Saturn does not play. It is separating in nature and cold. It is inflexible and dry. It is the embodiment of Scrooge. It Is stern. It teaches boundaries and discipline. It is rigid, like the bones it governs in medical astrology. It is the planet of hard work. But for me, as a Capricorn rising, Saturn has always been a big planet for me to draw into my personal lens.
With Saturn whatever work given, the rewards will be earned. It may take awhile though. There are no short cuts but there will also be second guessing once you hit the mark. As a result, I tend to embrace this planet. No use in swimming upstream when the current is pushing you forward. You’ve got to work with what you have. So I nestle right in with this ringed giant and see where it will take me.
Saturn is a slow ringed giant. It is the last planet we can see with the naked eye in the night sky. For the longest time, it defined our outer limit of our solar system. It was known in prehistoric times but the rings were not seen until Gallieo in 1610. The other outer planets weren’t discovered for an other 171 years until Uranus was noticed. Its not a stretch to see why Saturn governs the idea of boundaries in general. It takes 28.5 years to make one trip around the zodiac. If the average person lives 90 years that individual will have 2-3 times to see the patterns it presents during a lifetime. Any time Saturn is at its halfway mark and again when it returns to its natal station in a birth chart can mark big points of demarkation for the lessons its presenting.
I know Saturn. It has been a BIG hitter for me my whole life. My first Saturn opposition in 1991 manifested in my first knee surgery. It ended up as a massive realignment knee surgery that ended my swimming career. I got married the month of my first Saturn return in 2006 (and it conjoined the astroid Juno, symbolizing the wife). My son was born the day Saturn crossed over my 10th house which led me to the decision of quitting my full time professional career which included two masters degrees and several administrative positions in large medical patriarchal institutions. Saturn literally stepped in an restricted my projected career growth. I became a full time stay at home mom. Board room to board books, is what I called that step. Saturns transits literally restructure my life.
As Saturn entered Capricorn in mid-December 2017, I figured I’d get to see this planet in action. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, so it is relatively happy there. As the rest of the astrological community let out a collective groan anticipating the next 7 year chapter, I thought of all of the blessings that might happen. Its in my first house of physical self, image, and body. Bring on the restricted healthy diet and hard exercise! I figured I would be in the best shape of my life by the end of this run. That was the intention I set. Let’s transform my physical self. I was ready.
I laid the ground work for this manifestation. I went to gyms to interview them about their philosophy. I booked a medical astrology consultation with Kira Sutherland. I went back to my sports med doctors to get an all clear. I got assigned to physical therapy for some rehab work, but hey, it was still early in the Saturn/Capricorn chapter, so some remediation is to be expected.
The first pass of Saturn over my Ascendant in February 2018 wasn’t eventful. I waited to see what would happen with the retrograde motion after it stationed in April.Reality hit, and it hit hard.
In late June 2018, Saturn made an exact conjunction with my ascendant in early Capricorn. I honestly didn’t expect things to be so bad. The night before it went exact, I *decided* to do my own stunt work. It was a perfect example of how not to do physical comedy. I took a spill down the stairs while carrying two glass lanterns and heard loud crunching and popping from my ankles. (But hey! I saved the glass lanterns!!) The last thing you want to hear from your doctor is, “Oh my God, you are a Board question!” That, in layman’s terms, means that my injuries were so bad and so complex that they use it as the more obscure question when they test doctors for certification. I had torn 3 ligaments perfectly away from the bones. Hello, Saturn. A break would have been an easy fix: 6 weeks, maybe surgery, and you are on your way. Ligaments? They don’t grow back. Once they are gone, the only thing you can do is cozy up with physical therapy and build the strength to support the structures that were once there.
It is now October and I am still in the boot. To make matters a bit more complex I went back in for a knee injection last week. The next day the moon went into Gemini in my 6th house and my knee blew up like a balloon. It is the size of a cantaloupe. I cannot bend it past 80 degrees. I cannot walk on it. When a joint swells, your body’s first reaction is to cut off the supporting muscles strength. So my quad is useless. It is its wise way of saying, “Stop. You cannot use me. You must rest.”
Sometimes the lesson of Saturn is to rest and allow others to help. That, in itself, is the hard work.
We will see what November 9, 2018 brings when Saturn once again grinds across my ascendant degree in early Capricorn. And again, when it makes its second opposition in 2022-2023.