I know, I know, you’ll probably scream n’ cry that your little world won’t let you go.
— Jimi Hendrix
Saturn the mentor dons Scorpio robes at 4:34 pm EDT tomorrow, encouraging your continued education. Instructively, the Ring Master will ingress the school of fixed waters scarcely ten hours after Mercury’s archetype of mind leads the way. The rare and unusual concurrence of the fastest and slowest visible planets will be as if to say that when your inner student is ready the teacher of experience will follow.
The image of Saturn as a stern teacher is outdated. Rather, it is for you to master the energy that Robert Hand has described as “each of us teaching ourselves about what we really are.” The first lesson is how you should embrace every experience: each one ultimately becomes part of who and what you are. To resist or reject experience, especially that which is new or challenging, is to program or structure an uncomfortable existence. That is working against Saturn and, ultimately, yourself.
To welcome what comes to you is to affirm and accept what you will become. That is working with Saturn. Fortunately, the process, like Saturn’s motion, is gradual and deliberate. It is a process punctuated by periodic graduation to a new level of experience. The graduations often correspond to when Saturn transitions from one sign to another every two and and a half years. Mercury’s impending and unusual reconnaissance of Scorpio will represent your opportunity to begin Saturn’s next transition both mindfully and reflectively. That’s because Mercury will enter Scorpio twice over the next two months.
Mercury will first enter Scorpio in direct motion at 6:35 am EDT tomorrow. Following its ingress to the realm ruled by Mars and Pluto, the innermost planet will function as if to preview the ground Saturn will cultivate until 2015. As if in sympathy with Saturn’s slow motion, Mercury will gradually decelerate on its way to an eventual retrograde station in Sagittarius.
Mercury’s deceleration will mean that your mind will have an unusually long time, 24 days, to survey Saturn’s new curriculum and release any attachment to the long Libra chapter now closing. Yet, that period of three weeks and three days will not afford any time for you to tarry. There will be the important business of being done with what is done, so that you can make mental room for a momentous re-entry.
As if in reflection, Mercury will re-enter Scorpio’s back door in retrograde motion on Nov. 14, and remain in the house until 2012’s Capricorn Solstice is nigh. It will be an auspicious return, cloaked by an occultation of the Moon. That will be a time to think about what you have been thinking about. It will be a second, and final, chance to turn away from the results of Saturn’s Libra tenure and move on to bravely becoming what you will not want to turn away from two years hence.
With Mercury’s retrograde return, you will get a second, and final, chance to enhance the quality of your matriculation through Saturn’s Scorpio run by validating, integrating and becoming the experience you already have under your belt.
You are experienced. Your experience prepares you to graduate from where you are and move on to further lessons. Of that, there is no doubt. While you may be justified in doubting a great many things, please do not devalue your life by doubting what has gotten you this far. If it was ever important to advance your learning before, then it is important now.
Yes, the lessons you were first sent here to learn are, and will always be, with you. That initial level of education, however, is now small in comparison to the experience you have brought on to and built into yourself. It’s your life now. Every two and a half years, Saturn opens the door into a new classroom. For this time only, Mercury will hand you notes on the way in. All you have to do is take your experience through the door and continue to accept your own teachings.
Offered In Service
Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.
Trying to get my (not very astrologically-astute) head around all of this, given my chart: Saturn, Sun, and Mercury ALL in Scorpio, ALL conjunct, ALL in 8th house, and my Scorpio Saturn return within the next couple of years. This column makes me wonder if this heralds a huge transformation time I have been working towards for a few decades now? This coming Scorpio Sun period this month and next ought to be interesting.
Much of what you wrote though, Len, makes sense so far.
Dear P.Sophia, Len and Huffy
Thank you for your kind words and support, it is much appreciated and I find it helpful. I will also check that book out 🙂
Since yesterday Saturn came squatter on my Sun. Thank you Len for this entry of Saturn in Scorpio, I expect his visit on my Neptune @ soon and good Sunday 🙂
That’s a truly alchemical transformation – base metals transmuted into gold – your mum’s email and the accompanying sense of peace. Not done without blood, sweat and tears, but when there’s a payoff like that at the end….
