It is often said that planets become more emphasised when they are retrograde ie appear to be going backwards from the perspective of us here on Earth. Personally, I find that simply terrifying when it comes to Saturn- although many of you won’t share that fear.

The reason their action is emphasised is because it is internalised. We therefore feel it more. And if you have planets or chart points at 11 Scorpio, 11 Taurus, 11 Aquarius or 11 Leo- you will feel this one even more as Saturn stationed retrograde at 11 Scorpio for what has seemed like forever. His energy focused on this point for longer than usual…and Saturn never does anything by chance.

So, what can we expect from a Saturn retrograde? Well, more Saturn stuff of course, but with the prefix “re” inserted in front of the word eg re-structure, re-commit, re-focus, re-calibrate, re-trench.

Saturn rules the supports, structures, rules and responsibilities in our life. In theory, Saturn is the fun cop who says “no, it is time you went home young lady,” when every part of you is crying out to say yes. When Saturn is retrograde, he is sending you back to your room to think very carefully about what you are doing, goals you have started working towards and the commitments you have made. It is sort of like a planetary cooling off period when it is OK to re-assess and change direction or re-assess and say “no”. This is not the time to make new commitments or start new projects, but great to sort out just what you want out of existing goals. Re-prioritise.

Saturn retrogrades give you time to sort your shit out, get rid of any frustrations and re-think the viability of any promises you have already made. It’s a little like having a building inspector come through and checks your foundations and support structures. Yep, I’ve been watching a lot of The Block on tv lately.

The area of life Saturn is retrograde in is emphasised and needs defining. If it is the 7^th, relationships will need to be defined. If it’s the 1^st, you will be wanting to define yourself- this is generally a nice skinny transit- if Saturn transits can ever be described as being nice, that is. If it is the 2^nd, money issues and values will come to the forefront. With Saturn in Scorpio in 2013, goals and ambitions will be looked at intensely. Anything below the surface that is holding you back will demand attention- as will the skeletons that are in your closet. Saturn will demand that you look with maturity at this part of your life.

Regardless of where this is happening in your chart, Saturn, with a natural association with the 10^th house and the ruler of Capricorn, will see most of us trying to define, or re-define career goals.

The structures that are built during a Saturn retrograde will stand you in good stead once he starts to move forward again.

Check out what is in your chart on or around 4-11 Scorpio- this is your area of focus. This is 8th house for me so my focus is around the assets of the relationship, other peoples stuff & the really deep base things of life- you know: death, sex & taxes.

In terms of aspects:

• If you have a planet or chart point (such as Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant or IC) at 4-11 Scorpio, Saturn will conjunct this planet/point during the retrograde period.
• If you have a planet or chart point at 4-11 Taurus, Saturn will oppose this point during the retrograde period
• If you have a planet or chart point at 4-11 Aquarius or Leo, Saturn will square this point during the retrograde
• If you have a planet or chart point at 4-11 Cancer or Pisces, Saturn will trine this point during the retrograde
• If you have a planet or chart point at 4-11 Capricorn or Virgo, Saturn will sextile this point during the retrograde

Ok, checking in quickly…

I’ve had a few Scorpio peeps over the last few weeks ask me about Saturn/Sun transits…

I’m too madly busy to reply to each of you, but, here are the links to the posts:

50 Shades of Black

Back to Black

I know part of what I actively do is look for some sunshine through the shit- that’s my 5th house Jupiter and all my Neptune speaking. It’s not designed to be patronising or dismissing- it’s just me doing the fake it till you make it, look real hard for the bright side thing. It’s one of the reasons that personally I have difficulties with Saturn transits- because I don’t deal well with reality and maturity.

Having said that, I know a lot of you are frightened by this particular transit- Saturn does that, and many Scorpios (although, before you write to me, I know that doesn’t mean all of you) naturally look harder at the tunnel than the light. So, some war stories from the first few degrees. Bear in mind, all experiences differ and will depend a lot on your relationship to Saturn, Saturns’ position in your chart, the house being transited, and even the fact that self fulfilling prophecies do have a dreadful habit of coming true- as I always say, be careful what you wish for.

Mr T has just completed his Saturn/Sun transit. At the same time as I had Saturn/Mars. Guess what, we’re both still standing. It was a couple of very busy weeks- manic even. I’ve taken on some new responsibilities which are weighing me down at the moment, but should long term bear fruit. So has he. His Sun is in the 6th and Saturn is in Capricorn (conjunct Jupiter…poor bugger) in the 10th (and rules the 10th) natally, so work was always going to be the focal point of this transit. Mr T tends to treat most things with a healthy dose of resignation- you get that with a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction- and tends not to fight it as much as I do.

