SUN: Soul, power or strength, greatest severity, fortress, good strength, heat, influence, fires, worship of ¼iva, courage, trees having thorns, favour of the king or ruler, bitter taste, old age, cattle, wickedness, land, father, taste, awakening of knowledge or enlightenment, looking up towards the sky, very great ambition, one born to a timid person or one whose actions are born out of fear, world of mortals, square or harmonious, bones, valour, grass, stomach, enthusiasm, forest, half a year, eye, wandering in or over hills, quadrupeds, king, travelling, dealings with affairs personal or social, bile, feverish or inflammatory complaints, circular forms, diseases of the eye, body, timber, mental purity, sovereignty over the entire country or over all countries, freedom from disease, rulership over Saur§¢±ra- southern Gujarat, ornaments, disease of the head, pearls, ruler of the sky – control over air space, short or dwarfish stature, rulership over the eastern direction, copper, blood or blood-red gems like ruby, kingdom, blood-red cloth, stones, undisguised or open conduct, shores of a river, red coral, strong at noon, east, face, long-standing anger or long indignation, capturing the foe, s§ttvika or benevolent and good temper, red sandal paste or saffron, opposition or hostility, thick or coarse yarn.
MOON: Intelligence, flowers, perfumes, going to a fortress, disease, br§hma£a or dvija, laziness, phlegmatic constitution, epilepsy, hidden or ulcerous troubles in the stomach, nature of the mind, heart, woman, benefic and malefic nature, acidity, sleep, happiness, liquids, silver, stout sugarcane, malarial fever, pilgrimage, wells, tank, mother, impartial outlook, noon, pearls, consumption, whiteness, waist-band, bell-metal, salt, short stature, mind, abilities, ponds, diamond, autumn, muh¡rta or 48 minutes duration, facial lustre, white colour, stomach, worship of Gaur¦, the consort of ¼iva, honey, grace of favour, sense of fun or humour, nourishment, wheat, pleasures, splendour, face, swiftness of mind or agility of mind, fondness for curd, one who does tapasya or penance, fame, beauty, strong at night, facing west, lover, saline, acquiring a post, love of the west, middle world, nine gems, middle age, self, eating, going to distant places, aliments of the shoulders, umbrella and other royal insignia, good fruits, fine blood circulation or vital energy, fish and other aquatic beings, serpents and the like, clothes, fine blossoming, lustre, clean crystals, refined clothing.
MARS: Valour, land, strength, carrying weapons, ruling over people – administrator, loss of virility, thief, battle, opposition, foes, charitable nature, love of deep-red objects, ruler over sacred places – archaeologist or sacred endowments, sound of a trumpet, fondness, quadrupeds, king, obstinate fool, anger, going to a foreign country, steadfastness, supporter, fire, controversy or arguments, bile, heat, wounds, service under the ruler, day, sky, sight, shortness, ailment, fame, tin, sword, spear, minister, firmness of limbs, jewels, worship of Subrahmanya (K§rttikeya), youth, pungent taste, hall of the ruler, earthenware, obstacles, eating non-vegetarian food, abusing or bitterly criticising others, conquering foes, bitterness of taste, strong towards the end of the night, gold, summer season, valour, strength of enemy, profundity, courageous behaviour, man, character, Brahm§, axe, moving in the forest, forest officer, chief ruler or officer of the village, favour of the king, painful urination, square, goldsmith, wicked one, burnt place, good food, leanness, skill in archery, blood, copper, variegated or peculiar clothes, face turned towards the south, fond of the southern direction, desire, anger, spreading scandals, house, commander of the army, a fire arm that kills a hundred (like a machine-gun), tree, S§ma Veda, brothers, hatchet, controlling fierce or wild animals, independence, persistence, land, one who awards punishment, snake, world, speech, fickleness or imbalance of the mind, getting on a vehicle, seeing blood, drying or coagulating of blood.
MERCURY: Education, horses, treasury, mathematics, knowledge, speech, dvijas, infantry, script, writing, new clothes, construction of palaces, green colour, sculpture, astrology and astronomy, pilgrimages, wise or good conversation or lecturing, temples, commerce, best ornaments, soft speech, system of philosophy, maternal grandfather, bad dreams, eunuch, face turned to north, skin, moisture, bell-metal and the like, renunciation, seasons, fine place, medical practitioner, neck, black magic, child, looking cross-wise, heaven, humility, collaterals, fear, dancing, devotion, tendency to laughter, strong at sunrise or morning, beginning of winter, scratching ailments, self-control, navel, flourishing of one’s own dynasty, mixed or compound substances, presides over the Telugu language, worship of Vi¢£u, ª¡dras, birds, younger co-borns or brothers and sisters, witty language, sticks, Atharva Veda, carrying out the karmas or religious rites, towers of temples, dust, garden, sex organs, evenness, beneficial nature, wandering in the villages, balanced nature and outlook, fond of the north-western direction, well-versed in the Pur§£as or minor epics, grammar, one skilled in researching and testing the precious stones, scholar, maternal uncle, mantras or sacred spells, yantras or symbolic religious diagrams, very powerful tantric and the like.
JUPITER: Br§hma£as, teachers, religious, social and other duties, chariot, cows, infantry, deposits, M¦m§°s§- and Dharma-ª§stras, treasure, horses, buffaloes, large or stout body, valour, fame, logic, astronomy and astrology, sons, grandsons, complaints of the digestive system, wealth of elephants, Ved§nta philosophy, elders like great-grandfather, mansion, Gomedha (hessonite), elder brother, grandfather, Indra, first half of winter, acts arising from great indignation, precious stones, tradesman, physical health, strange or peculiar palace, honour from the king, great Gods, penance, charity, Dharma, doing good to others, impartial outlook, facing towards the north, circular forms, yellow colour, wandering in the villages, north, dear friends, swinging on a plank or on an elephant, great eloquence, brain, cloth of a medium count, happiness in a newly built house, old age or old persons, mantra, dvijas, holy water or place of pilgrimage, knee, moving towards heaven, house that offers happiness, intellect, great proficiency, great long poems, towers, delighting or impressing audience, throne, installation of the idol of Brahm§, Cat’s eye, the great results of the agni¢±oma sacrifice, sweet juices, s§ttvika nature, happiness and unhappiness, long things, gentle or benefic, understanding the minds or thoughts of others, gold, decorations, tantra or technical subjects and the like, wind (v§ta) complaints, phlegm (kapha), good yellow topaz, sound knowledge of the sacred texts and scriptures, soft and pleasant stones, worship of Shiva, performing religious and moral acts strictly, and travelling in a carriage covered on the four sides.
