November 8th ~ 15th
The Milky Way photographed in Guatemala by Diego Rizzo (NASA)
This is. And thou art.There is no safety. There is no end. The word must be heard in silence. There must be darkness to see the stars. The dance is always danced above the hollow place, above the terrible abyss. ~ Ursula K. LeGuin (The Farthest Shore)
Under the aegis of the Mars/Pluto opposition this past week, in the face of great trepidation, we were given a reality check. With the Mars/Pluto opposition falling right on the US Sibley chart during its own Pluto return, we stand at the threshold of what could feel to many like imminent destruction. Oppositions bring all sorts of things to the surface. Oppositions to Pluto dig down even deeper into the very bowels, to the dark underbelly, and exposes it all. And so it did. Mars in Cancer, even in her most glorious moment, was unable to overcome the wraiths and demons that had been lying dormant beneath the surface. This is not hyperbole. This is reality. And yet it is okay. It may feel like we woke up in Mordor on Wednesday morning, but this does not mean to give up. Sometimes you have to fall off the cliff in order to climb back up and start all over again. And sometimes we have to dive deep into the darkness in order to see the stars.
Saturn, the planet of reality is coming to station on November 15th, ending its retrograde phase, while showing us who we are. Without guile or pretense. Just cold hard truth. Saturn can appear to shatter our ideals when in the sign of Pisces. But Saturn does not tell us not to dream. What Saturn wants of us is to believe in the dream, and to even more fully commit to the dream, in order to make it a closer, and more achievable reality.
There are many paths within the realm of Pisces, all of which seem to have an aspect of or an expression of what we think of as the divine (or an ideal) in manifestation. They may involve a certain amount of sacrifice, and probably won’t pay very well. But that is because the rewards of Pisces are not on the material plane. A Pisces path is more of a higher calling. Devotion to a cause. A path that will bring greater meaning and satisfaction to our lives. We need to remind ourselves of this as Saturn makes its direct station this week, within the bounds of its semi-square to the dark lord Pluto.
On November 18th, Pluto will enter Aquarius. And society as a whole have already been taking their respective positions. All signs have both their positive and shadow expressions, and Pluto has this remarkable capacity to bring out the extremes. At one end we have the promises of Freedom, Democracy, Equality, and Brotherhood, where everyone is being offered a seat at the table. At the other extreme, we see the growth of totalitarian populist regimes wreaking chaos and havoc across the planet. But perhaps the most lethal aspect of the shadow side of Pluto in Aquarius, is indifference to the existential threats our planet now faces, and a total lack of empathy for our fellow humanity. It is this in the end, that will destroy us.
At these times of transition, the choices are ours. Not anyone else’s. This is a time of sowing. And the ultimate outcomes are yet to be written. For they are based on our choices. And when Saturn is semi-square Pluto, those choices have huge ramifications. However, as we stand here, facing what feel like insurmountable odds, we are also reminded that it is at this point in the cycle, the opening crescent of the Saturn/Pluto cycle, that we are most likely to give up. But we mustn’t and we cannot. Growth and the evolutionary progress of humanity is an inevitability. Sometimes we have to fall off the cliff to get there. And we are going to have to live with the consequences of that fall. But get there we will.
You are your own Tree of Life, roots and limbs and trunk. Somewhere within the wholeness of the tree lies the very self, the quick: its own innate Holy Ghost. And this Holy Ghost puts forth new buds, and pushes past old limits, and shakes off a whole body of dying leaves. And the old limits hate being empassed, and the the old leaves hate to fall. But they must, if the tree-soul says so… ~ D. H. Lawrence (Aaron’s Rod)
On November 15th Saturn will station at 12º Pisces 42’ ending its retrograde phase which began on June 29th. During the retrograde phase of Saturn we were coming to terms with some of our own lessons and challenges. And during this process we were compelled to face our own fears and doubts, and to release some of those things that we cling to so tightly, but were and continue to keep us from growing.
Saturn is currently in Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac. Pisces is a sign of releasing, of assimilation, tying up loose ends, and finishing. It is a sign of endings. But it is also when we are needing to learn from the past, and make sense of our history, our experiences, and life lessons. And it is also when we begin to plant the seeds for the next cycle of Saturn which will begin when Saturn enters the sign of Aries in 2025.
One of the difficulties with Saturn being in its retrograde phase is that we feel challenged to make any progress. No matter how hard we may try. And even if a door does open and you are able to step through, there is still this feeling of stepping back before you can move ahead again. And so we also learn about patience. And not giving up.
Believe it or not, even though it may have felt like we were not getting anything done in the outer world, we have been doing a lot of inner work. During the retrograde phase of Saturn we internalize the qualities of Saturn by developing: self-discipline, self-restraint, organization, responsibility and self-respect. And most of all Patience. And Determination. This is important. Because these are the tools that are needed in order to fulfill the behests and goals of Saturn.
Now that Saturn will resume what appears to be its direct motion on the same day as the Full Moon, we will begin to see some of the pieces of our lives coming together again, but in a very different light. Obstacles that were previously slowing us down and getting in our way, either because we refused to acknowledge them, or were looking the other way, are now being shown to us in a starker light. And we don’t have the privilege of looking away any more. One of the tools that Saturn in Pisces brings us is the ability to see things just as they are, without pretense, without delusion or illusion. And this is what Saturn, in all its glory, is trying to show us this week as we approach that radical and changeable Taurus Full Moon on November 15th.
Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is to not ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. And don’t you ever listen when somebody tells you that something is impossible, because it has never been done. ~ Kamala Harris (Nov. 6th 2024)
For more about the Saturn station for your sign, see this week’s horoscopes, click on the link below: