How did we get here from there? The Jupiter Saturn Cycle

Happening tomorrow (31st July)!

Mandi Lockley is discussing the relationship between the Jupiter-Saturn cycle, the rise of globalism and extraordinary breakthroughs in human development and I ask How Did We Get Here From There?

It's a timely topic, as we started a new 20 year cycle at the end of last year during a period of turmoil and change. This new cycle also heralds over 200 years of Jupiter-Saturn Conjunctions in the Air signs.

The written word, the Enlightenment, industrial revolution, tech revolution, climate change and global pandemic, are all examined through the lens of the Saturn-Jupiter mutation cycle.

Join us on Saturday 31st July, 5pm UK time (convert to your local time here)

Suitable for all levels

http://www.academyofastrology.co.uk/how-did-we-get-here.../

How Did We Get Here from There? The Jupiter Saturn Cycle & the Rise of Globalism

I'm very excited for my upcoming talk for the Academy of Astrology UK on 31st July. Here are the details:

How Did We Get Here from There? The Jupiter Saturn Cycle & the Rise of Globalism

The Conjunctions of the Jupiter and Saturn cycle, as they move through the four elements, are a reliable witness to how ideas and potentials become reality and the backdrop for humanity's most important developments.

Our journey begins thousands of years ago in ancient Sumer, when the seeds of our modern global connectedness were sown. Tracking the Jupiter Saturn Conjunctions through the elements, we will seek to answer the question: how did we get here from there?  

Along the way, we’ll look at how history has been transformed by developments in how we communicate and spread information. We’ll also consider how the speed of global change has dramatically increased over the last 40 years as the Conjunctions transitioned from the Earth signs to the Air signs. And we look at how the 2020 Aquarius Conjunction found the world battling an airborne virus and wondering: what is the new normal? 

Here's the booking link:

 http://www.academyofastrology.co.uk/how-did-we-get-here-from-there-the-jupiter-saturn-great-mutation-cycle/

It's part of the Academy of Astrology's Mundane Series of Lectures and it's a fabulous opportunity to hear some of the world's top astrologers discuss world astrology, the big outer planet cycles and much, much more...

https://www.academyofastrology.co.uk/mundane-astrology-series/

While we're here... here's the AOAUK's latest podcast where we have a very lively conversation, with loads of examples, about the current Venus-Mars Conjunction, triggering the ongoing Saturn-Uranus Square ... enjoy!

With love,

Mandi xxx

Empathy in the Birth Chart, Part 2

 In Part 1, we defined empathy and saw how, when we are in defensive mode, empathy is not always possible. Concluding that empathy itself can’t be seen in the birth chart, we discussed, with an illuminating case study, how our chart aspects suggest where our empathy-blocking defences can kick in. In Part 2, more signifiers for defence mechanisms in the birth chart…

Saturn aspects suggest defence mechanisms because Saturn tests, blocks and controls. It represents where we have fears and doubts and lack confidence. All of these are fuel for our defences.

With Venus-Saturn, for example, there might be defences against getting hurt in relationships, manifesting in a fear of letting others get too close. The Venus-Saturn person therefore might un-empathetically hurt and reject someone else before it can be done to them. (See Part 1 for a case study example of how a generational Mercury Square Saturn played out).

Lack of empathy can also come through some of the aspects we might think of as easier. Jupiter types, for example, who are confident, upbeat and optimistic, can sometimes lack tolerance and empathy for those who are struggling with low self-esteem or who, for whatever reason, lack the faith, courage and self-belief to pursue their dreams and ambitions.

Aspect patterns are also a good place to look for defences, especially T-Squares, which so often describe the nitty gritty issues in a person’s life. Grand Trines are also associated with defence mechanisms, because they represent where we hesitate to step out of our comfort zone.

If we think about the zodiac signs, Aries types might lack empathy for those who aren’t fast-paced go-getters; Taurus or Libra might disapprove of Aries' need to be numero uno and label them as aggressive or selfish, not understanding the Aries mission to go through life as a warrior. A Gemini type might be unfairly labelled as someone who can’t commit to one thing, with others not getting that Gemini is here to experience variety and needs to keep their options open. And so on, through the signs…

Back to those sensitive Water signs mentioned in Part 1 and why they might not always necessarily be empathetic. It’s because that emotional sensitivity, if it gets too much, can be defended against to protect the Water person from pain and suffering. I recently watched a Netflix show about teen fairies learning to harness their powers. One of them was an empath, who wore headphones constantly to protect herself from becoming overwhelmed by the feelings of others. Sensitive humans can also feel overwhelmed by their empathy at times and that’s when their psychological defences can kick in, which while offering protection, but can also block empathy.

The Cancerian retreating into their shell is a well known astrological symbolism. Cancerians need to feel safe and at home. They are drawn to people who help them to feel comfortable and once they find them, they seek to keep them close. Whether it’s their blood family or the ‘family’ they choose, Cancerians need to feel cushioned by their relationships. However, this can lead to clannish cliques and those who don’t make it into Cancer’s close circle might feel rejected. This is where a defence might make someone else feel the hurt that the defended person is trying to protect themselves from. The hurt doesn’t go away, it’s just passed on.

Scorpio of course has its famous defensive sting. Using that sting to point out others’ flaws, often with merciless honesty, is Scorpio’s way of protecting themselves from such searing scrutiny. Last of all, we have compassionate, empathetic Pisces; but feeling everyone’s emotions as if they are their own can make porous, sensitive Pisces retreat into victim mode. When Pisces feels that nobody’s problems are as bad as theirs, it’s hard for them to feel empathy. Conversely, Pisces, with a genuine desire to stop someone’s suffering, might go into full rescue mode, but if this is done with pity rather than real empathy, the support they offer can feel dis-empowering.