VENUS: White umbrella, which is a royal insignia, good cowry, good clothes, marriage, income, bipeds, woman, dvijas, gentle or benefic, white colour, wife or husband, happiness from sex life, short stature, acid taste, flowers, commands, fame, youth, pride, conveyance, silver, fond of the south-east, salty taste, cross-wise vision, cough, fortnight, r§jasika nature, firmness, pearls, Yajur Veda, vaiªyas, beauty, buying and selling articles that contribute to beauty, pleasant talk arising from mutual love, watery place, elephants, horses, peculiar or strange poetry, dancing, middle age, music, enjoyment, happiness from wife or husband, precious stones, love of humour, swimming, servants, fortune, strange lustre, tenderness, kingdom, fragrant garland, taking pleasure in violin and flute, pleasant movement or walking, eight kinds of prosperity, well-proportioned limbs, frugal in taking food, season of spring, ornaments, possessing many women, facing east, eyes, speaking truth, skilled in the fine arts, semen, sporting in water with love, profundity, excess or eminence, pleasant musical instruments, decoration for dramatic shows, indulgence in amorous sports, declining physical form, one who attaches great importance to sex, receiving good respect or honour, fondness for having white clothes, expert in Bharata’s N§±ya ª§stra (science of drama), having the seal of authority or of the government, ruler, fond of worshipping Gaur¦ and Lak¢m¦, emaciated from the pleasures of sex, playing the role of mother for those born during daytime, skilled in composing poems, minor epics and the like, blue-black hair, benefic, genitals, urine or urinary tract, moving in the world of the snakes, strong in the afternoon, and an awareness of the genital organs and the secrets connected with them.
SATURN: Ill-health and other sufferings, obstruction, horses, elephants, skin, income, standards, distress, disease, enmity, sorrow, death, happiness from a woman, maid-servant, asses, outcastes, persons with strange or mutilated limbs, roaring in the woods, disgust, charity, lords, longevity, eunuch, one born outside the four castes, birds, Tret§gni, one of the sacred domestic fires, servant’s duties, doing something other than the traditional or accepted duties, one losing his ego, telling lies, lasting long, wind, old age, tendon, strong at the end of the day, the second half of winter, indignation, exertion, born of a low woman, born in adultery, a widow’s bastard, dirty cloth, dirty house, mind turned to dirty things, friendship with the wicked, black colour, sins, cruelty, ashes, grains in black colour, precious stones, iron, generosity, a year, ª¡dras, vital or supporters of the lover, significator of father for one born at night, learning what belongs to another caste, lameness, fierce or severe, blanket, facing west, remedies for restoring life, looking downwards, living by agriculture or farming, one who knows where the arms are kept, manager of an ordnance factory, cousin, an external position, fond of the north-east, world of the snakes, falling, wandering in the battlefields, bones, lead, wrong or wicked valour, Turks, torn clothes or things, oil, wood, br§hma£as having t§masika quality, wandering in poisonous places, roaming in hilly areas, long standing fear, hunter, strange or ugly hair, whole kingdom, fear, goats and the like, buffaloes and the like, indulgence in sex, displaying amorous intentions in dressing, worship of Yama, dogs, thefts and hard-heartedness.
RAHU: Umbrella, chowry, acquiring a kingdom, faulty logic, harsh speech, one belonging to a caste outside the four main castes, a sinful woman, a conveyance covered on all four sides, an irreligious person or a ª¡dra, gambling, strong at sunset, having sex with a wicked woman, going to a different country, unclean, bones, hidden abdominal ulcer, falsehood, looking downwards, perplexity, emerald, facing south, depending on mlecch§s, low castes and the like, malignant tumour, great forest, wandering in difficult places, suffering from mountains, staying outside, south-western direction, complaints of wind and phlegm, serpents, southern breeze, severe, long, reptiles, interpretation of dreams, travels, one muh¡rta (48 minutes), old age, conveyance, world of the snakes, maternal grandfather, air, acute duodenal pain, catarrh, breathing, great valour, worship of Vana-Durg§, wickedness, association with animals, writing Urdu or Persian, and harsh speech.
KETU: Worship of the lord of C§£¨¦, Ganeªa and others, medical practitioner, dogs, cocks, vultures, final salvation, all sorts of prosperity, consumption, painful fevers, bath in the Ga¯g§, great penance, wind complaints, friendship with hunters, acquiring prosperity, stones, wounds, Mantra-ª§stra, instability of mind, knowledge of Brahman, diseases of the stomach and eye, stupidity, thorn, knowledge of animals, zoology, observing silence religiously, Ved§nta, all kind of luxury, fortune, suffering from foes, sparing in eating, renunciation, father’s father, hunger, great pain from peptic or duodenal ulcer, small pox, or boils and such other diseases, horned animals, a servant of ¼iva, getting the order of imprisonment revoked, and conversation or association with ª¡dras.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Saturn's role in our Chart
Saturn Transiting the Houses of the Horoscope
Techniques for Preparing for the Future and Understanding the Past
Saturn takes about 28-29 years to come full circle. We can expect Saturn to spend some time in each of our 12 houses. Unless you work with an equal house system, however, the length of Saturn's transit through a house will depend on how big each house is. Saturn will spend approximately 2-1/2 years in an "average"-size house of 30 degrees.
Note that Saturn's effect is to crystallize, to ground, and to solidify. Generally, the effect of Saturn transiting a house is felt in a more pronounced way in the first part of its transit through the house, as well as when it forms aspects to natal planets. Toward the end of the house, the native tends to have gained increased understanding—experience, if you will—with the effects. Saturn's movement by transit through the houses acts to aid us to learn to depend on ourselves in different areas of life. At first, we generally encounter feelings of being thwarted or unsupported by the outside world in the particular areas of life that are ruled by the house. By the end of the house transit, we will have learned to look within ourselves for support.
In general, as Saturn passes through the fire houses (the first, fifth, and ninth), we deal with self-confidence issues and how these issues have affected our lives and our productivity. Through the earth houses (the second, sixth, and tenth), we confront issues of self-worth and effectiveness. Through the air houses (the third, seventh, and eleventh), we evaluate our relationships with others and how much (or how little) we can depend on these, as well as our mental outlook. Through the water houses (the fourth, eighth, and twelfth), we re-evaluate our inner stores of faith, our connection with the past, and our psychological workings.
Saturn makes us accountable for ourselves wherever it touches. Each house governs specific areas of our lives, and of our personalities, and transits of Saturn will bring these areas up for "inspection", re-organization, and restructure.
