Greetings USED KARMA readers! As you know, this column has made a big deal out of the need for a shift in consciousness in order to heal our planet. We must turn away from a mentality of unenlightened self-interest, violent conflict and retribution to an awareness of the unity of all creation and the need for inner peace, unconditional love and compassion. Recent issues of this column and this webzine have examined the prevailing astrological climate in terms of current events to illustrate how this shift in consciousness is spreading throughout the globe.
Earlier in the year I predicted that massive changes would be taking place this year with respect to health care. Last month doctors and nurses in California went on strike to protest the manner in which their HMO was requiring them to practice medicine. Also last month a court in Florida ruled that HMOs can be sued for malpractice. These events are important evidence of the power of mass consciousness to shift reality in order to achieve greater opportunities for equality and control over our lives.
On the 2nd of August the planet Saturn will turn retrograde in Aries. This aspect (which will persist until December 2) has important implications for accelerating the power of mass consciousness to redesign our reality and to evolve our society from its primitive "dog-eat-dog" state (a phrase that may well be construed as insulting to canines) to one where everyone's needs are met. This planet contains more than enough resources for every man, woman and child to have their basic needs met, yet thousands starve to death each month because the rich hoard their wealth and continually redouble their efforts to steal from the poor. We can change this - we are doing so already!
What does it mean for a planet to be in retrograde? The phenomenon we call retrograde is actually an optical illusion. If all the planets revolved around the Sun in circular orbits, there would be no such thing as a planetary retrograde. However, due to the gravitational effects planets have on one another, they circle the Sun in elliptical orbits. Due to the nature of the ellipses, there are times in a planet's path around the Sun when it appears, from our perspective here on Earth, to be backing up in its orbit. The planets don't really travel backwards, of course, but it looks that way to us. The effects of each planetary retrograde vary according the individual planet and the sign the planet is in. However, there are certain qualities that are general to the retrograde phenomenon.
When a planet is retrograde, the external aspects of that planet's forces are all messed up, causing us to go deeply internal with respect to the qualities and areas of rulership expressed by that planet. For example, regular readers of this webzine are familiar with the meaning of Mercury retrograde. Mercury is the planet of communications, both internal and external. When Mercury is retrograde, external communications go awry. People misunderstand one another, all manner of electrical and mechanical apparatus malfunction, massive traffic jams occur, flights are delayed, mass transit schedules are disrupted, etc. Because the planet's external affairs are impeded, Mercury retrograde is an excellent time to focus on internal communications. Mercury retrograde is a time for us to get back in touch with ourselves through such activities as meditation, exercise, aromatherapy, massage and all other physical and metaphysical healing arts.
Retrograde planets in a birth chart indicate hidden potentials. (I ought to know - I have four of them, affecting my seventh, eight and ninth houses.) In other words, if a planet was retrograde when you were born, this indicates tremendous internal power in the areas of life governed not only by the planet and sign, but also by the house in which the planet appears. For example, I have Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius in the Ninth House, very close to my midheaven. The sign on the midheaven shows the path your Soul has chosen to pursue in life to express its highest purpose. The Ninth House rules higher learning, travel and adaptability. It is the house of enthusiasm and energy applied toward spiritual urges. Sagittarius rules the Ninth House. Sagittarius is concerned with truth. It rules law. Thus, with Sagittarius on my midheaven and Sagittarius in my Ninth House, my Soul has been called to pursue law in order to implement spiritual truth. (I did not know any of this when I applied to law school back in 1982!)1
Myrna Loftus, in her excellent book A Spiritual Approach to Astrology, explains the meaning of Saturn's glyph as the personality being held down by matter. She uses the following keywords to describe Saturn's positive qualities: "experience," "patience," "humility," "wisdom," and "compassion." She characterizes Saturn's negative qualities as: "testing," "sorrow," "delay," "disappointment," and "limitation." Myrna's basic keywords for Saturn are: "restraint," "limitation," "caution," "law," and "self-discipline." Saturn is the planet that tests us in order to teach us who we truly are, thus illuminating our purpose in life.