Bless you for sharing this truly wonderful and inspiring news, dear Paolo!
Don Downunder: Thank you. Strictly Vedic astrology is based on the relationship of the Sun, Moon, and planets to the constellations and stars. Strictly Tropical (or western) astrology relates the Sun, Moon and planets to the surface of the Earth. There are actually a spectrum of systems that bridge the two strict extremes like the colors of a rainbow bridge the extremes of our visual limits. It takes all kinds. Most astrologers are, in fact, somewhere in between, creatively taking a bit here and a bit there in order to express their own unique understanding. There is no correct or incorrect system any more than a given musical instrument is correct or incorrect in comparison to another. In the end, it is not the instrument that counts, it is the proficiency and integrity of the musician that counts. It is my earnest wish that you find my own, rather impure, service and song useful in your life.
Huffy, Just wanted to share, today my mom sent me a really amazing email saying thank you for initiating changes and taking charge in directions that have benefited her. It was a real vindication and validation of some hard processes with her and in taking more ownership in my own life. That she was expressing such gratitude and unconditional attitude was really heartwarming. The Saturn/Mercury conjunction seems to be working its magic. A message to me after all these years, the one I was really waiting for but not expecting. I’m sure there will be new issues asking for new solutions, but today is a reason to be happy I think, as I look back over these past few years.
Just wanted to share that with you.
Thanks again Len for another great article re Saturn enters Scorpio, what is concerning me is someone here in Australia writing under Vedic Astrology in various health Magazines is saying the Western system is not corect and his system is, eg, we just had a full moon in Pisces, the Aries Full Moon will be on the 29th Oct!!!!! and Saturn will not enter Scorpio untill later this month, this I find very confusing and annoying as I have come to trust the writing from planet waves, could you give me some information here or email me.
Don Downunder.
Ps and yesterday a friend recommended this book to me, looks really good:
http://www.amazon.com/The-How-Happiness-Scientific-Approach/dp/159420148X
Spacesurfer, I’m so sorry about your work situation – I know how you feel, cos I’ve been trying to resolve a similar situation for a long time now. But as Len said, this is a time when circumstances are changing. He also said that unpleasant times are teachings. That’s the key – things blow up in our face like this when we’re (unconsciously) giving too much power to them – it’s a harsh wake up call to show us where our energy is plugged in, our false beliefs, etc (Carolyn Myss is great on this stuff). It feels like crap, but it’s actually an indication that you’re on the right track, that it’s time to look at how you relate to yourself and work in a different way. God knows, it’s a hard one, and scary too – but it’s a precious time of change and growth, and you’ll be in a whole new place, further down the line. Good luck with it all.
P Sophia: Thank you for proving we got spacesurfer’s back.
jinspace: Thank you for providing the parallax and reinforcing perspective of your Saturn experience.
Maeve: Mercury is on your side, you can progress with Mercury.
dawnbrocco: Great dream! Thank you for sharing it. Maybe, just maybe there is something about that dream that indicates how your standstill will resolve. Nothing stands still for ever.
spacesurfer: Unpleasant times (and the teachings they provide) do not last forever. The current and impending change of sign for four planets indicates change of circumstances if anything does. Because of your natal Aries and Leo constituency, transiting Mars into Sagittarius should be especially advantageous for you, completing a grand fire trine. The thing to remember about trines is to take responsibility for being in the driver’s seat (which will be available to you somehow). Please drive defensively, proactively, and sober to get to where you want to go. Thank you for coming to Planet Waves with your comments and observations. We got your back.
Dear Spacesurfer,
Just caught your post. If you will allow, please believe me.
If you are asking, and are willing, and if you find yourself here. Take heart, it takes courage…That hole, the purpose will surely be filled!