Saturn Transiting the First House
Saturn transiting the first house begins with a Saturn conjunction to the Ascendant, a transit of personal significance. The first house is a fire house, a house that rules our personal identity. We concern ourselves with how we come across to others on a personal level with Saturn here. Our physical body becomes a focus as well. Depending on the age of the native, it may be a time when we feel our age, or it is a time when we see our bodies quite clearly. This is an excellent time for beginning health regimens, diets, and the like, simply because it is a time when we look in the mirror and see ourselves clearly—not what we want to see. Our outlook on life changes to a more serious, responsible tone. In the beginning stages of the transit, you may feel frustrated with yourself, let down, and lacking in self-confidence. You might reach out to others in an attempt to validate yourself, looking for ways to boost your confidence. When these attempts fail, you may feel temporarily let down and discouraged. Rest assured that Saturn will re-work these feelings, with your help of course, until you reach a point (as Saturn moves through the house) where you have a stronger sense of self. This transit acts to transform your self-confidence in such a way that you question the source of your confidence to date, and discover a more solid base for pulling up inner strength. Saturn here acts to rip away the superficial. Illusions about the self, the body, and personal abilities will no longer be tolerated. The end result is a newfound identity and a realistic understanding of the self. In terms of career and projects, outward signs of progress may not be as forthcoming, yet the work that you do during this transit will lay a foundation for future success and progress! For example, some years ago, a client began a hobby/project during a Saturn transit to her first house, something that took up a lot of her time and energy and that yielded nothing in terms of immediate financial gain—until later! In fact, this "hobby" turned into her career in the years to follow.
Saturn Transiting the Second House
While a certain level of introspection marked the Saturn transit of the first house, Saturn's movement into the second house marks a new stage of taking stock of our effectiveness, self-worth, and finances. This stage of life is often marked by hard work. It is a practical time in one's life. Financial success may not be remarkable, yet it is generally steady, if slow to come by. This transit has traditionally been associated with financial loss, but in truth, it is more about our perceptions—we are apt to review how effective we have been on a financial level to date, and find some dissatisfaction with our progress. In fact, gains may be slow, but sudden reversals are not common with this transit. The purpose of this transit is for you to make the connection between your own feelings of self-worth and what you produce in the real world/get back from the real world. As with all Saturn transits, at the outset, we might reach out and look for validation from the outside world and from others, and find something lacking in so doing. The initial sense of feeling unsupported can be discouraging (many of us think on the lines of: "I work so hard, and what do I get for all this hard work?"), but as the transit moves forward, you learn to look inside of yourself with a newfound clarity and realism and ideally draw up considerable strength from within. You work on your effectiveness in the world, and see exactly what has been holding you back from achieving the results you want. The challenge here is to capture the newly found and defined self-confidence you gained from the first house transit, and now apply it in the real world.
Saturn Transiting the Third House
This transit marks a time when how you have networked with people around you, and how you gain and disseminate information, come up for inspection by Saturn. A new kind of pressure is produced—it's not about your personality or your resources like it was in the first and second houses. Rather, the pressure centers more around mental output. You may feel pressure to produce ideas, and to make them work. A certain somberness in your outlook may be characteristic of this phase, as it may be a time of worry. It may seem like acquaintances and sometimes siblings are blocking your growth in some manner, and these relationships may be strained as a result. Although you have a desire to make contacts, you are now rather preoccupied with learning, and you may view idle chit-chat as a waste of time. You may feel an unusual pressure to structure your time and effort, and to cut out communication that seems unnecessary. You may at times feel rather overwhelmed by such things as errands, red tape, and other such day-to-day "disruptions". As Saturn moves closer to your IC (the fourth house cusp), there may be some vague feeling of urgency and worry, as if you sense some things in your life are closing. By the end of the transit, however, you will have ideally gained a greater depth of understanding, having focused on information and communication that you really can use to feel more effective in the world.
Saturn Transiting the Fourth House
This marks a time of considerable inner "re-working". In terms of outward signs of achievement, this transit may be the most unremarkable of all the Saturn transits. However, near the end of the transit, and certainly later than that, you will recognize this stage as a critical one in which you made some life-changing personal and psychological advances and developments. During this stage, you are working on solidifying your identity, exploring your roots (where you came from), so that when Saturn begins its transit through the fifth house, you will be ready to differentiate yourself from others and embark on some important work on your ego. For now, however, you will face issues surrounding your attachments to the past. Sometimes this manifests as literal re-organization of your home. Moving house is not associated with this transit as it would if, for example, Uranus was the transiting planet. If moves are made, you might encounter some resistance in yourself. This is not a time when you feel particularly brave in the outer world. However, reorganization in your home, and more importantly, in your soul, embodies the true nature of this transit. Many will go through a major "spring cleaning" inside. Limitations that came from early family conditioning will be brought to the fore. At first, there may be some frustration with your life to date, and how you have limited your opportunities because of early conditioning. A feeling of being alone and unsupported in life may dominate the early stages of this transit. Sometimes, delays and slowdowns are experienced in the areas of health, mobility, and career. As Saturn moves closer to the fifth house, a feeling of some kind of mastery will empower you.
Saturn Transiting the Fifth House
With Saturn moving through the house of creative power, you may feel limited initially by a lack of internal "spark" or "spunk". How you entertain yourself, how you have fun, and issues surrounding how you manage your ego are now coming up for "inspection". By the end of the transit, ideally you will have a stronger sense of purpose, and a re-worked ego. What makes you unique? How do you handle pride? What are your creative talents? Have you worked hard enough to feel good about "playing hard"? These are issues you will face during the course of this transit. By the time Saturn enters the sixth house, you should have a solid sense of what makes you different than others, and a rather concrete belief in your own creative talents. Many people go through a period of re-evaluation of their talents—how they have perhaps wasted them to date, and how they can express themselves in a more practical, useful manner. The fifth house is also associated with love and attention received from others. Issues you will face during this time include how "deserving" you are of special attention from others. Initially, you may feel unloved, and perhaps somewhat neglected or ignored. As you learn the lessons of this transit, you should learn to love yourself and take pride in yourself. Looking outside of yourself for "ego strokes" (whether through romance or other such "applause") may prove to be fruitless. You will learn through the course of this transit to depend on yourself and to take pride in yourself for what you really are, not only how others see you.
Saturn Transiting the Sixth House
Saturn turns his critical eye on matters of the sixth house, and you are likely to feel a certain level of pressure in the areas of work, daily functions, habits, and health. At the beginning of the transit, you might find yourself more accountable than ever when it comes to your work. You may initially feel bogged down by what seems like undue pressure in your routines. The key word here is "seems", simply because the nature of Saturn is such that the pressure it brings is never truly undue. In fact, Saturn knows better than us, and it is in reality very much "due". Why? Because things we may have previously neglected or disregarded now come up for inspection. How can we make best use of our time? How can we manage our day-to-day lives, and our bodies, better? Saturn pressures here make us aware of all of the "fluff" we have surrounding our daily routines and our work, and spring cleaning is now in order. This is an excellent time for starting new regimens to better our health and well-being, such as regular exercise, more structured and productive use of our time, and so forth. In fact, we might be faced with life events that force us to do so, or at least provide us with the motivation to get our acts together. Traditionally, this transit was associated with health problems. Generally, though, if health concerns manifest, they are ones that are manageable. They signal the need for change in diet, routines, and habits. By the end of the transit, you will likely have learned to be more productive, healthier, and considerably more focused.
