that process – the working through of the ‘how,’ ‘in what order’ and the ‘sorting out of risks, responsibilities and rewards’ – is going to take us through May 20th, at least.

Not that things aren’t going to change between now and then, whatever we may think to the contrary.

And we may be doing that contrary thing, to be sure. In fact, to the degree that we are committed to being “stuck” or holding onto some position which doesn’t take the interests and needs of all parties into account… that’s pretty much a measure of how diligently we will be tested by life, events, situations and others as we move through the April 29th solar eclipse.

A Taurus solar eclipse, that is – the Taurus ‘energetic’ of which would be plenty for us to deal with even without the feeling of being made to ‘tread water’ or some sort of tedious-feeling sluggishness, a sluggishness which reflects our being ‘pushed through’ our own reluctance to see something truly valuable that we’re missing.

Imagine that…we’re missing out on something really valuable, all because we’re doing some sort of immature (Sedna) clinging to some pre-determined definition of ‘good’ which doesn’t allow for many of the beyond imagining possibilities life may hold if we will just let go of our Scorpio desire to control everything in sight.

Everything which is out of sight, too.

Working from the premise that it’s better to have more information than less throughout life in general, it occurred to me that you might find it useful to have a list of Saturn’s degree position not just through the April 29th date of the eclipse but, from now until the station where Saturn turns direct this coming July. For one, once its here at the blog you can always come back to think things over. But just as important is the idea that each of the ‘major indicators’ we are given in the ciphering of time into opportunity is understanding the ever-shifting, ever-evolving pattern.

Thinking through that tells us even more. For instance, last year (2013) Saturn went retrograde on February 18th and direct again on July 9th. This year (2014) Saturn went retrograde on March 2nd and will go direct again on July 20th, shifting the cycle forward in terms of our calendar year by about a half month. And next year, another shift will occur.

The implications here are useful when planning a year, especially when we mix in the ‘partner’ energy of Jupiterian experimentation and learning without which Saturnine efforts in time become defeated by sheer antiquity.

You know, the ‘that’s old hat,’ thing. Preserving the precious ideas while continuing to keep pace with our times would seem to be the Saturn-Jupiter balance and those who manage or master such cosmic dances do well.

Saturn's rings (photo credit: NASA, JPL)

And when we don’t?

The breaking, the limitations, the loss and the ‘weakness of standing’ which is as much a part of Saturn as the ability to endure come what may… whether we are being called to some challenge in the world or within our Self-world or being limited by factors we must master through being mastered by – knowing that we are now in a period where Saturn’s retrograde starts under Sun in Pisces and extends through Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini into Cancer describes a solar five-sign trine.

Trines equal ‘ongoing energy’ which can be good or bad depending on whether we’re content with what we’re doing (or being) or not. In that Saturn us the descriptor here we are told that there may be growth or ‘stoppage,’ ‘gain’ or ‘loss’ depending on what we have (Scorpio) invested thus far… and that the (Pisces) ‘origin’ of the day by day (Sun) life we’ve been leading – both within our consciousness and as a participant in our life-or-world – is at some level both the evidence and some lesson we could be empowered by if we understood how our degree of ability (or willingness) to cope not with others but with how they are reacting to however we are displaying our values (or) what those values are…how that ISN’T about ‘them’ (or ‘that’ which is in progress, or which has happened) but about our ability to (Scorpio) reconcile ourselves to some sort of (Saturn) reality.

How that becomes whatever it is which either promotes peace (general and/or personal) or forces us to keep fearing the worst, whether we are rewarded with opportunities and positive developments or rejections, rebuffs and threats…that may well be about ‘them’ and whether they’ve done their Saturn stuff, yes.

But it’s also – totally and separately – about prompting us to do our best so that in time we can move towards our goals regardless of whether someone else wants to stand there quacking or not.

(Yes, I said quacking.)

That trine also says that we are living through a period of years when the ‘largest emotional common denominator’ (Pisces) is being brought home to our most personal of emotional experiences – Cancer, sign of home, hearth, family, culture, national heritage…all that.

This is a pattern which moves fairly quickly (at least in astrological terms). Back in 2001 (using that just as an example) Saturn’s retrograde was starting at the very end of September (with Sun in Libra) and ending in early February with Sun in Aquarius.

Those are both public and worldly signs. They are about how we experience life rather than more or less about what life is. The second six signs of the zodiac (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces) are always about life in general, which is why people born under these Sun signs learn from interaction more readily and more necessarily than those born under the Sun in the first six signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo), meaning half of us naturally learn just through the process of being (and on our own) while the other half of our world’s population is naturally attuned to learning through processes which involve others and things going on in the environment.

INTO WHICH comes the cosmic clockwork we think of as Saturn, a ice cold gas giant upon which we can have no standing – literally. There is no ‘standing’ on Saturn: in the moment you reached its surface you would be under it.

