New Views

Photos: Willow

Saturn Rx in Sagittarius is square Neptune Rx in Pisces, and recovery from disappointment may seem like a full-time job at the moment.

This aspect can have a wet blanket effect with challenges related to disillusionment, crushed dreams, unmet ideals, and a general wishing for things to be different in our material reality on Planet Earth.

Saturn square Neptune indicates some tension between what we had hoped for and what we got. It's harder than we thought it would be - especially for those of a particular sensitivity and/or spiritual orientation - and this square really drives that point home.

The general state of Planet Earth brings this particular theme up quite regularly, but the vastness and seeming immovability of our problems may seem heightened under this square.

The growth work here, in part, is to accept the weight of things, the reality of things, and the (at times) disappointing flavour of things while continuing to work toward the things that inspire us.

Saturn indicates restriction, and with Saturn moving retrograde (even more restriction) in Sagittarius, we can work with even the tiniest morsels of inspiration now, the narrowest avenues for improvement. What matters is that when we get knocked down, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and keep striving for something better. (After a few moments of wallowing in self-pity, sure...)

Just keep working at it. That's a Saturn lesson. We have to be gritty to get through these times. Our ancestors didn't carry us this far just to have us give up.

The indicator is that the things we're working on now (and the things that are dropping our hearts into the dirt now) will continue to be challenges - at least to a certain extent - through the summer of 2016, from June solstice to September equinox. Saturn will pull into a direct station at 9 degrees Sagittarius on August 13, still within square aspect to Neptune Rx in Pisces. The taskmaster planet will then form the final exact square to Neptune in Pisces on September 10.

Again, just keep working at it, and over time, by equinox, the things that seem like huge challenges now will seem less of a burden. Gear down a bit for a longer haul, and accept your challenges (Saturn) as meaningful. They are meaningful - every last pesky one of them. Growth aspects aren't the most fun, to be sure, but this one involves spiritual growth and validation that can ultimately lift us up and out.

This solstice (June 20) has some inspirational moments and also some fairly intense challenges wrapped up in it, and we may flip between one and the other fairly rapidly. (For added entertainment, clock your mood swings! "Wow, things are going great!" "Ugh, what is the point of continuing on this planet anymore?")

Mercury in Gemini will be activating the mutable Grand Cross formation with Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, and Neptune Rx in Pisces from June 20 to 22, indicating that mood swings and changes in perspective will be in high gear. This is a re-activation of the themes written about in the May 20, 2016 article, "Mutable Madness!"

These aspects indicate that we're all feeling a little disheartened, a little weighed down, and a little confused at the moment. A little encouragement goes a long way - both encouraging ourselves and encouraging others. This encouragement helps us to eke forward, no matter what circumstances we may be facing, at this Full Moon solstice, as the Moon grows full on the anaretic degree of Sagittarius (June 20).

Happy Solstice, friends! It looks to be a busy, busy, busy one. Keep paddling.