Saturn Transiting the Seventh House
Significant relationships with others are the focus when Saturn transits the seventh house. Saturn motivates us to do "spring cleaning" in the areas of life he touches, and one-to-one relationships will need to be considered and understood during this transit. Initially, as is usually the case with Saturn transits, we might feel frustrated and we might seem withdrawn. This is a time when we need to define, understand, and crystallize our significant relationships with others. If you already have a partner, this is a time when any issues surrounding compromise, flexibility, and the ability to give your heart to your partner will surface. Initial frustration can take the form of feeling criticized and "examined" in this area of life. By the end of the transit, however, you will have learned much about commitment and compromise. Single natives will feel the initial pressures of Saturn transiting the seventh house as well. A feeling of loneliness is possible in either situation (whether you have a significant partnership or not), but instead of an issue of re-committing, the single native will think about commitment in general. If involved in a casual love relationship, when Saturn transits the seventh, a pressure emerges concerning the need for evaluating one's commitments. Often this transit corresponds with an urge (or pressure) to make a commitment or a re-commitment. Healthy partnerships can be the outcome of this partnership, whether they are new ones or strengthened existing partnerships. Saturn always brings with him a fair measure of reality and objectivity, so that whatever relationships the native has or wants will be defined and re-defined. Relationships are seen now as serious. Partners are no longer simply fun or mirrors of our ego. Responsibilities to partners, the need to compromise, and the realities of the needs of others, become clear. We are forced to begin seeing others as individuals, and to improve the manner in which we relate to and with others. Depending on the person's age and life circumstances, "significant partnerships" can mean partnerships with loved ones, business partnerships, and even deep friendships. For example, when Saturn transited my seventh house when I was a young teenager, I began to view my casual friendships as superficial and unsatisfying and eventually developed a deep friendship with a girl that was to last some time. Essentially, quantity (in the relationship department) was replaced with quality, and this process involved time, soul-searching, frustration, and eventual fulfillment.
Saturn Transiting the Eighth House
How do you handle power? Your desire nature? Intimate relationships? What kind of obsessions and addictions do you have? What are your deep-rooted compulsions? What are your unhealthy attachments? When Saturn transits our eighth house, we feel pressure to answer these questions. Often, at the beginning of the transit, we are very sensitive to what seems like outer world pressures that force us to examine some of our deepest desires and attachments. These include our sexual relationships, our finances (especially with regards to debts and shared finances), and our need for control. Sometimes, Saturn transiting the eighth brings about sexual dysfunctions, whether we encounter these in ourselves or in our partners. We may face difficulties satisfying our libido and/or encounter problems with intimacy. These pressures are "designed" to make us more aware of our desire nature, and what exactly it is we want. Dissatisfaction and frustrations getting what we want, especially with reference to relationships with others and with our resources, often characterize the first part of the transit. How have we been using power? During this transit, we may find that previous methods of controlling our environment and the people in our lives simply are not effective any more. We may not even be aware just how we have been employing power and control to date. Another realm over which the eighth house reigns is our mortality. With Saturn here, we become much more aware of our mortality. Just as Saturn transits to our Sun or Ascendant make us more conscious of our age, Saturn transiting the eighth house often brings with it a realization that we do not live forever. Of course, we know this as a fact at the back of our minds, but Saturn reminds us. Before this transit, it is generally wise to begin organizing one's finances. If we don't, Saturn will most likely find ways to force us to do just that. On a psychological level, we face some of our fears that are of a compulsive nature—those fears that lead us to believe we need certain things in order to survive. Take a small example of a superstition. Perhaps we perform some kind of small ritual that we feel will help protect us or give us good luck. If we do it often enough, it becomes an addiction. We are afraid that if we don't do this little ritual, we will set ourselves up for bad luck. If we get rid of this superstition, we feel strong. Something as simple as a superstition or ritual for good luck can undermine us. Why? Because we are giving away our power over ourselves to this compulsive behavior! We are denying that we have power over our own lives. The same is true of any form of compulsive behavior and addiction. We attempt to control our lives through these behaviors, but what we are really doing is letting the addictions control us. Towards the end of the transit, we will have eliminated some deep-seated habits and attachments that have been keeping us back from feeling emotionally free. We emerge healthier and stronger. When we give in to compulsive behaviors, we give up self-control, and guilt undermines our lives. We are not ourselves. By attempting to control others, we give away our own power over ourselves. By the end of this transit, we will feel more emotionally healthy. We will have nixed some of our addictions, and mastered our superstitions. We will feel more powerful because we have given up attempting to control things we cannot or should not control, and we will have gained a feeling of self-mastery instead.
Saturn Transiting the Ninth House
This period in our lives is generally dedicated to self-improvement. We are developing our ideals and our commitments as transiting Saturn makes its way through our ninth house. Ideals and spiritual goals that we may have taken for granted or worked with for many years suddenly seem superficial or not particularly useful to us. If we have been studying, we must watch for a period of questioning exactly what we are working towards. Does this line of study match our true selves? Some of us begin new studies as we unconsciously prepare ourselves for Saturn's next house transit. But most of us come face to face with our self-defeating attitudes during this period of time. The ninth house is a fire house, and it has much to do with our outlook, our sense of adventure, and our confidence. It also is associated with our faith, hope, and vision. Although its attachment to such things as higher learning and travel might mean that a Saturn transit to this house will affect these things, but for most of us, it is more about taking a closer look at, and re-assessing, our attitude and confidence. At the beginning of the transit, we may feel a little somber. The blind faith or optimism that may have carried us to date comes up for inspection. Are our belief systems sound? What do we stand for? What kind of future are we working towards, and why? The spirit that drives us and motivates us to move out and beyond the everyday grind comes up for inspection. By the end of the transit, we will have re-worked our spirit, and come face to face with what it is that offers us hope and optimism as well as that which fuels our drive. The initial entrance of Saturn into our ninth house may cause us to question ourselves, but by the end of the transit, if we work hard at self-improvement, we will have replaced our old spirit with a re-generated one. We will be one step closer to knowing where we are headed, and we will have re-built faith in ourselves. A shaky feeling that causes us to sputter and avoid risks will be replaced with a more mature attitude towards adventure and facing the unknown. We let go of self-defeating attitudes that have been holding us back, we recognize exactly where we have been overdoing our expectations, and we find new ways to nurture faith, hope, and vision.
