Astrology for February ~ Neptune swims into Pisces & Saturn in Libra's on the turn

February is upon us and with it has come some pretty chilly weather across parts of Europe. But what about the astrological weather this month?

February brings two big events, Neptune enters Pisces on February 4th and Saturn in Libra turns Retrograde on February 7th.

Neptune dipped its trident into Pisces back in April last year, before re-entering Aquarius in August. Now it settles in Pisces until 2026.

Neptune is the planet of illusion, dissolution, the dissolving of barriers and boundaries, meltdowns, glamour, scandals and collective emotional undercurrents. Pisces is the sign of compassion, imagination, spirituality, merging, yielding and the victim-saviour-martyr complex. Put them together and the possibilities are endless, indefinable, unfathomable.

See A Neptune in Pisces Miscellanea for more themes associated with Neptune in Pisces, based on its last stay there. It looks at fashion, compassion, watery technology and how we all need to be more sensitive to the feelings of others…

No doubt there’ll be more to come on Neptune in Pisces in the following weeks…

When Saturn turns retrograde in Libra on February 7th, take some time to consider how you came to be where you are right now. This could be an important step in the process of negotiating a way forward, even if it means taking a temporary step back.

To find out more about why this Saturn retrograde is an important one and how to do you your own personal Saturn review, see An Urgent Post about Saturn in Libra

See also Saturn in Libra through the Houses to find out which areas of life Saturn is prompting you to review.

February 7th also brings a Full Moon in Leo. New facts come to light under a Full Moon and emotions come to a head. We feel more sociable and keener to put ourselves under the spotlight.

Full Moons ask us to consider the issues of the opposing signs the Sun and Moon fall in. Together, Leo and Aquarius symbolize the need to balance the individual need for personal gain and acclaim with the need to help, support and be equal to everyone else. Aquarius shouldn’t deny Leo’s right to be king, but needs to insist that the king serves with integrity and honesty. Teamwork and delegation of authority is everything to Aquarius. Selfish greed is not acceptable. Aquarius teaches that it is through serving the group, the community, the team, our friends, that we gain the honour and significance that is so crucial to Leo. Conversely, Leo teaches Aquarius that sometimes you have to take the lead if the cause is important enough. Somebody has to stand up for the masses, rebel against the status quo and shake the system up if there is to be any chance of a lasting change for the better. An important message for our current times, I feel.

Later in February – on the 19th - the Sun moves into Pisces, immediately joining up with Neptune for what promises to be an emotionally sensitive few days, especially as this segues with the Pisces New Moon – the dark of the Moon – on February 21st.

By the time the New Moon comes around, we’ll feel the need for a bit of R&R and TLC. Slow down, sleep, dream, listen to your intuition, send out healing thoughts, sing, dance, create something beautiful. Go with the flow. The time to act on plans will be after this New Moon, but bear in mind that both Saturn and Mars are retrograde so it might take a little longer to put your plan into action or to see the results of your efforts.

For more insights into Pisces see: Pisces Quotes: Woundrous Words of Feelings and Pisceans In Their Own Words
For dates and details of all the Moon’s phases this month, see The Moon Pages at Astroair Astrology.

Here, you will also find February’s Void of Course Moon Times. The basic premise is that if you attempt to do something important under a Void of Course Moon nothing will come of it. It’s not a theory to plan every little detail of your life by, but I’ve found it a useful tool for planning important events and making crucial decisions. Find out more here. The Void of Course Moon chart also shows when the Moon changes signs (which happens approximately every two and a half days).

Enjoy February, which this year – being a Leap Year – gives us an extra bonus day!

With love

Mandi

http://www.mandilockley.com/ 

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An Urgent Post About Saturn in Libra (& Your Personal Saturn Review)

Saturn in Libra requires our serious consideration over the next few weeks. Mid January, it moved into the final degree of Libra, where it will stay until March 3.

The final degree of any sign, the 29^th degree, is known as the Anaretic (or Critical) Degree.  When a planet is at the Anaretic Degree there is a sense of urgency and extremism. Closure is required before the planet can move fully into the energies of the next sign, so issues/themes related to the planet’s outgoing sign placement come to a head. Things can seem as if they’re at the end of their rope with fast action required to find a solution. Issues that have been complacently pushed to one side tend to pop up for urgent resolution. There’s a sense that time is running out. Decisions need to be made quickly.

For Saturn in Libra, this is an especially tense visit to the Anaretic Degree. It will stay there longer than it usually would due to its slow movement as it prepares to station Retrograde at 29 Libra on February 8 (see data at the end). The Retrograde (apparent backward movement) of Saturn makes it doubly likely that old issues will come up over the next few weeks.

Saturn Retrograde in the final degree of Libra is a time to review your progress over the last couple of years. Tie up loose ends, clear up unresolved issues, reflect upon losses one last time, allow yourself to enjoy the rewards of your achievements, make some (perhaps difficult) decisions, restore your sense of balance and prepare to let go so you can move on.

How this will affect you depends on which house Saturn in Libra is transiting in your chart and which natal planets it’s transiting, if any. The house Saturn has been moving through reflects the area of your life where you have been facing Saturn’s tests, delays, obstacles and challenges, where you have had to take responsibility, meet obligations and learn lessons.

In particular, Saturn in Libra has brought lessons and tests around diplomacy, compromise and fairness. It’s asked you to take relationships more seriously, to set healthy boundaries and to get the give-take balance right. Any kind of relationship could have felt like a heavy responsibility under this transit. Solid relationships have become more committed, but others may have broken down. We have learnt lessons around communicating and relating to others. We’ve been urged to play by the rules, stop competing and learn to cooperate and negotiate. Disputes, arguments and claims may have arisen. Some have been settled, but others remain to be resolved. Under Saturn in Libra peace and harmony has been more than possible, but you will have discovered that achieving it requires hard work, patience and constant compromise.

Your Personal Saturn in Libra Review

Back in 2010, Astroair Astrology wrote about the themes of Saturn in Libra through the Houses, including handy tips. Use these themes and tips as your starting point for your own Saturn in Libra Review.

Here are the links:

Saturn in Libra through Houses 1-6

Saturn in Libra through Houses 7-12  

In case you’re quite new to astrology, both links explain how to quickly and easily work out what house Saturn in Libra is moving through.

Here are a a few questions to start you off (relate these to the area of life represented by the house Saturn has been transiting):

What have I learnt?

What obstacles have I overcome?

What new responsibilities have I taken on? Are they still relevant going forwards?

Where have I been held back/held myself back?

What have I achieved?

How has the way I have related to others improved?

Where in my life (or in the life of others), have I helped to create harmony and good relating?

What loose ends do I need to tie up?

What compromises have I had to make? Has it been worth it?

What do I need to let go of?

What decisions need to be made now?

I hope things come together for you over the next few weeks. Certainly, having a personal review now can only help, especially if things come to an urgent head and you need to act quickly or make a difficult decision. Let me know how you get on.

With love,

Mandi

www.mandilockley.com

Data

• January 15, 2012: Saturn enters 29 Libra 00 (enters the Anaretic Degree)
• February 8, 2012: Saturn stations Retrograde 29 Libra 30
• March 3, 2012: Saturn enters 28 Libra 59 (leaves the Anaretic Degree)
  June 25, 2012: Saturn turns direct on 25 June at 22 Libra 45
• September 28, 2012: Saturn enters 29 Libra 00 (re-enters the Anaretic Degree)
• October 6, 2012: Saturn enters Scorpio

Say Hello 2012, Wave Goodbye 2011 (and some handy survival tips)

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and I hope you enjoyed the celebrations. Of course, we weren't just saying hello to the New Year, we were letting go of the old year.

I celebrated with friends and at midnight, as we stood on the roof of their building watching the fireworks over London, someone shouted, goodbye 2011, you were c**p! Yes, without a doubt, 2011 was a year when many of us were swept up in a tide of change, challenge and difficulty.

This was reflected in the symbolism of the planetary alignments, most notably the applying square of radical, impetuous Uranus in Aries to Pluto in Capricorn, which demands sweeping transformation of our societal structures from the foundations up, including our economic and political structures and leaders. Who would have believed that 2011 would see the end of Mubarak's regime in Egypt, the overthrowing of Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the assassination of Osama bin Laden,  the humiliating fall of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi? Instead, People Power was the way forward, witnessed most dramatically in the Arab Spring uprisings, but also in the riots and protests across Europe and in the worldwide Occupy movement.

Saturn continued through Libra, prompting us to question the boundaries of our relationships and alliances, on a personal level but also on a collective and political level. In the Eurozone crisis for example, relationships amongst EU countries have been strained almost to the limit over questions around who should pay to bailout failing Eurozone countries.

Neptune continued to travel hand in hand with Chiron, as both planets played out their last days in Aquarius and immersed themeselves in watery Pisces (Neptune finally leaves Aquarius behind in February). This suggests a collective (and for some, a personal) need to feel and understand sacrifice at a deep level. We're being told that, even though times are hard and set to get even harder, we're all in this together. Beware though, Neptune can be the great deceiver. Are we really all in this together? The Occupy Movement would say no we're not, the 99% are being asked to pick up the tab for the mistakes of the 1% who continue to 'get away with it'. The romanticism of Neptune in Pisces came out in the fairy tale fantasy that was the royal wedding and we were reminded of the destructive power of water by the devastating tsunami and nucleur crisis in Japan.

What will 2012 bring, more of the same? I believe it will bring the same and more.