He had some pretty good wins as a result of some structured pre-planning. Recognition and respect for work done in the past. Very Saturn.

Another early degrees Scorpio friend has been ploughing away doing all hours possible. It’s been months of a never ending contract negotiation. Saturn is now a degree away from her Sun and the client finally signed. It will mean more work and responsibility (these guys are very demanding), but Saturn often brings more work as reward for hard work- and she’s up for a nice bonus.

My Dad’s Sun is at 4 Scorpio, and he’s been crook, ie very sick- for the last few months. I don’t have a birth time, so I don’t know which house his Sun is in. With a Capricorn Moon, thought to be between 5-12 degrees (depending on birth time), Pluto is playing a role in what is going on with him. Saturn is now a degree past his Sun and the recovery is beginning. Previously a very fit and active man, Saturn is asking him to get real about what his limitations are now and will likely to be in the future.  With a Saturn ruled Moon being squared natally by Saturn, Dad generally “gets” Saturn lessons pretty quickly.

What will your experience be? I don’t have the answer to that. What I do know is that it is pointless to resist the Saturn message- if things aren’t working, Saturn will force you to get real about it. Whether you listen and act quickly or drag it out is your call.

Someone asked me once whether Mr T was worried about his transit. As the husband of an astrologer, surely he had some concerns? Nope. He asked me once what I thought it would mean to him- only because he had heard me talking about it with a friend.

‘It will probably mean more work, a few more roadblocks and frustrations- nothing you’re not used to.’

‘OK,’ he said, ‘whatever Darlin.’

‘And you probably should keep an eye on your health and look at forming a few more healthy habits- if you don’t, at some point during the 6th house transit, you’ll probably get sick.’

‘Ok,’ he said, ‘whatever Darlin.’

He asked me on the plane the other day whether that Saturn thing that I’d said was coming was coming.

‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘you’ve had it.’

‘Ok,’ he said, ‘I don’t know what you were worried about…’

‘I wasn’t,’ I say.

So there’s these people who when you meet them, there’s such a clash of egos that you’re glad you’re sober because otherwise the temptation would be to say something like “how about we have that made up on a t-shirt so you don’t forget just how great you are?” Seriously, anyone would think I was a threat. I’m encountering a few of these at the moment.

And I’m in a bad mood. Perpetually. Probably because I’m tired, but even when I’m not as tired as I currently am, the one thing I really can’t tolerate is intolerance, or stupidity or bad service- don’t get me started on that one. Anyways, I’m having difficulty faking the smiley face at present- everything seems to be a faffing tour of duty.

And, I’m tired- I already said that didn’t I? I wrote about the reasons behind that here- there’s a lot going on, but some amazing opportunities.

At present there is just so much that I have to do and so much that I want to do- and the two aren’t intersecting anywhere. In fact they’re so far apart I’m squinting into the distance- and we all know that squinting can be very ageing.

I’m resenting the tasks and duties that are inhibiting me from doing what I really want to be doing. So I’m trying to do it all- and it’s exhausting.

Yep, I’m in the middle of a Saturn/Mars conjunction. In fact Saturn finally moved from the degree of my Mars on Thursday morning- just as I sent off the manuscript I had been working so many hours on. But I’m not kidding myself- I have at least another degree, possibly two to go. Saturn transits tend to have a longer tail of separation than most other transits.

So, what can we expect when Saturn meets Mars?

Think about the energies involved.

The essential nature of Saturn is cold and dry.

In the body it represents the processes of ageing.

The direction of the energy is limiting and confining.

The essential nature of Mars is hot and dry.

In the body it represents the burn.

The direction of the energy is outwards.

When the two meet the outward energy of Mars is curbed, frustrated and harnessed.

Your energy is firmly focused outward, but other things are conspiring to turn it in on itself.

At it’s worst, you see conspiracy, red tape and blockages everywhere you turn. Your boss hates you and is deliberately holding you back and criticising your ideas. Your colleagues seem threatened by you, and it’s egos at ten paces. You’re accident prone- largely because you’re so tired and so frustrated and are in such a hurry to get everything done that you forget to take proper care and precautions.

At it’s best, the energy is one of discipline- where your focus and activity is firmly directed towards that which is most important.

Success is not only possible, but most likely in this scenario.

It won’t be easy, though. Nothing related to Saturn is.

When it comes to Saturn conjunct Mars, the thing you’re being asked to get real about is the effort required to achieve your objectives. If it’s worth it, if you really want it from the very depths of your being, you’ll be prepared to put in the hard yards during this transit.

If, like me, you have Mars in Scorpio, this transit will intensify the already intense energy with which you pursue your desires.

