SATURN, Our Great Galactic Teacher Column by
Anne Redlich, LCSW
PART TWO
Saturn in the Second Quadrant .
To everything - turn, turn, turn There is a season - turn, turn turn And a time to every purpose under heaven — from the song, Turn, Turn, Turn, by Pete Seeger
A
s I continue the series, Saturn, Our Great Galactic Teacher, I will discuss Saturn’s transit through the second quadrant of the natal horoscope. Conceptualizing Saturn as a wise, yet stringent teacher who challenges the native to learn from life’s difficult trials, we can place Saturn into a constructive context. And page 56
The
Career Astrologer
rather than facing Saturn’s transits with fear and trepidation, we may place our faith in the wisdom of life’s unfolding drama-a drama that compels us to learn the deep lessons that Saturn’s role as the Lord of Karma brings into our lives. To begin, I will provide a short review from my Spring 2021 article. In their book, Reincarnation, the Phoenix Fire Mystery, Sylvia Cranston and Joseph Head demonstrate that there has always been a strong belief in reincarnation and karma across cultures. Thinking from an astrological perspective, like the many blood cells pulsing through our veins, we are part of the great circulation of cosmic energy pulsating through the galaxy. As our solar system travels and evolves, so do we. Saturn plays a formidable role as our galactic teacher of self-discipline and wisdom. When discussing Saturn with clients, it is essential to educate them briefly regarding the meaning of Saturn transits. As explained in my first column, my protocol is to begin by reciting a short narrative that serves as a metaphor for Saturn’s symbolic meaning. For instance, I like the lines from Pete Seeger’s song, Turn, Turn, Turn, “There is a time and a season to every purpose under heaven.”
Saturn's Journey Continues
Saturn’s transit through the second quadrant continues Saturn’s journey through the areas beneath the horizon. As the houses under the horizon speak to issues of a personal nature, and the houses above the horizon symbolize collective experience, Saturn’s journey through the second quadrant continues to herald a time of inner development and a more introverted time of life. To continue the metaphor of Saturn’s journey through the horoscope to the seasons of agriculture, his conjunction to the nadir and movement through the houses 4, 5, and 6 can be imagined as the last thaw of winter and the preparation of
Saturn's conjunction to the nadir and movement through the houses 4, 5, and 6 can be imagined as the last thaw of winter and the preparation of the ground for the planting season.
OPA’s Quarterly Magazine
the ground for the planting season. It is the time to clear the fields, start the seeds and then to plant the saplings for the harvest that will arrive when Saturn reaches the top of the chart.
Fourth House
As Saturn comes to a conjunction to the nadir, he touches the deepest, innermost point of the chart, symbolic of the most profound aspects of the self. Traditionally, the nadir and the fourth house, ruled by the sign Cancer and the Moon, represent the home, land, mother earth and the parents as well as the basic self or “base of operations.” There is debate amongst astrologers about whether the fourth house denotes the mother or father. I do not prefer to
The issue of birth experience, as well as death, can be activated by Saturn fourth house transits, so the nature of the Moon must be considered. separate the symbolic nature of the fourth/ tenth house axis along pure gender lines. I feel that the functions delineated by these houses can be performed by both parents, regardless of the sex. The issue of birth experience, as well as death, can be activated by Saturn fourth house transits, so the nature of the Moon must be considered. In the Theosophical literature, the Moon is considered to be the deteriorating shell of the earth’s last incarnation. She rules the three Fates who are symbolic of the things in life over which we have little control — the rhythmic processes of the earth, birth, death, excretion, etc. — the pre-verbal and primitive realm of the Mulhadara Chakra. Saturn’s conjunction to the nadir often pulls us in a fateful way to issues related to our origins — to the experience of occupying a body, childhood trauma and family. These issues cause us to burrow into ourselves for the purpose of becoming more conscious so that, like the phoenix, we can rise out of the ashes of the challenges of life. For this reason, Saturn’s transit through the fourth house is a good time to seek psychotherapy in order to create a strong foundation to function successfully in the world.
