Schism in the Ism
Twisted Sister and Doctor Spin….. and can they dance!!
Full Moon on July 25. Sun and Moon oppose at 3’00″ Aquarius – Leo
Saturn enters Libra (July 21) and opposes Uranus (July 2/Users/le/Desktop/artcharts/ myastrologyreport.com/t_freeman/solar_return_report_2010-k.pdf6, 2010) at 0 Aries 25.
That makes 2 sets of oppositions at once– creating a Mystic Rectangle.
Every time i edited to make this blog article shorter, it got longer!
It’s been almost 2 years since Saturn and Uranus starting opposing each other. Significantly, the first exact opposition was on Election Day, November 4, 2008. Saturn was in Virgo, Uranus was in Pisces. Ah yes, the good ol’ days. Saturn went briefly into Libra, and then moved backwards (retrograde) into Virgo and they opposed again on Feb 5 and September 15, 2009, and again in April (April 26, 2010). They will oppose once more after Saturn enters Libra, on July 26. The first 4 oppositions were in Mutable signs (Virgo-Pisces), this last 5th opposition is Cardinal (Aries-Libra) which means action. 5 outer-planet oppositions are unusual (3 is normal), and the last on the Aries Point shows that whatever has been in slow motion is about to rev up, soon. This change to 0 Cardinal takes whatever has been brewing below the surface and makes it public– and in a big way with Uranus and Jupiter conjunct (and both Retrograde).
Saturn on 0 Libra is not only opposing Uranus, Jupiter is conjunct Uranus, so Saturn and Jupiter are also making their routine 20-year opposition, a benchmark for changing patterns in society and politics. Our ideas are changing, and with that, what to DO about it. This opposition is in the CARDINAL ARIES POINT– 0 degrees Aries, the point of Spring Equinox, the beginning, the alpha point. It is about taking direct and immediate action. Yet, taking action AGAINST everything we oppose seems to amplify the opposing sides and bring us much more of the same. For healing to occur, we need to start to see oppositions as opportunities to become whole. That’s where the Mystic Rectangle can help.
Saturn will oppose Uranus at 0 Aries 25 on July 26. By that time, Jupiter will also be traveling Retrograde and therefore still conjunct Uranus, while Mars is quickly gaining on Saturn, and will conjunct Saturn exactly on July 31. So this opposition is more than Saturn-Uranus. It includes a Jupiter-Mars opposition, a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, and a Mars-Saturn conjunction. That is a lot of restricted energy. Which way are we going!???! And how do we approach, and even heal a split where both sides are SURE the other side is completely wrong. And both sides want to repress the other? The more we deny our hidden parts, the more we add to them. Being whole is not necessarily showing your best side all the time.
So how do things get so polarized, so far apart? It starts when we favor one side over the other, and amplify one side, while neglecting the other. We focus on what we want to be, and ignore what we don’t like about ourselves, casting that off on other people. What if it’s the over-focusing on certain parts of ourselves that exaggerates them, making them distorted and seemingly a lot worse than they are– even monstrous. We see those traits in others, and it arouses our feelings of righteous anger. Yet, fighting those parts of ourselves does not make us more whole; while it may make us feel justified, it exaggerates the separation. But those are the parts of yourself you KNOW are good, respected, appropriate. So of course you stuff (or project) everything that is not so cool.
Feeling there are negative, inferior parts of ourselves that we have to continually keep hidden is exhausting. Everything we do is centered around covering what’s bad about us. We feel there is something “wrong” with us and that prevents us from experiencing our whole self, from being open to life and love. It keeps us locked in fear of exposing our shadow instead of participating and having a fulfilling life.
Mostly, we see what we don’t like in ourselves by looking at others. The more we hide our “bad” parts, the more “bad” we’re going to see in others. Unless we’re willing to experience our full selves, including our “good” and “bad” parts, we never experience our fullness, we don’t follow our path, we don’t grow. Yet, how do we uncover our hidden parts when they’re unconscious and we really don’t even know where to look for them!
Since we all have all 12 signs in our charts, whether or not we have planets in every sign, we all contain every human trait. To hate, blame, reject, or resist someone for personifying a certain characteristic is the same as hating, blaming, rejecting, or resisting that part of yourself. Yet that is how we see our unacknowledged or shadow parts. While we don’t benefit from tagging others with negative labels, we often send messages of anger and rejection to those “bad” individuals, yet what we are really doing is adding to the collection of negative feelings in ourselves.
Most of us are reading this blog today because we want to live in the light. We want to live our highest Self, to authentically and effortlessly radiate love and positive vibrations. Yet, if we’re not including (and exposing) our entire Selves, “good” and “bad”, we are not authentic and we cannot radiate love and peace.