Three years has left me with a lot of doubt…this is the time I’ve spent focused on work, I have grown personally on this journey from working relationships to being pleased with many achievements as I have pushed myself hard and tested my abilities…yet I have ended up going full circle back to the beginning and feel somewhat shafted. I was led down a path of expectation from my employers being told I would get xyz as an acknowledgement of my efforts only for xyz at the end of 3 years not to surface and I am back where I started…the department has restructured in a way that didn’t have room for xyz. I now feel like I have a mental block, lost a spark, feel lost and dread going back in to work…I have not dreaded work for a long time, I’ve been enjoying the challenge these last few years even though it has been tough going. I am not in the right head space or frame of mind. I have been off these last few days ill, stressed, exhausted as particularly these last few weeks have been intense and I have more employer discussions to follow about a role I feel that does not reflect what I’ve been working towards.I have a lot of doubt and not sure what or where to go next as there is an unfulfilled hole. Don’t get me wrong I am not wallowing in self pity, it just feels all a bit too much.
I am an aries with leo rising and enjoy your input into the site Len.
Peace be with you
Ooh. Speaking of dreams. Last Sunday night/Monday morning, I had a dream about … well, I had asked what sort of things I needed to look back to, to reexamine, to see what else what there (along the lines of Eric saying to look at the things we convinced ourselves we couldn’t have/do, and Len’s serendipitous post afterwards), and the answer I got (which I’m nearly positive was an answer to more than just that) was:
Look to your back to keep you safe.
Which also had a meaning of “look to your back to keep your front safe”.
—
Len – I expect Mercury’s movements to be working in my favor with all of this? I hope so, but will read this article again (not on my phone) so I can glean whatever there is to be gleaned. 🙂
Thanks, Len.
It helps for me to know what to let go of. I have such problems letting go period that when I have a bit of a lodestone for it, it helps.
Lately, I’ve been working with letting go of physical things to help let go of the emotional things. Because really, I don’t need a bottle with half an inch of nice skin lotion in it from 10 years ago. I really don’t. But at one point, I thought I did… Those sneaky little ways…
I had a dream last night which seems to point to “Mercury’s deceleration will mean that your mind will have an unusually long time, 24 days, to survey Saturn’s new curriculum and release any attachment to the long Libra chapter now closing. Yet, that period of three weeks and three days will not afford any time for you to tarry. There will be the important business of being done with what is done, so that you can make mental room for a momentous re-entry.”
I dreamt of a white ferret or mink – same long skinny shape – and it was hopping about, startled me enough to wake me, but when I returned to sleep, the same white mink was there, still hopping and flipping about the room. So I looked up mink:
“Mink shows how to walk in the spiritual and physical world with joy and playfulness along with a balance of fighting for just cause. He teaches attention to intuition and timing, keen senses, awareness and how to move in the emotional waters balanced with the mental world. Mink aids in understanding the nocturnal realm of dreams, visions and hidden knowledge. He will teach how to remain within, a quiet solitude of personal space for contemplation. Are you completing a life cycle, something that you started long ago? Mink will aid in this returning with understanding and compassion. Perhaps you are ready for a move? Mink will also guide in this direction and will last approximately 2-3 weeks. Allow Mink’s wisdom to show you the power of adaptability and balance.”
The perfect animal image to portray what is going on, or rather, not going on, in my life right now. I am at a standstill. 20 yrs of work not pulling to me any longer, no idea what is ahead for me, feeling no passion towards anything strong enough for me to say, ah, yes, that’s my next work in this life. So, if I decide I am done with what is done, any “momentous re-entry” must really rely on my knowing *what* it is I want. The Universe needs intent to support. It seems I’ve forgotten how to play? – an odd thing for me to forget.
Geez. All my typing was fubared last night.
Jury duty was July 2010.
Looking through my calendar, my dad had his prostate cancer and subsquent surgery in March 2010 (when I went up to Reno to care for him and he was a verbally and emotionally abusive jackass… he has since gotten much better. He actually doesn’t remember _any_ of it. Have I mentioned my dad is, uh, crazy? Much less crazy than he used to be, though, which is refreshing.)
February I was still dealing with lawyers about my sprained wrist (fell at a store), March was dealing with my dad, April was my birthday but also the diagnosis of my husband’s eye issues, May and June was really discovering what was going on with my husband’s eye, July was jury duty, got laid off in August, new job in September, October seemed to be status quo, November was husband’s eye surgery, December was normal, NYE we were in the ER for my husband…
Jeebus. Is it all this crazy shit I can leave behind? The list still does go on… 2011 was… difficult. I’d say the most difficult year of my life.
