Recently I reconnected with Alice to discuss her life and experiences since we last spoke in early 2018 about her Saturn return. She mentioned it felt like the pressure had started to release (May 2019) from what she had been through recently. Last year for her felt like it was all building up; her natal Saturn is in the 9th house but rules her 10th house of career and her 11th house of friends and those who support us. Similar to her peers she has a Capricorn stellium which includes Uranus, Saturn, Mercury and Neptune. With her natal Saturn conjunct Uranus, we can anticipate that Alice may approach higher education in a non-traditional way. Her career will also tend to have Capricorn themes of traditions and building her legacy, but she may come to her career via a rather unique and unusual path.
There are two things I want to highlight in Alice’s natal chart that are important and related to her 9th house Saturn. First, Alice’s natal Chiron in Cancer is exactly opposite her Saturn in Capricorn at 4 degrees. Her Capricorn Saturn transit includes the balancing of Chiron within the polarity of Cancer in her 3rd house. Melanie Reinhart says of Chiron in Cancer, “We may belong to a Capricornian structure, such as a business corporation, a school or society where principles are important, but we still feel exiled.” [i] With her Chiron in the 3rd house this has symbolism with siblings, with her extended family or community, the local environment as well as her communications with others. She would need to juggle the polarity by moving between the Saturn and Chiron within herself. Second, Alice’s natal Mars is widely square both Saturn and Chiron at 13 degrees 48 minutes which is over 9 degrees from Saturn and fewer for Chiron. Most astrologers would not consider this a T-square, but it is worth knowing how close it is to the potential by degrees. Natal Mars by sign is square her stellium in Capricorn and her Chiron in Cancer. With these planets in this configuration, something acts as an interruption that comes from the 12th house Mars in Aries that is either her own unconscious mind or something that isn’t as visible to her or even to other people. Mars in Aries also has the capacity to impel people to act swiftly or to jump into something before realizing it is not the place they wanted to be. Another view is it may even be a stay in the hospital as a specific manifestation of the 12th house. Mars in Aries in the 12th can also be symbolic of self-undoing or self-sabotage without realizing it until it is too late. It may speak to clumsiness, not having awareness, and perhaps injury. Mars in Aries in the 12th is also often symbolic of suppressed anger that is below the surface that requires a healthy channel to be expressed. Finally, Alice’s Ascendant is the earthy sign of Taurus, with an exalted moon in Taurus. Her personal projection into the world will be one of a stability and hard work. From a career or public perspective her earth of Capricorn of her 10th house would be more easily navigated considering her Taurus Ascendant.
Saturn by transit had come to her natal Saturn in late January and beginning February of 2018. Through the retrograde in July 2018 there would be another contact. It’s important to add that at this same time Pluto transiting Capricorn would also be on her midheaven, revealing a longer story about the evolving nature of her career and public persona, especially in September 2018. The transiting Saturn-Pluto midpoint between 18-19 degrees of Capricorn would be right on her midheaven. The 4 degrees of transiting Saturn is making a conjunction to her natal Neptune, presenting the symbolic image of an intense pressure cooker in her 9th and 10th house as Pluto moved to her angle on the midheaven. It would not be a far leap to say she was going through one of her most significant life changes and evolving from her younger self to adulthood. Alice was redefining her mother and father of her inner world, which then is reflected in the relationship with her actual parents as these planets stimulate a shift from the external support she needs from her parents to her inner authority, which is acknowledged through more awareness from her development through experience.
I asked Alice to lay out a few specific experiences that we could review closely to explore her personal unfolding of her Saturn return. She highlighted three distinct experiences to look at through astrology. One experience is related to her career and her public persona, which was an opportunity to be a hair and make-up stylist for a large production on the campus of Facebook on August 6, 2018. This was an opportunity that involved creativity and provided an opportunity to expand herself in that creative work, even though it was just a week-long project for a video production. Second, there was new awareness she experienced with a close relationship that was brief but helped her identify what she wants with clarity that began in the fall and ended around January 2019. She also had visits to a dermatologist around January 11, 2019, when she took care of skin area which had her concerned. And finally, she took an AutoCAD office job, which was an adult decision to do something that provided her with medical insurance and the means to meet her basic needs. She started the job March 18 ,2019.