These examples show that while you can’t judge levels of natural empathy from a chart, you can see areas where empathy might potentially be blocked. Astrology can help with self-understanding and the recognition of where we fall into our defences. We all need defences of course, they are very useful, but by becoming more aware of them we can potentially see where they have become unhelpful and where we might be unwittingly hurting others or not recognising when they might need support and compassion and empathy.

Click here for Part 1 - Empathy in the Birth Chart?

Wondering about life post-pandemic?  A consultation can help you clarify what it might look like and better understand your opportunities, stumbling blocks and options.  Details here: Consultations and Other Services  

With love,

Mandi

 

Empathy in the Birth Chart?

I’ve been wondering lately; can the birth chart tell us how empathetic someone is?

Collins Dictionary describes empathy as “the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings.” In other words, it’s the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes, regardless of whether or not you have experienced what they are experiencing.

There are different kinds of empathy. Emotional empathy is how we commonly think of empathy, as per the dictionary definition above. There is also cognitive empathy, which is the ability to see things from someone else’s perspective without necessarily feeling their feelings. Then there’s compassionate empathy, which is when empathy is followed through with helpful action.

Emotional empathy is most easily associated with the Water element (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces), because qualities associated with Water are emotional sensitivity and connection. However, when Water dominates a chart, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee empathetic responses to the feelings of others (I’ll explain in Part 2 why this might be). It’s also not the case that those with a lack of Water in their chart or with a dominance of Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) or Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) don’t have as much capacity for empathy, although we might surmise that an Air type is likely to have more cognitive empathy than emotional, for example. However, I’m focusing on emotional empathy here and everyone, whatever the element balance in their chart, has feelings. It’s my experience that most people with any element emphasis or deficit in their chart are capable of this kind of empathy, but are also capable of showing a lack of empathy at times.

So, the question remains, can you determine empathy from the birth chart? I think not and nor, I believe, can you tell if someone lacks empathy from their chart. Lack of empathy/callousness is defined as one of the characteristics of psychopaths and I don’t believe you can spot one just from a chart, any more than you can spot an empath. But let’s assume, for the purposes of this essay, that most people are capable of some degree of empathy and look at the question from a different angle.

I was walking down a residential street this morning (heading for my local park) and got to thinking that perhaps the birth chart can tell us something about what might get in the way of empathy.

As I strolled, in a moment of universal synchronicity, something random happened that made me feel no empathy, followed by a distinct empathetic response just moments later.

Called out of my thinking head by shouting, my automatic conscious response was curiosity. What’s happening, where is this noise coming from? Meanwhile, unconsciously, my brain would have been trying to figure out if this posed any danger to me. So, no empathy here, just my natural, selfish, survival response with a measure of inquisitiveness. I discovered where the noise was coming from when a young woman ran yelling out of an open front door, swiftly followed by two police officers. As she crossed the road and started running directly towards me, the officers still in pursuit, again I felt no empathy. I only feared for my own safety, so moved out of the way pretty sharpish.

Once they’d passed me and I was safe, I again became curious about what was happening. The woman had been caught up by the police who were trying to restrain her. She was terribly upset; crying and begging them to let go of her. Now, witnessing her obvious distress, I felt upset and had the beginnings of tears in my eyes. I didn’t know the background of her situation, whether she’d hurt someone else or herself, or if she was having some sort of breakdown. Nevertheless, I had a fleeting emotional upset in response to this stranger’s anguish. In other words, I could empathise, despite the fact that I didn’t understand what was happening and that thankfully I’ve never myself been chased and restrained by the police. However, it was possible for me to imagine feeling so scared that I would need to run away from capture.

It would have been impossible for me to empathise when I felt I might be in danger in this uncertain situation. My automatic response was to defend myself, to make myself safe, nobody else mattered at that point. So, if it’s impossible to be empathetic when our defences are up (physical or emotional), we can explore how the defence mechanisms suggested by our birth chart, get in the way of, inhibit or delay our emotional empathy.

Where do we see our defences in our chart? A safe bet is that they are suggested by our aspects and aspect patterns. First, what do we mean by defences? Ego defence mechanisms “are psychological processes people use, in order to protect themselves against extreme discomfort and tension. They are also effective in maintaining mental composure and self-esteem in a variety of what might otherwise be very painful situations. Defence mechanisms operate at an unconscious level, and all of us use them occasionally. However, prolonged and persistent use of them is counter-productive, because such defences serve to distort reality and falsify experience.” (Hough, p85).

Square aspects between planets are an obvious candidate for showing potential defence mechanisms in the birth chart. This is because squares often impel us to act, but the tension of the Square means that that action might be the activation of a defence mechanism.  Take, for example, Mercury Square Saturn. This aspect suggests a fear of not being clever enough or a fear of being wrong and usually this fear stems from early life experiences. Perhaps the child was ridiculed or punished when they made a mistake? Perhaps their defence was to give up trying and live with the ‘story’ that they are stupid. Or perhaps they arm themselves with the ‘belief’ that they are right about everything and everyone else is wrong. This might feel like a safe place to sit and in the short term it protects from the threat of further punishment or ridicule. But to be wrong, to make mistakes, to allow ourselves to fail is how we learn and ultimately how we succeed. If someone beats themselves up over failing a test (or even for failing to get top marks in a test), how are they able to show empathy to others who might be struggling on that test and could perhaps use a little support and encouragement? And the subtle message the Mercury-Saturn person gives to others is that they think anyone who gets lower marks than them really is stupid.