(January was husband developing glaucoma type stuff, February I really hurt my back, March I was in a car accident, April through October was a haze of pain, April I almost got fired for taking a day off for my back to heal, in May I think my dad went crazy and went to the loony bin, June was still dealing with that plus my husband’s eyes, July I got laid off (which sucked but turned out to be good), August was job hunting, Sept was job hunting plus finding a job and new work orientation, October was really beginning first job, November one of our kitty children got suddenly very sick and passed away, December we got another kitty too soon and the littermate of the previous kitty got sick and we thought we’d lose him (but have not, although he has developed a kidney issue, he’s doing pretty well all things considered).
There was crazyness before March 2010, but I’m sure y’all don’t need the rest of my life story. 😉
2012 has been better. Things are challenging, but the theme is healing and learning instead of (productive) destruction.
If all that crazy time is part of Saturn in Libra, holy hell I’m happy to leave it behind. I don’t need lessons like that to remind me to take care fo myself. I have learned and continue to learn.
Maeve: Thank you for your reply. Fear not, your thinking is excellent so long as you allow room for thought. In answer for your question. Saturn entered Libra twice. The first time was at the end of October 2009 (a memorable Halloween). Then, Saturn retrograded back to Virgo in April of 2010, returning to Libra a second time in July of 2010. Therefore, Saturn spent just as much net time in Libra as in any other sign, it just seems longer because of the brief retrograde return to Virgo. But, that’s all over now. Please look ahead to a new Saturn semester.
Len – you’re quite right. That’s what I get for trying to read and comment while on my phone. Seems I’ve caught a bit of Chief Niwots Son’s reading Chaos. 😉
This is reassuringly beautiful, Len.
I’d been dreading Saturn returning to my ascendant. I remember so well the last time, and how somber I felt about life in general, and about myself in particular. What a time. Yes, it was absolutely all about learning. I soared academically and began to focus professionally, surprising even myself with how well I was suddenly processing information. That was my pleasure, though I didn’t exactly feel lighthearted about it. On the other, I was juggling many, many responsibilities with little respite – another learning process, to be sure. I accepted the constraints, but made the mistake of feeling that I had to accept and manage absolutely everything that came my way, including allowing someone into my life who did me great harm, and whose presence in my life began and ended rather precisely with that transit. Transit over, I was suddenly able to walk away.
I’ve been feeling this Saturn transit approaching – it’s a big one for me. I thought I’d dread it – another end to childish things? – but the sensation has actually been one of welcome rather than dread (Let’s see how I’m feeling about it a year from now…).
Maeve: Please, did you mean to write when did Saturn enter Libra?
When did Mercury enter Libra, those few years ago? I suppose I’m more curious when that aspect would start affecting things? Trying to figure out which of the many lessons it’s time to move on from.
“Coincidentally”, I’ve been summoned for jury duty again, and the last time was July 2005 (jury duty is a bit onerous for me these days, as a contractor, and with a healing back (not suited to walking through ridiculously big parking structures and courthouses and standing and waiting)
Thank you, Be. Absolutely lovely. I can feel the change already, a blessed softening at last, a releasing of held in breath all this time, a sense of relief I had practically given up on. Hope this will be the same for many who have been battling, like me, these last years.
Huffy: Thank you for your kind and generous appraisal.
Chief Niwots Son: Yes, if you listen carefully you actually can hear Jimi’s eyes open wide and his pupils dilate when he says “beautiful”. How the heck did he do that?
DivaCarla: Thank you. i’m sure Saturn would be receptive, but would prefer affections be within a structured relationship.
Mia: Thank you for kind words and open mind.
eco11: It is a joy to know your found my service accessible and useful. Thank you.
P. Sophia: Thank you for your interpretative and valuable contribution to our understanding.
paola: Love the lunchbox, and your comment. Thank you.
be: Thank you once again for sharing your depth us understanding and broad vision.