Saturn Transiting the Tenth House
Saturn reaches the top of our chart when it begins its transit through the tenth house. Ironically enough, there is freedom in knowing some of our limitations, and Saturn's transit through the tenth house teaches us exactly what this means. By the time Saturn leaves the house, we will have learned where we stand in the world, and how we have limited our achievements. This self-evaluation then offers us the freedom to appraise where we want to go. Approximately 14 years before this transit, we learned Saturnine lessons of the fourth house—we built a secure foundation within ourselves. Now it is time we build a secure foundation in our professional and/or most public lives. Our standing in society now comes under Saturn's scrutiny. We are in the spotlight, and what it is exactly that we have been building now comes up for inspection. Any projects begun 12-14 years before this transit are now scrutinized. Some of us find ourselves getting recognition and career "rewards" at this time. If this transit occurs in early adulthood, it is a time when we face our duties as a career person. Although the tenth house is a house of ambition, we do not focus on where we are going as much as we focus on where we stand. The question, "Where are we going?", is reserved for the next house, the eleventh, although on some level we are preparing for that stage as well. Before we know where exactly we are headed, we must know where we stand. Saturn's transit of the tenth house is an eye-opening one—a time when we are working hard, taking on our fair share of duties and responsibilities, and either reaping some of the rewards of our hard work or facing the consequences of poor choices. We become aware of what we have and haven't accomplished to date, and we unconsciously prepare to re-evaluate our lives in terms of our personal goals during the next house transit. What have we achieved to date? We now are treated to a realistic look at what we have built and what we have achieved. We no longer view our place in the world, our careers, our reputations, and our standing in society with rose-colored glasses. We face the facts, and only the facts. At the beginning of the transit, our increased sensitivity to where we stand and to our reputations may feel uncomfortable for some. We may feel exposed, publicly scrutinized, or under fire in our careers. We may also feel burdened by our responsibilities. This discomfort comes only as a result of a rush of reality into the matters of the tenth house, and if the discomfort is great, it is only due to the fact that we may have been holding onto false images of ourselves. Just as a mid-life crisis is experienced differently by different people, Saturn's transit of the tenth house holds different meaning for different people, depending very much on how true we have been to ourselves. However, as Saturn moves through the house, we begin to feel more secure. We recognize what it is exactly that we have accomplished.
Saturn Transiting the Eleventh House
We've spent at least a couple of years focusing much of our energy on our place in society, our responsibilities, and our standing while Saturn transited the tenth house. We should be at a point where we know, realistically, what we are doing. When Saturn transits the eleventh house, events or realizations cause us to ask ourselves where it is that we are going. Our personal goals come under Saturn's scrutiny as he makes his way through our eleventh house. How we fit in with others, our affiliations with people and groups, and our peers all become serious matters in our eyes. We might feel that our personal "circle" or our networks are superficial or unsatisfying at the beginning of the transit. We might feel alienated as we begin to see them for what they are worth, or what they aren't worth. We might feel some disdain for the superficial workings of casual friendships, begin to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious about "going through the motions", doing and saying the right things, and so forth. Alternatively, we might meet someone with whom we establish a serious friendship at this time, or we might become a member of a group or affiliation that we devote much of our time to. Weeding out what seems now to be superfluous social associations from our lives is very likely at this time as we become more serious about what we want, on a personal level, from our lives. We take a hard look at the role we play in others' lives, and consider exactly what it is that satisfies us and contributes to our happiness, beyond marriage, romance, career, religion, and so forth. As Saturn moves further through the house, and by the time the transit is over, we should have found ways to bring definition and articulation to our innermost wishes and hopes for our personal path.
Saturn Transiting the Twelfth House
Contemplation of the meaning of our existence, our accomplishments, and our "failures" is the main focus when Saturn transits our twelfth house. This transit marks the end of a cycle, which can most certainly bring with it a fair measure of confusion and discontent, especially at the beginning of the period. Saturn turns a critical eye to all that lies beneath the surface, and we are forced to do some serious "spring cleaning" of our psyches. During this transit, we face our own demons—the vague yet haunting fears that undermine us. We all have skeletons in our closet. What we don't always realize is that they can seriously undermine our happiness and well-being. Saturn sweeps through our "closet" (the twelfth house) and demands that we take a hard look at what's been hiding in there. Is this process uncomfortable? For most of us, it can be. But getting rid of outdated attachments, and examining and discarding irrational fears, is not only necessary for further growth and development—it's ultimately a huge relief. The twelfth house in some ways is a dumping ground for things we have left "undone". Saturn here wants us to sort through the junk and keep only those things that we truly need for future development. This process can be rather lengthy and it can feel very slow, but if done properly, it can be most rewarding. We deal with endings rather than new beginnings during this transit, as we shed outdated attachments and unconsciously prepare ourselves for Saturn's transit of the first house, when we will work diligently on our individuality and personal identity. We are markedly introspective at this time in our lives. We may isolate ourselves from others in some manner—a process that tends to come naturally. Health issues, generally of a psychosomatic nature, may come to the fore. We may be attracted to alternate ways of living, and to self-study fields, such as psychoanalysis.
Keys to Handling Saturn Transits:
Saturn teaches us about the value of moderation and caution. Perhaps the best way to "handle" hard Saturn transits to the houses of your chart is to avoid fighting these lessons. Accept that, at this time in your life, things may move at a slower speed (even a snail's pace). Saturn wants us to work hard, put our energies into practical, useful, and meaningful projects, and to live in the "here and now". This period in your life is a time for building a solid foundation. Understand that moderation at this point in your life is necessary for your spiritual growth and your physical body as well. Avoid blaming others for where you are at now for extended periods of time (some self-pity, however, may be necessary in order to gather strength and the ability to depend on yourself, however)—doing this will only lead to feelings of melancholy and anger. Know that this period in your life, while temporary, is a time for learning about your personal limits as well as your inner strength. Carry these lessons as you move beyond this phase, because how you handle your life now will make all the difference as Saturn moves into the successive house in your chart.
Techniques for Preparing for the Future and Understanding the Past
Saturn takes about 28-29 years to come full circle. We can expect Saturn to spend some time in each of our 12 houses. Unless you work with an equal house system, however, the length of Saturn's transit through a house will depend on how big each house is. Saturn will spend approximately 2-1/2 years in an "average"-size house of 30 degrees.
Note that Saturn's effect is to crystallize, to ground, and to solidify. Generally, the effect of Saturn transiting a house is felt in a more pronounced way in the first part of its transit through the house, as well as when it forms aspects to natal planets. Toward the end of the house, the native tends to have gained increased understanding—experience, if you will—with the effects. Saturn's movement by transit through the houses acts to aid us to learn to depend on ourselves in different areas of life. At first, we generally encounter feelings of being thwarted or unsupported by the outside world in the particular areas of life that are ruled by the house. By the end of the house transit, we will have learned to look within ourselves for support.
