Planetary stations don’t usually cause me many problems. So I was surprised, around the time of Saturn’s direct station on September 6, when several life events triggered strongly challenging emotions in me. What was going on?
I wrote my 9/6 forecast for Saturn turning direct in my usual manner, taking the meanings of the planet and sign into account. But, as I took another look at the 9/6 sky chart, it suddenly occurred to me what I had overlooked …
Aspects to Saturn From Other Planets
As it stationed, Saturn was receiving two major aspects from slower planets: a square from Chiron (wounding) and a trine from Uranus (shock and surprise). The Time Lord was also receiving a tight semi-square from Jupiter (expansion of the influences already present) and a loose semi-sextile from Mars (attack).
My parenthetical interpretations for each planet above describe the initial effects I felt. Since my partner Maeikisala and I always process any challenges that arise as soon as possible, the final interpretations were quite different. Chiron catalyzed healing, while Uranus blessed me with breakthrough and awakening. Jupiter brought joy and good fortune, while Mars helped me pioneer new states of divine consciousness. (Every piece of shadow work effectively processed results in a deeper spiritual awakening.)
Lesson learned. In my future forecasts for planetary stations, I’ll be sure to take aspects from other transiting planets into account.
Degree Ranges: Don’t Forget the Midpoints!
In my 9/6 Saturn Direct forecast, I noted the degree ranges that would be most strongly affected: 0° to 6° in the Cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. However, with no natal points in those ranges, why did I feel this station so intensely?
I’d recently been reading an astrology book that frequently mentioned midpoints. Midpoints are sensitive areas equidistant from two planets and/or other sensitive points. Was Saturn’s station stimulating midpoints in my chart that I didn’t know about?
I ran Solar Fire’s midpoint listing and hit paydirt right away. It turns out that I have three sensitive midpoints in Capricorn within about 1° of Saturn’s station: Sun/IC, Sun/Neptune and Chiron/IC. The IC, or fourth house cusp, is a shadow work point. Chiron is a shadow work planet. And Sun/Neptune is a point of high sensitivity. No wonder Saturn’s station affected me so strongly!
I haven’t used midpoints much in my astrological work, except when two planets are so close together that the midpoint is obvious. But because of this illuminating experience, I may be paying a lot more attention to them in the future!
Final Reflections
Part of me is embarrassed that I wasn’t already paying attention to these factors. Another part consoles that embarrassed part, reminding it that every astrologer only has time to use a tiny fraction of the tools and techniques available.
I remember a comment I heard the great astrologer Robert Hand make at an astrology conference. After practicing astrology for over 50 years, he said, he still felt that he was only scratching the surface! I will always have more to learn as an astrologer, and look forward to incorporating those new insights into my work when the time is right.
There’s not much that astrologers universally agree on. But perhaps one idea we can all endorse is that astrology is a bottomless well. Even a lifetime of study won’t yield up everything there is to know about planetary stations and aspects and midpoints and so much more … but we can have a lot of fun diving in!
I was watching Swami Sarvapriyananda’s U Tube talk on Karma, the idea being when we give up the idea of body/mind and realize who We are we are no longer under the influence of Karma. How about this idea that at that point we are no longer under the influence of astrology.
What do you Think?
It seems to me that if someone was fully realized in divine consciousness, that person would no longer be ruled by any physical influence.
Have you heard of E8? Fascinating crystal theory. Explains a lot about the eyes and pineal gland and how we are able to “realize” this experience. Could explain a lot more about planetary effect. Surely there is a correlation and connection. I really believe there going to come a day when astrology, astronomy, sciences and philosophies will need to mere to retrieve the tiny nugget that will answer all unanswerable questions and free the mind.
Anyway, I like your emails and get a lot from them.
Happy days, to you and M and all those in your reach.
Leslie
I love this perspective! Astrology truly is endless, and there’s always something new to discover. It’s fascinating how much depth there is to explore, and it’s great to hear you’re having fun with it—there’s always more to learn!