So my Saturn placement indicates that I am supposed to seek truth through spirituality and evolve new legal structures to reflect the truth of spiritual insights. The fact that my Saturn is retrograde indicates that I have been given additional power for inward expansion above and beyond the potential that is ordinarily indicated by Saturn in Sagittarius. Therefore, I know it is part of my personal mission to receive and communicate spiritual truth while developing new legal and social structures that will enable these insights to be implemented at a societal level, not merely at an individual one.
Now you have an idea of what Saturn retrograde might mean in an individual's chart. But what does Saturn retrograde mean for society as a whole? Saturn is the planet that sets limits, boundaries and social responsibilities. It sensitizes us to the fact that we must live within laws. But whose laws? Currently laws are made by the rich and powerful to protect their own interests. But there is such a thing as natural law - which is also known as "radical common sense."2 Natural law dictates that each of us consider not only our own well-being, but the well-being of every other creature on this planet. The Dalai Lama says when every person on this planet is genuinely concerned with the happiness and well-being of every other person on this planet, we will have world peace. (He's right, of course.)
So when Saturn goes retrograde, the legal and social structures that define our society are suddenly open to question by individuals. If these structures are questioned enough, they will actually start to break down during Saturn retrograde. Because Saturn is a large and slow-moving planet, we have been in the orb of Saturn retrograde for several months now. And we have been seeing the signs all over the planet. Power has shifted all over the globe - the Ecuadorians threw their corrupt president out of office after only eight months, Labour overthrew the Tories in England, the Socialists have regained power in France. These political shifts are proof positive that people all over the globe are striving to restore humanitarianism and social justice to their systems of governance.
In addition, Saturn is now in Aries. Aries, the cardinal fire sign, is the planet of pioneering, leadership, enthusiasm, vibrant energy and charting new territory. Aries is the most energetic sign in the Zodiac. Being the first sign, Aries is the child who never stops moving, never stops questioning, never stops exploring. Because of this dynamism, planets are always uncomfortable going retrograde in Aries. The Aries energy compels all life to move forward. The retrograde condition forces a planet's energy to slow down and contemplate itself - a very difficult state for a sign that wants to keep moving in all directions at all costs!3
So what are the social implications of Saturn going retrograde in Aries? First of all, we are all being empowered to go internal and contemplate the meaning of social and legal structures in our personal and collective lives. The energy of Aries is challenging us to explore new territory and to forge new ways of defining and implementing our laws, our social structures, and our personal and social boundaries, responsibilities and limitations.
So what does this mean? From early August to early December Saturn's retrograde flight through Aries will empower individuals all over the globe to take personal responsibility for leadership. When masses of people suddenly refuse to be followers, they become the leaders, and their former leaders become disempowered. There is no excuse for the massive social, economic and environmental problems on this planet. These problems were and are caused by greedy rich people hanging on to what they have and exploiting the rest of us in order to maintain it. Why have so many masses of people cooperated in being exploited? We have all been exploited through fear - fear of a lack of resources and a belief in our own powerlessness.
Both Saturn and Aries enable us to take back our power by discarding our fear. Through cooperation and solidarity we can rearrange and reorganize our social and political boundaries and our legal structures. The upcoming period of Saturn retrograde in Aries will result in more social and political change worldwide from August to December than in the last five years. Although this prediction may sound outrageous, you can rest assured that we don't have to wait very long in order to find out whether I am right!
Blessings to all of you as you go internal to discover your own power and join with like-minded others to save our planet and our race. Fight the power!
Copyright 1997 Marcy J. Gordon. All rights reserved. The author wants you to know you are free to copy and distribute this article for noncommercial purposes, provided you reproduce it in its entirety and credit the author. For quotation permission, please contact the author at mgordon@pipeline.com.
1 Now that I understand this, I understand why I have been repeatedly fired from legal positions for refusing to compromise my personal ethical and spiritual beliefs. What a long strange trip it's been!!!
2 I stole this phrase from Professor Lodis Rhodes at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas. Way to go, Lodis -- thanks!
3 Since I have both Sun and Mercury in Aries, I ought to know!
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