The transits of the planets

Saturn - Introduction

Traditionally, in ancient, medieval and even modern astrology Saturn has been regarded as one of the most difficult planets, and by ‘difficult’ most of these astrologers meant ‘bad’ or ‘negative’, a gratuitous cause of pain or suffering for no good reason. More recently there has been a trend in astrology to redeem Saturn and to see it as a more positive energy in the chart even if not necessarily easy. However, while the modern redemption of Saturn is a distinct improvement over older attitudes, there is a higher and more positive side to the planet that is not at all mentioned in twentieth-century astrology. And it is interesting to note that this “new” side of Saturn is to be found in ancient philosophical literature and in medieval Arabic astrological literature.

This aspect of Saturn also became well-known to early modern astrologers beginning with the Italian philosopher, student of high magic and astrologer (though one very critical of the way astrology was done in his time) Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499).2 And Ficino’s work in turn led to a major and important literary and artistic movement dedicated to the exploration of this older but largely previous unknown side of Saturn. This was the Association of Saturn and melancholy. In modern usage melancholy usually indicates a state of depression from mild to quite severe.

However, in classical medicine melancholy was a complex of behavioral and psychological qualities quite a bit beyond the mere notion of depression. In this new work on transits I have incorporated the results of my encounter with the classical material on Saturn and melancholy. I should stress, however, that even with this expanded understanding Saturn still requires a considerable mastery of life, of wisdom and maturity. Saturn tends to be most difficult for persons younger than middle-age because of its strong association with life experience. However, even for younger persons there are many ways that Saturn transits can work out positively, although to be honest, most people would readily knowledge that Saturn transits usually coincide with times of life that have serious and important issues. Saturn transits even at their best are strong medicine that an individual must take at particular times in life.

In the ancient world Saturn was often associated with fate. A second-century astrologer who wrote in Greek, Vettius Valens (120 – c. 175 C.E.) associated Saturn with a kind of fate, fate that was the result of agnoia, Greek for ignorance.3 This, I believe, was a profound insight on his part. Most of the difficulty that persons have with Saturn is due to the fact not only that there are things about the world and yourself that you do not understand, there are in fact things about the world and yourself that you cannot understand. No one can understand everything about everything! In addition, the “fate” that Saturn signifies comes not only from external circumstances that you do not understand, it also comes from the internal working of your own views of reality, which have consequences that you do not always understand.

Saturn, like every other planet, does not signify anything that is unavoidable except in so far as previous actions and decisions have so limited opportunities for change in your life that, given the set of circumstances that has arisen in such a case, you are no longer free to choose. This inevitably will happen to all but the most enlightened. When it does, your best response is to look at the situation dispassionately and, hopefully, without guilt, and to determine what lack of awareness, what ignorance, has gotten you into the situation in the first place. So, Saturn does not only signify ignorance, it can also signify dispelling ignorance for those who are willing and able to make the effort. Do not succumb to the illusion that the problems you may face during Saturn transits cannot be altered. Also, do not blame yourself, if you did not anticipate that things would work out in a particular way, a way that you would have preferred not to happen. Saturn is truly about “learning experiences,” but usually not learning experiences that are beyond your capacity.

There are two respects in which Saturn transits are very important in life. The first is that Saturn, along with Jupiter, has much to do with the reality system in which people work. What is a “reality system?” It is the sum of the implicit and explicit assumptions that people make regarding reality and ‘realism’. It is the result of several factors. First, there is clearly a predisposition to certain behavioral patterns that emerge in early life, infancy in fact. These cannot be changed as to their essential nature, but they can evolve from the production of unconscious and automatic reactions, to well-reasoned and completely thought-out views of the world. Of all the aspects of Saturn’s manifestations this is the most likely to improve with age.

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The second part of a reality system comes from cultural influences. This includes not only what we usually think of as cultural, namely, the cultural heritage from which we and our families have come, but also, and more important, the programming that arises from one’s family culture, one’s community culture and the culture of one’s nation. All these go into creating a reality system. For the most part, this process of creating a reality system is unconscious and is typically regarded as “common sense.” It is for this reason that “common sense” closely examined often lacks sense. All this comes from the combined operation of Jupiter and Saturn.

However, most commonly Saturn designates rules, laws or customs that can or at least should not be broken and violated. Often Saturn transits are experienced by individuals as a difficult encounter with one of these, and the necessity of making adjustments. It is also true that Saturn transits may manifest as the operation within your own psyche of your reality system. Here it will seem to prevent you from doing things you believe you want to do but feel you cannot do for some reason. Quite often the manifestation of the transit is to correct your notion of what it is that you should do at some time. This is the positive aspect of Saturn that most astrologers are aware of, discipline, especially self-discipline. And even when it is not self-discipline, it is discipline forced upon you by necessity and circumstances. or other persons, many of whom are persons whose purpose is to play such correctional roles, such as teachers, parents, enforcers of laws and the judicial system.