#finished these Pokemon Go pictures actually back in August 2021. (I KNOW. ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO)

[revelingrexan]

this project started because my brain was like "oh Spark's sticker (yellow team leader) has a really nice smile. :) ... nice smile = White HatOHCOME ON"

then i needed to see him in all the poses (in the blue team outfit for the rest because he'd be blue team)

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Saturn turns retrograde

Timetable (current events in bold): Saturn enters retrograde zone: Friday, December 30, 2016, 21:11 Sagittarius Saturn retrograde: Tuesday, April 5, 2017, 27:48 Sagittarius Saturn direct: Friday, August 25, 2017, 21:11 Sagittarius Saturn out of retrograde zone: Friday, December 1, 27:48 Sagittarius

Saturn almost always hurts, and backwards Saturn really hurts. We focus the planet’s energies inward, at ourselves. Astrologer Steven Forrest (tersely) delineates a natal retrograde Saturn as follows: “Deeply rooted self-sufficiency. May indicate a ‘loner.’ Enormous reserves of inner strength. May have a hard time saying ‘no.’” Ms M has her natal Saturn Rx in Sagittarius and can testify to the accuracy of those statements.

Saturn began its transit of Sagittarius between December 23, 2014, and June 14, 2015, when it ducked back into Scorpio one last time, with the “once and for all” Sag ingress on September 17, 2015. We’ve seen globally the rise of virulent, strident nationalism (one downside of Sagittarius), as well as increased power of the conservative, fundamental religious practitioners - particularly the “Abrahamic” ones, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (Aside: a former colleague once dismissed all of them as “quarreling over who Dad likes the best.”)

I’ve been walking around with Saturn Rx in Sag all my life, and its negative aspect can be summed up in the word judgmental. Merriam-Webster defines “judgmental” as “characterized by a tendency to judge harshly,” and further explains it for English Language Learners with, “tending to judge people too quickly or critically.”

Saturn shows limitations, and in Sagittarius it is limited by its failure to understand (or condone) the other fellow’s point of view. If it’s powerful enough, it imposes its “my way or the highway” agenda upon all and sundry. There’s also a disinclination for adventure which - given that it also distrusts “too much” education - frankly doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. How the heck are you supposed to gain any experience if you don’t have adventures? Saturn shows what we fear - and in Sag, it fears experience.

Saturn in Sag is very concerned with being morally right - and that can be the saving grace for us all. Despite the plethora of religions and spiritual practices throughout the world, there are (when the intentions are honorable) areas of common ground. We might think of the Golden Rule, controversial though it remains - perhaps “Do no harm (but take no shit)” is better suited to 2017!

This is going to be an excellent time to “restructure” (Saturn) ourselves as more globally-oriented citizens, too. It’s amazing how wide-ranging the little ripples can be, the ones you make which seemingly affect only your own neighborhood pond.

Though the aspects I’ve listen below have “exact” dates attached to them, we can consider them as being “in effect” for the duration of Saturn’s time in Sagittarius. They have an influence on The World As A Whole, but not so much for one measly individual, unless these planets hit something in your natal chart - to “count,” it should be a personal planet, an angle, or the Nodes.

Sunday, April 30, Chiron/Pisces square Saturn Rx/Sagittarius, 27:18

Second of three. Saturn-Chiron cycles last anywhere from 60 to 180 years; our current one began on April 13, 1966, at 23:52 Pisces. It’s a pretty interesting chart - Mercury and Pallas were close enough to count, making it a quadruple conjunction; all four planets were square Jupiter/Gemini. They were all trine Neptune in Scorpio, too! That’s a lot of hippie idealism, isn’t it?  I’m reminded of a Grace Slick quote, which is, approximately, “It’s a bit difficult to get hippies organized into anything.”

This means that the current square is similar to the Last Quarter lunar phase. Some of those hippie ideals have gone mainstream (environmentalism and LGBTQIAPK rights, for example); too many are still “just” dreams. We’re just as wounded (Chiron) as we were “way back when,” and we know we’re responsible (Saturn) for letting down not only ourselves, but our sisters and brothers.

