Dear Friend and Reader:
Today you may have seen two words appear on Planet Waves that you will rarely if ever see — ‘malefic’ and ‘benefic’. These pertain to descriptions of planets from traditional astrology, that is, astrology that existed before the modern revival (and before the discovery of psychology), and which dates back about 3,000 years.
 |
These categories rank Mars and Saturn as ‘malefic’ (bad) and Venus and Jupiter as ‘benefic’ (good). Back in the day, astrologers were not interested in process. They were interested in getting a reading on fate. If you didn’t go to an astrologer to get your question answered, you might go to someone who would cut open a chicken and read their entrails for you — same price, same credibility.
Tonight the Sun makes an exact alignment with Saturn in Libra. Yes, some guys in togas thought that Saturn was a ‘malefic’ planet. To me this aspect is about help on the way, and offers us a moment where it’s possible to set ourselves free from the past and experience the benefit of true maturity. Conjunct the Sun in Libra, Saturn is a truly friendly influence — if you honor Saturn. That is, if you work with limits and not against them; if you know that energy needs to be contained and directed; and if you honor the idea that if you take authority over your life, others will not be able to do so for you.
Today, astrology is psychological in nature (mainly because psychology is such a crucial reference point, even in religion and science, and we cannot get away from it). Modern astrology involves understanding processes in the psyche. In those processes, we honor all the parts of what a person is, and the role that they play in our lives. It is tempting to want to predict the future or ‘read the fate’ of something, and I believe that it’s the job of modern astrologers to get people past those ideas and into a more reflective mode where we get to understand ourselves.
For those who are new to planetary meanings, I will give you mine on the four planets referenced.
Mars is the masculine or yang principle, and it’s about what motivates us. It represents a driving force in one’s life, which can be the drive to succeed, one’s sex drive, the impetus to make money, and the desire to build or achieve something. Any force can be turned destructive, either by applying it unconsciously, or by representing a toxic motive. Mars can be turned to violence, violation and warfare. Like a knife it can manifest as a sharp object. But we would never say that a knife is malefic. It’s what you do with it that counts. The question is, what do people do with their motivation? Well, we know it’s not always positive or helpful things; and we also know that the goal of growth is to turn motivation toward what is helpful. But that is an act of will; Mars is involved inherently.