By: Janette Dalgliesh – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Saturn often comes across as a good-news-bad-news kinda guy – and that does him a huge disservice.
Aside from anything else, viewing any particular planet or aspect as a Bad Thing does everybody a huge disservice, as it sets us up for Trouble with a capital T by giving us a pessimistic starting point. Not a fan of that!
But Saturn in particular, like Mercury Retrograde, seems to get more than his fair share of ‘sky is falling’ publicity.
He is considered the ruler of our life mission: that thing we came here to do, usually but not always expressed through our career, our body of work.
He knows how to DO ambition; how to be a good taskmaster so we Get Shit Done, how to do the next thing and the next thing and the next thing until something is completed.
The good news?
Saturn gives us drive and a sense of purpose, solidly based in a foundation of logistical mastery, all of which provide fuel to help us move forward and make our own unique mission real. And that’s crucial for self-actualisation, individuation, and living an authentic life.
The slightly less helpful news?
His standards and expectations have to be high, because we need that strong internal ambition to fuel that forward momentum. And as a result of those high standards, we easily find ourselves beset by doubts and fears.
What if I’m not good enough? What if I can’t pull it off? What if everyone judges me? What if I’m not as good as they think I am and THEY CATCH ME OUT???
It can feel like hitting the accelerator and brake pedal at the exact same time – and we all know how well that works out.
Navigating that dance between inspiration and hesitation is a normal part of life.
This week we’re starting to see a new dimension to it, which may feel like increased pressure to some.
But don’t panic!
Last week I wrote a detailed summary of why we shouldn’t panic about next year’s Saturn-Pluto conjunction in mid-January, especially if we see panicky astro-chat out there in the interwebz.
One of the reasons we’re beginning to feel the effects of that amazingly high-potential astrological event already is that these planets are getting close to each other now, they’re both slow-moving compared to Sun or Moon, and they’re both power players.
But another reason is that they’re both embarking on the retrograde dance, hovering around the same part of highly ambitious Capricorn for a little longer than they usually would.
And if that weren’t enough, they’re now BOTH lighting up the South Node.
I also talked recently about the impact of Pluto crossing the Lunar Nodes, and that’s still at play – deep transformation made possible when we bring a sovereign sense of discernment to things from the past.
Is this useful? I bring it with me.
Is it a hindrance? I leave it by the wayside now.
When we add the weight of Saturn to the mix, it’s a new and far more earthly clarion call for authenticity.
Freedom to be authentic, made real in the hidden depths.
Freedom to be authentic, made real in the day to day tangible world of the built.
The key is to ensure you’re keeping the good old stuff (talents, skills and things you love that help you feel genuine authentic resonance with Who You Truly Are); and letting go of anything which is inauthentic. No throwing out the baby with the bathwater!
Pluto is about the hidden realms, what lies beneath; the very core of our personal power.
Saturn is about our purpose made real in the world; the most authentic expression of who we truly are.
It’s not remotely surprising that Brené Brown’s excellent Netflix special has been such a huge hit.
We are longing – individually and collectively – for a sense of authenticity and wholeness supported by a core that is real and true.
We’re no longer satisfied with some fake, fly-by-night, cocktail-party insta-life.
Even if we don’t consciously know it.
As these two planets continue their dance together over the coming months, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to clean out any no-longer-resonant crap from the past.
Saturn is the lord of time, so he’s not in any rush.
And with both Pluto and Saturn turning retrograde, there is an easing of forward momentum which says ‘it’s okay to pause, regroup, reconsider’.
Now is a good time to begin that planning we need to do in order to give our future direction some substance.
And because Saturn can sometimes trigger what coaches call gremlin thoughts – not good enough, not up to scratch, blah blah blah – it’s extremely useful to be able to curate that.
Saturn likes cold hard facts and evidence.
Tangible results are his bread and butter.
One trick I recommend to my clients is what Jacqueline Gates calls a “Ta-DAAA” list.
Every night, jot down five to ten things you achieved that day. The key to this technique is that you get to define what counts as an achievement; and it has NOTHING to do with what might have been on your to-do list for the day.
For example, my to-do list for today included:
- write an article
- send an email to my list
- pick up groceries
- make dinner
- clean out my desk drawer
My Ta-DAAA list (since I’m nursing myself through a cold) is far more likely to include
- ordered groceries online for delivery tonight
- napped
- made breakfast and it was delicious
- made the perfect cup of tea
- kept to my internal rule about not using my voice AT ALL, all day (!!)
- finished polishing the article and uploaded it (yay!)
- trusted my client sufficiently to postpone our session
- refrained from doing laundry
- ran a load through the dishwasher
- remembered to charge my Kindle
YOU get to decide what counts as evidence of your ability to achieve tangible results. Make it varied and real and broad and authentic-to-you.
This practice will not only soothe your inner Saturn, that part of your psyche which is constantly keeping score; it will also retrain your brain to pay less attention to your so-called ‘failings’.
From that perspective, inhabiting that identity, it’s way easier to do your planning, to take advantage of the amazing potential for deep transformation over the next 24 months.
And from that perspective it’s also much easier to view this period as one full of amazing potential, rather than a slog through a long, anguish-filled existential crisis.
(Unless you decide that’s how you want to play it, of course – and honestly that’s not my recommendation)
Relish the invitation to get authentic and powerful.
Engage courage and a willingness to be open.
If you catch yourself clinging to an old rigid set of internal rules, consider engaging fluidity instead.
Reach out to trusted support – those who have earned the right to hear your journey.
Practice mindful and wholly compassionate self-awareness.
Watch Brené Brown’s Netflix special and/or read her book, then apply.
If practical magic is your thing, now would be a GREAT time to start a practice of reclaiming your power. I particularly like the simple and adaptable technique from Aidan Wachter, author of Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic, described here on his blog.
Exact times
- Pluto conjunct South Node (and opposite North Node) – 4 April 2019, 3:18 PM Eastern US time
- Pluto retrograde – 24 Apr 24 2019, 2:48 PM Eastern US time
- Saturn retrograde – 29 April 2019, 8:54 PM Eastern US time
- Saturn conjunct South Node (and opposite North Node) – 30 April 2019, 4:22 PM Eastern US time
- Pluto conjunct Saturn – 12 January 2020, 12:59 PM Eastern US time
Janette Dalgliesh has a simple mission in life – to help every person unlock their capacity for resonant joy, and live it. A keen student of astrology, brain science, chaos magic, law of attraction and positive psychology, she serves her people through astrology consults, coaching, teaching and writing. Her international clientele raves about her wildly accurate, individualized readings, but she doesn’t do general weekly predictions – for those, Janette recommends Kim Falconer (www.goodvibeastrology.com) and Mystic Medusa (www.mysticmedusa.com). Find Janette on Facebook or via her website – or you might like to pick up her free brain-rewiring resource, Identity Shift 101 here.
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