After that, the choice is yours. You work with the energy, or you don’t.

If you accept the challenge, be prepared to be tired. Bone achingly, jet laggingly tired. Like that tiredness you get after an all night long haul flight- but without the duty free.

Work through it. Keep your focus. Take more than the usual precautions- to do otherwise can mean your efforts are thwarted by accidents if you take your eye off the metaphorical road for a microsecond.

A bloggy friend said it best the other day when she said that if you don’t use your engine, it’ll rust over in the backyard with a horse blanket over it. As knackered as I am at the moment, I intend for a lot more miles to be clocked on my engine.

If you choose not to accept the challenge, that’s cool too, but please don’t blame the world, your colleagues, time limitations- the coulda woulda shouldas.

If you really want it, you’ll make the time, you’ll harness the energy and you’ll be disciplined.

As I write this I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the car on the way to Canberra.

It’s a 3 hour run, so I’ll get this blog drafted, one that I’m late delivering for astrology.com, and make a dent in my 1700 words per day target for my nanowrimo challenge.

I’ll do the same on the way back.

This week in my partition job I have a warehouse move that’s happening, umpteen meetings, some style look-books to complete and a heap of recruitment interviews to do- in 3 working days.

On those days I’ll write before work, and again after dinner. It means that much to me.

It would be easy to strike a highly dramatic pose, pop the back of my hand to my ever suffering forehead and wail something like “it’s so not fair. If I didn’t have to go to work, I could have this novel finished. I’ve got sooooo many responsibilities, I just don’t have time to do what I really want to do.” Or something like that. I won’t do that.

Some things will have to give. I’m not doing any readings or committing to any more guest posts until December. I’m saying no to social engagements that eat into my precious writing time- the people who know and love me will understand- those who don’t…well, they’ll have to deal with it.

I’m too busy getting real.

What about you? I’d love to hear from anyone with Mars in Scorpio- sometime over the next couple of years you’ll be dealing with this one? Which way do you see it going? Are you looking towards it with fear, resignation or anticipation at the opportunity of kicking some seriously cool goals?

So the Sun is in Scorpio.

That means birthday season here in Chez Tracey. Mr T is Friday (yep, he’s having a Saturn/Sun transit), Pappa Lion (my Dad) is Monday, Mr T’s Mum is next week and Kali the wonder spaniel is on November 3.

The Sun, as I said, is in Scorpio.

The first aspect made is a trine across to Neptune.

I would normally say that this transit is one that brings energy to dreams. With the Sun in Scorpio, though, I feel that I should clarify what I mean by dreams.

I talk a lot about dreams- hello, I’m a triple Pisces with pretty well more Neptune than anyone else on the planet.

In any case, we talk a lot about dreams as though they’re good things- and, during the day, they are.

The dreams we have at night, mostly aren’t- good that is…well, with the exception of those ones. Yes, I know you have them- this is Scorpio we’re talking about, after all.

According to Ian Wallace, the author, of The Top 100 Dreams, the top 5 things people dream about are:

1. Being chased
2. Teeth falling out (seriously????)
3. Being unable to find a toilet
4. Being naked
5. Being in an examination

My most common dream is driving on a bridge like a rollercoaster and not being able to see anything…and I dream in mini series.

The dreams we have at night expose our greatest fears and struggles- the things we don’t want to deal with during our days, the stuff we push below the surface, the confrontations we don’t want to have.

So, maybe night dreams actually really belong to Scorpio and day dreams to Neptune.

Anyways, the point is I, for one, don’t want any of my night dreams to come true…except for some of those ones…

My day dreams, the things I really want to do and go and be, well, they’re very different. These are the dreams we talk about. These are the dreams we want to come true.

So, over the next few days, the Sun will bring that wonderful Neptune trine energy back to Saturn. Given that Neptune is just a week or so away from turning direct, all of the Neptunian breath that has been directed inwards is now ready to be exhaled.

Saturn, as we know, isn’t normally a planet we associate with dreams, but now it just seems right. As one of my Facebook buddies pointed out today, Saturn is associated with structure and keeps us upright. Scorpio is supremely instinctive. Together, with Neptune in the mix, her words were that now she can feel her dreams in her bones.

How nice is that?

Saturn conjunct the Sun

Last time Saturn joined my Sun I was promoted. It wasn’t just a little promotion, it was a huge promotion to a job that lots of other people wanted. It was the sort of promotion that makes you dance around singing crappy songs like “moving on up.”

The role was as branch manager for the bank that I worked for. Traditionally these roles were given to men, and usually to men much older than I was.

I was relatively young- in my late 20s, newly married, and ambitious. Jupiter was on my Midheaven, so rather than being a tad scared of the responsibility, I gave the only answer that I could: ‘Sure, how hard can it be?’