A lady with this aspect who, while bright, for socio-economic reasons, was unable to get the education they wanted. Their child, however (also with Mercury Square Saturn) was able to access higher education. Throughout their years at university, the mother constantly denigrated and ridiculed the child’s desire to get educated, telling them they were lazy and a failure for choosing to get a degree over going straight into a job, marriage and children. Because the mother unconsciously felt envious and threatened by their child’s education opportunities and defended themselves accordingly, there was no empathy for the path their child had taken. Unaware for many years that their mother’s response was a defensive one, born of disappointment from their own childhood, the child was also unable to empathise with their mother’s insecurities and ended up feeling like the failure their mother said they were, while at the same time, emotionally disengaging from the mother, thus confirming the mother’s fears that they would lose their child if they got educated. 

This example, shows how, if we become aware of the issues of our challenging aspects, we can also become aware of our defences and ultimately understand what is behind them. When the child (as the well-educated adult they became) understood where their mother was coming from, they were able to forgive, rebuild the relationship, feel proud of their academic achievements and finally share them with the world without fear (or rather feel the fear and do it anyway - old habits die hard).

Part 2 coming soon... more examples of how defences in the birth chart can block empathy.

In the meantime, if  you enjoyed this article... you might also enjoy Jupiter, Saturn and the Superego

Wondering about life post-pandemic?  A consultation with Mandi Lockley can help you clarify what it might look like and better understand your opportunities, stumbling blocks and options.  Details here: Consultations and Other Services  

Reference: Hough, M. (2019) Counselling Skills and Theory. 4th Edition. UK: Hodder Education.

Jupiter, Saturn & The Superego

 

The Blogathon Lives On

Astroair Astrology celebrates its 10^th birthday this month and with Mercury currently retrograde, it’s a perfect time to recall past highlights. Today I remember a most exciting and memorable high point!

In 2010 I was thrilled to be invited by the late, great Donna Cunningham (author of many books, but most notably Healing Pluto Problems) to participate in an amazing Blogathon to celebrate International Astrology Day.

It was themed around the Saturn, Uranus, Pluto cardinal T-Square and comprised more than 70 articles from professional astrologers around the world. These articles provided helpful resources and advice to help readers deal with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto issues.

Donna, naturally, edited the Pluto section. Uranus was compiled by CJ Wright, better known as the wonderful Auntie Moon and Astroair Astrology compiled a series of articles about Saturn.

While some of the articles were of their time and others are sadly no longer available, many of them are still live and remain relevant today.

Here’s a selection of the best timeless articles:

Pluto problems have you perplexed? Here's what helps...

From Lawrence Grecco: Dealing with Pluto on the Angles

Pluto and Bullying – How to Recognise and Stop It and What to Tell Astrology Clients about Pluto in Capricorn both by Donna Cunningham and full of helpful resources and advice.

And from The Radical Virgo blog: Sleepless in America, What’s Pluto got to do with it?

Browse the full Pluto section, edited by Donna Cunningham, here

Uranus - claiming a self-reliant future

From the inimitable Steven Forrest: Transiting Uranus through the 12 houses

From the Void, Of Course blog: A Guide for Teens Studying Astrology

CosmiTec discusses break up transits in: When Love is Over - Divorce Horoscopes

From the technology section, Neeti Ray’s advice for astrologers on using social media: Astro Tribes and Connecting in the Age of Aquarius

Browse the full Uranus section, edited by Auntie Moon, here

Look after Saturn and Saturn looks after you...

From Donna Cunningham’s Skywriter blog - Saturn Transits – What do they mean for your Career?

In Tightening Your Belt with Saturn Mandi Lockley looks at Saturn transits to the money houses

Kathy Loveless on using the Emotional Freedom Technique to help with Saturn issues: Tapping for Saturn – Astrology & EFT

Using insightful client case studies, Jessica Shepherd Takes up the Long Conversation with Astrology

Browse the full Saturn section, coordinated by Mandi Lockley here

Planetary Tests

Donna devised a series of very clever tests to assess the strength of the outer planets in your birth chart!  Take the Saturn test here (and scroll down to test the strength of your Uranus, Neptune and Pluto)

Dedication 

Dedicated to Donna Cunningham, one the great astrologers of our time. Although we never met in person, she remained a friend and mentor after the Blogathon was completed. Her work lives on through her books and magazine articles as well as in all the incredible free articles and resources on her Skywriter blog.

And also a huge shout out to CJ Wright (Auntie Moon) from whom I also learnt a lot and who was a fun and supportive colleague on this project. Her website has gone from strength to strength over the years since and is also really beautiful – check it out here

With love,

Mandi xxx

How can Saturn help us live from the heart?

Are Saturn transits to the Sun in the natal chart destined to be depressing, to suck the joy out of your life?

My article, How can Saturn help us live from the Heart? discusses this concern. It was first published in Infinity Astrological Magazine and was recently re-published on the popular astro.com website.

Here's the introduction below and you can read the full article here

If you've ever taken an interest in self-help books or films, especially of the more spiritual variety, you'll have heard about the importance of following your heart, being true to your heart and living your truth.

There's no doubt that having a sense of purpose unique and authentic is crucial, but what does following/living from your heart really mean? Fortunately, astrology offers some clues.

The Sun in our birth chart represents our heart – the organ in our chest, but also in the emotional and psychological sense. Think about how we describe unsympathetic people as heartless or cold-hearted and supportive, generous people as warm-hearted or all-heart.