In general, as Saturn passes through the fire houses (the first, fifth, and ninth), we deal with self-confidence issues and how these issues have affected our lives and our productivity. Through the earth houses (the second, sixth, and tenth), we confront issues of self-worth and effectiveness. Through the air houses (the third, seventh, and eleventh), we evaluate our relationships with others and how much (or how little) we can depend on these, as well as our mental outlook. Through the water houses (the fourth, eighth, and twelfth), we re-evaluate our inner stores of faith, our connection with the past, and our psychological workings.
Saturn makes us accountable for ourselves wherever it touches. Each house governs specific areas of our lives, and of our personalities, and transits of Saturn will bring these areas up for "inspection", re-organization, and restructure.
Saturn Transiting the First House
Saturn transiting the first house begins with a Saturn conjunction to the Ascendant, a transit of personal significance. The first house is a fire house, a house that rules our personal identity. We concern ourselves with how we come across to others on a personal level with Saturn here. Our physical body becomes a focus as well. Depending on the age of the native, it may be a time when we feel our age, or it is a time when we see our bodies quite clearly. This is an excellent time for beginning health regimens, diets, and the like, simply because it is a time when we look in the mirror and see ourselves clearly—not what we want to see. Our outlook on life changes to a more serious, responsible tone. In the beginning stages of the transit, you may feel frustrated with yourself, let down, and lacking in self-confidence. You might reach out to others in an attempt to validate yourself, looking for ways to boost your confidence. When these attempts fail, you may feel temporarily let down and discouraged. Rest assured that Saturn will re-work these feelings, with your help of course, until you reach a point (as Saturn moves through the house) where you have a stronger sense of self. This transit acts to transform your self-confidence in such a way that you question the source of your confidence to date, and discover a more solid base for pulling up inner strength. Saturn here acts to rip away the superficial. Illusions about the self, the body, and personal abilities will no longer be tolerated. The end result is a newfound identity and a realistic understanding of the self. In terms of career and projects, outward signs of progress may not be as forthcoming, yet the work that you do during this transit will lay a foundation for future success and progress! For example, some years ago, a client began a hobby/project during a Saturn transit to her first house, something that took up a lot of her time and energy and that yielded nothing in terms of immediate financial gain—until later! In fact, this "hobby" turned into her career in the years to follow.
Saturn Transiting the Second House
While a certain level of introspection marked the Saturn transit of the first house, Saturn's movement into the second house marks a new stage of taking stock of our effectiveness, self-worth, and finances. This stage of life is often marked by hard work. It is a practical time in one's life. Financial success may not be remarkable, yet it is generally steady, if slow to come by. This transit has traditionally been associated with financial loss, but in truth, it is more about our perceptions—we are apt to review how effective we have been on a financial level to date, and find some dissatisfaction with our progress. In fact, gains may be slow, but sudden reversals are not common with this transit. The purpose of this transit is for you to make the connection between your own feelings of self-worth and what you produce in the real world/get back from the real world. As with all Saturn transits, at the outset, we might reach out and look for validation from the outside world and from others, and find something lacking in so doing. The initial sense of feeling unsupported can be discouraging (many of us think on the lines of: "I work so hard, and what do I get for all this hard work?"), but as the transit moves forward, you learn to look inside of yourself with a newfound clarity and realism and ideally draw up considerable strength from within. You work on your effectiveness in the world, and see exactly what has been holding you back from achieving the results you want. The challenge here is to capture the newly found and defined self-confidence you gained from the first house transit, and now apply it in the real world.
Saturn Transiting the Third House
This transit marks a time when how you have networked with people around you, and how you gain and disseminate information, come up for inspection by Saturn. A new kind of pressure is produced—it's not about your personality or your resources like it was in the first and second houses. Rather, the pressure centers more around mental output. You may feel pressure to produce ideas, and to make them work. A certain somberness in your outlook may be characteristic of this phase, as it may be a time of worry. It may seem like acquaintances and sometimes siblings are blocking your growth in some manner, and these relationships may be strained as a result. Although you have a desire to make contacts, you are now rather preoccupied with learning, and you may view idle chit-chat as a waste of time. You may feel an unusual pressure to structure your time and effort, and to cut out communication that seems unnecessary. You may at times feel rather overwhelmed by such things as errands, red tape, and other such day-to-day "disruptions". As Saturn moves closer to your IC (the fourth house cusp), there may be some vague feeling of urgency and worry, as if you sense some things in your life are closing. By the end of the transit, however, you will have ideally gained a greater depth of understanding, having focused on information and communication that you really can use to feel more effective in the world.
Saturn Transiting the Fourth House
This marks a time of considerable inner "re-working". In terms of outward signs of achievement, this transit may be the most unremarkable of all the Saturn transits. However, near the end of the transit, and certainly later than that, you will recognize this stage as a critical one in which you made some life-changing personal and psychological advances and developments. During this stage, you are working on solidifying your identity, exploring your roots (where you came from), so that when Saturn begins its transit through the fifth house, you will be ready to differentiate yourself from others and embark on some important work on your ego. For now, however, you will face issues surrounding your attachments to the past. Sometimes this manifests as literal re-organization of your home. Moving house is not associated with this transit as it would if, for example, Uranus was the transiting planet. If moves are made, you might encounter some resistance in yourself. This is not a time when you feel particularly brave in the outer world. However, reorganization in your home, and more importantly, in your soul, embodies the true nature of this transit. Many will go through a major "spring cleaning" inside. Limitations that came from early family conditioning will be brought to the fore. At first, there may be some frustration with your life to date, and how you have limited your opportunities because of early conditioning. A feeling of being alone and unsupported in life may dominate the early stages of this transit. Sometimes, delays and slowdowns are experienced in the areas of health, mobility, and career. As Saturn moves closer to the fifth house, a feeling of some kind of mastery will empower you.
Saturn Transiting the Fifth House
With Saturn moving through the house of creative power, you may feel limited initially by a lack of internal "spark" or "spunk". How you entertain yourself, how you have fun, and issues surrounding how you manage your ego are now coming up for "inspection". By the end of the transit, ideally you will have a stronger sense of purpose, and a re-worked ego. What makes you unique? How do you handle pride? What are your creative talents? Have you worked hard enough to feel good about "playing hard"? These are issues you will face during the course of this transit. By the time Saturn enters the sixth house, you should have a solid sense of what makes you different than others, and a rather concrete belief in your own creative talents. Many people go through a period of re-evaluation of their talents—how they have perhaps wasted them to date, and how they can express themselves in a more practical, useful manner. The fifth house is also associated with love and attention received from others. Issues you will face during this time include how "deserving" you are of special attention from others. Initially, you may feel unloved, and perhaps somewhat neglected or ignored. As you learn the lessons of this transit, you should learn to love yourself and take pride in yourself. Looking outside of yourself for "ego strokes" (whether through romance or other such "applause") may prove to be fruitless. You will learn through the course of this transit to depend on yourself and to take pride in yourself for what you really are, not only how others see you.
