Time’s up! That’s a Saturn concept. The Grim Reaper with his scythe goes cutting what has outlived itself. Why, I wondered, did the #timesup movement choose black as their unifying color? Why not a color of power like red? Or a spiritually luminous white? Black is Saturn’s color and he just entered Capricorn–a focused, take-charge sign. This is how power is running from now through 2020–through those individuals willing to accept Saturn’s terms. Cut out the nonsense. Be accountable. Get to work. That’s the key to success for all of us, collectively and personally.
It’s the first New Moon of the New Year: A time of beginnings, of resetting your life clock to a new pattern. Like the farmer in winter who sorts the seeds he will plant in spring, it’s a naturally propitious moment to think ahead. Plant the proper seeds to better cultivate your patch of planet Earth. The Saturn-ruled New Moon is the perfect time to embrace the deep wisdom in the Hermetic axiom: As above, so below. As within, so without. Cultivating your soul, you cultivate the soul of the world.
Astrologers don’t typically associate magic with the pragmatic sign of Capricorn. But no sign practices earth magic as deftly as Capricorn, who, through mastery of the secrets of time, yields forth the miracle of material manifestation. The name Capricorn, for instance, means “horn of the goat.” Used as a symbol of the crescent moon in ancient myths and art, it came to signify the cornucopia or horn of plenty overflowing with the abundant fruits of the Great Goddess.
The key to understanding Capricorn lies in its planetary ruler, Saturn. I like to think of Saturn as the legendary Wizard of lore: Tall, old, grizzled, white-haired, with penetrating eyes that can see through to the core of life itself. Think Merlin, Gandalf, or Moira, the Greek Goddess of Fate. Saturn in this aspect as sage magician is skilled in the time wisdom of cycles, phases, endings, beginnings, ups, and downs. How does Saturn do this?
Through patience—the quality that is learned as we mature from impulsive youthfulness to mature adult. Saturn is master of time because Saturn is master of patience: The wizardry of Capricornian magic is attained by standing outside time, eternally centered in the consciousness of what really matters—rather than being pulled off one’s path by the distractions of everyday life like restless mice in search of crumbs. Saturn succeeds where others fail because the old Wizard knows how to wait. Anyone who has endured a Saturn transit, for example, knows the hard lessons learned that come from enduring limitation, frustration, and delay: in other words, the discipline that comes from delayed gratification.
“In your patience is your wisdom,” goes an old alchemical saying. “Haste is of the devil,” is yet another. What otherworldly dreams we have the patience to wait and work for, we will one day see manifest in mundane reality. So this New Moon, take time to pay a visit to old Saturn’s cave for a lesson in the magic of time.
Imagine that you have drawn Saturn’s hooded mantle about yourself. Withdraw from the harried demands of your life into the depths of Capricornian solitude. Climb the mountain peak that lies shrouded in mists far above and beyond the affairs of humanity. Take refuge at the feet of the old Wizard whose eyes convey a knowledge far beyond your own. Go deep into the Goddess’ wisdom that says that all things that are born, must die, and will be reborn once again. The sun that rises, also sets. The dark moon empties, then waxes bright and full. The tide that rises falls back into the waiting arms of the sea.
In the cave with Saturn, gather your seeds—your ideals, goals, hopes, dreams, and fantasies for the future. Design the garden of your life: what flowers will bloom, what trees will grow? Commit yourself to their cultivation, despite the vagaries of good or bad weather. Then, gifted with Saturn’s staff of patience, steadiness, and discipline, climb down from the mountain and go back out into the world: Mistress of magic and the secrets of time.
Keep up with the zeitgeist and make 2018 the year of the Moon! Support yourself in the Moon’s Temple with Dana’s monthly Moon workshop. It’s filled with goodies that can keep you focused, connected, and joyful in the months ahead. Enroll here.
Always love your writing! Great piece!
This post sums up Saturn beautifully. I endured Saturn transiting my Natal Sun about 3 years ago. It was one of the most draining times of my life. I was running on empty with no energy left for anything but the absolute basics. There was a whole lot of unavoidable responsibility during that transit. I look back now and recognize that those experiences during that transit have helped me to focus on what is important. I don’t mind Saturn now that I have been “educated” in his ways.
Exactly!
I loved the article, but your out dated use of the word “he” to describe all of us is a bit rude now days. Thanks
You must not know that certain planets are referred to in masculine or feminine. I.e. Venus as feminine etc where she would be appropriate I suggest more research before adding know it all remarks
Love the interpretation. Makes me think of persephone’s story with all the seeds and such, hehe. Thanks for sharing.