An understanding of the sign our Sun falls in, the House it tenants and its aspects with other planets and points, helps take us to the centre of ourselves, where our true heart lies. Our Sun complex describes our life direction and purpose and the hero we are meant to be.

When transiting Saturn contacts your Sun, it can feel heavy, restrictive, depressing even. Saturn's challenging transits – the Conjunction, Square and Opposition in particular – ask you to question whether the structure of your life supports your heart purpose, questions whether you are living in a heart-centred way… Read more here

And while you're there, check out some of other articles - astro.com republishes articles from every issue of the three main astrology mags - The Mountain Astrologer, AA Journal and Infinity Astrological Magazine (IAM). You'll find the work of some of the most respected names in astrology amongst them and a good mix of all the major schools of astrological thought - just scroll down on the home page http://www.astro.com/horoscope 

Songs for a Saturn Transit

Happy 2016. I saw in the New Year with my husband and a bunch of good friends and because they are metal fans, there were Lemmy Christmas cards, vintage Motörhead t-shirts and just before midnight our host shared a bottle of Motörhead Shiraz he'd been saving for a special occasion. We head-banged to Ace of Spades although perhaps not as violently as we might have done 20 years ago.

This made me remember something I wrote in 2010 - Sounds for a Saturn Transit - so I've reposted it below not only because it features the music of Mr Ian (Lemmy) Kilmister and his band, but also because it provides a little music therapy for those of you having, or looking forward to, a Saturn transit this year.

One, two, three, let's go....

Music therapy is a recognised and widely used therapeutic technique, which uses sound, dance and movement to aid physical, emotional and mental health.

In fact, as early as the 17th century it was said that music was critical in the treatment of melancholy, that very Saturnian state of mind that "goes and comes upon every small occasion of sorrow, need, sickness, trouble, fear, grief, passion...which causes anguish, dulness, heaviness and vexation of spirit, any ways opposite to pleasure, mirth, joy, delight"*.

 

And haven't most of us used music as a form of self-therapy? I mean who of you doesn't have a personal soundtrack to your life, for the best of times and for the worst? Remember being a broken-hearted, put upon, fed up, stressed-out teenager hiding in your room, listening to some angry rocking tracks and mournful dirges to make yourself feel better? Perhaps you were having a Saturn transit at the time?

Most of us still still use music as catharsis, even if we don't admit it, so in that spirit, here are some musical gems especially selected to indulge a Saturn transit.

 

"You win some, lose some, it's - all - the same to me"

Plug in your best air guitar and shout along, very loudly. Lead singer Lemmy was a Christmas Capricorn with a strong Saturn signature in his chart, so he knew just how you feel!

Also check out Capricorn by Motorhead "When I was young I was already old, My Life, my heart, black night, dark star, Capricorn."

"A song in which to weep, While we rock ourselves to sleep"
Nick Cave's trademark hybrid of lyrical blues, gospel, rock, and arty post-punk, results in a dark, challenging sound, full of emotional intensity, but somehow lifting. A talented song-writer, singer and author, Cave expresses his natal Mercury square Saturn perfectly, helped along by creative quintiles from Saturn to his Sun and Mars in Virgo.

"And I'm here to remind you, Of the mess you left when you went away"

Alanis Morissette's harsh and angry break up song has helped many a wronged woman through the worst. It's even rumoured that she wrote it about one of her own relationships! Like Cave (above), Morissette is also a Mercury-Saturn native, hers an exact conjunction in super-sensitive Cancer. [Warning: explicit lyrics]

 

"I try to laugh about it, Hiding the tears in my eyes"

This tune from post-punk, goth-pop band The Cure is a tale of a man who desperately wants to get his lost love back, but instead of showing how he really feels and asking for forgiveness, he hides his emotions, because boys don't cry, do they? An expression of singer-songwriter Robert Smith's Mercury-Mars-Saturn T-square perhaps? 

 

"How does it feel?"

Dylan's classic, written in 1965, was revolutionary and controversial in its day and it's gone on to become one of the most influential tracks of all time. It's easy to see how Dylan's natal stellium of Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus in his creative 5th house, are reflected in his music, with its Saturn-Uranus themes of protest and rebellion against tradition.

 

"Living just to find emotion, Hiding somewhere in the night"
If Dylan's classic symbolises Saturn-Uranus, then rock band Journey's rousing anthem was a great track for the [2010] Saturn-Pluto square. Originally a minor hit at the start of the current Saturn-Pluto cycle in '81/'82 it suddenly became a meteoric hit during [the most recent] Saturn-Pluto square, thanks to covers on the X-Factor and on popular TV show Glee.
 

Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age

No collection of Saturnine music would be complete without the Saturn movement from Gustav Holst's The Planets. Of all the seven movements, Saturn was said to be Holst's personal favourite. Enjoy the steady, serene, deliberate sound of stoicism.

What are your sounds for a Saturn transit?

NOTE: This is part of a collection of articles about the Saturn, Uranus, Pluto Cardinal T-Square for the International Astrology Blogathon, March 19-21, 2010. The rest of the collection is here: https://2010astrologycarnival.wordpress.com/
 

*The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton, 1621.

Artist birth data from http://www.wikipedia.org/ and Astrodatabank

Music selections by various persons

If you want to look further into how you can use music and sound therapeutically, type "music therapy" into Amazon and you'll find a long selection of books and other resources to choose from.

The 7 Year Itch

So my beloved and I have just enjoyed our seventh wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we went to see one of our favourite bands and the occasion was marked with a couple of intriguing coincidences.

