Monday, February 9, 2009

The cycle of Saturn and Uranus

In early November of 2008, and just this week on the 5th of February again, Saturn and Uranus were in opposition to one another. This is a cycle that takes nearly 42 years to complete, so this opposition has not occurred since the mid 1960s.
Interestingly, Saturn and Uranus are two planets that according to conventional astrology are complete opposites. Saturn represents limitations, fear, discipline, controls, and densification of reality...consciousness becoming concrete. In truth, Neptune is closer to the opposite of Saturn, as Neptune represents the removal of borderlines of distinction, the sea from which we all came and all return, dissolution and illusion. All of these things are exact opposite of the above definition of Saturn.
The experience of Uranus can seem to come from nowhere. Just like Neptune, it can seem otherworldly. Truly, Uranus represents a reminder of the soul beyond the chosen limitations of this life. It represents freedom, new ideas and innovations. It is the planet of the INDIVIDUAL. Where as Saturn represents the form and confines of the individual entity, Uranus represents the INDIVIDUATION of that individual. It represents each of us "in the raw"...what we are in pure form. In using the word "pure", I don't necessarily mean innocent. Uranus is a planet which reflects higher levels of knowledge and understanding..it is brilliance, it is the light that shines forth within us. You can consider yourself an innovation of the ONE SPIRIT..this means that you are a unique soul with unique gifts. With this purity comes thought that is more in tune with group consciousness rather than personal consciousness. The realm of Uranus is aware that we are all one body, and governs social change and causes which seek to structure reality in support of all souls rather than fear based, elitist group protecting structures. The incarnation on this earth plane, the limitations of body, mind and perspective is SATURN. The unique spark within us that makes you purely you is URANUS.

Let me take a moment to clarify the irony between the two planets. Saturn is the planet of the individual, yet the individual in the Saturn state is more concerned with ego gratification, and thus shares a behavior with most of the people in the collective....appearing on the surface to perhaps be more attuned to group consciousness. However, the need for others in this dimension is very much tied up in fear. Uranus is the planet of Independence, and yet the independent individual can attune themselves more to group consciousness. Think of great leaders such as Jesus, Gandhi or Buddha.....humans that would stand out and certainly don't conform to the group consciousness, but are in fact in greater support of group consciousness than anyone in the group.



Obviously we have friction between these two concepts. However, I want to clarify the difference between this cycle and the previously discussed Saturn/ Neptune cycle. In both cases, we deal with creating a structure or a world model that must make way for change. The cycle of Saturn and Uranus provides a means for fresh, new and innovative energy to break down current structures of thought, eventually becoming the new structures of consciousness. Now if we are to take a birds eye view of this concept, and see that whenever new structures of thought become CONSENSUS, that within the unconscious of the masses...conscious to a minority, the tradition of old structures still lives within the sea of all that is, was and will be. These realities will perhaps be used or innovated in the future once again. The concept that these realities are a part of that greater sea is NEPTUNE. URANUS is like the lightening from above. It is not something that lies hidden under the surface. Uranus seeks to stand out and be heard above the consensus reality. With Saturn and Neptune, there is often a fear of loss of control...a fear of crumbling into an energetic abyss...that sea in which the ego goes to dissolve. Saturn and Neptune deals with the individuals success or failure (karma) of aligning their individualism with the consciousness of the sea without becoming possessed by it. The friction between Saturn and Uranus is right there in your face. If there is fear, it is the fear of change. A good image for this is the battle of the older generation with its traditions trying to hold on to the values that it grew up appreciating, and the younger generation with its new perspective for a way of life.

At the conjunction, natives stand strong in their need to express their creativity and their unique ideas and ideals. It is likely that they were raised to understand that respect for their individual creativity must be earned. Parents likely held a mindset that encouraged freedom, which is important to the individual, but that it takes hard work and commitment to something in order to have freedom. Natives feel driven to do their duty, but they do not want to be so tied up with responsibility that they are not able to creatively express themselves. They perhaps feel a calling to do or be something that requires their unique perspective and talents in order to accomplish. They realize that they go about getting things done differently, and they feel that this difference must be demonstrated to the masses in order to implement change...a change they feel is for the better. Natives must be careful to not be too dogmatic in their idealism. In being too much of a dictator or tyrant, they are becoming the Saturn energy that is not allowing the free flow of ideas from others. A father that was unique in career and perspective is likely. Depending on other planets involved, the relationship with the father in this way becomes very important. Usually natives of this aspect, as stated above, are encouraged to work hard for their freedom. However, we each define freedom in different ways. Perhaps part of the karma here is that the father eventually sees himself in his child if the child does in fact rebel from the foundation of his teachings. The father may spend early years trying to create a foundation to protect the child from his/ her own impulses that may rock the foundation. If the father is in fact Uranian enough, there may be friction at first, however each party learns to further appreciate and RESPECT each other for their individual uniqueness and accomplishments. They are able to see their differences as similarities. Saturn/ Uranus natives are great at leading social causes. They not only have the spark of Uranian electricity and moxie, but they can ground into a charted course to get things done...to see an unconventional project through. This is a common aspect in great inventors and especially innovators who take something old and find new practical uses for it.

At the square aspect, patience becomes an issue. Natives can feel impatient with a world that may not fully embrace their uniqueness. They are forced to learn and deal with the PROCESS OF CHANGE. Notice both of those key words of process and change. Saturn doesn't like the change, and Uranus doesn't like the process. At the square, natives must face that they have to WORK in order to be truly FREE. Mundane day to day obligations may be frustrating to the native and feel like it ties him/her down from the full spectrum of creative expression. However, they must learn that not grounding into this will allow no structure to permit this very expression, and this would feel like an even worse prison for the native.
If Saturn is more dominant in the chart, meaning Uranus by rulership is weak, a person may experience sudden events that force them to implement or use creativity that they were perhaps scared to express. Life may force them to RECREATE themselves, bringing to the surface their true self. Often initially, the fear of asserting one's Uranian nature is a fear that they will not be supported and be forced into an unknown reality. Perhaps they may feel that their family will disown them if they express their hearts true yearning. They have a difficult time breaking childhood conditioning because of this fear.
If in this aspect, Uranus is the stronger planet, natives will ultimately find that overly radical behavior will only cast them further to the side. They may have to learn to conform to a degree in order to be first accepted, and then seen for the unique soul that they are. There may be difficulty if the family did not allow them to express their creativity freely.
Some natives can even be radical about maintaining tradition..choosing to stick with old fashioned values in the face of change. Saturn/ Uranus people, especially in the square aspect, can be UNCOMPROMISING in their view or feel that others are uncompromising for the freedom of their own expression. Fear of not being appreciated as unique and important, or of not being respected as having a valid and practical view, can be the cause. If the native had a father that was tyrannical and controlling, even if he was revolutionary in his fight for his ideals, then oftentimes the child overcompensates at adulthood by becoming tyrannical about their unique views. Obviously this high tension does not do much to build a practical means for longevity for creative expression. Ultimately, Saturn and Uranus must work together in order to build towards anything that expresses the genuine self. Just as well, you owe it to the planet to be your genuine self in order to help produce the necessary changes of your time. Hard Saturn/ Uranus contacts can be revolutionary periods, periods where individuals can be inspired to challenge heavy rulership and authority. Advances in technology, innovations, and political and economic restructuring are common during these periods.

At the opposition, we initially have a competition of paradigm. Once again we can picture youth versus old age in this competition. At the square, in order to move forward in life successfully, a native had to assimilate the nature of Saturn and Uranus. One of the key differences at the opposition is that circumstances in the life, home or world give opportunity for these polarities to work together to come to a solution. Initially, there is an issue of relating to each other.
Natives here have the opportunity to come fully into authority over themselves, however, they must learn to honor and respect those that have given them support, including the traditional ways they grew up in as well as the youth that will look up to. They must realize that ultimately this support gives them the means to have freedom and express themselves creatively. Wisdom must be acquired through a respect for tradition and a realization that it too was established by a Uranian spark and desire to be expressed. When respect is gained, natives must be careful to be so uncompromising in their authority and stance, otherwise they may draw a Uranian uprising from those that seek their respect and consideration. Just the same, revolting against authority is not the way to get the voice heard.
There is a childself that needs to be expressed and heard in this aspect. However, the childself needs to experience feeling needed growing up for the wave of new energy they come to produce...with ideas unfiltered by the fear of how the idea may be perceived by the current establishments. If this can be the case, then the older soul will be able to maintain a hold of that childself...making mature choices and decisions with a flare of creativity and a pure love that seeks to include the group because the group is not feared.
The Saturn/ Uranus opposition provides an opportunity for the new regime to gain a foothold into how things are done, as well as for the old to experience the need to integrate the new by circumstances that may force the issue...perhaps seeing the limitations of their own Saturnine traditions.
In the 1960s, the countercultures that developed in contrast to the military-industrial regime is an example of the manifestation of the Saturn/ Uranus opposition during that time. During this time, we are welcoming our first black president, who comes into office at a time where the old regime obviously screwed up enough to be forced to yield to the new ideas. In truth it is time, that is ruled by Saturn, that had alot to do with this as George Bush's time was done due to the structure our country has created with a maximum of two 4 year terms. However, this "democratic" process on the surface has a bit of Uranian understanding built into it. Our nation is an Aquarian nation believe it our not, and the revolutionary period it was started under coincided with the very discovery of the planet Uranus.

