This article is dedicated to the Reverend Bill Darlison who last week encouraged me to get back into the saddle and start writing my blog again. With thanks….

Saturn enters Scorpio
(5th October 2012 to 23rd December 2014 then 16th June, 2015 to 18th September 2015)

It is always a big deal when Saturn changes sign, especially leaving his most favourite sign – balanced and reasonable airy Libra – to enter the depths of intense, passionate and emotional Scorpio. For those who are old enough, just look back to the early 80s when Saturn was last in Scorpio (end of 1982 to end of 1985) and try to remember what you were doing during that time.

In the UK it was the rise of Thatcherism, although Mrs Thatcher, herself a Sun Libran, had gained the Premiership when Saturn was still in Libra. There was big money floating around with those who could spend lavishly. London was in the process of becoming a world centre of finance and huge glass edifices were rising from the ground as the perfect advertisement for financial success. However, the downside was that many young people had no work at all and their benefits were cut. There were the miners’ strikes, IRA bombs, the Poll Tax and the privatisation of all our national industries.

Here in the UK we can expect a reversal of all of the above really – starting with the railways’ debacle that is just beginning to rage; and the 50 or so sites planned to start open cast mining on a huge scale. It seems that the country needs coal after all, but not miners to go down bring it back up and make a living from their labours. Big machines can now dig up the depths of the countryside and heave the ‘black gold’ out, scarring the landscape with deep quarries for many years to come.

I will have to say again that Saturn is no more a bad planet than Venus, it’s our reaction to it that makes it so. Saturn represents hard work, duty and structure and how many of us like any of those? When Margaret Thatcher defeated Argentina in the Falklands War, Saturn was sitting on her Sun; later, when her powers were at their highest, Saturn was sitting on her Ascendant. What a recipe for success – she had put the work in for years – and Saturn rewarded her for it.

Many people, astrologers included, tend to take a deep breath when Saturn is mentioned as the qualities that he represents seem to be anti-fun. And indeed they can be – however, resistance to his demands can result in the same anti-fun time anyway. Opportunities taken will be rewarded, even if a little slowly – no one ever suggested that Saturn moved quickly.

As I have often suggested in my blogs, it is vital to take on board the fact that the planets, particularly Saturn, are never out to get us, they are simply pointing us to different ways of doing things – and we get a headache if we don’t act when our heads hit Saturn’ brick wall and then we blame Saturn, not ourselves.

All of this points to the fact that like all the planets in our Solar System, and no doubt all the asteroids, quarks, black holes and cosmic dust etc, that make up the Universe, Saturn has an intelligence and a meaning beyond our earthbound considerations.

Saturn, planet of structure

Saturn has long been understood to be the ‘skin’ of our Solar System, the outermost planet. Just as Jupiter has always been associated with joyfulness and expansion, Saturn has been seen to represent the opposite qualities of contraction and seriousness. Together, these two great giants hold within their arms the rest of the planets that orbit around our Sun, thus preventing them from flying off into space and disrupting the planetary harmony of our system. The cycles of Jupiter and Saturn are also vital to the health of economic systems – Jupiter is bullish and Saturn is bearish – together they can indicate what the markets are doing and many economists study them assiduously.

Deeper than that, Saturn is seen to have the mystical qualities of wisdom, which is always hard earned and comes with age and experience; gravity, depth of thought and consideration, logic and philosophy. All serious subjects, yet Saturn is a serious planet, and when we employ his methods of stillness, slowness and in depth enquiry we learn a lot more than we imagined we might.

Saturn rules both Earth sign Capricorn and Air sign Aquarius, although Uranus is trying to take Aquarius over for himself. I have met many Saturnian Aquarians who follow the interests of Saturn in their scientific and technological studies. Saturn’s humanitarian and idealistic nature also shines through Aquarius. And Capricorn shows the slow intention of Saturn to get to the top with the knowledge and experience gained during the climb upwards.

Scorpio sign of depth and passion

Now to Scorpio, that deeply mysterious sign that draws its natives into profound experiences of life, particularly on the emotional level. It is a water sign ruled traditionally by Mars and is the water of the frozen lakes and fjiords – Norway is a Scorpio country, by the way. This frozen quality can be seen in the ability of Scorpios to keep secrets and to be willing to die rather than break trust.

Young Scorpios can take a long time to trust others with their secrets, and can always feel vulnerable about their ability to survive the power of their own emotions. Many Scorpios have family deaths to deal with early in their lives, or the aftermath of secrets that can freeze or paralyse family members for generations. However, these secrets do eventually come to the surface, maybe years after those involved are long gone. And something in the family dynamic is softened and can be healed, much to the joy of the survivors. Intimacy and sexuality can be a big issue in the lives of many Scorpios, which will have their roots in family patterns. With Saturn in Scorpio there will be something within the person that will be protected or guarded as being unsafe to show to the outside world together with a strong drive for power and significance.

This intense interest in going beneath the surface of life can produce psychologists, surgeons, detectives, research scientists, those who work with death and the dying, and those who handle the resources of others, such as tax inspectors, mortgage brokers and the like.

It is suggested by some that Pluto may be the ruler of Scorpio instead of Mars – however, did Pluto behave like a dignified ruler when he was last in Scorpio and AIDS hit the world? I think not. However, when Mars is in Scorpio it brings things to the surface for us to examine – such as finding out about how some media figures really behave when they think no one’s watching, as has recently happened over this last six weeks or so.

Saturn and Pluto

However, if Pluto has some kind of Scorpio qualities about him, then the interesting thing about Saturn being in Scorpio and Pluto being in Capricorn is that they are in a kind of relationship that could prove interesting on the world stage. At the beginning of Saturn’s sojourn in Scorpio, he will make a 60 degree aspect to Pluto in Capricorn. This aspect known as a ‘sextile’ is one of both communication and opportunity, however, action must be taken otherwise the energy will just fizzle away. It is a positive aspect and bodes well for powerful leaders getting to the negotiation table in order to begin to look for ways around the dilemmas of our time.

Saturn is comfortable in communicative Air signs (Gemini, Libra andAquarius) and practical Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn) and therefore finds the mysteries of watery Scorpio somewhat hard to get his common-sense head around. As the sign that Saturn is placed at birth can show the elements of one’s work I will mention some famous Saturn in Scorpio people: are Marilyn Monroe, film star extraordinaire and sex symbol; David Copperfield, illusionist and one who defies death; Margaret Thatcher, who worked for power and got it; and Queen Elizabeth 2nd of Great Britain, who had power thrust upon her and as a result, had to stifle her emotional life and do her duty. In all cases, the father, or lack of one, was the driving force behind their impulse to succeed.

I shall examine the effects of Saturn’s time in Scorpio through the 12 Zodiac signs in my next blog.

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