My husband discovered that a couple of his friends - a couple - were attending the gig so we arranged to meet for a drink beforehand and as soon as they walked through the door I realised I hadn’t seen one of them since our wedding. Then, when we arrived at the venue, I spotted a guy at the back of the room on his own looking a bit out of place. I looked and then I looked again. It was who I thought it was; the ex of one of my husband’s relatives. And when was the last time we saw him? At our wedding of course! The gig wasn’t his thing; he was only there to help his friend who was doing the lights for the show. He was thrilled to see us and vice versa.

As I’m the type who looks for meaning in these things and in signs and symbols in general – I wouldn’t be into astrology if I didn’t – I got to thinking about what this strange synchronicity means.

As so often happens with me, my train of thought led me to the planet Saturn. Bear with me, this will make sense…

You see, the theory is that after around seven years a relationship can hit a point of crisis or dissatisfaction or even hit the rocks completely. It’s known as the seven year itch and it’s a testing time when we’re invited to take stock and decide whether another seven years is a viable prospect. We might consider what restraints and responsibilities our partnership demands and ask if these are balanced out by commitment and security and the promise of longer term rewards. More than anything, it’s a time to get real about our relationship.

The description above brims with Saturn imagery: testing time; getting real; restraints, commitment and responsibilities; hitting the rocks (Saturn rules rocks literally) and if you don’t know already, you’ve probably guessed that the Saturn cycle hits a hotspot once every seven years or thereabouts.

Using a marriage as an example, the date of the wedding is where the foundations are laid. Ground zero. After seven years, transiting Saturn has travelled three zodiac signs and makes its first Square aspect to Saturn’s placement in the marriage chart. The ‘rules’ of the relationship have been laid down over the preceding seven years and at the Square the urge may be to test the relationship’s boundaries, to challenge the status quo, to push  back against the duties and constraints the marriage demands. We might ask, does this relationship allow me to express my authentic self? Some may even stray (that seven year itch cliché) but the consequences of what we do, of the decisions we’ve made to date, will need to be faced and fresh decisions reached and a new path forged.

It can also be a positive time of course. Just because Saturn isn’t all jolly bells and whistles, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bestow deserved rewards from time to time. That seven year point, the Saturn Square, is a good opportunity to take stock of the relationship, to plan, together, for the next seven years. What do you both want? Do your goals and aspirations synchronise? Where do compromises need to be made? It’s probably fair to say that avoiding issues at this time won’t make them go away, so you may as well face them.

I should say here that my own marriage is happy. We are using this time to think about how far we’ve come, to celebrate that and then pack for wherever it is we’re going next. Together.

But what of those chance meetings with the two people I hadn’t seen since our wedding? Well the seven year cycle fits for them too. You see, the couple we met in the pub had only just got together when my husband and I married and now they are in a committed relationship. As for the other guy, his relationship with my husband’s relative broke up shortly after our wedding. Now, seven years on, he’s a parent and his ex is very happily married to someone else and about to become a parent for the first time.

So, time marches on and we get older and wiser and we take on more commitment and responsibility, but for any heartache along the way, oh what joy and love life also brings.

With love,

Mandi

News update:

I’ve been concentrating on fiction writing these last few months and that’s the main reason why there have been fewer posts here as Astroair, and I’m very pleased to reveal that one of my short stories, The Box - a dark tale exploring psychic oversensitivity - will be published in the January edition of Massacre Magazine.

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark

Astroair Astrology is thrilled to announce the publication of Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark.

Find out how you and your loved ones may be affected by Saturn in Scorpio.

Saturn entering the intense, inscrutable and controlled sign of Scorpio on October 5 may feel worrying, especially given the disruptive and unsettling changes the world and many individuals are facing.

This new book from Mandi Lockley - Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark - is designed to help you successfully navigate the cold and deep waters of this transit and tap into its healing and transformative potential.

The major themes of Saturn in Scorpio are explored in-depth including issues of safety, fear and control; sex and intimacy; the power of love; rejection, anger, vengeance and forgiveness; the power of the unconscious and money, debt and taxes.

Discover how these themes and more may be relevant to you personally and how best to cope with them, but also discover how they will be reflected in the wider world.

Anxious about your Saturn transit? Saturn in Scorpio’s transit to your own birth chart is covered in detail, including its transit to your natal houses and planets and there's an extended section on those all-important Saturn to Saturn transits. Many books and websites deal with astrological Saturn in general and Saturn transits in particular, but this book is specifically tailored to the unique experience of Saturn in Scorpio.

This comprehensive astrological guide also examines how Saturn in Scorpio fits into other current and upcoming major planetary alignments including the ongoing revolutionary and disruptive Uranus-Pluto Squares and the Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune Grand Trine of 2013. Find out how we might see these energies manifest in the world around us.

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark also includes a bonus chapter on the Secondary Progressed Moon cycle - an important and very personal cycle of emotional maturity - and explains how it links with your personal Saturn cycle.

This book is suitable for all levels of astrological knowledge. Whether you are a beginner to astrology, a serious student, or a consulting astrologer working with clients, Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark will be a valuable resource to help you through this challenging transit.

For the beginner, the book has instructions on how to calculate your Saturn transit and includes a Saturn in Scorpio ephemeris, for quick and easy calculation.

For excerpts of the book see here and here. For a review, see here (thanks to Donna Cunningham and Auntie Moon).

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark is available for download at Amazon now at a special introductory price of £3.80 (UK), $6.17 (US) and equivalent prices in other currencies (see your local Amazon site for details).