The new People Power is only just finding its feet. It will continue to gain momentum as Uranus and Pluto make their first and second of seven exact squares in June and September 2012. Five more squares follow in 2013, 14 and 15. Exciting new leaders will begin to emerge, but in the end will they be any better than the leaders they will replace, or just different? Economically, we're set for another recession in 2012, with some even predicting a depression. I think they're correct, all the indications are there. It's a necessary step towards overhauling a system that is no longer working. We have failed to change voluntarily so we must do it the hard way. It's just a pity that this will mean suffering for so many. As for the '1%', as the Uranus and Pluto squares bed in, we will see more and more of them being held accountable for the messes they have created. Expect to see an avalanche of corporate and political heads rolling over the next three years. Again, will their replacements be any better or will the ousted leaders just be sacrificial gestures (Neptune in Pisces) so that the 1% can get back to 'business as usual' as quickly as possible? This is a time when we really can change the world, but also a time where it will be too easy to miss the opportunity if we don't fight hard enough or shout loud enough.

In October 2012, Saturn makes a clean break from Libra and enters Scorpio, where it will remain until 2015. Uneasy alliances and shaky friendships won't survive this transition. The UK coalition government will begin to break down, perhaps acrimoniously and I will be surprised if we don't see more than one country crashing out ot the Euro currency. People and communities, as well as countries, will become more secretive and more concerned about protecting what they've got, less inclined to share or compromise. Law and order, national, local and personal security and immigration will  become hot topics during Saturn's time in Scorpio. See Theodore White's article for more on Saturn in Scorpio.

Neptune in Pisces will be reflected on all levels, all at once. Expect the power of nature to make herself known over and over, but also expect to be heartened by the compassion and empathy of the human race in response to any kind of suffering or hardship. This is where Chiron in Pisces comes in and it will be those who have suffered the most that will have the most to offer others in hardship or despair. Neptune in Pisces will continue to come out through music, fashion, movies and in our spirituality. Expect a fantasy/escapism theme to emerge in all these areas. Fashion will follow film and the Maggie Thatcher look (yes, really), will be the height of glamour, closely followed by styles from The Great Gatsby. New findings into the nature of consciousness and the interconnectedness of all life will be published. Science will more and more come to feel like a religious experience, as discoveries in astrophysics push the boundaries of our comprehension and make us question reality. Lies and trickery will also be the order of Neptune in Pisces and deceptions will be uncovered. The full extent of the phone hacking scandal will emerge, including details of exactly how Piscean Rupert Murdoch played his part.

My survival tips for 2012?

Don't believe all that you see or all that you hear. Seek the answers from within and even then question yourself. In fact, this is a year to question everything,

Fight for your rights (and for the rights of others).

Stand up for who you are and be the unique person you were always meant to be.

Don't blindly follow any kind of leader, especially any kind of guru who claims to have all the answers.

Folllow your own lead.

Be your own boss.

Cut out the weed, cut down on the booze, keep a toe in reality if you're tempted to go on any flight of fantasy.

Create something beautiful.

Let go of the illusion of security and feel safe anyway.

2012 will push many of us to the edge, keeping clean and healthy in mind, body and spirit will help us to appreciate the view without falling off.

Most of all, do it all with love.

Hold on tight, our future is here

With love,
Mandi
www.mandilockley.com

Will David Cameron Survive the News of the World Scandal?

i newspaper headline 19 July '11

As I write, calls for British Prime Minister David Cameron to quit or at the very least apologise over his part in the News International crisis are growing. The criticism is centred around Cameron’s appointment of disgraced former News of the World editor Andy Coulson to a government advisory position. Coulson resigned this post earlier this year and has since been arrested over the phone hacking scandal. Betting odds on Cameron resigning were yesterday slashed from 100/1 to 8/1.

Why is Cameron in such a dangerous position now? Well, the two most senior officers in the Metropolitan police resigned yesterday over the scandal, specifically over the Met’s appointment of former News of the World journo Neil Wallis. Wallis has also since been arrested over the hacking scandal. So the question is, if that is enough to bring down two Met chiefs, why not Cameron, whose appointment of Coulson seems just as dodgy as the Met’s hiring of Wallis?

Let’s take a look at the charts. Below is a tri-wheel. In the centre is the UK 1801 chart, Cameron’s chart is in the middle, and around the outside are the transits for tomorrow when Cameron will be back in parliament. (Tri-wheels can look at bit busy, so the individual charts are posted at the end.)

Click to enlarge

The first striking thing is that Cameron’s Venus in Libra falls exactly on the UK’s Ascendant. The ASC and first house is arguably the most important point in a country chart, because it represents the country and its inhabitants as a whole.

With a Libra ASC and first house, the UK prides itself on its fair and just society, as well as on its diplomacy, its negotiating expertise and its ability to get along with other countries. Simply put, the UK wants to be liked, it aims to please. With Cameron’s Venus so tightly conjunct the UK ASC and because Venus is highly dignified in Libra by ruler-ship, it is easy and natural for Cameron to channel and represent these positive UK ‘qualities’.