That’s a perfect scientific image of the Saturn as the astrological cogwheel we call time. We cannot ‘stand’ on time.

Time is evidently not there to support us. Nor are we – evidently – supposed to stand in a defined ‘spot’ when it comes to time. Some of Saturn’s greatest losses come about from ‘living in the past’ instead of learning from it and applying just that  in a present day (Saturn) reality environment.

Saturn will not honor a present day life lived in ‘back then’ terms. Where we attempt to do that, Saturn inevitably emerges as some sort of loss, big or small. This dichotomy between that which is ‘of the past’ and our reality of the present is being brought out now as part and parcel of other things allowing us to develop the sort of emotional insight which will release us from internal enslavement to some ideal or fantasy we’ve perhaps thought we had to live or embody in reality.

Saturn – regretfully – is now tearing down many of our gossamer dreams in processes rife with disappointment. We will tend to think ‘what’s wrong’ is in or with reality when much of the onus is on us.

Somewhere in our past we took something which should have been a motivation and we’ve turned it into a goal. It’s time to let go of that as reality and live in the reality we have, releasing our Self from the impossibility of some mythic unattainable so that we can flourish in the (Saturn) time we have among those willing to see and receive us.  

Since 2001, year by year Saturn’s retrograde pattern has continued shifting. There’s a natural variation in how long each retrograde lasts which astronomically is about planetary orbits not being round – not to mention the fact that astrology is geo(Earth)centric – meaning any ‘egg-shape’ in Saturn’s orbit around the Sun are compounded by earthly eccentricities.

You know…like our life is littered with all those places where we get out of ‘sync’ with our responsibilities, whether to others, Self, world or even those parts most human which require structure?

To the degrees Saturn is going to be passing through over the next several months, in reading through the symbols (below) you’ll no doubt notice their impersonal or ‘transpersonal’ nature. That’s a third decan/decanate quality we always see in any degree (of any sign) between 20 and 29 and its an indicator that our work… our difficulties… our challenges and our greatest rewards come from taking on where our own (Taurus) orientation towards life and what we think is viable or valuable meets up with the orientation of others.

Into which comes the solar eclipse, the ‘unbidden’ and ‘awesome’ splendor of illumination which comes upon us, forcing us to see some greater inner light than we otherwise behold in our everyday life.

So for good or bad, for all the pluses and minuses we feel, suspect, cling to and are being pressured by, in the end these passages and thus this time all about our learning about who we are and where our individual strengths and weaknesses lie and whether that’s truly apropos for the person we have become – or are becoming in this moment.

Whatever our direction is, it’s as much about how others see us as how we are wanting to be seen – that’s the simplest side of Scorpio. Our (Scorpio) instinct will be to define, divide and apportion things, whether that’s our time, our interest, our efforts, our love, our willingness to risk, our money, our vulnerabilities or strengths…we will be tempted to structure everything for our own goal. 

And we may achieve that goal. Or we may not achieve that goal. But since Scorpio is an interactive sign, wherever we don’t at least consider the opinions, priorities and needs of others, we will be sowing the seeds of karma.

Our karma, that is. Saturn is the astrological symbol of earning. What is earned through time is delivered in time. As Saturn passes through Scorpio’s third decanate (a process which will continue until Saturn moves into Sagittarius on December 23, 2014) we all have an opportunity to work on whatever our misgivings are so as to be more whole and wholly who we are…a quality Saturn ultimately times our learning about, defining in that the being of a leader not necessarily in the world at large, but definitely in our own individual life.

Saturn's double auroras as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope

(photo credit NASA JPL, Jan 2009)

* * * * note: all dates/degrees in UT/+0 time * * * *

Saturn at 22 Scorpio: March 22 – April 12

Sabian Symbol No. 233:

A RABBIT METAMORPHOSES INTO A NATURE SPIRIT

In keynoting this degree as ‘the raising of animal drives to a higher level,’ astrologer Marc Edmund Jones seems to be referring to the ever-present Scorpio reference to some sort of speed of action, reaction, advance or defeat - all of which, in being  focused on either mandates or prevents some sort of choice. The degree 22 Scorpio is known for it’s ability to ‘scatter,’ but whether that’s us or that which is ranged out there for us to deal with is individual and situational (read: individual to any given chart, be it a natal chart, product chart, national, corporate or relationship chart).

Where negative energies now ‘dissipate,’ that Saturn is in an emotional sign signals a moving through some situation which involves, invokes or causes us to witness (or connect with) whatever will get us to consider the scope and challenges of life in terms of anything from disappointments or losses to the need to regroup, recalculate, learn better and try, try again. In keeping with Scorpio and Saturn, the point here being is about the equal validity of experiences which may differ widely in perspective, though it is to be expected that some people will simply “shut the Saturn door” and attempt to wall some sort of reality out.

