Saturn in Cancer

SATURN

With Saturn we reach the limits of the solar system proper, and Saturn has traditionally been associated with limitation, frustration and delays. These, however, are all by-products of Saturn's concern for the rightness of things, for seeing that all is in order according to cosmic laws and truth. Under Saturn, it is better to be delayed and right than early and misguided.

As it follows the sphere of Jupiter's social participation, Saturn's is the realm of social responsibility. It represents the process of maturation according to which individuals participate in society not only by receiving the benefits thereof, but by contributing practically and substantially to the life of the community.

This requires the performance of necessary, relevant work, no matter how mundane or routine it may seem. Saturn thus represents the process of finding our place in society and fulfilling our responsibilities there. This requires self-discipline and a realistic sense of givens, limitations and, above all, priorities.

Saturn represents the necessity and capacity to tie up loose ends, to be logical and forthright. When we deal with Saturn we necessarily deal with authority - with both our capacity to wield authority and teach others, and with our capacity to learn from others (especially our elders) who have the authority of longer experience than we.

Negative aspects of Saturn include self-righteousness when in authority, and reactive depression when we must unwillingly yield to the authority of others. Saturn rewards labor dutifully performed with a sense of inner certitude, but responds with stinginess to work done resentfully or inadequately.

Leyla Rael

SATURN IN CANCER

Keynote: Practical considerations restrict emotional spontaneity.

Symbol: A summer chill forces people to close their windows.

From a superficial viewpoint, one would expect Saturn to be happy in Cancer, since the orthodoxy of the planet blends with the conservatism of the sign, and cool Saturn resembles the watery Moon in its preoccupation with the past. Yet the home (Cancer) is the last place one wants or needs austere, ambitious Saturn. Cancer is soft, feminine, and lax in temperament, while Saturn is precise, disciplined, and unbending.

Consequently, Saturn is in detriment in Cancer, and people strongly influenced by this antithetical combination are often oppressed by the hard circumstances of their personal lives. They worry about their loved ones and are fearful and insecure without really knowing why. Early deprivations may have constricted their feeling nature. Under affliction, an unconscious defensiveness causes them to retreat into a shell and to become "crabby" and self-absorbed.

This position sometimes gives a sense of inadequacy in matters relating to the home. Badly aspected, there may be a melancholy insistence on duty, resulting in that depressing phenomenon known as "the martyr mother." Such a mother may be a martyr more because she lacks confidence and is afraid to strike out on her own than because anyone forces her to remain within the walls of her home. Watery Cancer can dissolve the organizing power of Saturn so that, for all her protestations, poor Mom may not be working as slavishly as she would have her anxious relatives believe.

On the other hand, people who can rise to Saturn's discipline may use the protective force of Cancer to become champions of the poor and downtrodden. Strength of character has been built into them from their earliest years.

All strong Saturn-Moon aspects can give rise to a fixation on one or both parents. Complexes stem from ambivalent feelings about the way of life they represent. The native may turn away from their ancestral tradition and still find themselves inextricably bound by childhood habits too ingrained to be repudiated. Unless they can free themselves from infantile fears and anxieties, their increasing isolation from the world may compel them to endure a lonesome old age.

Yet in the cosmic scheme, Saturn in Cancer is as useful as any other placement, and as conducive to ultimate harmony. Metaphysically, it teaches the lesson that death is hidden in the womb of life. The irresponsible proliferation of Cancer must be checked if cells, goods, and people are to be prevented from multiplying indefinitely and thereby causing the slow suffocation of all creatures. Control is needed in the home as much as, if not more than, anywhere else.

Astrology, the Divine Science

Mindfire