Cameron’s Sun in Libra also falls in the UK’s first house and this is where the picture gets more difficult for him. Traditionally, the Sun in Libra is in its fall. Planets in their fall are said to feel uncomfortable and weak, with reduced power to assert themselves. The Sun in Libra therefore needs the support of others to achieve its goals. We can see how Cameron has made the most of his networks to gain power, starting off with an Eton/Oxbridge education, a combination that is still a ticket to power, if you can afford it. Even before the hacking scandal blew up, there were rumblings about Cameron’s background amongst certain sectors when he announced his government austerity measures (severe cuts in jobs and services). They asked whether a man of his privilege could have any understanding of the ordinary concerns of the ordinary citizens he represents.

Now, during this hacking scandal, we are learning more about the other networks that have helped Cameron into power, notably, his personal friendships with influential News International executives and the ill judged role he gave to Coulson, who had resigned from the News of the World way back in 2007 over phone hacking. It has also been implied by commentators that News International dropped any residual support of the Labour party by its tabloids before the 2010 general election because Labour didn’t back Murdoch’s BskyB bid. It is rumored that the conservatives were more willing to support the deal so the papers went with them. It can’t be underestimated how influential the newspapers still are when it comes to elections in the UK.

Now these relationships, and others, so carefully nurtured by Cameron are starting to fall apart. Often, when a planet is in its fall, there is a humbling experience when those factors or people who ‘propped up’ the planet start to fall away. This is certainly what is happening now.

What of the transits? Well this is where it gets very interesting. Transiting Saturn is moving through the crucial 1st house in the charts of both the UK and David Cameron. Transiting Saturn is urging us, as a nation, as well as urging Cameron personally, to see reality as it really is. It is asking us to take responsibility for our actions and address wrongdoings. With Saturn you get out what you put in and if what you put in is criminal or immoral or not in the best interests of the collective, Saturn will not let you get away with it. Saturn transits also teach us lessons and ask us to restructure aspects of ourselves, or in this context, to restructure our media, government and police force. In Libra, Saturn also speaks about how we handle our relationships and about justice and the law. Transiting Saturn has already made two hits on Cameron’s Sun and will make the final hit in early September. Cameron needs to put things right. He cannot get away with cutting corners, fudging or not telling ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth’. Lies will be exposed.

This is dramatically underlined by the relationship of the UK chart and Cameron’s chart to the moving Uranus-Pluto square. The challenging alignments of these two planets are associated with huge and often revolutionary changes in society, culture and politics. They symbolize energy for change and revolution. They bring shocks, breakdowns, breakthroughs and seemingly sudden, but far reaching events that alter everything. This is a long transit. We are already feeling it quite obviously in the collective even though it’s yet to make an exact hit. The first of seven hits comes in June 2012 and the final hit will be in March 2015. The rounded up cardinal degrees for the exact alignments are 8, 7, 11, 9, 14, 13 and 15. Notice how the first four hit the angles of the UK chart. Notice also how the Uranus-Pluto square will form a t-square with Cameron’s Venus and then his Sun, giving him a mega-transit that will last until 2015!

Whether he ‘survives’ this scandal or not, there seems little doubt that the fate of the UK is tied up with the fate of Cameron. Uranus-Pluto can mean a metaphorical ‘sudden death’ in this context, but on the other hand, Pluto is the survivor. I wouldn’t like to make a call either way on whether Cameron will lose his office, except to say that I will not be totally surprised if he does go as a direct or indirect result of this mess, if not immediately, but further down the line. Perhaps he will charm his way through the Uranus-Pluto transit to his Venus, but then fall when it hits his debilitated Sun in Libra?

Time will tell us the fate of Cameron and his government, but will the UK establishment ever be the same again? For myself, I very much hope that things will change for the better. Or maybe after the hacking scandal has blown over and few heads have conveniently rolled, we will go back to ‘business as usual’ at UK plc, like we did after the banking crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal. For all our sakes, I truly hope that this is not the case.

With love,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/
Related posts:
No More Secrets, Pluto in Capricorn
The Lid Comes Off the Jar, Pholus, the Murdoch’s and the News of the World Scandal

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

No More Secrets ~ Pluto in Capricorn

It seems there can no longer be any secrets.

Yesterday’s Evening Standard opinion piece began, “This is an age of institutional and professional crisis”. As an astrologer I would add, “This is the age of Pluto in Capricorn”.

Since the God of the Underworld moved into the sign of corporate business, authority figures, politics, and working practices, revelation after revelation has been dug up and exposed to the light. It’s been hard even to keep up with developments, but here are a few notable examples.

In 2008, just as Pluto was dipping its toe in Capricorn and the expansive, bloated, globalising Pluto in Sagittarius era was concluding, "the financial sector was rocked to its foundations by global nemesis". That’s another quote from The Evening Standard. I couldn’t phrase it myself with more Pluto in Capricorn gusto! The upshot was that the financial world got so high on profiting from reckless lending that they forgot to notice when there was nothing left to lend. I don’t need to point out, dear reader, that we are all still paying the price several years later.