The book is in Kindle format. If you don’t have a Kindle device you can download free Kindle reader apps from Amazon for PC; Mac; iPad; iPhone; iPod Touch; and all other major smartphones and tablets. Just search for Kindle in the app store on your device.

If you would prefer a PDF copy, this is available at a cost of £7.00. Click on the ‘Buy Now’ button to pay. Once your order has been processed, your PDF will be delivered to your inbox.

Please note, all PDF orders are sent out manually. We endeavour to send out all PDFs within an hour or two, but sometimes it might take a little longer due to time zone differences.

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark

I'm very excited about my upcoming book:

Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide Through The Dark

Saturn’s upcoming ingress into Scorpio may feel a little worrying, but this new guide has been put together to help you successfully navigate the cold and deep waters of this transit.

The major themes of Saturn in Scorpio are explored in depth including issues of safety, fear and control; sex and intimacy; the power of love; rejection, anger, vengeance and forgiveness; the power of the unconscious and money, debt and taxes.

Find out how these themes and more may be relevant to you personally, but also discover how they will be reflected in the collective.

Concerned about how Saturn in Scorpio will affect your own birth chart?  Its transit through your natal houses and to your planets is also covered in great detail.

This unique guide also examines how Saturn in Scorpio fits into other current and upcoming major planetary alignments including the Uranus-Pluto Squares; the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto Yod of December 2012; the Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune water Grand Trine of 2013 and much more.

There's even a bonus chapter on the Secondary Progressed Moon cycle.

Coming in one week in e-book format! Subscribe now to receive full details in your inbox.

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Saturn in Libra Retrograde: Relationship Revision Time (Redux)

Saturn image from NASA

This article was first published on this blog in January '10. This is an updated version.

Saturn, the great lesson-teacher of the zodiac, turns Retrograde from 26 January 2010 at 17 degrees of Libra. It will travel back to 10 degrees Libra and will turn direct on 13 June. Saturn will remain in Libra until October 2012, with one further Retrograde period between Feb and June 2012.

The Retrograde periods are a great time to review your progress under Saturn in Libra.

Libra is fair minded and craves peace and balance and harmonious relationship. Saturn is also fair, BUT works us hard and makes us pay our dues. So, you can't expect everything to be automatically lovey-dovey lovely with Saturn in Libra, we are going to have to work at it! Sound like a buzz-kill? Well, remember that Libra needs a bit of conflict and disharmony otherwise it doesn’t have a job to do. Libra needs a balance to find, a peace deal to negotiate, a relationship to build and a compromise to be brokered and Saturn provides the structure and authority to enable Libra to do that job very effectively. Then, when all is said and done, Saturn in Libra will put you on its karmic scales, deduct points for laziness, add points for effort and goods delivered and then, in the nicest possible way, give you just what you need and everything you deserve.

Saturn’s first major quest in Libra was a challenging series of square aspects to Pluto in Capricorn. The essential phrase to describe Saturn-Pluto aspects is hard, hard, work! Not much fun, was it? However, this was where Saturn’s exultation in Libra came in, for in Libra, Saturn actually enjoys putting the work in. If you note that Pluto’s current placement in Capricorn is also a sign that Saturn absolutely loves, then you can see that Saturn in Libra Square Pluto in Capricorn is a very, very dynamic interaction. Boy, was it dynamic! There was hard work, possibly losses, maybe a few scary demons to face, some bridges to build and re-build and a huge clean up job to do. BUT, at an individual and a world level, it was an opportunity for us to put our grist to the mill, work hard, hard, hard and ultimately make the necessary changes and cut backs we needed to get off on a good, solid, realistic footing for the future. Who knows, if we dug deep enough, shifted enough dirt and scrubbed enough mucky old boulders, we might even have unearthed some very valuable buried treasure or flawless gems, metaphorically speaking!

But Pluto wasn't the only planet that Saturn in Libra met. In 2008 Saturn in Virgo began a series of oppositions with Uranus in Pisces. The last of these change making, status-quo shaking, disruptive oppositions occurred in July 2010 just before the final Saturn-Pluto square, with Saturn in Libra and Uranus in Aries.

Now, as Saturn in Libra turns retrograde, it's time to review what's happened over the last year or so. So what have been your 'Saturn' lessons so far? What’s made you work hard? Where did you find hidden gems? What changed? What was turned on its head? Was it exciting or was it stressful and unsettling? Are things resolved or is there still some work to do? 

Think back to any conflicts you experienced over the last few months, perhaps at work or in your intimate relationships. Ask yourself how you could have handled it better. Was it all about winning the argument or did you just give in to the other person’s demands? Do you think you would have felt better if you had worked for a fair compromise that could have helped both parties?

In your major relationships, where does the balance of power lie? Do you give your power away by letting the other person take advantage of you? Why do you do this? Is it because you are afraid of conflict, or afraid that the other person won’t like you/love you/respect you if you stand up for yourself?

Is your behaviour often influenced by a need to please others or a need to be popular? Consider what would happen if, in the nicest way, you pleased yourself a bit more? How would others react? If you think they would not accept it, then perhaps you might consider if their respect/friendship/time etc. is really so important that you would be willing to always put their needs before your own in order to have them in your lives? Most likely, after adjusting to your new behaviour, they would still love and respect you, perhaps even more so.

Similarly, do you find you spend a lot of time running around after others, so much so that you don’t have time to get your own needs met? If so, how can you make more time for yourself? Do you need to learn to ask for help, rather than doing it all yourself? How do you feel about the time you spend doing things for others? Do you do it out of duty but secretly resent it? If so, maybe it’s time to re-balance things.