So who does all this hating? Not any of us!!! Here’s how it happens. When we awaken a creative part of ourselves, but then stuff it back down because we think it’s “not good enough” or the people around us discourage us, that unlived creativity turns sour. It turns us into angry, envious, vengeful people who are ready and willing to tear down anyone who even seems to be expressing any of the creativity we “righteously” stuffed down. This is how evil is made and spread. Yet, the only positive solution is to experience your creative flow. Many of us don’t because it’s not good enough. If you haven’t made a picture since age 9, the picture you make today will look like you are 9, even if you’re 25, 35, or even 60, 70. It doesn’t matter. Be willing to be really bad at your creative expression. It’s better than spreading evil vibrations.
Many old-school astrologers will tell you if you have a sign placement or aspect you are intrinsically “bad” and fated for nothing but a frustrating life filled with misery and certain ruin. There is no way out. So sure, if there’s no way out, what choice do you have but to hide what is so bad and unacceptable about your Self? And to resent anyone who is achieving your “unattainable” dreams– because there is NO way you are getting any of it!!! Is this attitude breaking up, as symbolized by the opposition of URANUS– representing social consciousness and change– to Saturn– representing the status quo and tradition?? Or are we going to repress all need for change and growth?
How can you tell if you’re stuffing parts of yourself on one side of an opposition? By your reactions. When you blow up at someone, that’s a clue. How dare anyone be so imperfect when you’ve tried so hard to hide and disown that kind of ugliness??? Is this your cause to come out fighting? This is the thin line of an opposition– in the heat of the moment, do you make peace or war?
What do you think is permanently denied you due to fate? The “if only” syndrome makes us think there is no way we can have or do what we dream and envision — because our charts just don’t support it. What would it take to make you think you’re ok just the way you are?
Who is that perfect person you don’t think you are? Not even models and actors are the real airbrushed version of themselves. If we are real, we go beyond illusions. Yet, our culture teaches us to value only the perfect people; to have “no problems”.
What oppositions teach us is that when we ONLY express one side, the other side surfaces, whether or not we realize it.
We can think we have it all under control. Yet this is a restless aspect, especially if we’ve put all our energy into one side of the opposition– being a rebel or conventional. After all, we have a job, a title, a role, an identity. We are SOMEONE. Everyone agrees. Yet, the social role we play may be different than the real person within. Perhaps some of us feel that the real person underneath is just a pathetic loser and it’s better to cover that with something more socially acceptable, why be a burden. Yet, what we are forfeiting is our sense of individuality. And we feel more frustrated.
Problems start when we think our new improved self will take care of all the problems that bogged down our old self. Once we’re successful, then we’ll deserve to feel good about ourselves. Meanwhile, after having disowned who we are, feeling good about ourselves seems irrelevant… after all, who are we?
All planets represent archetypes or mythic figures that are part of everyone, and the outer planets represent archetypes that influence society as a whole. If you have over-identified with one archetype, it is at the expense of another. We get into confusion when we don’t differentiate archetypes from real people, the BIG “I” from the small “i”. We are all symbols. Whatever job or role you fulfill, that is part of a long tradition, you are acting as an archetype, or representative, even though you are also a real person with real cares and concerns. We are all more than our labels; we are both symbols and real people.
But our culture has preferences that most of us share without really thinking much about it. We see certain things, people and situations in certain ways and agree to judge them accordingly. Take astrology since it is ruled by Uranus. Most of us think that good astrology should tell you exactly what is going to happen. Mostly it doesn’t. So we think the astrologer is bad. The problem with astrology is that we are mixing metaphors. Astrology speaks in archetypes, the “basic structures of our unconscious.” An archetypal image has a “certain order which it conveys, or imposes, on the human being.”[1] The symbols of astrology speak to the greater “I”, not necessarily the personal “i”. Astrology speaks to greater trends and themes, not necessarily what you should do today or if you should move or get a new job. It speaks to your soul, not necessarily your ego. So when we take its messages and try to pin them down to exact circumstances and events, we are often missing the point, and become disappointed when it’s not “accurate.” We are just not approaching the symbolic language of astrology with the right understanding and respect for what astrology CAN do– or what we can do, separately and together.
Like all entry points into the unconscious, it’s how you approach it– with an open heart or with a plan to get something you want. When the unconscious is approached as a cash machine, it often plays tricks right back, mirroring whatever attitude we have towards the unconscious and throwing us off track even more than if we never consulted our horoscopes at all!
{1] Marie-Louise von Franz. “Shadow and Evil in Fairytales” Shambala. Boston. 1995 and thanks to the NYPL
By now you may be wondering– what IS going to HAPPEN??? Nevermind all the soul-searching and inner reflection. Yet, without doing the inner work, we are reliant on fate to take its course; we are not using our own character to determine our fate, so we are vulnerable to whatever “happens” to us.
The opposition of Saturn and Uranus — square Pluto– makes it hard to experiment, to find new alternatives, to change our plans– yet Uranus insists on change. This is a time to put plans into action, to give form to our intuition. Instead of running away from difficulties, this opposition encourages us to be reasonable and work within the structure, while pushing for change.