In other words, though the term selected for 22 Scorpio by astrologer Dane Rudhyar (‘TRANSUBSTANTIATION’) is apt, knowing whether we are serving as the inspiration for change or are being changed by someone or something which transforms us is entirely a demonstration of how far we’ve come along our path in the worldly sense as well as in the personal call to fulfill not some theoretical ‘destiny’ but the fullest utilization of our talents when it comes to being a human being.

Currently in retrograde, Saturn will return to 22 Scorpio after going direct in August, completing whatever ‘evolution’ is indicated here as we move through and past the period of October 15th-23rd.

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Saturn at 21 Scorpio: April 12 – April 27

Sabian Symbol No. 232:

HUNTERS SHOOTING WILD DUCKS

For those who recognize this symbol without quite placing the degree, 21 Scorpio is the degree of the November 2012 solar eclipse…which astrologically makes the qualities and themes associated with this degree (as they reflect in our individual life) are things we are working on, and which we will yet work through for another year and a half or so.

In case you’re new to astroPPM, here are the links to the two-part post on the 2012 Scorpio eclipse:

- link to -

Solar Eclipse (Part 1): Fate Beckons

- link to -

Solar Eclipse (Part 2): Scorpio’s Eclipsing Provocations

Marc Edmund Jones typifies this degree as ‘the socially accepted release of an individual’s… or a group’s aggressive instincts’ which is very much in keeping with Scorpio as an interactive sign which ultimately teaches that while we may win or lose through interacting, to not interact is to guarantee loss through decline. Wherever we experience our ‘Scorpio’ quotient(s) we either fear risk, abandon ourselves to risk or tend to gauge carefully before making a choice – and sometimes it’s all that gauging and estimating (read: inertia) which defeats or enables us.

Mistaking that for cleverness is a mistake, by the way. Scorpio dynamics ask that we be a participant, not the presumptive genesis of all things great and powerful, its premise being the greatest use of power is to rely on earning respect, thus negating the necessity to use whatever force power may give us. Signature of the metaphysical ‘walk softly and carry a big stick,’ Scorpio’s ‘stick’ is best used to defend necessity rather than ego…which is why the old expression ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ is also so very Scorpio in its request that we think things through while resisting the simple servicing of the desire to make ourselves feel good, which is where ‘revenge’ and ‘vengeance’ fit into that long, long list of things which only work when the basis of interaction is mutual.

Note please…it doesn’t have to be lovable or even friendly. Scorpio shows up differences even as it shows up inequality so that we will be judged and judge ourselves by how we treat with such things. So it’s not so much what we do but how and why we do it which defines success or failure here. And with Saturn (emblem of earning) setting this degree off this year (now and between October 5-15 when it returns to 21 Scorpio after going direct in July) we are beginning to understand many things which others may have known long before now.

How we react to that…the energy of whether we feel ‘shot at’ or ‘shot down’ or ‘hunted’ for whatever our reasons are…what we do with the understanding of what that means to us is important on its own and also as part of a present and far more complicated picture.

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Saturn at 20 Scorpio: April 27 – May 10

Sabian Symbol No. 231:

OBEYING HIS CONSCIENCE,
A SOLDIER RESISTS ORDERS

Dane Rudhyar’s  keyword for this degree – ‘INNER FREEDOM’ stresses the intrinsic Scorpio quality of self-relationship. In other words, the freedom is not that of the commander or whatever might (or might not) come out of some military action. This is the soldier’s freedom…and here the soldier is responding – as we do in Scorpio moments – to the idea of feelings he (or she) is feeling inside.

That the term ‘conscience’ is invoked here suggests that a broader concern or reference is being given priority as the soldier is not resisting out of spite or rebelliousness, but because there is some sort of higher cause or consideration at stake.

Marc Edmund Jones’ keynote for this degree - “A readiness to face the results of a refusal to follow the authoritarian patterns of an aggressive society” – may or may not be literal (referring to physical authorities or soldiers in a street) but are certainly references to those ‘patterns’ we have been raised with. The ‘echo effect’ alluded to early with regards to Saturn’s retrograde beginning under Sun in Pisces and ending under Sun in Cancer here alludes to our (Pisces) reactions – particularly those of an emotional, ethical or spiritual nature – to how we may or may not be ‘living out’ a message from the past or some idea which could limit our future.

Do we want to be doing what we’re doing? Are our priorities those we would respect in someone else as those which will earn respect and support in the short and long run?

After going direct, Saturn will return to 20 Scorpio as of September 25th and it will be at this degree through October 5th. Where life is requesting that we consider issues beyond our dedicated ‘norm,’ we do ourselves a favor by understanding what is being said. The person, the thing, the subject matter may be the point here. Then again, it may be totally insignificant when compared with what we will learn now about how we deal with our opportunities to grow. 