At work or at home, are you one of those ‘if you want something doing right, do it yourself’ types? If so, is it perhaps time to learn to delegate more? Or perhaps learn to work alongside others, doing it together? Wouldn’t this approach be more fun and more rewarding? Consider what you might learn from each other and how much more you could achieve as a team.

How have your relationships changed over the last year? Has the change been for the better? Have you freed yourself from toxic relationships or are you still hanging on to unhealthy associations? Have you given yourself permission to grieve for lost relationships, an important part of the healing process so you can move on?

If life still feels like hard, hard work at the moment, consider whether your efforts are being put to best use and whether they are focused in the right direction. Are negative emotions (fear, stress, anger, anxiety etc) overly exhausting you and making things feel worse. Perhaps you need to take a step back and unravel all this emotion in order to move forward healthily?

Finally and most importantly think about all your relationship successes over the last few months. Give yourself a pat on the back for friendships you have grown and developed, helpful alliances you have formed and for the happy, harmonious moments you've shared in your closest relationships.

I know life may still feel difficult for many right now, but can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Just a glimmer? Remember, every bit of progress counts, however small and Saturn has a very long memory.

While we all, to a lesser or greater extent, absorb the energies around us, this Saturn Retrograde period will have most resonance with those of you who have planets or angles between 10 and 17 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). You can quickly download your own birth chart which will provide you with this information in a simply understood way at http://www.alabe.com/

Note: This original version of this article featured in Saturn in Libra and Relationships, published on Sasstrology 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.

Blessings,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/

Censorship in Saturn-Pluto Times

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

The above quote, attributed to 17th Century Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, reminds us that freedom of speech and the attempt to suppress it – censorship - is an issue that spans back centuries, probably ever since humans first felt the urge to share their opinions and push the boundaries of their creative expression.

I was reminded that censorship is well and truly still with us when I attended FrightFest, a festival showcasing new fantasy and horror films, which takes place every August at the Empire Leicester Square in central London.

FrightFest is in its 11th year and the 2010 edition was the first time that official bodies have ever queried any of the titles in the festival’s line up. Two films were affected, the remade I Spit On Your Grave and the controversial A Serbian Film. Both were due to be shown as unedited, unrated versions, the norm for this type of film festival. However, Westminster Council, under whose jurisdiction the Empire Leicester Square falls, queried the content of both movies and stipulated that they be rated and passed by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) before they would allow them to be shown.

Echoing this censorship theme was the airing at FrightFest of new documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape, which looks at the UK government and media reaction to the widespread, unregulated distribution of so-called ‘video nasty’ movies in the early 1980’s.

The censorship debate at this year’s festival seems very fitting, astrologically speaking, when you consider that the final exact alignment of the current Saturn-Pluto squares that begun in late 2009, occurred just four days before the start of the event.

Saturn and Pluto are two of the most heavy-hitting of the planets in astrology and when they line up in an angular relationship (such as a conjunction, square or opposition), it is reflected in the collective as restriction, control, oppression, conservative reaction and censorship. Restraints tend to be placed on collective freedoms by authority figures, their rationale often being that they are doing it ‘for our own good’. Collectively, we are made very aware of moral boundaries and taboos, but we are also asked to find the moral courage to face our darkest fears. This is because during Saturn-Pluto times, metaphorically speaking, we are visited by the devil, come to take us to hell and back, stealing our innocence along the way.

Following screenings at other major film festivals around the world,  A Serbian Film, was due to get its first public UK screening at FrightFest. Undoubtedly, the movie deals with ‘taboo’ subjects, containing graphic depictions of pedophilia, rape, necrophilia and incest.

When Westminster Council, which in this context can be seen as a Saturnian authority figure, queried this movie, FrightFest’s organisers duly submitted the film to the BBFC, who asked for 49 cuts, amounting to 3 minutes and 49 seconds of content. This occurred just a couple of days before the festival was due to start and festival organiser Alan Jones made the decision not to show the movie, telling the FrightFest audience, “I am not going to stand here and tell you that you are going to watch a heavily censored version of a film.” He added that the film had already been shown at many other film festivals around the world without a problem, although he acknowledged that the film was challenging and would be disturbing to some. In a media release Jones explained “Film4 FrightFest has decided not to show A Serbian Film in a heavily cut version because, as a festival with a global integrity, we think a film of this nature should be shown in its entirety as per the director’s intention," [1]

According to director Srđan Spasojević, the movie “is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government... It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don’t want to do.” [2] I cannot comment on the movie, as I did not view it, but you can read a plot synopsis on Wikipedia [2], but be warned, it makes for disturbing reading.

The reviews offer a flavour of how the film has been received and undeniably describe a Plutonic experience, with one review by Tim Anderson of Bloody Disgusting likening watching the film to having one’s “soul raped”. He goes on to say, "if what I have written here is enough to turn your feelings of wonder into a burning desire to watch this monstrosity, then perhaps I haven't been clear enough. You don't want to see Serbian Film. You just think you do." [3]

Another reviewer, Scott Weinburg says, “[the] film seems aggressively intent on delivering some moments that, indeed, you will never forget, even if you want to…I believe it's one of the most legitimately fascinating films I've ever seen. I admire and detest it at the same time. And I will never watch it again. Ever." [4]

Furthermore, user reviews on at imdb.com say that this movie is extreme, disturbing and hellish, exploring dark themes of evil, power and control. Most agree that watching this film is an experience you will never forget and urge prospective viewers to approach it with extreme caution. Reading these reviews makes it sound like watching the movie is akin to experiencing a condensed Saturn-Pluto transit, to the power of 1,000! [5]

Interestingly, the film chosen to replace A Serbian Film was Buried [6], a tense, claustrophobic piece, limited to just one point of view throughout, that of a man buried under the ground, confined in a wooden box. It seemed there was no escaping those Saturn-Pluto themes!