Outer planet oppositions make us feel like we have to take sides. You can side with being responsible to others OVER yourself, leaving your thinking and planning for others to decide. Or, you can be responsible to your own inner calling, which can seem to be at the expense of others. To find balance, you will have to approach each situation as a unique event.
This is a high-pressure transit. Everyone is feeling like the they are capping a hole in their inner ocean and trying to prevent something from blowing up. Competitors can be hostile or aggressive. Or you can see someone as a competitor and become aggressive towards them. You can use your authority for or against others, or you can feel the pressure of authority used for or against you. You may find yourself offering your finest at bargain prices. Or, you can find a new level of confidence and attract people with a new awareness. You can have an idea that helps you answer a question and/or break through old barriers and limitations you thought were “normal” or “supposed” to be there. You can become more conscious or you can blame the will of others for stopping progress and keeping you stuck….
Still, if you go off on a personal crusade without acknowledging the Saturn influence, you can become a rebel without a clear cause. Or get lost in an impulsive move. Saturn helps us to slow down and pay attention, to make our major changes with respect for what we’re doing. To do your own thing effectively and successfully, you need to understand your “thing”. What is its history? What part do you want to play in this lifetime? What are your goals and what real steps do you need to jump to a higher level?
And Uranus urges us to shake up whatever has become rigid, stale, limited. Yet, without Saturn insisting on following protocol and slowing things down to a human level, Uranus could encourage impulsive outbursts and sudden disruptive changes.
Mythological Saturn (Kronos) and Uranus (Ouranos) were rival son and father. There was a prophesy that the children of Uranus would rise up and destroy him, so Uranus planned to destroy his child. But Saturn was told of the plan and cut off Uranus’ testicles, throwing them into the sea (and then Venus, or Aphrodite rose from the foam). The opposition of these 2 gods, or planetary archetypes, speaks of the culmination of rivalry, especially on a social level. Saturn can cut off the impulsive flow of Uranus, but it can also help to discipline energy that is too wild, unstable, or erratic to be useful to society. Yet, the opposition of Uranus (5 times) underscores that old structures are in need of an upgrade.
The opposition is between those who think the answer is to hold even tighter to the past, and those who are ready to make progress. How can we find a working balance? We can’t just throw out everything we’ve built! How can we change structures without damaging what has been gained through hard work and discipline? Sometimes despite our insistence on keeping things the same, there is another part of us that needs to experience something different, to see our ideas for improvement put into action. Depending on how this transit effects your chart, this could be the time you are drawn to do something different.
Everything is fine– until we cling so tightly to our exact set patterns that there is no room for any change. And that’s when Uranus loses patience, imposing changes we refuse to make willingly. Yet, we don’t want to cut off people who have been our support. How much control is too much? And how much disruption can we handle before we start to unravel? Instead of feeling like you have to blast through and change everything NOW, how can you start to realistically remove the blockage of limiting beliefs that are part of your history and will follow you, even to your next adventure. With this opposition, the change is not always ideal and easy.
These oppositions are joined by yet another opposition– a Full Moon. At the Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are exactly opposite. This Full Moon is in Leo (Sun) and Aquarius (Moon). And the blessing in this chart is that the Sun is sextile Saturn-Mars and trine Uranus-Jupiter; while the Moon is trine Saturn-Mars and sextile Uranus-Jupiter. There is potential for cooperation. But is only a potential because cooperation involves moving beyond yourself. It means looking more realistically at some of the irrational expectations that keep us separated and angry at each other for not fulfilling roles that are not part of the agreement. But since we have a fear of being open and giving, we hide behind defenses and anger. Yet, we have a choice: grow up and make peace, or keep making war on whoever we can! Peace starts within and radiates out. You can do it, but you have to be willing to be cooperative instead of looking for every way you can to “get over” and take all, regardless of whether you “can” or not.
Many of us are under a lot of pressure– to perform, earn, maintain, care, be there, produce, be happy. We are encouraged to specialize so we can earn a better living. We put all our energy into one direction and feel greater resistance (Saturn) to everything else. The Mystic Rectangle includes the potential that if we can accept and look at the resistance we feel, we can start to find others possibilities. But we may not want to put our energy anyplace else! We insist, it HAS to be this way!!!
The Saturn-Uranus opposition, along with the Full Moon can give us some perspective on the resistance we feel, and that perspective just may show us an opening, a different approach, a way through. And that may even be an improvement we never thought of before right now! The resistance we feel may be more about how we use whatever power and authority we have, more than how others use it against us. How are you contributing to the sabotage of others, and even more so, your own Self sabotage. Blaming it on others doesn’t get you off anything! But there is hope, if you self-regulate!
astrology chart for saturn opposes uranus on july 26, 2010
Read the astrology symbols using artcharts
LEGEND
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