Astrologer Dena DeCastro summarizes this square as “the opportunity to become more spiritually grown up,” while in her forecast column for “The Mountain Astrologer,” Pam Younghans writes, “This is a larger picture aspect, representing the battle between society’s old, limiting belief systems and the potential for healing that will enable humanity to embody more enlightened qualities such as compassion, selflessness, and humility. As we work with the energies of this square, we are challenged to transcend our own judgments and biases, the first step in creating global oneness.”

(The next conjunction is June 9, 2028, in Taurus; perhaps at that point we’ll become “doers of the dream.”)

Planets/Points affected lie between 26:18 and 28:18 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces; and between 11:18 and 13:18 of the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.

Thursday, May 18, Uranus/Aries trine Saturn Rx/Sagittarius, 26:23

Second of three. Again, we have to think in terms of the wider world and the longer view. The two planets were last conjunct in 1988, in very late Sagittarius and very early Capricorn. This is therefore a waning trine, and expresses energies in the manner of a Disseminating Moon (waning gibbous) lunar phase. We’re anxious to “finish up” and pass along the knowledge we’ve gained over the past 30-odd years; additionally, we’re harvesting the “fruits” of what we planted way back then.

Think, for example, of how thoroughly technology (Uranus) has become integrated (Saturn) in our daily lives. (Ms M has been an adult, over age 30, for that entire time period, and her pea brain boggles.)

The “fruits” of this technology are both good and bad. We walk around with the entirety of human knowledge in our back pockets. We’re able to communicate instantly with all kinds of people, all over the planet, learning about them and beginning to understand them. On the downside, it’s easier for the governments to keep an eye on our private lives - and it’s easier to disseminate propaganda and lies. (Cough 2016 cough cough.) We’ve also seen an increase of extremism of every kind.

Another unexpected “problem” is actually thousands of years old: the problem of inclusion and intersectionality. The more we see, the more we understand how (1) we in the “West” are privileged and (2) most other people aren’t. If we don’t begin immediately to address this, the waning square aspect between these two (2021) will make us address it the hard way. For now, continue to enjoy the benefits of broadened horizons, but learn a little more and fight like hell for inclusion.

Planets/Points affected lie between 25:23 and 27:23 of the yang signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius.

Saturday, June 24, Eris/Aries trine Saturn Rx/Sagittarius, 23:48

These cycles take 30 years to complete. The most previous conjunction happened in 1997/8, in the middle of Aries. During that time period, the first Harry Potter book was published; Princess Diana was killed in an automobile accident, and the world erupted in mourning; terrorists Timothy McVeigh, Ramzi Yousef, and Ted Kaczynski were convicted (or pled guilty) of their crimes and sentenced; Japan gave us both the Toyota Prius and Pokemon.

It’s another waning trine, and again, it’s obvious what we’re harvesting from this. Those cultural phenomena are still going strong. I can argue that the same “celebrity culture” which cost Princess Diana her life, has now cost the US (at least) a Presidential election. The extremist terrorists are still there, too.

Eris at her worst is “The Other” striking back for being ignored - at its best, she shows her concern for those “Others” and protects them. For example, the chunk of the US between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains has been collectively “Othered,” and we saw the fruits on Election Day: transiting Eris was sextile Dolt 45’s Sun-Uranus-North Node/Gemini/10th. Since then we’ve seen some attempts to address the concerns of Middle America, notably by Michael Moore (natal Eris square his natal Moon-Mars conjunction). At the same time, we can’t ignore how the more “traditional” Others (non-whites, women, non-Christians) continue to be “Othered.” This trine can be utilized to further entrench and solidify the existing systemic “Othering,” or it can be used to bring all the “Others” together.

(The next Saturn-Eris conjunction happens in 2027/8, and will still fall in Aries - Eris is a very slow mover.)

Planets/Points affected lie between 22:48 and 24:48 of the yang signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius.