Agents of Fortune:

Decoding the Oracular Message of the Planetary Emissaries.

-For Whom Doth the Sybil Speak?

Saturn in Libra: Cronus speaketh for Aphrodite

For anyone who truly understands the roots of astrology, the classical rulership schema is a thing of great beauty and natural harmony. This is largely because it is based on the empirical observations of the Aristotelian qualities of Cold vs. Hot in the natural world. If one lives at any considerable distance from the equator, it is quite clear that the year can be divided into two halves, one of which is mostly cold and one of which is mostly hot. Cold vs. Hot = Autumn/Winter vs Spring/Summer.

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The next step is just as elegantly simple. The “planets” who correspond to these qualities of cold/hot take their places accordingly. The Sun is clearly the celestial body who is the source of most heat and therefore rules over the hottest time of the year, Leo. The Moon, who is the fastest of all the visible celestial bodies, takes her place next to the Sun in the feminine sign of Cancer. We can see here that the quality of speed generally correlates with the quality of heat.  Saturn, as a dim star and also the slowest of all the visible planets then takes his places opposite the Solar/Lunar rulerships, in the signs of Capricorn/Aquarius. The rest of the planets fan out from the Sun/Moon according to speed, taking rulership of one sign each by day (masculine, fire or air) and one sign each by night (feminine, water or earth).

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It goes likewise with the places of exaltation. Many modern astrologers do not understand exaltation only because they do not grasp the elegant simplicity of the schema laid out above! As we have seen, the Sun and Saturn represent the opposite extremes of Hot vs. Cold. In the most dualistic of views, they can be seen as “enemies.” Think of the Heat Miser vs. Snow Miser or Aslan vs. the Ice Queen.

They are essentially antithetical principles. Thus it comes as no surprise then that the Sun and Saturn also take their places of exaltation in opposition! Exaltation dignity is of a quality slightly less powerful than that of domicile rulership. The common analogy is that a planet in its own sign is like the owner of a home whereas a planet in its sign of exaltation is like an honoured guest. The Sun is an honoured guest in Aries because he is bringing back the longer days and warmer temperatures, and so everyone is glad to see him! Saturn is an honoured guest in Libra because he signals the reaping of the harvests and the arrival of the colder (and darker) seasons.

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The three basic cycles of Astrology quite perfectly echo one another –day, month, and year being divisible into four quarters by naturally occurring empirical processes of light vs. dark. Dawn, being the triumph of light over darkness can be seen to correlate with the first quarter Moon and the Vernal Equinox. ..Noon.., as the height of the waxing Light cycle correlates to Full Moon and Summer Solstice. Dusk, like third-quarter Moon and the Autumnal Equinox, represents the triumph of darkness over light. Finally ..Midnight.., New Moon, and Winter Solstice all represent the peak of the waning dark cycle.

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What we see in the above diagram are the concepts of self-similarity and scale invariance. For example, there are many examples of branching networks in nature, such as tree crowns, river systems, arteries and lungs. These networks have often been described as being self-similar, or following scale-invariant branching rules, and this property has been used to derive several scaling laws.

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Through the concepts of self-similarity and scale invariance, we can see that although the daily ascendant cycle, the monthly lunar cycle and the yearly solar cycle differ in terms of scale and composition –they are really fundamentally expressions of the same principle. So the fundamental symbol of astrology is not the Zodiac signs of Planets, it is the endless cycle, or Yin/Yang.

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This is where Ruperti’s concept of “Cycles of Becoming” or what I would call Seasons of Becoming emerges from. Just like the day, month and year have a basic rhythm of yin/yang, waxing/waning, assert/surrender –so do each of the planetary cycles. In “The Rain Song” Robert Plant tells us it is the “Springtime of my Love” to remind us that there are larger cycles in Life than daily, monthly or yearly –but they still follow the same archetypal pattern due to the self-similarity and scale invariance inherent in our cyclical World.

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With Saturn entering Libra, it is now the Autumn Time. So, the question we should essentially be asking ourselves remains the same –what is the mission of this planetary emissary? The mission has to do with entering the part of the cycle that is Dark, Waning, or Yin. Put another way, then, the question is: Of what purpose is Darkness? By simply observing the natural rhythms of the cycles, we have already answered this question. The threshold represented by Libra represents a time of Reaping of the Harvest. It is a time of release and surrender.

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In such times we are confronted with what Rudhyar calls "the Autumnal Choice: to disintegrate with the falling leaves, oriented toward inevitable decay, or to participate in the formation of seeds, foundations for a future cycle of vegetation; seeds that are "oriented toward the sacrificial rite of germination, the rebirth of life forms....Leaf decay and seed-rebirth. It is for human beings to choose the current to which they are drawn."

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I might add to the statement of the great master that we need both seed and compost in the gardens of our lives, so the autumnal choice is largely about what to keep as seed and what to put onto the compost pile.

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Saturn is at a shadow point of the Zodiac-as he traverses the Autumn Equinox point, -where the days give way to longer nights. The Saturn principle is about limits. This is another reason why he is exalted in Libra. The natural environment is putting limits on our expansion at this time of year and forcing us back inward. The expansion begun at the Aries point is now over.

So, the point of this inward or involutionary journey is to integrate the shadow material of our Solar or egoic expansion of the last 15 yrs (-since Saturn ingressed Aries -Libra balances Aries) The questions remain: where have we gone too far? Where could our Ego use some pruning? Where do we need to release the Solar need for imposing order and allow/experience a little chaos/catharsis?

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Now is a great time to have an appraisal of the last 20 years of your life! A cycle of Limits, Structure and Authority, which was begun around 1988 (as Saturn ingressed Capricorn) -began to grow rapidly around 1996 (as Saturn ingressed Aries) –and reached its height around 2003 (as Saturn ingressed Cancer) –is now beginning to turn inward. Reap the Harvest of this cycle. It is time to identify and put aside the Seed (that which has worked well) for the next cycle and throw that which is withered (that which does not serve us any longer) onto the compost pile to decompose and fecundate the Future..

Saturn as the Sybil of Libra speaks through a particular Oracle -to a particular area of your life. Consider the guidance below for your Sun Sign, your Moon Sign (or your Soul Sign), and your Ascendant Sign.

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Aries: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you relate to others?

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Taurus: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you are of Service?

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Gemini: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you express yourself and give love?

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Cancer: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you structure your home environment?

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Leo: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you communicate, get around town and structure your interactions with your local community?

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Virgo: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you make use of your resources (both inner and outer)?

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Libra: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of how you define who you are?

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Scorpio: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of your unconscious assumptions? What hidden beliefs are sabotaging you?

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Sagittarius: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of friends and associations?

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Capricorn: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of your career and public reputation?

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Aquarius: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of your World-View or guiding philosophy or relationship with God/Goddess/ Universe?

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Pisces: Saturn is making you aware of both your Light & Shadow. What is that which represents your best accomplishment of the last 15 yrs? What is whithering, -that you must now Release? What is not serving you any longer in terms of deep emotional bonding with others or secret knowledge?

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Copyright 2009 Gary P. Caton

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