A new cycle in the stars...
My little niece and I were bonding by the Belen picturesque against the soft glow of the Christmas lights. The holiday season was now fading away, as fast as it came upon us. She was chattering about the characters in the Nativity scene, until her question came across to me: “Why are the Three Kings called Wise Men?” Three astrologers from the east carry gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. Three Wise Men who read what was encoded in the stars and saw the fruition of the promise made human. And so they came to witness the beginning of the greatest story ever told.
I so connect to these Three Kings because every Christmas holiday season and into the new year, I have balikbayan friends and acquaintances coming back home wanting their charts read to see what’s in store for the coming year. As is the pattern of cycles, we move into a reflective review of the year that was, and with hopeful anticipation for the year that will be. Man has looked to the heavens for signs, stared up to the stars to seek symbolic meaning from a force beyond our human comprehension, or dive deep into the heart for prayer requests.
Endings and beginnings are marked by points of transition. A major movement of one large planet has just happened. Saturn with its majestic rings has moved across the cosmos from the constellation of Scorpio, where it has been in the past 2.5 years to that of Sagittarius (it moved last Dec. 23, 2014) where it will remain for the next three years (except for a four-month retrograde motion back to Scorpio June to September 2015).
It is wise for us to watch Saturn’s moves for it is the Cross, the bringer of disciplines, maturity, challenges, restrictions and learning. Called the “Lord of Karma,” it strips us of the unnecessary frivolities of our ego and lives that no longer have meaning for our growth and spiritual evolution. The movements of Saturn also give us the opportunity to gain inner strength, to become more responsible for what we do and say, and to cut out waste or excesses in our lives. Basically, what happens is a form of paring or slimming down in the area of life affected by Saturn. We are getting rid of things in our lives that are not working for us in the real world, and focusing on improving and strengthening the things that do serve a useful purpose.
Depending on where it is transiting in our individual natal charts, it shows us where the toughest lessons in our life will be. When we understand and bow to the disciplines, then good karma is likewise given...but only after we put effort into learning the lessons being given to us.
In my decades of reading charts for people, I have observed three parts of the cycle as Saturn moves through each sign for 2.5 or so years. The first part is like a slap on the face as some form of crisis, challenge happens either externally, or even internally. We flay about in panic as the foundation upon which we have comfortably stood on is taken away. The rug literally pulled from under us. The second phase forces us to stop the panic and look to whatever resources we can identify around us to help us try to build something new from. And the third phase, that of rebuilding, is about creating a new pathway, mindset, pattern, habit or even life direction which we will now pursue.
The Scorpios have just finished a cycle of deep changes, challenges and even suffering in their lives. Many of them have had to face harsh truths and changed lifestyles. Even if we are not Scorpios, all of us would have felt that the past 2.5 years would have forced us to confront our unspeakable fears, deep-rooted compulsions, even possibly addictions, forgotten issues, subconscious patterns that have presented us from growing. We would have been forced to see our darker sides. That transit should have given us a valuable opportunity to achieve self-mastery and regain our power.
Sagittarians now are on Saturn’s radar. The influences will be seen by how we define our own truths, especially religious, philosophical and spiritual ones. It will force us to evolve our belief systems, and yet be very practical about it. Themes presented will include challenging our truths. We’ll be asked to re-evaluate our sense of freedom and personal boundaries, so commitment and lack thereof will be questioned. We will be asked to define freedom. What does it mean to be free? Are we really as liberated as we think we are? Does avoiding taking responsibility equal freedom? Other themes we will be seeing will touch on open-mindedness, spirituality, higher education, long-distance travel, and distance in general. The tests we’ll be called to endure, the restrictions we’ll face, will revolve around these fields.
So like the Three Kings of the Nativity scene, we face a point of transition, a new symbol from where to begin a new life. And we are all like wise men if we honor our own lives as it unfolds and manifests with the promise of awakening to greater truth about ourselves, and our soul purpose.
(Note: All of us have Sagittarius in our natal charts so the aspects of life to be affected differ with each one. Google and read up on Saturn in Sagittarius transit to learn more.)
