Saturn in Scorpio Returns/Retrograde One Final Time

Saturn has been retrograde since March 14th in a fiery Sagittarius, and it re-enters Scorpio on June 15th for its final passage in this intensely watery sign. We’ll probably feel the contrast if we pay attention. Fire wants to move upward and outward while water may draw us down again into those subterranean Scorpionic depths.

I first wrote about Saturn in Scorpio in February of 2013 when it retrograded for the first time in this powerful sign. (see my archives for Saturn in Scorpio: Teacher and Guide or Devilish Taskmaster). I wrote again about this theme in August of 2013 in an article “Learning to Make Friends with Saturn”. We have this final chance to finish the great work of mastering what Scorpio is all about. Think of it that way rather than taking an attitude of ‘Oh no! Not again!’ After all, Saturn won’t visit this sign again in my lifetime unless I live to see 2041-2044 unfold. Not likely! Only you younger ones will get this extra journey through the deep.

Saturn going back into the 29th degree of Scorpio is technically in what is called the Anaretic degree (the 30th degree) which I call the degree of expiation. There’s something about this particular degree in each sign that lends itself to powerful and sometimes spontaneous release of energies. See where it is in your chart, particularly in which house. Does it aspect tightly any of your other energies? What is asking now to be powerfully released?

I just heard from a member of our local astrology forum that it’s a great time to release old fears. Another member talked about it being a time of facing the shadow elements in ourselves and others.  Remember that Scorpio harbors deep emotions often relating to the three biggies; sex, money, and power. Scorpio is also a place where we connect more deeply to the great mysteries of life and death and all rites of alchemical transformation. These are anything but light and airy subjects! They demand of us a great deal in attention and energy.

So here’s the rundown with timing:
Saturn Retrograde into 29 degrees of Scorpio on June 15th
Saturn SD (Stationary Direct) at 28 degrees of Scorpio on August 2nd
Saturn entering 29 degrees of Scorpio for the final time D/Direct on September 1st
Saturn about to leave 29+ Degrees of Scorpio on September 17th
Saturn re-enters Sagittarius on September 18th where it will stay until December 19th, 2017.

We all basically have from June 15th to September 17th to deal with the themes I outlined 2.5 years back:

What defines my relationship with money?
What defines true intimacy for me?
What defines the right use of power for me?
What defines my relationship with the greater mysteries of life?

These broad themes obviously have many layers and complexities for each of us. At some point in life, we each must face these themes in various ways. Are any of them up for you right now? It’s time to take them seriously. If you are young they will mean choices that determine some of the major pathways of your life ahead. If you are nearing the end of the trail they may mean putting your affairs in order based on choices made many years ago. I feel the mysteries loom ever bigger as we face our mortality and question what might be next beyond the body.

Here are a few of my current thoughts and observations on these themes:

Money: It can be a good time to work through money issues with other people including shared resources. I’m hearing a lot about family issues surrounding inheritances in my work. Is there agreement? Is there harmony and fairness at work? I have a good example to share from my own life experience. Back in the late ‘90s my Mother’s husband died. He had four sons from multiple marriages and I was my Mother’s only child still living. One of his son’s had been handling their financial affairs. At the funeral I approached him suggesting that it was probably appropriate that I now handle my Mother’s finances. He was very reluctant to turn that responsibility over to me, and said that he could easily continue to be in charge. At that point I felt it necessary to hire a lawyer because something didn’t feel right. Sure enough—long story short—-he had been embezzling a sizeable portion of their monthly retirement income, but rather than become adversarial I chose to open a door for him to make things right. And he did! He came to my Mother and actually got on his knees and asked for her forgiveness. He also paid back every dime asking that we never tell his wife what he had done. We honored his wish. This saved my Mother a lot of grief at the end of her life and harmony was restored. I became the trustee of the estate and distributed it all evenly, five-ways, after my mother’s death. No hard feelings. No regrets.

What I’m trying to illustrate here is to try and take the high road and get the big picture when it comes to these matters. Ask for guidance. Saturn continues to widely trine Chiron and even in money matters much healing can take place.

Intimacy: True intimacy may begin with that mysterious chemistry that draws two people together, but it may evolve into the increasing ability to stay open and vulnerable with each other as all the challenges of life are faced together. One key to learning about this quality of relationship comes from a good friend and colleague, Susan Bratton, of PersonalLifeMedia.

She has written an e-book entitled ‘Relationship Magic’ that I highly recommend. Within its pages is a marvelous tool to unlocking the door to even greater intimacy. It’s all about VALUES and a very specific way to determine your relationship values versus your partner’s. How different are they? Where do they merge? To quote Susan, “When you have Relationship Values in front of you, love becomes seamless. You’ll notice a nearly immediate shift in how you care for each other.” She gives you a full proof way of determining your highest core values and your partners so you can both start giving to the other what they value most!

This issue of values, both shared and contrasting, is really at the core of all intimacy I feel, whether it is young love full of idealism and dreams, or old love after a long shared life together. Values may also change along the road of life, so it’s good to review every so often exactly what one does value when it comes to relationship. This Saturn retrograde in Scorpio is the perfect time!

Power: Now there’s a loaded word! Just like the word sex, this word ‘power’ is bandied about, used, and reused endlessly in today’s world. Personally, I’m drawn to The Power of Now that Eckhart Tolle writes about so clearly. A modern enlightened master, he shares in simple, yet profound ways what true power is all about, and it has nothing to do with the ego which is attached only to the world of form. These are ancient truths taught by various masters in various traditions, but all roads lead to the same core wisdom, that true power is gained only by rising above thought and merging with the unmanifested ‘presence’ that is pure consciousness.

I’ve been watching Mr. Tolle on recent videos of a retreat he just led at Asilomar in California. The power he emanates is a soft power that surrounds you and wakes you up simultaneously. His words have a way of penetrating in and resonating on some very deep level. Nothing is forced however. There is also great humor and laughter shared as he unfolds anecdotal stories to illustrate the simple truth that all we really have is NOW.

That’s a strange concept for astrologers!!! We’re always looking ahead, are we not? So I’m pondering that conundrum and realizing that his teaching isn’t discounting good planning or preparation. After all, we are in bodies moving through a world of forms. Having plans and understanding cycles makes good sense for some aspects of our lives.

His teachings, however, take us into the realm of the Mysteries of Life and Death, so I’d like to take just two paragraphs from his book to illustrate: “The body that you can see and touch cannot take you into Being. But that visible and tangible body is only an outer shell, or rather a limited and distorted perception of a deep reality. In your natural state of connectedness with Being, this deeper reality can be felt every moment as the invisible inner body, the animating presence within you. So to ‘inhabit the body’ is to feel the body from within, to feel the life inside the body and thereby come to know that you are beyond the outer form.

But that is only the beginning of an inward journey that will take you ever more deeply into a realm of great stillness and peace, yet also of great power and vibrant life. At first, you may only get fleeting glimpses of it, but through them you will begin to realize that you are not just a meaningless fragment in an alien universe, briefly suspended between birth and death, allowed a few short-lived pleasures followed by pain and ultimate annihilation. Underneath your outer form, you are connected with something so vast, so immeasurable and sacred, that it cannot be conceived or spoken of—-yet I am speaking of it now. I am speaking of it not to give you something to believe in but to show you how you can know it for yourself.”

Thank you Saturn in Scorpio! Thank you for allowing us to go deeper into all these realms, especially the great mysteries. I welcome a few more months crossing the threshold with you into deeper understandings.

PLEASE LOOK TO THE SIDEBAR FOR KATHY ROSE’S NEW MOON IN GEMINI VIDEO