I have an interest in medical astrology and find it fascinating how the nature of planets and their transits correspond with what that planet does or represents in the body.
Take the Sun, for instance. In Medical Astrology, the Sun represents life force. Its energy is fortifying, vitalising and radiant.
As the Sun moves through your chart over the course of a year, it brings this warmth and light with it – radiating and vitalising a different part of your chart each month.
When the Sun moves through your second house, it energises all things around money, possessions and values. When it moves through your fourth house, it brings your home and history to life.
It’s the same when the Sun aspects your natal planets. When the Sun joins hands with Venus, it could bring radiance – or at least a little more attention – to your relationships. Who knows, it could even bring a good hair day….ok, that could be pushing the analogy a tad far.
As the Sun moves relatively quickly, however, the effects of its transit are fleeting, lasting usually a day, no more.
In Medical Astrology, Saturn represents the process of ageing. Its energy is restrictive, binding, contracting and chronic in nature.
As Saturn moves through your chart in it’s 28 (or so) year transit, it crystallises efforts, it slows, it inhibits, it devitalises and it lingers. Small issues that you’ve attempted to ignore can become chronic, chaos can be slowed and controlled, boundaries can be erected where none previously existed.
When the Sun transits Saturn, there may be a day or so when you feel off your game, overburdened, unable to see the silver lining. You may have a couple of days where you feel older, with the responsibility of the world on your shoulders. And then, you wake up and it’s all over. That wrinkle you thought you saw isn’t quite as deep as it appeared yesterday when you felt extra tired and put upon.
Saturn transits of the Sun last much longer – as does the impact. Below are some thoughts I originally published back in 2012, but have updated. Remember, though, your experience of Saturn transits might be different to mine. For more on what to expect from Saturn transits see last weeks post. As for Saturn transits to other planets? You’ll have to watch this space.
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 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
Ever wonder why we talk about the seven-year itch? It’s no coincidence that this period of time is aligned to the Saturn square. 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. I’ve just been through the closing square in the last few years.
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.
Interestingly, I’ve been through the closing square in the last 12 months – it was exact on Christmas Day last year. As many of you know, I was still struggling with the decision to place our house on the market at that point and move to Queensland. My husband had just been unceremoniously pushed to end a 37-year career and I was now responsible for all income that was coming into the house – and all the outgoings too.
The interesting thing is that similar themes had come up 7 years before – when Saturn was opposite my Sun. Not the same – we got through that particular crisis, but similar. This one came with an ending – an ending we otherwise wouldn’t have prompted, but which left the way open for a beginning.
Speaking of which…
Saturn opposite the Sun
At the time that I originally published this post (back in October 2012), this one was so recent that I could remember so clearly it was like my breath had been taken away again.
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 – the one previous to that was when Saturn was conjunct the Sun.
Things were at rock-bottom – in many areas. I knew what wasn’t working, but was still hanging on. I felt like the weight of way too much was sitting on my shoulders. And then my shoulder literally went.
Uranus was also conjunct my Sun at this point so the initial injury to an unpronounceable muscle was acute. Saturn’s influence meant that it was chronic.
I felt old, I felt incapable, and I felt chronically tired.
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. That particular ending – as painful as it was – was the ending I had to have.
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 is patience.
Saturn trine the Sun
As far as Saturn transits go, this one is relatively smooth. This is Saturn’s version of a gentle nudge, a hint.
It’s a good time to achieve stuff, accomplish stuff and generally get stuff done. Opportunities could 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 if you’ve put in the hard yards, whatever you achieve now should be recognised – and doesn’t that make a nice change?
Of course, it’s up to you to choose to do what Saturn is suggesting you do. As with all things Saturn though, there are consequences, and the consequence for not listening to Saturn’s hints during the “easier” transits is a much tougher time when the squares and oppositions come around.
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. They’re also usually opportunities for more work or an invitation for you to work harder.
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 that might end up (after you’ve done the work) into being something quite fortunate.
That’s how Saturn gets lucky – because he puts the work in.
Thanks and credit to Robert Hand’s “Planets in Transit” and Adam Smith’s Saturn: Fatal Attraction”