Saturn Transiting the Sixth House
Saturn turns his critical eye on matters of the sixth house, and you are likely to feel a certain level of pressure in the areas of work, daily functions, habits, and health. At the beginning of the transit, you might find yourself more accountable than ever when it comes to your work. You may initially feel bogged down by what seems like undue pressure in your routines. The key word here is "seems", simply because the nature of Saturn is such that the pressure it brings is never truly undue. In fact, Saturn knows better than us, and it is in reality very much "due". Why? Because things we may have previously neglected or disregarded now come up for inspection. How can we make best use of our time? How can we manage our day-to-day lives, and our bodies, better? Saturn pressures here make us aware of all of the "fluff" we have surrounding our daily routines and our work, and spring cleaning is now in order. This is an excellent time for starting new regimens to better our health and well-being, such as regular exercise, more structured and productive use of our time, and so forth. In fact, we might be faced with life events that force us to do so, or at least provide us with the motivation to get our acts together. Traditionally, this transit was associated with health problems. Generally, though, if health concerns manifest, they are ones that are manageable. They signal the need for change in diet, routines, and habits. By the end of the transit, you will likely have learned to be more productive, healthier, and considerably more focused.
Saturn Transiting the Seventh House
Significant relationships with others are the focus when Saturn transits the seventh house. Saturn motivates us to do "spring cleaning" in the areas of life he touches, and one-to-one relationships will need to be considered and understood during this transit. Initially, as is usually the case with Saturn transits, we might feel frustrated and we might seem withdrawn. This is a time when we need to define, understand, and crystallize our significant relationships with others. If you already have a partner, this is a time when any issues surrounding compromise, flexibility, and the ability to give your heart to your partner will surface. Initial frustration can take the form of feeling criticized and "examined" in this area of life. By the end of the transit, however, you will have learned much about commitment and compromise. Single natives will feel the initial pressures of Saturn transiting the seventh house as well. A feeling of loneliness is possible in either situation (whether you have a significant partnership or not), but instead of an issue of re-committing, the single native will think about commitment in general. If involved in a casual love relationship, when Saturn transits the seventh, a pressure emerges concerning the need for evaluating one's commitments. Often this transit corresponds with an urge (or pressure) to make a commitment or a re-commitment. Healthy partnerships can be the outcome of this partnership, whether they are new ones or strengthened existing partnerships. Saturn always brings with him a fair measure of reality and objectivity, so that whatever relationships the native has or wants will be defined and re-defined. Relationships are seen now as serious. Partners are no longer simply fun or mirrors of our ego. Responsibilities to partners, the need to compromise, and the realities of the needs of others, become clear. We are forced to begin seeing others as individuals, and to improve the manner in which we relate to and with others. Depending on the person's age and life circumstances, "significant partnerships" can mean partnerships with loved ones, business partnerships, and even deep friendships. For example, when Saturn transited my seventh house when I was a young teenager, I began to view my casual friendships as superficial and unsatisfying and eventually developed a deep friendship with a girl that was to last some time. Essentially, quantity (in the relationship department) was replaced with quality, and this process involved time, soul-searching, frustration, and eventual fulfillment.
Saturn Transiting the Eighth House
How do you handle power? Your desire nature? Intimate relationships? What kind of obsessions and addictions do you have? What are your deep-rooted compulsions? What are your unhealthy attachments? When Saturn transits our eighth house, we feel pressure to answer these questions. Often, at the beginning of the transit, we are very sensitive to what seems like outer world pressures that force us to examine some of our deepest desires and attachments. These include our sexual relationships, our finances (especially with regards to debts and shared finances), and our need for control. Sometimes, Saturn transiting the eighth brings about sexual dysfunctions, whether we encounter these in ourselves or in our partners. We may face difficulties satisfying our libido and/or encounter problems with intimacy. These pressures are "designed" to make us more aware of our desire nature, and what exactly it is we want. Dissatisfaction and frustrations getting what we want, especially with reference to relationships with others and with our resources, often characterize the first part of the transit. How have we been using power? During this transit, we may find that previous methods of controlling our environment and the people in our lives simply are not effective any more. We may not even be aware just how we have been employing power and control to date. Another realm over which the eighth house reigns is our mortality. With Saturn here, we become much more aware of our mortality. Just as Saturn transits to our Sun or Ascendant make us more conscious of our age, Saturn transiting the eighth house often brings with it a realization that we do not live forever. Of course, we know this as a fact at the back of our minds, but Saturn reminds us. Before this transit, it is generally wise to begin organizing one's finances. If we don't, Saturn will most likely find ways to force us to do just that. On a psychological level, we face some of our fears that are of a compulsive nature—those fears that lead us to believe we need certain things in order to survive. Take a small example of a superstition. Perhaps we perform some kind of small ritual that we feel will help protect us or give us good luck. If we do it often enough, it becomes an addiction. We are afraid that if we don't do this little ritual, we will set ourselves up for bad luck. If we get rid of this superstition, we feel strong. Something as simple as a superstition or ritual for good luck can undermine us. Why? Because we are giving away our power over ourselves to this compulsive behavior! We are denying that we have power over our own lives. The same is true of any form of compulsive behavior and addiction. We attempt to control our lives through these behaviors, but what we are really doing is letting the addictions control us. Towards the end of the transit, we will have eliminated some deep-seated habits and attachments that have been keeping us back from feeling emotionally free. We emerge healthier and stronger. When we give in to compulsive behaviors, we give up self-control, and guilt undermines our lives. We are not ourselves. By attempting to control others, we give away our own power over ourselves. By the end of this transit, we will feel more emotionally healthy. We will have nixed some of our addictions, and mastered our superstitions. We will feel more powerful because we have given up attempting to control things we cannot or should not control, and we will have gained a feeling of self-mastery instead.
Saturn Transiting the Ninth House
This period in our lives is generally dedicated to self-improvement. We are developing our ideals and our commitments as transiting Saturn makes its way through our ninth house. Ideals and spiritual goals that we may have taken for granted or worked with for many years suddenly seem superficial or not particularly useful to us. If we have been studying, we must watch for a period of questioning exactly what we are working towards. Does this line of study match our true selves? Some of us begin new studies as we unconsciously prepare ourselves for Saturn's next house transit. But most of us come face to face with our self-defeating attitudes during this period of time. The ninth house is a fire house, and it has much to do with our outlook, our sense of adventure, and our confidence. It also is associated with our faith, hope, and vision. Although its attachment to such things as higher learning and travel might mean that a Saturn transit to this house will affect these things, but for most of us, it is more about taking a closer look at, and re-assessing, our attitude and confidence. At the beginning of the transit, we may feel a little somber. The blind faith or optimism that may have carried us to date comes up for inspection. Are our belief systems sound? What do we stand for? What kind of future are we working towards, and why? The spirit that drives us and motivates us to move out and beyond the everyday grind comes up for inspection. By the end of the transit, we will have re-worked our spirit, and come face to face with what it is that offers us hope and optimism as well as that which fuels our drive. The initial entrance of Saturn into our ninth house may cause us to question ourselves, but by the end of the transit, if we work hard at self-improvement, we will have replaced our old spirit with a re-generated one. We will be one step closer to knowing where we are headed, and we will have re-built faith in ourselves. A shaky feeling that causes us to sputter and avoid risks will be replaced with a more mature attitude towards adventure and facing the unknown. We let go of self-defeating attitudes that have been holding us back, we recognize exactly where we have been overdoing our expectations, and we find new ways to nurture faith, hope, and vision.