In 2009, the wealth management business of Bernard Madoff was exposed as a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. Thousands of investors lost billions of dollars. 73 year old Madoff was convicted to 150 years in prison. I’m guessing he’ll have to finish his sentence in Hades’ realm.

Sir Peter Viggers' Duck Island

Also in 2009, the UK parliamentary expenses scandal “swept through the Palace of Westminster like a cleansing fire” when the Daily Telegraph published details of controversial expenses claims. The scandal led to the resignation of a number of high profile politicians. Subsequently, a handful of MPs/former MPs and Peers have faced criminal charges, guilty verdicts and custodial sentences. Many more made a gesture of paying back some of the taxpayer money they had erroneously claimed as expenses. Some of the most notorious examples of fraudulent or inappropriate expense claims included numerous unnecessary second homes, a duck island, the cost of maintaining a moat and porn movie rentals.

Now, this week, we are in the midst of the latest and the worst episode in the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The heinous practices of the tabloid rag were first exposed in 2005 following intrusion into the private lives of the Royals, leading to two criminal prosecutions. Then, in July 2009 the story resurfaced when The Guardian newspaper alleged that over 3,000 celebrities, politicians and other public figures had been hacked. It was also alleged that NoW paid off some of the victims to avoid legal action.

Remember, for most of 2008 and 2009, Pluto was on or around the revelatory Aries Point, the point at zero degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) where the private becomes public and the personal becomes political. Well, Pluto at 0 Capricorn certainly didn’t disappoint on that score!

Also in late 2008 and through to mid 2010, we were in the midst of a series of status quo shaking Saturn and Uranus oppositions. These oppositions, the half way peak of the current Saturn-Uranus cycle, symbolized a societal crisis point and the collective urge for change. Out with the old, in with the new was the rallying cry. In the US, it was Barack Obama who answered the call, becoming America’s first black president. In the UK it was out with Labour and in with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

In late 2009, Saturn dipped his scythe into Libra and began a sequence of dynamic and stressful squares with Pluto. The information dredged up under Pluto in Capricorn’s energies met the energies of harsh but fair Saturn in Libra. Out came the scales of justice and the purging began. In fact, it was in Feb 2010, just days after the second exact hit of this aspect that it was announced that a number of individuals would face criminal charges in the parliamentary expenses scandal. All of them were convicted.

Sienna Miller, phone
hacking victim

Back to the hacking scandal and it now seems clear that Pluto isn’t through with the News of the World. The story has been rumbling on and refusing to go away since the 2009 Guardian allegations and has slowly been building momentum. That said, the general public seemed quite ambivalent about tales of celebrities being hacked, perhaps because they understood the mutually dependent relationship between celebs and the tabloids in the PR driven fame game.

Everything changed this week. The tipping point in public and media opinion came when it was revealed that the mobile phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler was hacked and messages deleted, giving her family false hope that she was still alive. It’s also been revealed that this was by no means a one off. The bereaved families of other murder victims and terrorist attack victims were also hacked. More names are being added to the list daily. Advertisers are pulling out of NoW faster than you can blink.

What is also shocking is that these hackings go back at least as far as 2002. Furthermore, the evidence of this week’s revelations was unearthed way back in 2005/2006. Why was it sat upon for so long? What was the true nature of the relationship between NoW and the Metropolitan Police? Already, it’s been alleged that NoW paid the Met for stories. Did the NoW editors of the day really know nothing about what was going on at the paper they were in charge of, as they claim? What about NoW’s relationship with government? Certainly, two former NoW editors who were at the helm when the alleged hackings took place have been closely linked with the Prime Minister David Cameron.

The News of the World is ultimately owned by media plutocrat Rupert Murdoch. It will be interesting to see how he comes out of all this and what becomes of his takeover bid for BSkyB, a dealing facing ever growing mass public protest. Transiting Pluto has already completed a series of conjunctions to Murdoch’s Capricorn Ascendant, but it seems that Pluto is not through with him yet. (Astrodatabank)

Click on the link for a timeline of how this story has unfolded.
For the BBC’s Q&A, click here

The words heinous, disgusting, repulsive and shocking have all been used extensively to describe the NoW scandal. These are very Uranian words. Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries are rumbling ever closer to their first exact square next year. In fact, they have been close enough to count as ‘in aspect’ for some time now, for the purposes of mundane (world) astrology anyhow. Uranus-Pluto is the revolutionary, everything must change, nothing will be the same again aspect. Just look at what has been unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa.

This powerful Uranus-Pluto square alignment, the first major crisis point for this planetary cycle since their world shaking mid-sixties conjunction, takes us right through to 2015. What we are seeing now is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. When Uranus and Pluto find their momentum, no government or corporate ship will be unsinkable. If you’ve anything to hide, you’d better find out where the lifejackets are kept.

