Tightening Your Belt With Saturn - Transits to the 2nd and 8th Houses

Saturn transits are never good news for our finances, or so we fear. Saturn is after all the planet of limitations and set backs, burdening us with duties and obligations, many of them financial. “You can enjoy life after you’ve paid your bills/done your chores/finished your work” says Saturn through our parents, our bosses and through our own conscience.

You can be forgiven for thinking that Saturn is just there to spoil our fun, but being the planet which defines our material world, it reminds us every single day, without fail, that we are bound by the practical realities of having a physical body to keep healthy, fed, warm, safe and dry. For the most part, achieving these things requires money and getting money means putting in some work.

But we also know that hard work, along with time and patience can pay off, because Saturn is also the planet of crystallisation, manifestation and rewards earned over time. Bear this in mind when you have Saturn moving through one of the houses associated with money. Approaching the transit in a prepared, realistic, organised, conscious way will help keep unfounded fear away and may even help to avert disaster.

Saturn transiting the 2nd – Be Prepared!

Saturn through the second house is often feared as a time of financial loss. While this is a possible manifestation it’s not necessarily going to be the case. In fact, steady financial growth may be possible if you’ve handled your finances well to date.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare:

Take a realistic look at how you spend your money – are you trying to have a designer lifestyle on a discount store income? Weigh everything up, Saturn in Libra style. Do your outgoings match your incomings? How can you cut back? How much do you spend each month on little daily indulgences, like fancy coffees? Cut back on these and watch the savings add up.

If you need to make a big purchase, shop around. Use price comparison websites (such as Price Grabber in the USA or Money Supermarket in the UK) to find the best deals. Learn to haggle and ask for discounts. You’d be surprised how often you can make big savings this way, especially in this current climate with companies competing for your business.

Need to raise some cash? Have a house full of junk? Your junk might be someone else’s treasure and with sites like Ebay and Amazon, it’s never been easier to pass things on. It’s probably only the fact of getting around to doing it that’s stopped you before. The side benefit is a bit of healthy space clearing, making room in your life for fresh new energies.

The 2nd house is not just about cash, it’s about valuing yourself. Without going crazy and while staying within your means, realise that sometimes it’s OK to indulge yourself every once in a while – you’re worth it! Stepping out with a snazzy new haircut or a new set of clothes can raise your self esteem and in the right context can even boost your earning power.

Are self esteem issues holding you back from earning what you (realistically) deserve? Yes, it’s difficult in this economic climate to ask for a raise, but you can still use this transit to plan for a future raise by learning new skills to add to your resume, getting involved with new projects, learning how to network, building your confidence and learning how to assert yourself.

Are you spending to compensate for low self esteem? Is this causing you financial difficulties? Difficult questions, but under Saturn’s transit of the 2nd (or the 8th) this is a good time to admit to yourself that you have a problem and seek some practical and therapeutic help.

Saturn transiting the 8th – The Power of Money

The 8th is the house of mortgages, inheritances, insurance, the resources of our partners and the dreaded taxman! Psychologically it is about the power money holds over us and the power others have over us when they hold our purse strings.

Here are some things to do and to consider when Saturn transits the 8th:

It never feels like the right time to make a will, especially if you’re still relatively young, but it really is essential, so stop putting it off.

If you have parents who are elderly, it might be worth encouraging them to get their finances in order, in preparation for the time when you may have to make financial decisions for them. It should go without saying that you will need to approach this with the up-most sensitively, as most people’s emotions run deep when it comes to these matters.

Take a look at your long term financial commitments such as mortgages, loans, insurance policies, investments and debts. Take some professional, independent advice on how to make your money work better for you (and don’t forget to read the small print before you sign anything).

Contemplate the power money has over you. Why do you desire/need money? Is it because of the security it affords or is it the power and status it can bring? Think about whether you need to change your perspective on money to something a little healthier. Remember that money is merely energy we exchange for the work we do and then exchange in turn for the things we need. Yes, money makes the world go around, but it is our attitude to it that gives it so much power over us.

Work on releasing your fears about money by doing some prosperity work through meditation, affirmation or some other preferred energy work. [OK, my personal opinion here: the bookshops are chock with spiritual books on manifestation and prosperity work. While there are some really good approaches and methods out there, it is my belief that prosperity work should be about healing your attitude to money, such as your fears around not having enough. It should be about learning to feel emotionally rich, whatever your income. Doing this kind of work with the aim of becoming literally rich is counterproductive and probably doomed to failure – we’re talking Saturn here – get real!]

Who gives you money (other than your employer/clients)? Are there strings attached? Perhaps it’s your partner or your family? Are you allowing yourself to be ‘bought’ by them? Do they expect you to do certain things or behave in certain ways in exchange for what they give you and is this a trade-off you are comfortable with? If not, it might be worth considering whether you are allowing them and their money to control you. Difficult issues, but ones which may become important under this transit.

How are your partner’s finances holding up? Under this transit, you may need to support them as perhaps they are out of work or sick. If you are able to help them, do it with good grace, for they may be feeling depressed or powerless. Consider that while this can be a very stressful and challenging time financially, it can also be emotionally rewarding, an opportunity for your loving bond to grow in time, the gift of Saturn in Libra.

This article is featured in Look After Saturn and Saturn Will Look After You as part of the 2010 International Astrology Day Blogathon. The purpose of this web-based event is to create a permanent library of articles about how to deal with the stresses of the Cardinal T-Square of Pluto, Saturn and Uranus. The main page for the Blogathon collections is at The Cardinal T-Square of 2010: Saturn, Uranus, Pluto.

Resources

For general information about Saturn’s transits through the houses, Café Astrology has a good article here or see the book Planets in Transit by Robert Hand.

If you are having money problems that you can’t solve yourself, the official advice is always to seek professional help.

For the UK, the government official website provides useful information on how to Plan Your Way Out Of Debt and also offers plenty of budgeting tools, helpful links and downloadable resources. The Citizens Advice Bureau is also a good first port of call in the UK for help with all financial issues and much more. UK site. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ is also excellent for money saving tips and has a free online budget calculator. If you’re happy to spend a little to set up a family/personal budget, there are a wide range of books and software packages available. Here’s a selection available from Amazon.

See also Jan Tud’s article Surviving Financially Difficult Times for resources relevant to US readers, as well as a link to a neat little free e-book with tips for thriving on less: Surviving Financially Difficult Times With Saturn

For some thrifty recipes for all the family check out My Daddy Cooks a real gem of a blog started by Nick Coffer after he lost his business and became a stay at home Dad. Illustrated by videos, it demonstrates how to make healthy, quick and cheap recipes for all the family, prepared with love by Nick and two year old Archie.

We need more than just practical help when we’ve got money worries, so here are some really good tips from Family Health Guide on how to cope with the stress that financial problems can bring to family life.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the astrological cycles of the planets and on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research.

Related articles by Mandi Lockley:
Limits, Boundaries and Barriers: The Planet Saturn
Saturn in Libra Retrograde: Relationship Review Time

The Sounds of Saturn: Tunes For A Transit