Saturn square Uranus: 2021

2020 was shaped by the evolutionary forces of the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn. 2021 will be dominated by Saturn in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus which perfects three times:  February 17, June 14 and December 24. Saturn is in charge of the material world and preserving our earthly existence. He’s a task master, making us conscious and accountable for the productive use of time. He pressures us, sometimes through fear and guilt, to build careers and reputations and, perhaps, leave a legacy behind showing an impact of our existence on planet Earth. The outer planets don’t really care about mundane earthly existence. They deal with psychological and transpersonal themes beyond our immediate personal awareness and therefore have a tendency to throw things off balance and spinning out of control. It is Saturn’s job and responsibility to ground and make sense of the simultaneously creative and destructive forces of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in forms that we can practically utilize. Saturn must filter alien energy in a way that makes the unknown less fearful and more constructive. The outer planets can be experienced as a destructive transpersonal power or can transmute, transform and transcend by being woven into our earthly fabric in ways that enlighten and contain energy rather than short circuit it. 
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2020 was the year of a pandemic that was a catalyst for revealing cracks in our society, system and century old structures and institutions. Pluto’s terrain encompasses death, disease, destruction and evolutionary power. Pluto may violently erupt and break through Saturn’s protective walls and boundaries and in the process cause much terror, but it is Saturn’s job to responsibly limit destructive power. Saturn must fix what is broken by doing the necessary work to rebuild and reestablish the balance of law and order. Lest we forget, Lord Saturn is exalted in Libra.   

The Saturn/Uranus square of 2021 is about reining in chaotic craziness so society can incorporate the new, innovative, progressive and technological into some sane form of earthly manageability. The square signifies that the new, progressive and innovative will meet up with blocks, frustrations, limitations and restrictions in how it is assimilated. We all know this will have a great deal to do with speed and effectiveness in rolling out the Covid vaccine, as well as its efficacy, and whether or not half the population refuses it. The configuration will also continue the political polarization in our country and throughout the world. All you need to do is watch the news to see these planetary configurations playing out in real time. 
I’d like to talk more about the psychological effect on us personally, and how we can use this aspect to prepare for inevitable change and make way for a “new order,” so that the energy has some place to be received within our body, mind, heart and spirit. 

The mythology of Saturn and Uranus is fairly violent, and the imagery gives us some glaring lessons and insights on how to deal with this challenging square. Uranus mated with Gaia (Earth) and produced the first race of Titans, of whom Saturn was the youngest. Unfortunately, Uranus viewed his progeny with horror because of their imperfections. They were ugly and made of flesh, so he banished them to the depths of the underworld where they could not offend his sight. Gaia naturally became enraged and planned revenge. She recruited the services of her youngest, Cronus (Saturn), and gave him a sharp scythe. While Uranus laid asleep, Cronus castrated his father and cast the bleeding genitals into the sea. The genitals floated to the surface producing a white foam out of which rose Aphrodite (Venus). Thus we get the phrase, “Out of chaos comes creativity.” It’s also a symbol of the procreative powers of the sky god Uranus. 

Saturn square Uranus says we have to prepare for the future now, in the present, so that we have a vessel to hold and contain the new procreative power that is coming out of the ensuing chaos. Revolutions are bloody. Uranus in Taurus suggests that Gaia is unleashing something from her bowels, and that can be pretty terrifying unless Saturn takes control and channels that unleashed wildness with a new infrastructure. 

Uranus is the first planet beyond Saturn, so it harkens and says there’s a light in outer space that provides further enlightenment and knowledge. He wants to break through the ceiling and walls of Saturn, and if he has to crash into that ceiling, he will, in order to capture attention. Saturn’s initial negative response to foreign forces is to block, but once the fear is faced a more positive and constructive Saturn realizes that he must assimilate. Saturn in Aquarius says, “I’m willing to allow that enlightenment, but you have to let it in according to the dictates of time. I will not permit you to crash into the psyche of mankind and short circuit my children.”  There are flashes of brilliance coming through the dark from beyond, and you have to make sure your wiring and hard drive is up to date and ready to receive the voltage, otherwise you can check out.