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Saturn at 19 Scorpio: May 10 – May 24

Sabian Symbol No. 230:

A WOMAN DRAWS AWAY TWO DARK CURTAINS CLOSING
THE ENTRANCE TO A SACRED PATHWAY

The reference here is an interesting one since it pictures a woman who in ‘drawing away’ curtains closes a path to something or somewhere else. In other words…we are being ‘arrested’ or stopped – at least long enough so that – as astrologer Marc Edmund Jones’ keynotes it – we can experience a ‘revelation to the human consciousness of what lies beyond dualistic knowledge.’ That the curtains are referred to as ‘dark’ may indicate an end to some sort of ‘guiding light’ we have been following, whether in our own mind or in real time and everyday life.

The symbol here being Saturn, this is also a process of time we are encountering. Does it call upon us to take something seriously? To act responsibly in that singularly Scorpio manner which rewards and disappoints (sometimes in the same breath) our ability to balance or harness our internal, wholly ‘us’ mentality (our natural ‘isolationist’ position) in the name of using that natural isolation for greater – not purely personal – benefit.

Dane Rudhyar keywords this degree as a “PLUNGE AHEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN.” Because this is Saturn we are talking about, the dates indicated here plus the days between September 13th and 25th may be when we can’t ‘plunge ahead’ for some intrinsically Saturn reason. Whatever end of the polarity we encounter here (the need to stop what we’re doing/being or the need to press forward to deal with some specific issue which has emotionally ‘stopped’ us)…in the end these days contribute to our own estimation of who we are and where we stand with our own feelings about life, thus coloring who we are going forward and how we will come to be regarded by others – an important factor as Saturn passes through a degree noted for its ‘taste’ for violence which arises from a distant tap-root of sadness, sorrow or pain.

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Saturn at 18 Scorpio: May 24 - June 8

Sabian Symbol No. 229:

A PARROT REPEATS THE CONVERSATION
HE HAS OVERHEARD

The keynoting of this degree as ‘the capacity to transmit transcendental knowledge’ (Marc Edmund Jones) and “CHANNELSHIP” (Dane Rudhyar) in light of the ‘mouthpiece’ here being a parrot would seem to refer to repeating what we have heard (or been taught or instructed to do) without substantial thought – which is neither good or bad on its own.

Against this however, are the notes of lore stating that this is also a degree which like 19 Scorpio is also known for conflicts, particularly those which have one side choosing to embody some form of ‘justice’ which may or may not be applicable.

Taken in combination, the (Saturn) reality of things from May 24th to June 8th and again during August 31st through September 13th becomes focal as we work to sort through what ‘parroting’ is simply talk and which has some actual long-term (Saturn) value.

Whether we are right or wrong, in other words, may well not be as important as knowing/learning the difference between that which is easy to sign onto (and ‘parrot,’ whether to others or in emulation of someone we respect/admire) and that which has long-term merit worth committing our Self to over time.

Whatever else is happening now, we are plainly involved in the process of establishing parameters for communication and thought – which makes the parrot indicated here greatly a reminder about how as humans, we have other options.

Saturn’s question being always about responsibility for Self and the use of our time, maybe we need to change something, finish something or consider some set of standards.

What the facts are involved? Do we need to change how we deal with others based on what they advocate or choose for themselves? Or maybe we merely need to change who we associate with on what basis because of whatever qualities are now becoming evident as a truth which has, or which will like as not prove true over time? 

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Saturn at 17 Scorpio: June 8 – June 29

Sabian Symbol No. 228:

A PATH THROUGH WOODS BRILLIANT
WITH MULTICOLORED SPLENDOR.

Where the term ‘Transubstantiation’ refers sometimes to a change in our immediate environment or ‘private life’ and even more often to a “miraculous” change in our experience of or insight into our life/Self, the Dane Rudhyar keyword given for 17 Scorpio (TRANSFIGURATION) is more akin to that which comes ‘through’ us or what we do, appear as, or innately are - as when we occupy a particular niche or function (personal or impersonal) in someone’s life.

Metaphysically, any wood ‘brilliant with multicolored splendor’ is a reference to an autumnal transformation and some sort of ‘fruitfulness’ which with a great flourish and beauty gives up its current growth effort in the cause of the recuperation and consolidation of gains made throughout a last growing season or harvest. In an emotional sign like Scorpio the reference to ‘multi-colored’ can refer to feelings, efforts, reactions, approaches, ideas…whatever action or theme has been synthesized into one ‘brilliant display,’ with each of our lives offering us the chance both to see such a thing or to be such a thing.

Thus the ‘path’ may be that we take in approaching something we think of/experience as so wonderful…or it may be the path we take in our own lives in order to achieve whatever for us would be this magical walk through such a wood.

Referred to by Marc Edmund Jones as a degree which manifests as ‘the exalted feeling of a work well done and a truly consummated life,’ the Saturn transit of this degree now (from June 8th - June 30th) and again in direct motion from August 10-31 ‘surrounds’ us with a ‘splendor’ we must work with, work within the confines of and deal with responsibly, whatever that may mean to you and yours.

Because this is a second decanate (emotionally charged) degree of a sign (Scorpio) which is deeply emotional by nature, the (Saturn) ‘work’ implied here may not be unpleasant at all – indeed, it may have some glorious moments. But yes, it could be truly dreadful and it’s still (Saturn) work and should be treated as such. The ‘path’ may be in our head or under our feet; wherever it is, its realities remain important and will take some time yet to play out, though effort must be invested (investment being a Scorpio byword) in order to ‘fund’ future growth and a stronger basis for repairs, restorations, rebuilding processes and all those areas of life where that which is outmoded/no longer functional can be properly attended to in a ‘step by step’ manner.

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Saturn at 16 Scorpio: June 29 – August 10th

Sabian Symbol No. 227:

A WOMAN, FECUNDATED BY HER OWN
SPIRIT, IS “GREAT WITH CHILD”

With Saturn taking its station to go direct at 16 Scorpio on July 20, there are two ways to think of this degree. One is to say that it’s about our own ability to renew and create a whole new life for ourselves through the power of our self-determination and the other refers to a more esoteric ability to be inspired by a fertile ‘creating self’ we experience ‘in spirit’ as humans.

Seeing that metaphysics is not gender-specific in application (any valid metaphysical concept should be able to be  universally applied) the gender reference to “her” isn’t physical. Instead it’s a reference one of three things:

1.) The principle of receptivity.

2.) Something which has been retained and which as part of a ‘bank’ built through experience influences things going forward.

3.) The question of whether something should be responded to.

Typified by Marc Edmund Jones as ‘a total reliance upon the dictates of the God-within,’ and by Dane Rudhyar as “THE TRANSPERSONAL WAY,” Saturn’s long residence in and station at 16 Scorpio is an underscored metaphysical notice that what we do will involve others and that it should involve others – the entire concept of which will tend to test more than a few of our naturally ‘what’s in it for me?’ sort of tendencies.

No, we’re not supposed to put our interests first. Scorpio says we can have what we want provided everyone else gets an equal measure of what they want…and no, WE don’t get to define what someone else wants.

We have to ask them…which brings up that whole ‘Scorpio as an interactive sign’ thing. What this amounts to is a situation where necessity or desire may well drive us…but what it’s driving us to is to interact with others “outside our normal circle”  (achieving the Scorpio aim) in the effort to get our way.

And if we meet up with something which affects that goal, that aim, that drive? That may be fine too. Sixteen Scorpio has a reputation for being one of Scorpio’s more ‘warm’ (as opposed to heated or icy) degrees and its humanitarian influence may surface in any area of life where one is called upon to act honorably in the face of some process gone awry.

This is a degree which may call for bravery. But what we’re talking about is not the sort of bravery which ‘saves the day,’ but rather the kind of courage which gives us the strength to face things no matter how ‘out of our comfort zone’ they are.

And why will we do it? We will do what we can in light of what comes to light now because we know that in doing such things we are embodying the  responsibility to carry our fair share of life’s burdens.

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Mercury Station-Retrograde at 18 Scorpio

This statue (a Roman 2nd century copy of an earlier Greek bronze) of Mercury

pausing to tie his winged sandals just proves we all (even Greek gods)

have to learn to tie our shoes.

(photo credit: Wolfgang Sauber, July 2008)

Mercury entered Scorpio back on September 29th. And barely had it done that when yours truly (aka the astrologer on duty) started getting phone calls and emails and texts about people feeling sick to their stomach and down and out with headaches…oooh, it was awful. Personally, I had the second worst headache of my life (give or take when I cracked my skull in a couple of places, but that simply put me into a coma, so I’m not sure I was into the pain of it all).

I didn’t really connect the zodiacal dots until (duh) my headache went away, but once that happened I realized that Mercury rules two signs: Gemini and Virgo. And Gemini is (to put it generally) “mentality” where Virgo is famously diet and tummy-oriented.

Hence, as Mercury hit Scorpio, that ‘brought out’ all of what might be wrong with our stomachs and our heads. Or, to get a bit more metaphysical about it, our ability to absorb what was going on or think through whatever was in front of us.

The reasons would be many. And to those who ask why this doesn’t happen every time Mercury enters Scorpio, I would say it probably happens to some degree, but that this year’s Scorpio solar eclipse certainly raises the bar. After all, the two months leading into a solar eclipse are all about ‘breaking down’ our walls and resistance. It’s about bringing whatever is keeping us from being who we really are underneath our floorboards of denial or compromise.

Back in the early 80’s I was out there fighting the production wars as a location accountant. And while on a particularly feisty film (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” if you’re curious) there were some…well, let’s say less harmonious members of my crew who were south-of-Purgatorially bent on giving me an exceedingly hard time.

I did my job anyway. As a matter of fact, for reasons best not known to my sanity at the time, I went about doing my job as production accountant in the sweltering Texas heat wearing (mostly) crisp white dresses and white high heels.

(Don’t ask. I still have no idea why I did that.)

Anyway…the film ends and we start to wrap things up. And on the very day when the bulk of the crew heads to the airport, I get sick. The strain has gotten to me and I come down with a giant fever and the whole nine yards.

Off to the doctor I go. They take films, they do the vampire blood draw thing, I get to say ‘aaaahhh’ a lot and the diagnosis is pneumonia.

So back to my hotel room I go. And I’ve barely slogged my feverish body into the air conditioning and traded my pristine whites for something less formal and more beddy-bye when in storms the Associate Producer (and writer’s) Significant Other, a woman never short on opinions and always willing to explain why she’s never short on opinions.

She slams down a jug of cold grapefruit juice on my bedstand, pours me a glass and glares at me while I use that to take a couple of aspirin. (Why I remember it was grapefruit juice is just one of those quirks.)

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR YOU TO BE SICK!!” Her announcement was part protest, part threat and part motivational order of the type generally issued by military commanders.

Then she put a little booklet into my hand. The booklet was called “Heal Your Body” and was written by one Louise L Hay. Opened to a chart of ailments, causal mentalities and affirmations, she pointed to the one for pneumonia. “Read this – and continue reading it until I get back!”

With that, she left – and I was just obedient enough and sick enough to still be mumbling the affirmation when she got back some hour and a half (or some such) later.

“That’s enough – now sleep.” Taking the booklet from my paws she put it on the side table, turned off the light and with a genteel stomping of mighty high top tennis shoes, she vanished out the door.

Result: the next day I was fine. I was so fine that I was taken back to the doctor who did more films and more inspecting and in a baffled tone pronounced me completely cured.

The sixteen hour pneumonia trick, that was. And the process of making me better sold me on the fact that we really do only have one brain: in one direction it leads to our physicality, in another it leads to our personality, and it’s all interconnected. I also realized how despite her annoyance, having someone care about me enough to find a way to help me triggered my willingness to be helped.

For a lot of us, placation doesn't help. Telling me - or anyone with a Scorpio anything in their chart how 'there, there, it's going to be all right' feels dismissive. Scorpio desires real interaction...meaningful, intimate, connective interaction - not platitudes, excuses, coverups and sweetly worded avoidance. I have one friend (one of the many fellow Scorpio Moon people in my life) who so wants to protect his Moon that he has this terrible habit of provoking mine. One of these days he's going to figure out that his habit of hiding under his Moon (which is a difficult position to envision, but he manages it) not only leaves a wide open playing field for anyone else to take advantage of (he wonders why he has such difficulties with people and gets taken advantage of? It's so not a mystery!) but seen in 'like attracts like' form is him abandoning the interaction which automatically causes him to be abandoned by others.

As a rather caustic (but lovable) Taurus in my life puts it: ...and good luck with that!

Scorpio requires interaction in order for success to be achieved. Inscribe that in your mentality, please, and don't neglect it just because Mercury is retrograde. This would be one of the all time fabulous periods to sit down especially with people you're having problems with to talk things through. And don't neglect those little things...the cup of coffee, the hug, the taking of their hand when they get all choked up...a little thank you note...sharing a cookie...it all really, really, REALLY matters now.

And the harder things are, the more it matters. In other words, if you really want your life's bumps to even out, don't look to where things are okkle-dokkle, look to where they're difficult. Or ruptured. Or painful. Scorpio is the sign of surgery, warfare and psychology - none of which are painless.

Headaches, by the by, are defined by Miss Hay as being about ‘invalidation of the self.’ They’re about fear and being frightened that we’re not good enough. Stomachs are more about our ability to absorb or ‘digest’ what’s going on. So for anyone who started into the not-so-wonderful world of not feeling so hot once Mercury hit Scorpio, those connections are to think about.

Just be nice to yourself while you do it.

More broadly, when Mercury – the generator of those waves which seem so important to the stirrings of our mentality, raises the thought level or the problem level in our thoughts…or issues with body processes like eating (Virgo rules the stomach and Mercury rules Virgo), breathing (that’s a Gemini thing), walking (limbs are also Gemini) or the very processes of mentality… when Mercury hits a sign which is famous for its intensity, its association both with toxicity and detoxification and all things which have to do with breaking down and building back up, and when that sign – Scorpio – is itself being energized by muchos months of Saturn occupation and a recent stirring up by Venus and now Mercury bringing things home…is it any wonder that there have been many problems a-foot?

And a-head?

And a-tummy?

And elsewhere?

The problems can be physical, certainly. But they can also be situational, particularly where communications are involved. Mercury in Scorpio is famous for its assertiveness and equally famous for its defensiveness… not to mention that most irritating (and often painful) act of all: the silent treatment.

Silence sometimes communicates more than we can say, yes.

From mentality to transportation and transit, to road rage and arguments, from anger repressed to tears bursting forth to attempts at manipulation to stonewalling any sort of effort to get anything done…it’s ALL so very Mercury in Scorpio, and considering this one has been happening under the initial shake-out period preceding the Scorpio solar eclipse, it’s not surprising that problems which we might have slid by or gotten away with ignoring under some other set of circumstances have risen up to bite us.

But that’s the point of a solar eclipse. Solar eclipses raise issues, and once Mercury hit Scorpio, we all started thinking and talking and (yes) doing something for, against or about those issues.

Or not. Once again, a refusal to do is not non-participation: it’s a choice to not do and therefore create whatever results no doing will create.

And now all that comes to a screeching…well, not screeching, but…a turbulent twist of affairs as Mercury goes retrograde on October 21st at 10:30 in the morning UT/+0 time.

More specifically, that’s when the station is. But since we give all planetary stations a two-day before, two-day after “station allowance,” that means that Mercury’s full station period starts on the 19th and ends on the 23rd.

Anything of note which happens during this time is worth noting. And if you’re looking for a time to do something and (as they say) “make it count” this might just be the moment to do it, PROVIDING you don’t have to rush and providing you are willing to understand that Scorpio is the sign of karma.

Libra is cause-effect: you put the lob over the net in a tennis game and 99 times out of 100, the next ball is going to come from that direction. But karma? Karma is something altogether different. Karma says you can do a good deed at the office or by helping someone out in some way and suddenly get good news in the mail.

Karma is not direct, cause-effect is direct. Cause-effect has a decent element of predictability, karma doesn’t. Karma will sneak up and reward you…or bite you…when you least expect it.

So I repeat: Scorpio is the sign of karma.

Scorpio is also the sign of negotiation, which may be a quality called for now considering 18 Scorpio’s strong-minded reputation which may wax jealous or even violent. There’s a tendency to not trust which goes along with this degree which considering the eclipse may pop up now…or may have already been an issue in your world, in which case this may just be the moment to contain the intensity of feelings which may be prone to being more or less accusatory in favor of an inquiry into where someone else is coming from. Or why someone did something as they did – or didn’t choose the avenue you would have chosen or (let’s face it…!) preferred.

Mercury in Scorpio is very good at penetrating the veil of others, and tends to want to hold its own card close. But is that fair…? If your answer is anything close to ‘I don’t care whether it’s fair, I just want what I want’ then you’re likely to incur a rejection of at least your attitude, if not your approach, idea and desire.

The clue about where to go with matters of the moment (or which are bugging the tar out of you) may in fact well come from the Sabian Symbol for 18 Scorpio, a symbol which goes like this: A PARROT REPEATS THE CONVERSATION HE HAS OVERHEARD….with the keynote being ‘The capacity to transmit transcendental knowledge’…which astrologer Dane Rudhyar refers to as “CHANNEL-SHIP” as the ability to receive information or intuit that which isn’t directly or intellectually known, learned or sourced.

A Hyacinth Macaw at Australia's Melbourne Zoo pauses to give the photographer a piece of their parroting mind

(photo credit: Snowmanradio, August 2008)

Certainly this sort of ‘feeling behind what is said’ may be part and parcel of not just issues of the moment, but situations which you carry into and through this October 21st through November 10th Mercury retrograde. Listening not just with our ears but with our soul and spirit is an art – one which seems underrated and yet is the secret to a lot of very canny achievements in this world.

And beyond this, considering we are talking about Mercury going retrograde in Scorpio, there are going to be matters which are not resolved prior to Mercury’s station and which remain to be mulled through. By channeling our recollections through our own interior mind we may well be able to feel and pick up on clues we missed the first time around and come to understand how we can better connect with others or solve whatever problems are dogging our days.

We may also do well to remember that the great stream of time, existence and consciousness is channeling us…through our lives and to many others. Because this is a Scorpio degree we are speaking of, the metaphysical quality of being ‘two-way’ is particularly apt. So yes, this station and the retrograde which will follow is a passage – a ‘channel’ to something else which is yet to be revealed and unfold. That aspect of the idea seems particularly apt when we talk about Mercury retrograde as all Mercury retrogrades tend to describe periods where were will on one hand regroup and catch up with ourselves…and which on the other had outline periods when we don’t really know “the answer” or how something is going to actually turn out.

And this part of the concept seems enormously important considering that the Scorpio solar eclipse will happen at just over half way through the whole of this Mercury retrograde – on November 3rd, to be exact.