Interesting that Uranus is considered to be the planet most associated with Astrology. This makes sense since astrology is an awareness and understanding of something beyond ourselves that mirrors the innerself. However, Saturn is required to give structure to this understanding. In my own chart, I have Uranus in conjunction with the Sun making a strain free trine to Saturn. I have a healthy respect for the tradition of this science and use the foundation of the past to BACK my research...however in Uranian fashion, I always place first in any assessment I do, my own intuitive impulses. When I look at a chart if I get an impulse or vision, I go with that long before I go with anything I would read or another astrologer would say about it. This is because I have a healthy trust for my conscious connection to the greater body, and I feel that people that would be drawn to have me read would resonate with a vibration that they feel I would be in tune with at that given time....the very coming together of astrologer and client being a synchronicity within itself. The strain free trine aspect for me also allows me to reflect upon any difficult aspects I have with these planets and gather the discipline to deal with them appropriately rather than have too much of the lesson from these outer planets shake the foundation of my world from without.

In my own chart, I have Saturn in the 12th house, and the current opposition of Saturn and Uranus moving across my Midheaven/ Nadir axis, each forming a hard square to my natal Saturn. I realize on a deeper level that insufficient grounding and impatience is a cause for failure of much of the ideas I tried to apply growing up. Buying a new house (Saturn on the Nadir) and grounding into a new city may limit my ability for travel and freedom on the surface, but will give me greater freedom to express my own creativity through my work (Uranus on the 10th house cusp) through making me more visible to my clients via perceived stability. This is one of the many lessons I am learning during this heavy and key transitory time in my life.

As mentioned, the strain free trine aspect gives natives the ability to capitalize on the fullness of their potential by applying self discipline towards building a life that allows their unique and creative expression to be applied. At the sextile, there is an awareness that knowledge is the key to freedom. Natives of these aspects make good teachers, especially for children where they can give a proper amount of discipline and guidance without squashing the Uranian creativity of the child.

At the inconjunction, natives may be preparing for the coming of change outside of the self without realizing that they need to take full control of their lives in order to have a say in how their lives will change. There can also be a fear that the coming changes will force out their way of life and they feel the need to protect it. The native must learn to take responsibility to do their duty, learning when to help implement change and when to allow for change
What does it say that Barack Obama was born under the inconjunction of Saturn and Uranus while being sworn in under the opposition? He has put himself in a position of a great responsibility during a time when structures are forced to change....failing economy and a failing system to take care of all the people. It will be a challenge for him to stay grounded as a vessel for change rather than an individual controlling the change. Control in the hands of one individual, one party, one group of people is dangerous. He has a drive to protect a way of life dear to him, but change will take a little longer than many may think it would given the initial contrast between his party and the previous one. Mistakes he will make need to be seen as an opportunity for all consensus people to take authority of their own leadership rather than always seeking the answer through some Uranian seeming vessel. The answer is and always has been in the people, and regardless of the individual that is placed in a role of leadership, this self authority must be reeled in from projection onto anyone.

Through the cycle of Saturn and Uranus, we are given an opportunity to attune ourselves to structures that today may seem intangible, but in fact are real as we learn more and more that our body does not end with our physical bodies...we ARE ALL ONE BODY. Knowledge from this perspectives breaks down structures built in fear to protect one group, for it embraces and includes all groups. Responsibility begins by being true to oneself. Only through the authentic nature of each soul can the new structures reflect one voice in harmony.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The cycle of Saturn and Neptune

The other day I took my soon to be 5 year old daughter to see the new movie, Inkheart. (Perhaps the only Brendan Frasor movie ever made that didn't completely suck). I bring this up because I feel the movie is a great example of the relationship of Saturn and Neptune.

Brendan Frasor plays a man that has a special gift. When he reads stories, and in this case mostly old fantasy and fairy tales, the creatures and images of the story come to real life. He has the power to manifest instantly from the land of fantasy to the realm of reality. However, given this manifestation, something from this realm always goes to the fantasy realm as well, meaning that there is an unknown sacrifice. In this movie that sacrifice was his wife and mother of his newborn child. The majority of the movie takes place when his daughter is 12 and believes her mother is dead. One day they are confronted with the characters from the fantasy realm, and the truth is revealed to her. Among these truths is the fear that her father has of his gift, for he never learned to use it appropriately. In the end, they eventually come to the realization that the daughter has the gift as well (bringing in this example the concept of karma), and along with the gift of writing, can write her own fantasy tales and reverse the effects (including getting her mother back) through imagining and writing a new reality.

I'm not sure I can come up with a better overall story to illustrate the power of the Saturn/ Neptune cycle. With the planet Neptune, we have the principle of dissolution...the removal of borderlines of distinction. Saturn deals with these borderlines, it is the principle of crystallization. We have the solid form, or in another case the ego (Saturn) versus the very pool or sea from which it came...the collective consciousness (Neptune). With Saturn, we deal with the crystallization of fantasy...the illusions of our dreams becoming real....realizing that this IS the dream world. With Saturn, we usually deal with the father because the father represents the realization of dreams....the masculine drive to achieve through effort which begins with a dream that comes from fantasy. How are the tools given to the individual different than the dream? What do the tools represent within the dream? Or the lack of certain tools? What does this perhaps say about the karma of the soul?

The relationship between these two planets, and any two outer planets for that matter, manifests itself on many different levels and effects individuals and collectives quite differently. We are dealing with somewhat of a generational aspect that, for example in the case of a conjunction, can move back and forth (through retrograde process), and maintain this relationship for an entire year. So, here we are dealing with a karma shared by your peers, if you were born under major aspects between these planets, perhaps even the majority of people you went to school with in your class and that you were close friends with. It is through these aspects that we can really relate to our peers and help each other work out our karma.

Using the example I gave from the movie, ultimately what can come out of the Saturn/ Neptune relationship is the realization that we are masters of our destiny....that we create our own reality. Out of the sea of the undifferentiated come the tools with which we weave the tapestry of our lives.

At the conjunction we find people with great charisma. They are able to draw upon the appropriate archetypes in order to relate to an individual....so they also have the ability to easily exploit. They are also sensitive psychically. They have a need to stay grounded so that they do not suddenly lose control of their reality through what they are able to tap into psychically....but they are sensitive to what is hidden underneath the surface, and because of this can make excellent investigators or private eyes. A scientist, such as a chemist, is another great field for the native.
Given that we are dealing with the crystallization of substance from that which as of yet has no substance (but at one time perhaps did), we are dealing with CAUSE AND EFFECT...and from this we have karma. Karma is a word that encompasses a greater energetic truth, but what we will focus on here is the concept of RESPONSIBILITY. We must be responsible for what we choose to draw into our lives. The solid form that we have crystallized into, our egos in this life, we are responsible for expressing who and what we are in relation to the sea of all that is. When we take this responsibility, we also sacrifice something that we COULD BE. We close off the vastness of potential that lies within the sea to some degree, so that we may focus on the task at hand that is our karma in this life. If we do not do this, we will become "watered down" with confusion and images that will break down our sense of control over our bodies and our minds.

We also realize that we are greater than just ourselves, that we are all connected to the sea of all that is. With Saturn, we deal with the creation of boundaries....the boundaries that define the I AM apart from the SEA FROM WHICH I CAME. In this case, with Neptune being our relationship to that sea, there can be perhaps an element hidden behind the boundary....beyond the solid self, but because the self is connected to this collective pool, it is still effected by it.

This may sound rather obscure, so I will give an example. In periods of heavy Saturn Neptune contact, awareness of ecological issues that may cause a drought in one area of the world, or famine in another, comes to the surface. If a tribe is so focused on the Saturnine reality in which they live, they are concerned with the mundane upkeep and provisions of what is needed to survive for their tribe. How this effects the earth as a whole around them....how they go about getting their means effects the ecosystem and their environment, and perhaps remains hidden to them...the results happening under the surface. The results of this come to awareness with Saturn and Neptune.
Contacts with these planets can involve illness or fall from control of ones reality. Illness can be due to ignoring the effects that the hidden reality can have, eventually wearing on the body until one day it becomes sick. Revelation of poisons in the groundwater or gas leaks in the home, or whatever it is that has remained hidden and representative of the Neptunian realm, can come from Saturn Neptune contacts. Interesting to note here that Homeopathic medicine was discovered under a Saturn Neptune conjunction. The principle of this method is diluting tiny particles of whatever hidden substance has become the irritant within the native. It has found that even after diluting the substance completely, that a "memory" of the substance remains within the body water and eventually becomes assimilated as part of the whole. This is proof that whatever aspects of self are sacrificed to the pool of Neptune still exist and can be drawn upon at appropriate times (the limitation of time itself being governed by Saturn)

You can see from these examples that we are dealing very heavily with karma and responsibility of our actions. The question is are we to take responsibility? Or cower in failure and leave the responsibility to the next generation? Will we try to convince the next generation that we did the best we could and are not responsible for the state of our earth? In doing so, we would be a good example of the illusions that can be woven through the cycle of Saturn and Neptune, ourselves hiding the truth behind the borders of the distinct reality we wish to impart to our children.

So can you immerse an object in water without the water being effected? No
(see our example above on homeopathic medicine) Here the water reflects Neptune, and the immersing of the object which is solid (Saturn) into the water is a way of expressing contact between the planets, and the experience of the native in conjunction with them.

On a positive note, the native can draw upon the pool of life where great things have been done and written upon the walls of Akasha. Great charisma and leadership can be the result, and a shift in structures of law and how things are done politically and socially can be the driving force behind the native. Wars for national boundaries, civil wars, and especially control of the ocean itself has been taken over most often during Saturn/ Neptune contacts.
Now that TRUTH has been exposed, or the native, through sensitivity, washed themselves within the sea of truth, how are they going to recreate structure in order to encompass a greater degree of awareness so that less is hidden? That is the cause of the evolved native. In the example I gave of famine hitting during transits of these planets, I personally believe that the message here is that one body (one person, or Saturn) is not capable of embodying all that is, all that one needs. We need others, and the one person is the same as one segment of land. That segment of land cannot provide over time all that the tribe needs. The tribe needs cooperation from other tribes that are connected with other areas of land which provide other crops, or are perhaps not experiencing drought conditions and thus are able to help the area of the greater body (a part of the world with its tribe members) that are experiencing "drought" (infirmary)

On the negative side, the native can be dissolved and lost within the waters of Neptune. This can represent the great undoing of the self, and can manifest itself in the form of sickness, alcoholism and drug use, and always escape from responsibility.

With the cycle of Saturn and Neptune, we have the exaltation or dissolution of the father imago. We inherit the successes or failures of our father, and what we learn from how our father handled his responsibility, we in turn face the truth of what we have to work with in this life. We either build with the tools that we have, ever weaving that beautiful tapestry of our reality that is life, or we ourselves fall into disillusionment, running from our karma and out of fear of the responsibility we carry. With Saturn and Neptune, we realize we are responsible for more than just ourselves...everything that we are and everything we do becomes a part of all that is. It has been passed down to us from our parents and will be passed on to our children. The father is the figure that ultimately teaches responsibility to this truth. Also, because of this connection to all that is, and the responsibility to live up to something that does reflect something karmic, something greater than ourselves....FAILURE, or the temporal perception that one fails to live up to the archetypes that they are in tune with...archetypes that live up to their charismatic promises and reflect immortality, can lead not only to escape into drugs, alcohol or illness, but centers around the motif of GUILT. In the example I gave of the movie, Brendan Frasor's character feels terribly guilty for what happened to the mother, and instead of taking responsibility for his gift and understanding it, he chooses for several years to hide from it.

