Note from Patricia: I wrote this many years ago to honor my mother and publish it somewhere every year on Mother’s Day. I hope my MAAS friends enjoy my reflections on Saturn and my Mom!
Reflections on Saturn
Most of what we read and learn about Saturn can lead us to believe its primary function is limitation. Most of the astrological keywords reinforce this assumption – responsibility, obligation, discipline, task, work, etc. Even the mythology of Saturn is quite gruesome, Saturn eating his children – Oh My!!! All of this seems to paint a gruesome picture of an extremely beautiful planet.
Saturn’s Physical Features
Perhaps we should consider a few of Saturn’s physical features before making any final judgment. Saturn, like Earth, has seasons. It is the least dense of all the planets—a piece of Saturn would float in water on our Earth. Its beautiful ring system is believed to be billions of chunks of ice and rock coated with other material such as dust.
What could be the meaning of these physical features? Could the light density of Saturn indicate softness and sensitivity? Do the ice and rock rings perhaps shield and protect a giant softy from the hard knocks of life? And might Saturn eating his children be just the best way the ancients could understand why Saturn’s rings seem to vanish at certain times?
Astrologer Erin Sullivan wrote in her retrograde book of Saturn “encapsulating” what it touched by transit and referred to Saturn as “the protective coating around specific areas of the psyche.” Could this be the image of a mother enfolding her child in her arms for protection?
Is Saturn a Masculine Planet?
Which brings me to the question: Is Saturn a really masculine planet? What sense does it make that a masculine planet should rule Capricorn, a feminine sign? Saturn is not an outgoing energy. Perhaps the confusion lies in the strength symbolized by Saturn. But Saturn’s strength is not Mars’ warrior strength or the Sun’s ego strength. Saturn’s strength is the inner strength of the feminine.
Perhaps there are two aspects of motherhood. The lunar mother who is nurturing and emotional, as well as the Saturn mother, who, by comparison, may seem harsh and demanding in protecting her child by teaching her to survive and thrive in the world.
Saturn at Her Finest
Can it be that Saturn, at her finest, is the energy that truly sets us free? Saturn teaches discipline like a loving parent who sets limits for a child’s well-being.
For example, A loving parent might restrict their child to the backyard to play. If the child shows cooperation and maturity by staying within these boundaries, she is given permission to go next door – given more freedom but with new limits and boundaries. If she follows these rules, she will soon be allowed to cross the street and play with her friends.
As the process continues, she is given additional freedoms. However, whenever she oversteps her boundaries, she is quickly restricted again to the backyard. As any good parent knows, children need boundaries on their behavior to grow safely and feel loved.
My Mother’s Gift to Me
I have a Capricorn South Node and a Capricorn Sun/Mercury cazimi – Opposite Saturn in Cancer – Square an Aries Moon and Neptune in Libra. Yes, a Grand Cardinal Cross.
As you can imagine, it took many years, but I have come to believe that Saturn was my Mother’s gift to me.
Of course, to some, this may seem like giving a 6-year-old child nothing but a coat and mittens as a Christmas gift, practical but not too exciting, and it did to me when I was younger. So I didn’t really appreciate her gift and longed for the bright and shiny gifts my friends found under the Christmas tree.
But, I have come to understand that when it’s freezing outside, the snow is falling, and the most exciting thing in a 6-year-old’s life is building a snowman – it’s the coat and mittens that will protect her and enable her to enjoy the magic of the cold winter day.
Happy Mother’s Day, Thanks, Mom!!!
Interesting take, Pat. I’ll never forget an interview with David Coucheron, the Concert Master at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. His mother told him that if he’s disciplined as a child, that will give him freedom later in life. So true! Thank you!