Reviewing the chart for when Alice began the weeklong project as a hair and make-up stylist for the project at Facebook, there are a few interesting things that show up in the transits relative to her natal chart. First, the rising sign for the moment she’s expected on her first day is in Leo conjunct the north node and Mercury (the ruler of her 2nd house of income) is in her 5th house of creativity. The fire sign of Leo is a trine by elements to her natal sun in Sagittarius, which shows the outward expression in a creative way. Interesting also is to see transiting Jupiter is conjunct her natal Pluto in her 7th house. Perhaps this is not just a surface level transformation in this moment for what she enables with her creativity in her craft and talent. The symbolism is ripe for powerful relationships she may have connected with at this moment and take note of transiting Jupiter is square the transiting sun and Mercury in Leo too. Transiting Neptune is in a trine aspect (easier flow or open gates) with her natal Pluto as well. Did this experience heighten Alice’s awareness of the power of others? The creative impulse with ample room to flow. Did she meet anyone new that she befriended? She did share that she was called back to do the project because she had done another project two years prior.
Later, when Saturn was applying to a square with her natal Mars on January 11, 2019 and the moon was transiting Pisces of her 12th house, she had an appointment with a dermatologist for a spot she had noticed on her face. She was quite worried about it being something bad. Notice though the exact transiting Ascendant for the moment of her appointment right on her natal moon in Taurus and just past her Ascendant in a tight conjunction, too! The Midheaven was also right on her natal MC within a degree as well. What a powerful moment about identity! It’s the face she shows the world and that the world sees. Thus, she was dealing with a transformative moment from external looks and health perspectives, but there is also a spiritual inner symbolism that is loudly pronounced as she was going through changes in her identity as the world sees her and how she projects herself to the world. When you have an event or moment that maps directly over your own angles and planets with a powerful pronouncement it is important to consider the spiritual undercurrent that has something to say about the external experience. At this appointment Alice had the spot removed from her face. She said that dealing with this experience was a ball of anxiety and emotions. Prior to the appointment, Venus was in Scorpio, which speaks to her feelings about her face and how the spot may affect her looks. Finally, at the time of the appointment Venus had moved into Sagittarius though still in her 8th house and into her Venus return. Note Venus is her chart’s ruling planet with Taurus rising, so there is a higher level of importance for where Venus is during a moment in time for the symbolism and support directed for her (first house).
Ironically, Alice shared that she also had a relationship end at this time, too. The relationship started in November of 2018 and by January 2019 this brief relationship ended. Both the experience with the spot removed from her face by the dermatologist and the brief relationship aligned with the transit of Venus in Scorpio and then the ingress into Sagittarius. Alice’s natal Venus is really looking into in her 8th house and carries symbolism of the consciousness related to Venus that may have an underworld journey connection for her to discover. Her Venus at 1-degree Sagittarius is also the apex of a yod, with her natal moon at 1-degree Taurus and natal Chiron at 4 degrees Cancer. One unique approach to self- exploration for Alice is to learn more about this yod in her natal chart. It would reveal deep meaning for her identity, her communications and thinking mind as well as her love nature. Saturn’s transit at this time was 12 degrees 37 minutes of Capricorn applying to a square with her natal Mars. The timing of the relationship starting in November would also be significant as it relates to transiting Venus and her natal 7th house of partners. Alice’s 5th house of love affairs is ruled by the Sun located in her 9th house within 7 degrees of her natal Saturn. Saturn then is closely related to her Sun and love affairs and self-expression, and from that she gains understanding about her personal truth and beliefs through these experiences. There is an optimism with her sun in the 9th but also a need to express her personal truth within her romantic relationships. On some occasions these relationships can have unexpected twists with her natal Uranus in Capricorn just over 3 degrees of her natal sun. When it moves to a serious, committed partnership then the 7th house is more appropriate. Alice’s 5th house also has Virgo in the early degrees and includes her south node. Love affairs can bring forward south node Virgo connections with themes around her personal truth and how she communicates. The potential for discernment and being humble is increased when it is in the sign of Virgo. Alice’s Virgo south node in the 5th house is likely to be rich with lessons related to her own ego expression. Experiences here are related to the discernment of who is a good partner perhaps allow her to express her needs and to feel that she is worthy of having her needs met. Mercury in Capricorn is conjunct her Saturn natally, which rules the Virgo part of her 5th house and is the ruler of her 6th house, which may manifest in challenges related to her health in some way or even her job. The Sixth house can be about service to others, but as with the other houses of the Zodiac, it has additional symbolic meanings to explore.