Echoing the censorship debate over A Serbian Film, the festival had already lined up a premiere of a documentary about historical censorship, Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape, [7] [8] which looks in-depth at the “Video Nasty” phenomenon of the early 80’s, a time when video was relatively new and totally unregulated. This left the field wide open for small film makers and distributors to find a brand new market for their movies. Not surprisingly, many of these films were low budget, violent horror movies designed to shock and so the “Video Nasty” was born. The public outcry in the UK was fuelled by pro-censorship lobbyists and widespread media campaigns, which feared that these films would deprave and corrupt the minds and morals of children and young adults. This eventually led to the government pushing through the Video Recordings Act 1984 which imposed a stricter code of censorship on videos than was required for cinema release. The Act also birthed the BBFC.

The push for censorship of these films began in earnest in 1982, its timing bang on for the exact alignment of the early 80’s Saturn-Pluto conjunction, which marked the beginning of the current Saturn-Pluto cycle. The timing of the Video Recording Act in ’84, synchs with the end days of the influence of that same conjunction.

The timing of this new documentary represents perfect closure for that particular slice of historical censorship, coming as it does at the tail end of the last major Saturn-Pluto alignment of the current cycle.

Ironically, but not surprisingly, the Director of Public Prosecution’s list of designated ‘Video Nasties’ soon became the list of must-see movies for teenagers all over the land! One of the films on the ‘Nasties’ list was I Spit On Your Grave, a film that remains controversial to this day due to its depiction of gang rape, followed by graphic depictions of violent revenge subsequently taken by the rape victim on her attackers.

An unrated version of a remade I Spit On Your Grave, [9] its European premiere, was scheduled to be shown at this year’s FrightFest, but like A Serbian Film, Westminster Council, expressed concern over the movie’s sexually violent content and insisted that the festival organisers have the film passed by the BBFC before they would allow it to be screened. The BBFC found that a total of 17 cuts (amounting to 43 seconds), needed to be made, in order for it be classified as an 18 certificate (roughly equivalent to the US ‘R’ rating) and shown at FrightFest. [10] In this case, the festival organisers made the decision to show the cut film, stressing that the cuts made, which were all to the rape scenes in the first half of the movie and not to the gory revenge scenes that followed, did not compromise the film’s artistic integrity.

Again, it’s interesting to note that a movie that came to notoriety at the start of the current Saturn-Pluto cycle has been remade for a new generation of horror fans during the last square, the final quarter, of the same cycle.

The film was on the whole well received by festival goers. I for one thought that is was very well done and while the rape scenes were very dark and difficult to watch, I took grim pleasure in seeing the rapists get their bloody comeuppance. It will be interesting to see the reaction it gets when it goes on general release

The chart for FrightFest 2010 [11] is telling, because the Saturn-Pluto square is very prominent, with Pluto, here representing horror, on the Ascendant and Saturn, representing the boundaries set by official bodies and authority figures, in the dark house of sex and taboo, the eighth. Saturn and Pluto also connect in hard aspect to Jupiter and Uranus, symbolising the unexpected shocks and surprises at this year’s festival, events which in retrospect, may seem a little exaggerated.

Communication planet Mercury is Retrograde in Virgo and also in the 8th, another indicator that the festival’s schedule would need to be reviewed and re-jigged. Certainly, the event was dogged with a few Mercury Retrograde-esque technical issues at the start.

Meanwhile, Neptune, the planet which symbolises movies and represents illusions and fantasies, opposes the Sun, also in the 8th, reminding us that for all the fuss, these films are merely works of fiction, no matter how challenging their themes and their images might be.

Or to put it another way, “to avoid fainting, keep repeating "It's only a movie...It's only a movie..." [12]

Notes and References

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/aug/27/a-serbian-film-frightfest
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serbian_Film
[3] http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film/4501/review
[4] http://www.fearnet.com/news/reviews/b18477_sxsw_2010_review_serbian_film.html
[6] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462758/
[7] Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape is released on DVD in the UK on October 11th: http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/15903775/Video-Nasties-The-Definitive-Guide/Product.html
[8] You can see a clip of the Q&A/debate that followed the screening of Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape at FrightFest, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P2T-nuGTts  
[9] For more on I Spit on your Grave see http://www.ispitonyourgravemovie.com/  The film is due for general release this fall. At the time of writing, it is intended that the movie shown in its uncut version in the US.
[10] You can read the BBFC’s ruling on A Serbian Film and I Spit on your Grave http://www.bbfc.co.uk/press/newsreleases/bbfc-cuts-a-sernian-film-and-remake-of-i-spit-on-your-grave 
[11] Chart set for 26 August 2010, 5pm, London. The time used is the advertised start time of the first day of the festival.
[12]Tagline for banned “Video Nasty” The Last House on the Left, the first film by noted horror director Wes Craven http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_House_on_the_Left_(1972_film)
For more on the censorship issues at FrightFest see: FrightFest: return of the censor? http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/newsandviews/festivals/frightfest-2010-nasties.php
For more on the current Saturn-Pluto cycle see: http://mandilockley.blogspot.com/2009/11/saturn-pluto-part-3-politics-economics.html

http://www.mandilockley.com/