With love,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/

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/

Astrology For January ~ A Fresh Start & A New Promise

Welcome to 2011!

Early January sees two big celestial events coinciding ~ An Eclipsed New Moon in Capricorn and a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Pisces, both on the 4^th. 

I always think the Capricorn New Moon is the start to the New Year proper. New Moons are seeding times, when we can  ‘plant’ our  intentions and watch them grow. Therefore, if you do have any New Year’s resolutions, start them at this New Moon, when the sky provides an extra dose of discipline and determination to help you on your way. The New Moon squares Saturn in Libra, but before you get depressed at that thought, remember that Saturn is exulted – happy – in the sign of Libra. Use the positive New Moon energies wisely, be patient and you are sure to get your rewards in time. In fact, make a note to check back in on those resolutions around the time of the Aries Equinox in March, which is the beginning of the astrological New Year.  

Want some help with your resolutions? See Auntie Moon’s Show Me Your Saturn and I’ll Show You A Resolution You Have To Keep, or for an irreverent look (and a good giggle) see The Radical Virgo's Zodi-Yuks New Years Resolutions. 

That this New Moon is a Solar Eclipse, makes it even more powerful. Eclipses tend to signify endings – something is eclipsed – making space for something new and positive to come in. The Eclipse falls at 13 degrees Capricorn, so you will be particularly affected if you have planets or points in your chart between 11 and 14 degrees Capricorn or Cancer. See my article Working with Eclipses for more on how to track and use Eclipses that fall on important parts in your chart.

The day of the Eclipsed New Moon sees the third and final Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. This conjunction had its first ‘hit’ in June 2010 in fiery Aries ~ bold, seize the initiative energies. This one is in dreamy, inspirational Pisces, at 27 degrees. It’s time to think outside the box (Uranus) and dream big (Jupiter). Yes, Jupiter-Uranus alignments make us feel like anything is possible and that’s true....but to integrate your big dreams with the energies of the Capricorn Eclipse, take some time to plan your ambitious dreams, work out a goal and a strategy and apply a little pragmatic realism and a splash of common sense. This conjunction will be particularly buzzy for you if you have planet or points in your chart in the late degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces).

Want to know more about how amazing Jupiter-Uranus energies can be? See my article Jupiter-Uranus ~ Science, Discovery and Revolution.

The rest of January’s astro-action:

January 7: Venus – the planet of relationship, giving and our values -  enters generous, enthusiastic Sagittarius. Time to express your affection freely and adventurously.  Venus stays in Sagittarius until February 4.

January 13: Mercury – the planet of communication, thoughts, ideas and connections - enters pragmatic, ambitious Capricorn. Time to re-apply some mental discipline to the goals you set around the Capricorn New Moon. Think realistically, but try to avoid negative thinking. Mercury stays in Capricorn until February 3.

January 15:  Mars – the planet of action, desire and how we assert ourselves – enters independent, individualistic, innovative Aquarius. Time to rebel a little and do things with a ‘twist’. These are great energies for campaigning, reforming and putting ideas into action. Mars stays in Aquarius until February 22.

January 19: Full Moon in Cancer. This Full Moon occurs at 29 Degrees of Cancer.  Interestingly, we ’re having a series of Full Moons at the 29^th and final degree of their sign – October 2010 through February 2011. The last degree of each sign is known as the Anaretic or Critical degree. There’s a sense of urgency about this degree, a need to quickly wrap up any issues to do with the sign involved, because ‘any minute’ the planet involved is changing signs and new energies are about to rush in.

 So what could be urgent about this Full Moon in Cancer? Look towards your home-life balance. Have you got the balance right? Certainly, the Saturn-Pluto energies of last year have seen many of us working very hard and expending so much energy as we battle to cling on to our jobs, incomes and security. The effect this has had on our home family lives could come to light now and we may need to consider whether we’ve got the balance right. While this Full Moon makes us very aware of the need to be financially secure (Capricorn), we also need to remember that emotional security (Cancer) is just as important.

January 20: The Sun moves into friendly, people oriented Aquarius. The creative energy of Capricorn is all about making tangible progress, while staying within the rules, but in Aquarius the creative energies need freedom from rules in order to express themselves.  Aquarius wants to do things in its own way, however eccentric that way may be. A good use of the Aquarius energy is to help others – groups, communities, friends, societies - while at the same time remaining intellectually connected, but emotionally detached.

January 22: Jupiter moves into Aries. We already had a taste of Jupiter in Aries from early June to mid September 2010, after which it retrograded back into Pisces. Now, Jupiter leaves Pisces behind and stays in Aries for the duration. In Aries, growth is found through positive self assertion and self confidence. While Jupiter in Pisces asked us to have faith in life, the universe and everything, Jupiter in Aries takes us back to basics and reminds us to have faith in ourself and act courageously from that point of view. Opportunities are there to be actively grabbed, we can’t just sit and wait for the universe to provide, we have to ask and act. The danger is that we can act too selfishly, recklessly and aggressively with Jupiter in Aries, so we must carry the lesson of Jupiter in Pisces in our hearts and remember to spare a compassionate thought for others as we go for what we want. Put simply, we need to share our winnings, otherwise what’s the point? Enjoy Jupiter in Aries.

