We've left the Transpersonal realm of astrology and are orbiting Saturn. Since this blog was created to discuss the ideas in my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual, I'll let portions of Chapter 6 speak for themselves:"We’ve left the three transpersonals far behind but clearly not forgotten. As we approach Saturn we notice it’s quite a bit bigger than Neptune or Uranus, obviously composed mostly of gas, but with a bright, pastel yellow atmosphere.
"Hmmm... This character is the one who cut off his father’s penis...[ back in Chapter 4 ] This is the guy called Father Time and he carries that sharp scythe...
"This is also the planet that gets the worst press from traditional astrologers.
"So what’s wrong with this function? Nope, not gonna answer a question like that; I’m too hopelessly optimistic. I’ll answer this one instead: What’s right with this planetary function?
"First, the most right thing about Saturn is that is represents Structure. After having been through the realms of Regeneration [Pluto], Visions [Neptune], and Transformation [Uranus], it can feel pretty good to pull some structure around oneself—get things organized, clarify issues, make a few definitions. Of course, if we were going the other way [from Saturn, out], we’d be leaving this structure and looking forward to a transformation of possibly rigid definitions, checking to see if our clarifications are really clear enough, changing the priorities of our organizational plan.
"This ability to see any function from both 'directions' is a valuable talent to have if you’re thinking about using astrology. It isn’t enough to just stay free of limiting categories for any particular planetary function, it’s also important to see the function operating in many different roles.
"Language and our use of it become critical factors when we begin to apply astrological knowledge to our lives. For example, take my use of the phrase 'limiting categories' two sentences ago. Limitation is also one of Saturn’s functional purposes, but a healthy limitation of some field of endeavor is very different from imposing limiting categories on ourselves.
"Let me say this another way. Astrology has ten major functions, represented by the cycles of planetary bodies, that can be used to gain meaning about the various aspects of our character....Since all the functions can be used with all the other functions, you need to stay flexible in the way you view their meanings. You can’t go so far that a function changes its basic meaning just because it’s interacting with another one, but it's important to know that these meanings certainly can bend and sway. Kind of like that time you went to some social gathering and had to keep certain aspects of yourself from showing too strongly...
"This whole discussion of language, meanings, and the need to be clear about words is quite Saturnian, too. It’s like a relationship where Saturn is dancing with Uranus and Saturn is doing all the leading. If Uranus were to lead, there would be meanings changing into each other. Confusing? Try thinking back to last chapter’s discussion about the bad kid changing into a good citizen. It was the same person the whole time—their Saturnian structure didn’t change—but they went through some amazing Uranian transformations."
There will be more about Saturn in the next post...
I hope these ideas from the book spark discussion in the comments or , at least, some questions. Remember what my instructors used to say: "The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask".