There can exist a fear of inadequacy in comparison to a charismatic or successful father....a fear of taking the reigns of karma and failing to measure up. However, it is usually the karma to ultimately see the vulnerability and fears of the father himself, who has perhaps hidden under the surface this fear in order to hopefully give the native more of a chance for success; to not allow the native to feel that the karmic load is so great that buckling underneath the weight of it, and eventually being crushed, is inevitable. Oftentimes, the revelation of the vulnerability of the father itself can create a fear in the native. On a positive note, the native can become inspired and somewhat possessed by religious archetypes that have the strength to cope with anything that comes their way. Negatively, the attempt to embody these archetypes to mask vulnerability can open up those necessary boundaries between the Saturn realm and the Neptune realm a little too much. It can cause the native to become disillusioned as to who they are, and their vulnerabilities may become hidden within. Taking on TOO MUCH responsibility can certainly lead to downfall, failure and illness. Much of the karma of these planets is to learn to restructure our environment so that each individual can work more effectively for the greater whole. No individual can do it all, and the collective cannot move forward if it spends too much time taking care of fallen individuals...who fell as a result of a failed system and who are catered to due to COLLECTIVE GUILT.

At the square, there is a crisis in point of REFERENCE. From the vantage point of Saturn, Neptune appears as continual change...the point of differentiation moving into the undifferentiated. We cannot find what is hidden within a given reality if we have no grounded reference point within Saturn or Neptune...no CONSISTENCY. My adopted son was born under a heavy Saturn Neptune square (also involving the Sun and Mars). His biological father left him when he was 13 months old. His grandfather was unable to really give him any reference point for manhood, and so the father imago was projected upon him, and then any relationship his mother had. I married her when he was 4 years old, and have done my best to maintain a solid reference point as a father for him...but a pattern and karma began long before I arrived. The father figure he had before me, a good family friend who he spent all his time with when his mother was working, died shortly before he turned 4. His mother and I separated 4 years later, and now she is with another man. My son trades off living with me on the West coast and her on the East coast. He is given all the love in the world from both sides but it is clear that given the circumstances I shared, it is hard to crystallize or formulate any consistency of reality given these circumstances. Every move and every new man in a sense reflects a return to the undifferentiated...my son awakening into a new reality at every turn..not able to truly ground. How can one uncover what is hidden when they are constantly in motion? Perhaps the motion itself in the case of this soul helps us to uncover the answer. Truly there is a great need to formulate a solid sense of self. Certainly this much uncertainty however, brings him deep into his imagination and into his fantasies..where he may create realities that are more real (Saturnine) then the realities we tell him to believe are real. It is HERE that he can form the framework of creating his own reality, and through fantasy and fiction, find the man that he wants to become (Neptune) and channel it through his consciousness and into the realm of becoming (the differentiated or Saturn). First, however, the native of the square must overcome an overwhelming fear of inadequacy...a fear that partially comes from the lack of control, or the perceived lack of control, over his/ her reality.

At the opposition, there is a need to fully become aware of ones responsibilities. Given the example of the movie I gave above, we can think of the character of the daughter in this case, who realized that the responsibility was hers to take what was passed on from the father, add her own perspective and energy to it, and use this to fulfill her own life and help heal her father and others in return. This is the highest hope for the opposition. However, as is the case with most oppositions, the soul faces one of the two archetypes with the other remaining hidden for sometime.

At the opposition, the assimilation of awareness is multifold. Natives, as with most oppositions, usually must assimilate realities from opposite realms, one Saturnine and one Neptunian (this sounds obvious given that it is an opposition between the planets), but this can be experienced in different ways:
Often natives have a Western parent and an Eastern parent. One parents reality may rule the "sea" of the family...it is their reality that immediately dictates what happens. What the native is seeking is the sacrifice of one reality over another...the perception that one reality MUST be sacrificed over the other. At the conjunction, we dealt more with the issue of learning to curtail ones personal focus, creating a boundary in order to build towards a specific cause. The other causes and aspects of self are always there however, beyond the veil of Saturn.
At the opposition, often life begins with the parents reflecting these two motifs...one the sea captain and the other the servant. This does not necessarily mean that the captain is a strong leader. The father as is usually the case, is often passive and feels a lack of control over his own karma and destiny. If he becomes aloof, falls into alcoholism, or becomes very ill, this is a form of control and escape at the same time. Through Saturn and Neptune, we all must learn to pick up our fallen family and friends that co-inhabit the earth. They are falling because a part of them perhaps felt that the burden to live up to their own responsibilities of karma was too great...that there was too much on their shoulders. Now they feel others, such as the native in this case, take up the slack...and now it is on the shoulders on the native of the opposition. The native must assimilate the realities desired by both mother and father, and attempt to rewrite the story of the family line. They perhaps feel that destiny of a family or a tribe is on their shoulders. Oftentimes in trying to become what the father is not, a solid rock of a man, the native becomes disillusioned as to his/ her destiny that needs to be fulfilled. Funny that in this way, the ailing or irresponsible behavior of the father and the rock of the individual seems to be Saturn (the rock) versus Neptune (the haze between a solid life and a return to the undifferentiated...the haze of reality that drug use or alchohol or even illness can bring (Neptune), but this vulnerable reality is in itself Saturn, and the illusion that the individual can embody by trying to seem invincible to perhaps their children or their peers is in itself illusion which is the realm of Neptune. The need is to balance the two here appropriately. Ground into the full nature of the human, both the Neptunain realm and the Saturn realm. Realize that like ocean waves going ashore, differentiation or crystallization (formation of the individual wave (Saturn))outside of the full sea (Neptune)...is temporary (Saturn), having its place within the grander scheme (Neptune) of time (an illusion made possible through Saturn for temporal grounding of reality).

