In this episode:
Listen/Download: 032—Axis Astrology Podcast: “Saturn”
Alison and Arwynne discuss the transits, aspects and moon phases for December 14-27, 2014. Our Astrology 360 topic is Saturn, so we talk about the history, mythology and astronomy of the most distant planet in classical astrology and one of the most famous transits in astrology, the Saturn Return. Arwynne reviews Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan, while Alison reviews Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile by Faye Cossar.
Planetary transits for December 14-27, 2014
- 14-Dec-2014: Uranus Square Pluto – (6/7) revolution, civil unrest, rebellion, suppression, conflict, creative destruction
- 16-Dec-2014: Mercury in Capricorn – Thoughts & words infused with history, tradition, family legacies & institutions
- 20-Dec-2014: Venus Square Uranus – Conflicts between partners, sudden desire to defy expectations/ break out of roles
- 20-Dec-2014: Venus Conjunction Pluto – (trigger) Relationships transformed through sudden disruptions/eruptions
- 21-Dec-2014: Uranus stations Direct – The retrograde period beginning July 21, 2014 ends
- 21-Dec-2014: Sun in Capricorn – (Solstice in N) Expression constrained by social structure/expectation, protocol & rules
- 23-Dec-2014: Saturn in Sagittarius – 2.5 yrs. in the sign of the crusader, professor, philosopher, prophet and profiteer
- 24-Dec-2014: Mercury Square Uranus – (trigger) Disrupting communications, vocal conflicts, causing scenes, rehashing
- 24-Dec-2014: Mercury Conjunct Pluto – Deep rifts and underlying fractures shake up thoughts/speech spurring changes
Book Reviews
Arwynne reviews Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan.
From the description: “Erin Sullivan gives a thorough account of the astrology, mythology, and psychology of Saturn’s role as the source of divine discontent. This revised edition includes a new chapter, “The Transit of Saturn to the Planets,” showing how we continually give birth to ourselves all our lives.”
Alison reviews Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile by Faye Cossar.
Description from Faye’s website: “Faye’s book “Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile: Finding the Right Career Direction” was published in 2012. It is a practical guide that shows how to combine astrology with techniques used by career counsellors.”
Astrology 360: Saturn
Saturn in mythology
In Roman mythology, Saturn was analogous to Cronos in Greece.
Cronus was often conflated with Chronus, “Time,” and his devouring of his children taken as an allegory for the passing of generations. The sickle or scythe of Father Time is a remnant of the agricultural implement of Cronus-Saturn, and his aged appearance represents the waning of the old year with the birth of the new. (Wikipedia)
Saturn in astronomy
Saturn is a gas giant like Jupiter, with giant rings made of gravitationally captured rocks, dust and icy debris that has accumulated over millions of years. Saturn was the most distant planet in the ancient solar system until the discovery of Uranus in 1781, which coincided with the start of the Industrial Revolution, modern democracy, capitalism, secularism, science and exploration.
Astrologically, Saturn is associated with limitation, restriction and fear, representing in our charts a kind of Achilles heal or area of insecurity, until we’ve matured enough to internalize the lessons of Saturn, including the right application of our time and effort, responsibility, mastery and our proper place in the systems of society. The cycle of Saturn around the zodiac takes 29.5 years, spending a little less than 2.5 years in each sign.
Saturn through the signs
Aries
Worst fear: enslavement | George Washington, Evel Kneivel, Tina Turner, Saddam Hussein, Albert Einstein
Taurus
Worst fear: deprivation | L. Ron Hubbard, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mother Teresa, Vincent Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf
Gemini
Worst fear: isolation | Albert Camus, Eleanor Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde, Orson Welles, Janis Joplin
Cancer
Worst fear: homelessness | Napoleon, Bette Midler, Liza Minelli, Mary Shelley, George W. Bush
Leo
Worst fear: irrelevance | Beethoven, Bill & Hillary Clinton, Charlie Chaplin, Stephen King, Eva Peron
Virgo
Worst fear: chaos | Jane Addams, Agatha Christie, Gene Roddenberry, William Randolph Hearst, Meryl Streep
Libra
Worst fear: banishment | Jane Austen, Helen Gurley Brown, Elizabeth B. Browning, Norman Mailer, John Gray
Scorpio
Worst fear: extinction | Marlon Brando, Fidel Castro, Amelia Earhart, Marilyn Monroe, Lenny Bruce
Sagittarius
Worst fear: stagnation | Fred Astaire, Charles Darwin, Madonna, Martin Luther King, Che Guevara
Capricorn
Worst fear: helplessness | Neil Armstrong, George Clooney, Walt Disney, Sylvia Plath, Marie Antoinette
Aquarius
Worst fear: regression | Winston Churchill, Salvador Dali, Nietzsche, Gloria Steinem, Joan Rivers
Pisces
Worst fear: meaninglessness | John Paul Sartre, Ken Kesey, Kurt Cobain, the Dalai Lama, Frida Kahlo
Saturn Returns occur every 29.5 years when transiting Saturn returns to the sign and degree where it was in your birth chart. It typically signifies a time of testing, pruning of dead ideas and modes of living, and an emergence into a more mature and focused phase by the end of it. At or before 30, most people have gone through at least one such experience; the loss of an ill-conceived dream or relationship that no longer supported their growth into adulthood. Crises can force change upon you if you have avoided steps towards self-sufficiency and self-actualization, forcing you to let go of the false security they once offered. If the lessons of Saturn are learned, you enter your 30s with new competence and gravitas. The next Saturn Return occurs around age 58 and often coincides with a midlife crisis, divorce, change of career or return to work after grown children have left home. The result can be a renewed sense of individuation, enterprise and creative productivity. The third and for most people last, occurs around 87 and as one might expect, it deals with issues of completion and contemplation, acceptance of mortality on a spiritual or intellectual level, savoring the fruits of one’s achievements and experiences, and enjoyment of the time they have left and people around them.
Saturn in Sagittarius
- December 23, 2015 to June 14, 2015
- September 17, 2015 to December 19, 2017
Previous transits
- 1985-1988
- 1956-1959
- 1926-1929
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