Considering that solar eclipses which strike our chart with any acuity denote a much larger and longer process which is a total of 3 years in length, that suggests that the whole of this Mercury retrograde is – or can be seen to be – bound up in the solar eclipse process: the ‘eclipsing’ of something about life…or in our life in particular.

Whether this is a specific or a general is – as always – read by whether the eclipse aspects a planet, dwarf planet, node or cusp in our chart. A “direct hit” (or aspect within orb to one of those factors) is specific. Yet those of us whose charts aren’t being hit directly will still find that issues having to do the area of our charts colored by early-to-mid Scorpio are in flux.

And let’s remember…Scorpio can be many things as this is the sign which is not just ‘emotional’ but about anything which promotes or provokes our emotions or emotionality. The obvious issues are things like war, sex, finances, relationships, debt, obligations, intimacy, the emotional side of any partnership. But since Scorpio is also the sign of the Moon in Fall and the Moon is an integral part of an eclipse structure (as are the nodes, which brings in relationships and as is the Sun, which brings in consciousness and things like career), nutrition, sleep, memories and the body’s general ability to absorb and process anything – be it an idea or your breakfast – is in question.

Hence, since Mercury is going retrograde in this sign, such things are worth paying attention to. There’s a lot of squirrely behavior under Mercury retrograde due to the odd mixture of frustrations and retreats which manifest under this influence. Then we add in Scorpio..and then we add in the solar eclipse…and it is not to be surprised at if either the truly unexpected…or that ‘thing’ you have been trying to push out of your thoughts (but maybe shouldn’t have) emerge as being true.

Sometimes we ‘parrot’ the strangest things, which brings up a whole other way to see the Sabian Symbol for this degree: the being ‘a parrot’ of something which you don’t understand the full meaning or power of. Or maybe the qualities of – pro or con. To have Mercury turning at this degree and finding out that something you have thought was just fine isn’t fine would be not unheard of. Considering the interplay of the Sabian and the more standard ‘lore’ for this degree, the motivations for why someone takes some position may also be enlightening… even if perhaps unpleasantly so, in the case of someone who is pressing some case or some ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ based on their own desires for control (read: manipulative impulses).

And of course, we all have to watch our own tendency to do likewise. Even the best intended among us isn't immune to such psychological temptation...er, habits.

For anyone with a planet, dwarf planet, node or axis point between 13 Scorpio and 23 Scorpio, being willing to reflect on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it is central. Those you are dealing with are certainly having their own issues, and making new commitments or ‘spending emotional capital’ at this time should be done cautiously. If you must invest yourself, try to do it on a trial basis. Ask a lot of questions, and listen to answers not just in the textual sense, but the emotional and auric sense.

For anyone with a planet, dwarf planet, node or axis point between 13 Taurus and 23 Taurus, matters which confront you should be thoroughly explored, and as you do that, your own reactions and responses to those matters need to be taken into account. Don’t just ‘accept’ how you feel, ask yourself why you feel as you do…and think that through from there.

For anyone with a planet, dwarf planet, node or axis point between either 13 Aquarius and 23 Aquarius and/or 13 Leo and 23 Leo you can expect some new information and possibly some challenges from left (or right) field. These issues need to be taken into account, whether or not they become part of your basic support structure moving forward.

In all of the above, those who are in the 13-to-16 range should be aware that these degrees are also being directly affected by the eclipse. That suggests that matters of the moment may need solving in the moment, yes. (Or dealing with now and solving for the moment when/after Mercury goes direct on November 10th.) But there WILL BE a further ‘playing out’ of this dynamic, this issue, the ramifications of what happens now…all that…both in the next months to come AND in about two and a half years from now as this solar eclipse begins to “mature”…or ‘ripen’ as they say at fruit stands.

Also, if you happen to be in interaction with someone (or plural people or parties) whose charts you happen to be able to lay your hands on and THEY are being eclipsed? Or being dealt a moment of ‘turnaround’ with this Mercury station?

At that point, separating the ‘your stuff’ from ‘their stuff’ is vitally important, lest you take their stuff on…or force them to absorb yours. (That would be peeing in a karma pool which is going to be only yours to swim in, if you take my meaning.) 

Mercury retrograde is by any account a time which asks us to think things through and deal with our thoughts, and all things mental – mental health, mental abilities, decisions, priorities, choices…all that. Add in Scorpio and this becomes how we treat each other and why we treat each other that way (what predisposes us to one set of behaviors and not another) plus our physical functionality…AND the difference between the dream or ideal and the reality of life – not so much in the sense of what is ‘expected’ of us, but with an eye to what we need to do in order to be or become effective.

Our wishes are real.

But realities are realer.

My bottom line suggestion here: tread lightly, listen with your spirit as well as your ears and be willing to wait for your own answers. That’s hard, yes. But everything we go through inside while waiting is also important to our experience of personal evolution.
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