Natives of this aspect often draw relationships that go to extremes of nurturing and kindness to extremely harsh to where they feel completely picked apart. They draw this so that nothing lies hidden as to the spectrum of who they are. If they do not maintain a high degree of self discipline, they will draw relationships that will pick them apart and judge them for it.

The opposition is an opportunity for truth to be brought to the surface regarding the individual, or nation, and how the current structure fits into the greater picture or how it fits the picture of idealism that it holds. It seeks to reign in projection, to create idealism within with an awareness that that which is hidden from the self is hidden due to fear of realizing that the vulnerable individual fails to provide all that is needed (a complex of the father...the need to be the provider) and cannot embody complete idealism nor is the temporary incarnation to be IMMORTALIZED. We will live and we will die, going back into the collective...the body breaking down..and during that time it is important that we reveal and live out our complete truth.

In the worst case, the native will crumble in fear of taking responsibility for anything....a fear of being revealed as a failure. Ultimately they may feel that there is no point in creating form, it will all eventually fall anyway. We must learn to appreciate what form brings, even though it is temporal. Politically, the cycle of these two planets tends to bring conflict that arises as a result of the desire to manifest an ideal (Neptune) against the established order of Saturn. This cycle can also manifest in the exposure of governmental (Saturn) corruptive and deceptive behavior (Neptune).

Natives of the strain free aspects such as the sextile and trine have great charisma and self discipline. They are leaders of the new realities to come and of cause. They know that they must sacrifice much of their ego to create a greater structure for the greater good. Many of these natives become monks, priests, or some form of religious leader.

Natives of the inconjunction are struggling to maintain a solid enough reference point in order to assimilate inevitable change. In this way they can be shapeshifters, constantly having to adjust and have their reality completely shifted. In order to have some control over this, they will solidify a solid reality. However when they feel the hidden coming from underneath the surface, the fear of failing to maintain this reality causes them to make the choice to create a different reality. Issues surrounding the need to have a solid reference point from the family, especially the father, is at hand here.

It is important to note that whatever reality we choose, we must always make awareness that as the wheels of life turn, there is always something hidden around the corner about to make its way into the surface of our reality. When this happens, there is always something in our reality that falls back temporarily into the forgotten, hidden realms. We must make continual adjustments for change without fearing that it will mean the death of us (not necessarily physical death, but death of a reference point of reality)...we must not fear that this means we are losing control. Deception and manipulation is often used to protect that which is feared to be vulnerable. It is important that we all acknowledge our vulnerability....acknowledge that all of our consciousness lies somewhere close to that line where solid rock boundaries meets the oceans expanse..the unknown which from this perspective feels as if our awareness will only get lost forever, completely falling apart.

Through the cycle of Saturn and Neptune, we realize that all is not what it seems, that beneath the surface of all of our structure lies continued potential for creating change...that creative change is a part of the structure of reality. Nothing lies stagnant. It is up to all of us to use our tools and continually write our ever unfolding story, using the structures of today as a foundation for the new structures that we imagine into being tommorrow. These structures that we create cannot survive if they are only built to protect and secure the future of the self, or just the family. Saturn and Neptune teaches us that all energetic structure is connected, and ultimately we are all in this together on a karmic level.