Most recently, Alice’s professional life became her focus as she landed a new job using her skills in AutoCAD for a local firm. She started this job on March 18, 2019. The job has her responsible for making precise records of property measurements and boundaries within the AutoCAD tool for the county. The job shows up from the precision of skill that is Virgo of her 6th house and her career house 10th, which is ruled by Saturn. Interestingly, Alice landed the job knowing she would have to make some serious decisions about being an adult and to take care of her needs, which include getting health insurance through work. She still enjoys the creative aspect of her hair and make-up stylist opportunities, although this wasn’t providing the consistent income she needed as an adult, considering the last six months in 2018 were the slowest ever at her salon. In the transits we can see Saturn in Capricorn has moved into her 10th house conjunct the midheaven, showing the new role of responsibility and public persona that this new job creates. The transiting Midheaven at the exact moment she’s starting the job is conjunct her natal Saturn in Capricorn in her 9th house. Jupiter by transit is applying to her sun and is in a beautiful flow with the transiting moon in Leo at 22 degrees, symbolizing that it will offer her a platform of creative work too. There will be lessons around her Mars energy in this role, but it may be tempered with the earth element given the transiting Mars in Taurus in her first house.
Patience will be required with how she applies her energy and how she projects her role with others in her office environment. Venus in Aquarius by transit is square the transiting Mars in her first house, so group discussions may require negotiation around unique approaches and ideas or even how technology is implemented and used in processes. Communications may go through edits and re-statements for clarity with the transiting Mercury in Pisces square Jupiter in Sagittarius and a hidden in her 12th house at the time she started her new job. Alice will need to be extra diligent on how she communicates and what she communicates in her work environment. Mercury rules her 2nd house of income (personal resources) and her own values; her 3rd house of communications, facts and local environment; and her 6th house of service, details, skilled work, health and routines of daily living. The transiting Mercury in Pisces indicates that the income and insurance, while important now, will likely lead her to pursue a better paying position eventually. Uranus is also the planet of surprise and sudden shifts, which is approaching a conjunction with her natal moon in Taurus within 30 minutes of arc, and which might lead to new family developments or to new insights into what she can do within her home with this new work identity and responsibility. Alice’s sense of security in her identity and relating to her home life (as her moon rules her 4th house) will likely go through shifts as Uranus moves through the sign of Taurus over the next seven years. The transformation of Alice’s public persona through her career is underway, though it will take time. With Pluto still moving through Capricorn and the south node she will see the changes slowly but will have an awareness of old standards being overturned and new ones taking shape. Patience and willingness will be required to take on the work that is coming to her. She may be surprised how it all lands over the next year and into next spring while Saturn finishes the transit of Capricorn. Pluto will still be in Capricorn through early January 2024, so the long-term changes of Pluto’s demands of transforming old paradigms are still ahead in the next few years before a full awareness of her future is fully visible and understood.
[i] Reinhart, M. (2009). Chiron and The Healing Journey. 3rd ed. London: Starwalker Press, p.137.
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