January 26: Saturn in Libra stations retrograde. See my article Saturn in Libra Retrograde: Relationship Revision Time for some ideas on how to use the Saturn retrograde energies in a positive way. Saturn remains retrograde until June 13.

I hope you enjoy January, I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous and joyful 2011.

With love,

Mandi

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/

Saturn in Libra Through the Houses ~ Part 2

To Read About Houses 1-6 See Part 1
To Read About Houses 7-12 See Below

We’ve already had a taste of Saturn in Libra…it was in the sign of the scales from October 2009, before turning backwards and re-entering Virgo in April. Saturn moved back into Libra on July 21 2010 and will stay in Libra until October 2012, so what will this mean for us?

Saturn in Libra Themes

Saturn in Libra brings lessons and tests around diplomacy, compromise and fairness.

It’s a time to set healthy boundaries in relationships and to get the give-take balance right. Relationships generally need to be taken more seriously. Any kind of relationship could feel like a heavy responsibility under this transit. Solid relationships can become more committed and grounded and real during this transit, or they can suffer the harsh light of reality and die away.

How we communicate and relate to others comes under scrutiny. It’s time to play by the rules, stop competing and learn to cooperate and negotiate. It’s a good time to settle disputes, arguments and claims, or to start them, but don’t expect things to get resolved too quickly! Peace and harmony is more than possible, but we will have to to work hard to achieve it.

Saturn in Libra Through the Houses

For Houses 1 - 7 Click Here
For Houses 7 - 12 See Below

The house in your chart that Saturn in Libra is moving through will reflect the area of your life where you are likely to meet Saturn’s tests, delays, obstacles and challenges. Saturn will ask you to take responsibility, meet obligations and learn lessons, according to the house it’s transiting. Being prepared, taking responsibility and actively taking on the challenges represented by the house in question is a great way to tackle Saturn’s transit through a house.  Because Saturn is a practical planet, here are some tips to help you navigate your Saturn transit.....

(If you don’t know which house Saturn will be transiting, please scroll down to the end ~ also includes a tip for finding out which house to look at if you don’t know your birth time or rising sign).

The Seventh House

The 7th house is about relationships and partnerships, both personal and business, and the kinds of people we attract into our lives. It’s also about how we project our ego out onto the world and how we are received by others. Anyone we enter into a legal contract with such as marriage or business partners falls under this house.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 7th House – Relationship Reality Check!

Take off your rose tinted spectacles, the honeymoon is over! With Saturn in the 7th, your relationship could face a reality check. If you like what you see, this could be a time when your relationship becomes more serious, deep and committed. If you don’t, it could be time to move on.

Significant others could make heavy demands on your time during this transit, so ensure you maintain healthy boundaries and take some time for yourself.

Be prepared for the possibility of old flames coming back into your life. Yes, that boy who broke your heart in high school might ask you to be his friend on Facebook! Approach it as a good time for closure, rather than an opportunity to reignite lost love.

Don't turn your relationships into a battleground. Instead, use this transit for conflict resolution. To resolve conflict you will need to learn skills of negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy, great lessons for a Saturn in Libra transit.

Do your best to be honest, up front and fair in all your dealings with others.

Ensure all legal documents and formal partnership agreements are checked and re-checked.

The Eighth House

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.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 8th House – The Power of Money!

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, encourage them to get their finances in order, in preparation for the time when you may have to make financial decisions for them. It goes without saying that you will need to approach this 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.

The Ninth House

The 9th house is about the religion and philosophy we embrace in life. It’s also about vision, learning and deep understanding and therefore rules higher education and advanced study. It’s about travel and far flung foreign places and how we seek to broaden our horizons. For a house that is essentially about expansion, a Saturn transit doesn’t seem like a good thing, but this transit could be very beneficial if you handle it as a valuable learning experience.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 9th House – Lessons Learned!

If you become frustrated by limitations, challenges and obstacles to your dreams and ambitions during this transit, remember that Saturn will transit the 10th next, so use this time to clarify your objectives, put the hours in and work hard. Then, by the time Saturn hits your 10th you could be ready to reap the rewards of your efforts.

Be prepared to have your world view, philosophy or religious beliefs challenged. The lesson of this transit is tolerance and you would do well to appreciate that there is more than one point of view, or life path.

Embark on a course of deep study and learning.

Broaden your horizons by traveling and/or socializing with people from different cultures, countries and religions. Under this transit, this could be a valuable learning experience.