Saturn in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus can easily be fearful of the eruptive changes to material security forced upon us by technology, ideological shifts, climate change, and political upheavals, as well as the general disruptive nature to our material security. Yet, don’t forget that Saturn has dignity in Aquarius, so he’s at home doing the necessary work to incorporate the change through filtering all the new stuff through a new set of rules and regulations. If you do the Saturn homework, then the fear of the unknown subsides as you start saying to yourself, “Ah, I can work with the new; I can learn to integrate more diversity; and I don’t have to allow fear to banish me into a smaller and more narrowed group of like-minded people that only support a special interest community.” That way of thinking is like the stereotypical rich, white wasp that moves into a restricted community that doesn’t allow Blacks, Jews, different religions, ethnicities or anyone who doesn’t earn a certain amount of money to move in. 

As we get older, Saturn has a way of making us pay attention to our knees, bones, teeth and skin as they start to break down and cause more problems. On a daily basis we are constantly reminded by Saturn to pay attention to these parts of the body. Saturn in Aquarius says it’s time to pay attention to what we are doing in the present moment, for it will determine our future. When a wise person pays attention to a problematic knee, they will work with it, go to the doctor, do more exercise, listen to the pain and put in the effort to buttress and support it in some way. That’s what we have to do psychologically in the Aquarius part of our chart. If you ignore the pain and sweep it under the carpet or hide it away, it festers and only gets worse, and then like all Gaia’s banished children, the ignored comes forth in more grotesque terms. Yet, by working with it and doing what you can to meet the challenge, you may not alleviate all the pain but you are able to discover ways to work with it.  

Saturn rules the end of time. We can gain a lot of knowledge and understanding from watching our elders and how they prepare for death and leaving the physical realm. The physical body breaks down for all. It is a common theme we all share, but how we prepare for that on a mental, spiritual and soul level can make a monumental shift when dealing with pain and suffering. You see the difference in those that enter their golden years with a continued, albeit more restrained life force vs. those whose light is visibly extinguished and darkness takes over.  The Saturn/Uranus square begs the questions, “How will you deal with life now and prepare for the future?” Those that prepare for death both physically and psychologically are better equipped to deal with the unknown. Getting our personal infrastructure ready will prepare us for the future, just like the government has to work on the infrastructure of society towards putting money into public services. We have to take care of our own internal wiring to be prepared for the evolutions and revolutions within society. 

The generation born with Uranus in the first decanate of Aquarius (January 1996 through December 1998) will have to mature, step up to the plate and start taking responsibility for their vision of the future. This generation will be responsible for breaking past the old, ossified and outworn, and begin making their voices and actions heard to restructure laws, rules and regulations into something that holds more hope for the future. Saturn/Pluto said the old guard is dead, and Saturn/Uranus pushes past the old forms into a new paradigm based on the past.
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Look at the positions of transiting Saturn and Uranus in the natal chart to see the areas of life where the two energies play out the back and forth game of building and rebuilding, structure and re-structure, old vs. new, young vs. old and any other combination you can think of. I subscribe to the ancient rulership scheme; therefore Saturn rules both Capricorn and Aquarius, so check out the houses ruled by both signs for further insight. Pay attention the entire year when this fixed square is triggered by lunations in the fixed signs, as well as Mercury, Venus and Mars transiting the fixed signs and the stations direct and retrograde of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Saturn has dignity and power for the next two years while being in Aquarius and in a superior square overcoming Uranus. In traditional astrology, this is a dignified position for Saturn, so while there will be struggle, there is also great hope for the Uranian energy to enter our consciousness. Finally, because Uranus is in a sign ruled by Venus, pay careful attention to shifts in the structure of your value system, including money, career, earning potential and relationships when Venus enters her shadow and turns retrograde in the sign of Capricorn beginning on November 17, 2021 and lasting through March 2, 2022. 
 

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