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 GEMINI 

Keynote: The mind concentrates on concrete facts.

Symbol: A student copies information from an encyclopedia.

Despite its reputation for dourness, Saturn functions constructively in Gemini where it organizes the diffusive energies of this notoriously scatterbrained sign. Saturn's discipline gives the ability to reason cautiously and to erect a valid and enduring structure of thought. The mind labors with painstaking scrupulosity toward ultimate conclusions, and the results achieved justify the time and labor expended.

The negative side of this combination is exposed when insistence on taking control demands the sacrifice of spontaneity. Saturn's placement in Gemini gives a serious mental outlook and, if afflicted, a liability to depression. Such a person may congratulate themselves on being a realist, when actually he is only a cynic or a pessimist. There is a tendency to assume that only the world of matter is real, without questioning the basis of this belief. Frequently, faith in the future is insufficient to overcome a gloomy preoccupation with present limitations.

All Saturn/Mercury (Mercury "rules" Gemini) alliances are suggestive of an authoritarian adult insisting that a child cease their chattering and settle down to work. It is a relief to have the child sit docilely and behave, but it is also a pity to see their high spirits inhibited. Saturn in Gemini often gives precocious- ness with an inclination with an inclination to take life seriously and to concentrate on scholastic endeavors. The mind has a cautious and calculating bent useful in science, research, and tasks requiring the ability to make precise measurements, computations and comparisons. This position is auspicious for the teaching profession, although Saturn confers a tendency toward the strictness of the old-fashioned schoolmaster who insists on unquestioning obedience and who falls back upon the dictates of defunct authorities. Nevertheless, such a person generally knows their facts and can explain them with clarity.

The Saturnian Geminian is more apt to travel for duty than for pleasure, and is prone to suffer mishaps on journeys. Most people of this type would rather remain within the confines of an office or laboratory, writing reports, checking figures, isolating variables, and taking as much time as is necessary to reach unassailably correct conclusions. The women make competent secretaries and technicians. Security and reliability are preferred to the unsettling ferment of venturous ideas.

Examples of the expression of Saturn in Mercury's sign are the polished writings of Sigmund Freud and Thomas Merton, and the intellectual fortitude of Margaret Sanger and Eleanor Roosevelt. Even when innate talent is lacking, success may be achieved through dogged persistence. Failures are likely to result from holding back through fearfulness and lack of self-confidence.

Gemini transmits the light of intelligence. Saturn constructs a crystalline lens through which this diffused glow can be focused. At best, Saturn's discipline of the mind concentrates the rays of knowledge into a beam which pierces the darkness of man's ignorance and reveals a clearly defined segment of truth.

 

Astrology, the Divine Science

 

Mindfire