Thanks Len, I really like this image of Mercury escorting Saturn into Scorpio. It reminds me of a child taking his grandfather’s hand to cross the street or step onto the escalator. Perhaps in the “mind” of Saturn though, it is the other way around – he is chaperone to the child-like Mercury. Ha ha, well, maybe there is wisdom in their companionship; Saturn with his steadfastness and Mercury with his mental agility are balanced further with a trine to Neptune who provides some adjustment to the water element. It is certainly a change of pace for both of them and what a relief it must be to finally shed the expectations of a cardinal sign. . . always having to initiate something! Now Saturn can really start to build something enduring.
be
‘Every two and a half years, Saturn opens the door into a new classroom. For this time only, Mercury will hand you notes on the way in. All you have to do is take your experience through the door and continue to accept your own teachings’.
This is so beautiful Len, thank you. It will be a new classroom indeed, let’s not forget to put love in the lunchbox.
“To welcome what comes to you is to affirm and accept what you will become. That is working with Saturn.”
I have fought the good fight the last 2.5 years having Saturn in Libra, my 1st, and also ‘magnified by’ home of my Moon. But, the battle has not been one to ‘win’, as would be thought of in traditional terms. But in learning to ‘lose’.
Learning and accepting the power (of letting go) of loss and over-coming this in working ‘through’ perception of fear.
I have confronted this false fear…of loss, which at times has felt like the biggest loss there is. Yet, interestingly enough when you let go completely (to the depths) and -get though- you realize there is still another breath. A healing comes and it is in working with and directing this healing experience in another direction that I believe will transport me in Saturn’s next phase, transition through Scorpio.
Ok, so now, in understanding Scorpio I believe I will be working on healing what has been pushed to the ‘underground’. Personally and collectively believe this transit will continue to be about understanding meaning, ‘true’ loss, but in associated with understanding and living with, what is of ‘real’ value. As for me, personally (in my 2nd house) is related to money…already see the false theme building. So sorry Saturn, you can’t get me. But I will use your energy to help through my work collectively.
Master Len, thank you for the article…Surely I hope, I am earning some credits towards my degree?! xo-Grasshopper
There is so much about *astrology* that I do not *intellectually* or analytically get or understand and yet…
As a sensitive and intuitive, I listen. And I listen for the “aha” moments.
And, “aha,” this article resonates in me on deep and profound levels. How could you know so much about what is going on within/around my life/our lives?
When that happens, I feel it like one wise soul speaking and sharing deeply and with respect, to others that we may all benefit from our shared pools of wisdom, knowledge, maps… for we are all on the journey, and anytime any one of us *gets* it and helps others to too, it is a very big gift, for we all get there anytime any one of us does.
Thank you.
Your words are making a difficult transition for me make more and more sense and bringing beauty to the journey besides.
Thank you Len, for this insightful piece. When Saturn moves into Sagitarius in two years I will be experiencing my second Saturn return. I was able to start my own business during my first and look forward to see the changes in store for me during my second.
Look forward to an enjoyable ride through Scorpio, or at least an educational one.
I am learning to love Saturn. I want to grab him by the rings and say, come get me! Oh… perhaps that is disrespectful and counterproductive. Perhaps Saturn responds better to an engraved calling card, asking to call upon him for tea. Saturn as been with me in my first house for all these years, sitting right next to my ascendant. I’ll be paying attention every time Saturn is mentioned on this site. Len, you have opened my eyes to possibilities that I am eager to meet.
“Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful…”
Brilliant! Thank you Len for your keen articulation of Saturn’s lessons, and Mercury’s curious dance with Saturn in the realm of Scorpio. Sounds like a fun adventure!
PS- I am happy to report my reading abilities are no longer in Chaos. 😉
And this! “To welcome what comes to you is to affirm and accept what you will become. That is working with Saturn”.
Thank you, dearest Len, for this truly masterful piece on Saturn, which resonates with the stern majesty of the planet itself! One of the best descriptions I’ve ever read on how this planet works on us. “To resist or reject experience, especially that which is new or challenging, is to program or structure an uncomfortable existence” – yes. These words (and the whole piece) are just brilliant – so very helpful.