#and that recognition of physical boundaries is something I've had to work so hard on recognizing and learning to respect.

[neverendingford]

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[truthseekerastrology]

Make Peace With Your Natal Saturn.  Thank Me Later.

Hey Truthseekers, Happy New Moon in Virgo!! How are you holding up?

Yesterday, I created the above meme and posted it to the Truthseeker Astrology Facebook page (if you aren’t following, what are you waiting for?).  A commenter asked me to provide some details and I did, in the form of a thread. I wanted to go ahead and compile all of that content in the form of a post on the website.   Because one can never have enough insights into the ways of the sixth planet from the Sun. 

Here we go...

Sure!! Let me use my chart as an example. I have Saturn in Gemini in my 11th house of love received, friends/groups/associations and the rewards/resources gained from my 10th house activities. Saturn is the ruler of my 7th house of partnerships. Using an orb of no more than 4 degrees, Saturn makes Ptolemaic aspects (think conjunction, square, sextile, trine, opposition) to every planet in my horoscope except for Venus, Jupiter and Pluto. Finally, besides Chiron in my 10th house, it's the only other celestial body above the horizon (ascendant-descendant axis). So it's very influential, powerful and keenly felt by yours truly. And, because it is ruled by my 3rd house Mercury in Virgo, I think about it - a lot!!

So, when we're younger, we see Saturn as oppressive, difficult, inflexible and hard to contend with, mainly because we lack worldly wisdom and understanding gained from life experience. Sometimes in our young life, someone will literally represent Saturn. For me, Saturn in Gemini was my father - older, smart, and in my young mind, harsh and very critical.

Wherever Saturn is in our charts, we have do so some very hard work, often times without immediate gratification. With Saturn, our rewards for doing the work that we're here to do in this life, come much later in life. Since Saturn rules my 7th house of relationships from the 11th house, AND touches so many planets in my chart, I had to learn how to receive tough love - that often times came in the form of constructive criticism and unsolicited advice from older people - in order to have fulfilling relationships. AND I had to literally remake my world view, relearn how I felt, how I thought, and how I acted in response to other people, if I wanted to be rewarded with a partner who would not only be there out of a sense of duty but would truly love me for what I had to offer. When I was younger, and being a Saturn in the 11th house native, I often felt like I didn't belong in the groups I found myself in. Now that I'm older, I've learned how to find my tribe AND/OR be perfectly fine with being by myself, even when I'm around a lot of people.

With Saturn so prominent in my chart, I should have waited to marry much later in life...ideally, I should not have married until well after my first Saturn return. I didn't, though, and that marriage eventually led to divorce. But remember, Saturn rewards those who do the work: I had to acknowledge that I had a big role to play in why my marriage failed and I had to roll up my sleeves and do some internal and external work to get better if I wanted to attract someone who would be willing to make a long term commitment to me. I began my astrology studies to better understand why I was making poor decisions, and since then, got therapy, and committed myself to improving my physical health. Also remember that my Saturn is in the sign of the Twins, so there was a high likelihood that I would find a second someone eventually.

When Saturn entered Sagittarius in 2014, I was dreading this transit, mainly because I knew that this would be the time when it would become painfully and outwardly apparent to not just me, but to others, that I had passed or failed all of the tests that were put in front of me since my Saturn return 14 years earlier. Could I find a man to commit to me after being divorced? Could I change careers, put in the necessary hard work and earn a sense of inner fulfillment and outward recognition? Could I transform my body from what it was into a stronger, healthier and more attractive state (while being age appropriate... of course, we're talking about Saturn here)? Here's what happened: He opposed my natal Saturn the requisite three times, but made only ONE PASS over my natal Jupiter in Sagittarius before he entered Capricorn!! Nothing came up during either transit that forced me to make some major adjustments in the matters where Saturn held sway over my life. I was in a pretty good relationship; I was being recognized for my photography work during that time, and I had decided to step up my efforts at improving my overall physical health and wellness. But despite that, I still had misgivings.

Even though my Saturn opposition didn't really correspond to anything in my lived reality that compelled me to rework that which wasn't working, I knew that with Saturn returning to Capricorn, the sign that he rules, that my work was far from over. By transit, Saturn would be chipping away at my 6th house of cooperation and self-improvement and health and wellness and that I would need to work extra hard in these areas. Could I do better in these areas? Of course!! Was I willing to commit the energy, focus and self-discipline to being better in these areas? For the most part, yes.

Remember that natally, Saturn sits in my 11th house of groups and associations. And remember that before, when I was younger, I felt out of place and sometimes unloved and unappreciated. I thought I had friends, but learned later that they really weren't looking out for my best interests. But here's how Saturn can turn things around if you're willing to do the work... I was young and dumb then, but because I stopped fighting Saturn (staring with my father and moving forward from there), I made it to a place where I'm not only older and wiser, I'm healthier, more grounded, centered and PREPARED. On the plane to Atlanta yesterday, I texted my partner to tell him that I finally understood what I was supposed to learn from having Saturn in Gemini in the 11th house, ruling my 7th house. And it was a simple act on his part that made it abundantly clear for me...something I'm 10000% sure would have never happened 14 years ago, or even 28 years ago!! I wasn't ready, I wasn't prepared!

We can only make peace with our natal Saturn if we have done all that we could do, if we have made a commitment to ourselves to do the work, to prepare ourselves, to delay gratification, to learn the lessons he teaches us with humility, grace and gratitude. Yes, it's conditional, and yes, when we're in the throes of the struggle, it seems unfair. Saturn wants to reward us, but he's not like Jupiter, who comes along with when we least expect it with unexpected bounties of cash and prizes, who over indulges us when we least deserve it. No, Saturn can seem cold and unforgiving, harsh and critical, only because he knows we can do better. Saturn is willing to reward us under certain conditions: We must commit to working hard (sometimes harder than we've ever worked), having a plan, respecting our own boundaries and those of others, and being willing to forgo immediate gratification...When we make peace with Saturn and accept his terms, accept the lines he draws in the sand, we can go very far, accomplish as much as we're willing and able to work for, and earn great rewards that are commiserate with our efforts, knowing that we earned them fair and square.