Cultivate pragmatism and understand that anything worth achieving is worth working for and waiting for.

The Tenth House

The 10th is the house of vocation, career, status and reputation. It’s where we’re heading and what we hope to achieve. It’s also about authority figures and how we ourselves embrace authority and responsibility.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 10th House – Take Responsibility!

This is not a great transit for winging it in your career, the chances are you won’t get away with it. Go to meetings well prepared, know what you’re taking about, become an authority, go the extra mile, be a team player.

You may be pushing very hard to achieve your ambitions under this transit, but make sure you play fair on your way to the top. Ultimately you will achieve more with the cooperation and support of others.

Embrace any opportunity to take on new responsibilities and leadership roles at work.

Set tangible, realistic goals, building on what you’ve already achieved, as opposed to going off in a completely new direction.

Use social networking to raise your professional profile, but if you want to see some rewards you have to put some effort into it, so make sure you have a solid, serious, quality product, service or idea to promote.

Don’t neglect your personal life/home life, maintain a healthy balance.

The Eleventh House

The 11th house is about our hopes, dreams and desires. It's also about our friends, our peers and the groups we belong to, our social consciousness and the social issues that get us fired up.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 11th House – Group Effort!

A great transit for cooperating in team efforts, but be prepared to compromise and ensure that everyone in the team gets their voice heard.

Take on new responsibilities in groups you belong to. Lead by positive example.

Be prepared for a few difficulties with friends. Don't despair, Saturn is just helping you weed out unhealthy associations.

Remember that you can't please all the people all of the time!

What social issues get you really worked up? This is a good transit for forming or joining a well structured, practical, realistic campaign that, with effort, can make a real difference. Don't forget the power of networking, get others involved in your cause.

With Saturn in this house, fulfilling your dreams and aspirations could feel like an uphill struggle, so be prepared to work extra hard at it. Saturn will help you recognise unrealistic aspirations so you can concentrate on more realistic ones. Remember that any reward earned under Saturn is yours for keeps, it can't be taken away from you!

The Twelfth House

The 12th house is about that which we repress or hide. It's about how and why we withdraw and retreat and about our spirituality. It's also about self-defeating behavior and can be about health issues. Traditionally, Saturn is said to be in its 'Joy' in this house, this is probably because Saturn gives this nebulous house a structure and a framework to work with. Antother theory goes that with Saturn here, it can't do much, so its negative effects are minimised.

Tips for Saturn in Libra in the 12th House – Saturn Takes A Break!

Pay attention to the delicate mind-body balance. Good mental health boosts the body’s natural immune system, but mental health issues can weaken the immune system. Look for ways to reduce stress and negativity. Contact your doctor or alternative health practitioner if you think you need help in this area (the same applies to Saturn in the 6th).

If your energy feels low during this transit, don't push yourself too hard. Rest and prepare for the next cycle of  action when Saturn crosses your Ascendant.

Review your life! What have the last few years been like, what do you want for the next few years? Consider getting some life coaching or making a life plan.

Start a dream journal and look for recurring themes. Before you go to sleep, ask your subconcious to give you a helpful dream. 

Think about any self-limiting and self sabotaging behaviour patterns you may have. Where do they come from? Consider how these behaviours have been blocking your progress Think about how can you release them and stop doing it. Get some therapy or some self help to assist you in your process.

If you feel the need to hide under the bed covers and withdraw from the world for a while under this transit, then do so, but remember there's also a real world out there, this is not a transit for losing yourself in fantasy.

For Houses 1 - 7 Click Here

For Houses 7 - 12 See Above

Which House is Saturn Transiting?

You will need to get your birth chart done. You can do this for free at www.alabe.com The chart that comes up will be divided into 12 segments. Find the segment/s that have the Libra symbol (shown right) and that’s the house you will need to look at. The first house starts at the horizontal line on the left. Count that as 1 and then count anti-clockwise from there. For example, in the chart below, Libra is on the cusp of the 7th house. You can see Saturn in that house too – it’s the one that looks a bit like a h.

What if You Don’t Know Your Birth Time?

No worries. In fact this is even easier, because all you need to know is your Sun sign to work out which solar house Saturn in Libra will be transiting. Even if you know your time, it’s work looking at this house as well:

Aries Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 7th solar house
Taurus Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 6th solar house
Gemini Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 5th solar house
Cancer Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 4th solar house
Leo Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 3rd solar house
Virgo Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 2nd solar house
Libra Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 1st solar house
Scorpio Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 12th solar house
Sagittarius Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 11th solar house
Capricorn Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 10th solar house
Aquarius Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 9th solar house
Pisces Sun - Saturn in Libra will transit your 8th solar house

Saturn in Libra image from http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/2010/01/dumb-and-dumber/

[Please note, these tips are offered as suggestions to help you understand your Saturn transit. The astrologer is not a trained therapist or financial advisor and accepts no responsibility for the results of following these tips. Please consult a relevant qualified professional if required.]

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