“As above, so below”
This ancient maxim sums up the interconnectedness of all life, a reality which periodically pushes itself to the forefront of our awareness when nature wreaks savage destruction and we are confronted with power which we are utterly unable to control.
For example: the aftermath of hurricane Sandy will continue its devastating effects on many lives long after it has ceased to be immediate headline news. But it may also force the upper echelons of political power in the USA at last to take the threat of climate change seriously and stop blocking those who are at least trying to do something about it.
Being forced by circumstances beyond our control (which often have their genesis in collective or individual choices made long ago but now forgotten) to confront profound and threatening matters many would rather not face, sums up the symbolic action of Saturn – the stern old patriarch of the planetary pantheon – as he purges his way through the sign of Scorpio once every 29/30 years.
Saturn entered Scorpio early in October 2012 and remains there until September 2015. Time to clean up our act, individually and collectively (i).
Though the lenses of sex, abuse of power, and death – three of of Scorpio’s key themes – we can see the collective challenges of this shift already. In the UK, as Saturn began his sojourn in Scorpio, sexual abuse scandal began early in October with utterly shocking revelations of the activities over many decades of Jimmy Savile – probably the worst paedophile in UK history – rapidly spreading to permeate much of UK’s institutional life.Then sexual misbehaviour scandal surfaced at the top of the US military and continues to rumble on.
Yesterday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard ordered a rare Royal Commission, the highest form of investigation in the country, into how churches, government bodies and other organisations have dealt with possibly thousands of child sex abuse claims.
And the Indian government is currently putting diplomatic pressure on the Irish government over the death of a young Indian woman resident in Ireland, who was allegedly refused an abortion despite miscarrying, dying of blood poisoning as a consequence. There have been mass protests in India and Ireland as a result, calling for reform of Ireland’s abortion laws.
An old cliche has it that Scorpio’s main realms are ‘sex, death, and taxes‘ – the latter is certainly coming into sharp focus too, as the European Central Bank puts increasing pressure on debt-ridden economies., eg on 9th November …. “More austerity may please the Germans, but it is an unnecessary tragedy for Greece ….”
Following hard on the heels of considerable relief at President Obama’s re-election, which possibly heralds the slow death throes of the hegemony of angry WASP males in the USA, we have the dreaded Fiscal Cliff looming in January 2013 – “….the effect of a number of laws which (if unchanged) could result in tax increases, spending cuts, and a corresponding reduction in the budget deficit beginning in 2013….”
At a collective level we can certainly see the power and challenge of Saturn’s symbolic journey through Scorpio – only just beginning. There has been an eruption from the murky depths of material which we would rather had stayed there. Now we have no option but to face up to what confronts us. It is a slow, painful process. But when the collective wound is cauterised and cleansed, there is a chance for some healing to begin….
Do the same underlying principles apply to individuals as well as nations? What do you think? In the next post, following shortly, I will be having a look at some personal stories…..what is beginning to take shape for individuals? What is beginning to emerge from the murky depths of what we don’t want to face? I am reminded of a counselling supervisor I had many years ago, who every so often would hit me with the following challenge: “What is it you don’t want to talk about today, Anne? Let’s talk about that….”
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NOTES
(i) those readers who have studied astrology to a level ‘beyond the sun signs’ will also have noted that this symbolic energy is amplified by mutual reception with the planet Pluto, ruler of Scorpio, in the sign of Capricorn. Also, for the next year Saturn makes a beneficial link by trine aspect with the planet Neptune.
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750 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2012
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page
Well, not all of us are relieved by Obama’s reelection. In fact, while I have kept myself from engaging in political talk as much as possible, I will predict this: that the policies of the Obama administration, the new health care system, and the hegemony of hard-line ideologues in the Democratic party will wreak havoc on the US, and hence the world.
Other that than, I’m feeling pretty chipper! Tell you what – let’s gather here in September, 2015, and see how things are. I would be delighted beyond words to be proven entirely wrong about the current direction of the US. (Actually, I suppose we wouldn’t even have to wait that long. Maybe we should try for next September. I think I’ll probably still be able to afford an internet connection by then!) 😉
On another note – I just learned this week about the Indian woman who died in Ireland. How I missed that, I’m not sure, but I did. I was completely shocked. I thought Ireland had new legislation that made such horrors a thing of the past. Truly, a terrible thing.
Thanks for this comment, Linda, which has pointed out to me that I need to be clear about my political views. I don’t think any politicians are capable of managing our increasingly unbalanced world effectively, but I do think that some of them are more capable of bringing us toward general meltdown – faster – than others. Any relief I may feel at Obama’s re-election needs to be viewed in this light!
Well, one reason I’ve begun commenting a bit here and there is because I think it’s going to be up to people like us (and many, many others) to prove that disagreement doesn’t have to lead to withdrawal and polarization. That’s the rap I’d put on every politician – they try to whip people up into a frenzy, an us-versus-them mentality, for their own ends, rather than the good of society.
I couldn’t agree more!
Hello Anne, and Linda.
Very interresting material and views, thank you very much.
love and delight from Inger Lise.
p.s. I`m with a group of american friends on the internet as well, and they have the similar opinion as of Linda.
btw: Norway gave Barrack Obama the Nobel Peace Price after only one year of the presidency. But it felt as of it was because more, of to admire, The Man who had become Barrack Obama in the first place.
It is the first time in the history anyway(at least in the history of our time that is).
Next time am going to vote for Dalai Lama as the world leader…. but wait…..when thinking it over…..wonders how the reaction of the Chinese government will be?!? Hmmm.
Thanks, Inger Lise.Interesting feedback re views of your USA friends. And “Hmmmmmmm…” seems a pretty appropriate response when reflecting on who of the current lot could be a world leader….!
Saturn in Scorpio in mutual conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn will continue to strip bare abuse at every level – political, environmental and personal. It’s two – three year cycle will be highly personal to some and intrinsic to the larger cycles presently in focus but hopefully its trine to Neptune will bring in the compassion required to tap the healing sooner rather than later. Like all things Scorpionic and like birth (or rebirth) this will not be without painful transition. The ancient wisdom intrinsic to Pisces and Neptune shows us the dream – hopefully the cardinal grand cross has instigated the desire to reach for it.
Hi Carole
thanks for amplifying the Saturn-Pluto-Neptune connection for astrologers/astrology students reading these posts. I am trying to pitch them at a level which is understandable to the general reader with some interest in astrology, but also of some value to those readers who have gone ‘beyond the sun signs’ – a tricky balance!