Saturn Transiting the Tenth House
Saturn reaches the top of our chart when it begins its transit through the tenth house. Ironically enough, there is freedom in knowing some of our limitations, and Saturn's transit through the tenth house teaches us exactly what this means. By the time Saturn leaves the house, we will have learned where we stand in the world, and how we have limited our achievements. This self-evaluation then offers us the freedom to appraise where we want to go. Approximately 14 years before this transit, we learned Saturnine lessons of the fourth house—we built a secure foundation within ourselves. Now it is time we build a secure foundation in our professional and/or most public lives. Our standing in society now comes under Saturn's scrutiny. We are in the spotlight, and what it is exactly that we have been building now comes up for inspection. Any projects begun 12-14 years before this transit are now scrutinized. Some of us find ourselves getting recognition and career "rewards" at this time. If this transit occurs in early adulthood, it is a time when we face our duties as a career person. Although the tenth house is a house of ambition, we do not focus on where we are going as much as we focus on where we stand. The question, "Where are we going?", is reserved for the next house, the eleventh, although on some level we are preparing for that stage as well. Before we know where exactly we are headed, we must know where we stand. Saturn's transit of the tenth house is an eye-opening one—a time when we are working hard, taking on our fair share of duties and responsibilities, and either reaping some of the rewards of our hard work or facing the consequences of poor choices. We become aware of what we have and haven't accomplished to date, and we unconsciously prepare to re-evaluate our lives in terms of our personal goals during the next house transit. What have we achieved to date? We now are treated to a realistic look at what we have built and what we have achieved. We no longer view our place in the world, our careers, our reputations, and our standing in society with rose-colored glasses. We face the facts, and only the facts. At the beginning of the transit, our increased sensitivity to where we stand and to our reputations may feel uncomfortable for some. We may feel exposed, publicly scrutinized, or under fire in our careers. We may also feel burdened by our responsibilities. This discomfort comes only as a result of a rush of reality into the matters of the tenth house, and if the discomfort is great, it is only due to the fact that we may have been holding onto false images of ourselves. Just as a mid-life crisis is experienced differently by different people, Saturn's transit of the tenth house holds different meaning for different people, depending very much on how true we have been to ourselves. However, as Saturn moves through the house, we begin to feel more secure. We recognize what it is exactly that we have accomplished.
Saturn Transiting the Eleventh House
We've spent at least a couple of years focusing much of our energy on our place in society, our responsibilities, and our standing while Saturn transited the tenth house. We should be at a point where we know, realistically, what we are doing. When Saturn transits the eleventh house, events or realizations cause us to ask ourselves where it is that we are going. Our personal goals come under Saturn's scrutiny as he makes his way through our eleventh house. How we fit in with others, our affiliations with people and groups, and our peers all become serious matters in our eyes. We might feel that our personal "circle" or our networks are superficial or unsatisfying at the beginning of the transit. We might feel alienated as we begin to see them for what they are worth, or what they aren't worth. We might feel some disdain for the superficial workings of casual friendships, begin to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious about "going through the motions", doing and saying the right things, and so forth. Alternatively, we might meet someone with whom we establish a serious friendship at this time, or we might become a member of a group or affiliation that we devote much of our time to. Weeding out what seems now to be superfluous social associations from our lives is very likely at this time as we become more serious about what we want, on a personal level, from our lives. We take a hard look at the role we play in others' lives, and consider exactly what it is that satisfies us and contributes to our happiness, beyond marriage, romance, career, religion, and so forth. As Saturn moves further through the house, and by the time the transit is over, we should have found ways to bring definition and articulation to our innermost wishes and hopes for our personal path.
Saturn Transiting the Twelfth House
Contemplation of the meaning of our existence, our accomplishments, and our "failures" is the main focus when Saturn transits our twelfth house. This transit marks the end of a cycle, which can most certainly bring with it a fair measure of confusion and discontent, especially at the beginning of the period. Saturn turns a critical eye to all that lies beneath the surface, and we are forced to do some serious "spring cleaning" of our psyches. During this transit, we face our own demons—the vague yet haunting fears that undermine us. We all have skeletons in our closet. What we don't always realize is that they can seriously undermine our happiness and well-being. Saturn sweeps through our "closet" (the twelfth house) and demands that we take a hard look at what's been hiding in there. Is this process uncomfortable? For most of us, it can be. But getting rid of outdated attachments, and examining and discarding irrational fears, is not only necessary for further growth and development—it's ultimately a huge relief. The twelfth house in some ways is a dumping ground for things we have left "undone". Saturn here wants us to sort through the junk and keep only those things that we truly need for future development. This process can be rather lengthy and it can feel very slow, but if done properly, it can be most rewarding. We deal with endings rather than new beginnings during this transit, as we shed outdated attachments and unconsciously prepare ourselves for Saturn's transit of the first house, when we will work diligently on our individuality and personal identity. We are markedly introspective at this time in our lives. We may isolate ourselves from others in some manner—a process that tends to come naturally. Health issues, generally of a psychosomatic nature, may come to the fore. We may be attracted to alternate ways of living, and to self-study fields, such as psychoanalysis.
Keys to Handling Saturn Transits:
Saturn teaches us about the value of moderation and caution. Perhaps the best way to "handle" hard Saturn transits to the houses of your chart is to avoid fighting these lessons. Accept that, at this time in your life, things may move at a slower speed (even a snail's pace). Saturn wants us to work hard, put our energies into practical, useful, and meaningful projects, and to live in the "here and now". This period in your life is a time for building a solid foundation. Understand that moderation at this point in your life is necessary for your spiritual growth and your physical body as well. Avoid blaming others for where you are at now for extended periods of time (some self-pity, however, may be necessary in order to gather strength and the ability to depend on yourself, however)—doing this will only lead to feelings of melancholy and anger. Know that this period in your life, while temporary, is a time for learning about your personal limits as well as your inner strength. Carry these lessons as you move beyond this phase, because how you handle your life now will make all the difference as Saturn moves into the successive house in your chart.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)