It was hard. I was dealing with traditions, expectations and responsibility beyond anything I had dealt with before. I thought I was being all grown up, but this job made me mature. In a hurry.

It was also the fulfilment of a lot that I had been working towards.

In the process, I felt chronically tired and isolated. There was no time for anything else.

As a transit, it did what it said it would on the box- it was both difficult and satisfying.

When Saturn joins the Sun, things that you have been working towards will either come to a successful fruition or they will fail.

If it’s the former, with success will come responsibility and burdens- you might feel bound and restricted. Patience is essential- as is concentration on the task at hand.

If it’s the latter, the challenge is to objectively complete a root cause analysis and identify what can be salvaged in order to move forward.

The thing is, because Saturn restricts the vitality of the Sun, you have a limited amount of energy and vitality available to you, so make sure that you focus only on those activities that are already underway and important.

Anything else is a distraction- and that may include relationships.

Saturn square the Sun

With squares, the challenges are generally provided by external factors.

As with all Saturn/Sun contacts, your vitality is low- things might seem all too hard.

With the opening square, think about what happened 7 years ago when Saturn was conjunct the Sun.

At that time did you concentrate on the things that needed your attention or did you allow your energy to be scattered?

Did you hang onto something that had failed? Rather than salvaging what you could, did you try and make it happen?

If you’re on the right track, the challenges that you deal with now, the roadblocks (often in human form) have been sent to test your resolve, your patience.

If you’re on a lost cause that should have been laid to rest 7 years ago, the crises that you face now are a reminder of that- and another opportunity to close it down. Completely this time.

With the closing square, think about the choices you made 7 years ago when Saturn was opposite the Sun and apply the same rationality.

You now have the opportunity to withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to see something through to a successful conclusion…or end it.

This is the archetypal 7 year itch.

Saturn opposite the Sun

This one is recent enough that I can remember so clearly it’s like my breath has been taken away.

And, when Saturn opposed my Sun (between December 2008 and August 2009- yep, I got 3 passes) it literally was.

The first indication of trouble came earlier that year when Saturn opposed Mercury. I had some devastating news- the type of news that felt like the guts had been ripped out of me, the type of news that knocked the wind out of me and left me gasping for breath. I had my first asthma attack in nearly 14 years- yep the last was when Saturn was conjunct the Sun.

Things were at rockbottom- in many areas. I knew what wasn’t working, but was still hanging on- hell, in some ways I still am.

I felt like the weight of way too much was sitting on my shoulders.

And then my shoulder went.

Uranus was also conjunct my Sun at this point so the initial injury to an unpronounceable muscle was acute. Saturns influence meant that it was chronic.

I felt old, I felt incapable, I felt chronically tired and I felt incapable.

All of my self-confidence had gone, I no longer believed in anything and I felt that the relationships around me were limiting me. This was magnified somewhat as Saturn was also conjunct my Descendant.

No matter how I tried to crawl out and over it, I was being blocked at every point.

The effects of the transit were textbook perfect.

Saturn opposite the Sun marks an ending. It can be a catastrophic ending if whatever is ending now should have ended 7 years ago or 14 years ago. Saturn doesn’t like his messages to be ignored.

The thing is, endings- if you allow them to happen- leave the way open for beginnings. And yes, I know how hard it is to look for the light when dark is all around. Wallow a little if you need to, but only as long as the transit is in effect.

Whatever you begin (once this transit is through- now is not the time to start anything fresh- you simply don’t have the energy for it) will be tested in 7 years and then come to fruition in 14 years when Saturn once again joins up with your Sun.

The message? As with all Saturn transits, what is required most right now, is patience.

Saturn trine the Sun

As far as Saturn transits go, this one is relatively smooth.

It’s a good time to achieve stuff, accomplish stuff and generally get stuff done.

This is Saturns version of a gentle nudge, a hint.

Opportunities will come up to take on extra skills, bolster your health, build your strength, create your structures.

Whatever you do now will set you up for success later and make it a little easier for you to overcome obstacles later. Oh, and whatever you achieve now will be recognised- and doesn’t that make a nice change?

Saturn sextile the Sun

Sextiles present opportunities.

With Saturn involved, these are opportunities for achievement and opportunities for those achievements to be recognised by the people who should be recognising them.

The only catch? You have to identify the opportunity and take active steps to go after it. Doors will not open simply because you will them to do so- there will be some effort required on your part to turn the opportunities into something quite fortunate.

That’s how Saturn gets lucky- because he puts the work in.

Thanks and credit to Robert Hands’ “Planets in Transit” and Adam Smiths’ Saturn: Fatal Attraction”