Saturn energizes success, and when he’s in Sagittarius, he especially supports those who act and think in Sagittarian ways. Since Saturn calls us to “focus” and optimistic Sag delights in what’s “positive,” one fine and simple strategy for 2016 is “Focus on the positive.” Such an attitude can open us up. It can lead to new opportunities and life-changing adventures. If we can keep our spirits up for the duration of Saturn-in-Sag (roughly now through December 2017), our lives may take some wonderful turns.
And nothing focuses our eyes on what’s positive better than a Gratitude List.
Ugh. Not that! If you’re like me, you’ve done a zillion gratitude lists. Maybe you’ve even signed up for one of those “gratitude” email campaigns that somebody somewhere is always offering. Two things about gratitude lists: 1) They work. 2) They’re easy to stop doing. Perhaps you write your first list reluctantly. Your mind is blank. You force yourself to think of something–maybe it’s just sunshine or the blue sky that you’re grateful for. You have a roof over your head. Your Aunt Charlie is still cancer-free. You still have all your fingers and toes. It doesn’t take too long before something happens. After listing a few things you’re thankful for (it doesn’t matter what they are), your mood starts to shift. You begin feeling good about things! And the better you feel, the less inclined you are to continue making gratitude lists. Then the inevitable happens: you fall back into your usual self-movie, with its muttering soundtrack of complaints.
You’re not a bad person. You’re just equipped with a human brain. It’s designed to look for trouble. Its generally negative focus is an evolutionary advantage. We look for what’s out of place. If the pot isn’t sitting properly on the window sill, its contents will spill. It’s good that we notice such things. But if the sky is sunny, there’s little new to learn, which is why our brains generally tilt us towards the negative. That’s why Gratitude Lists are a such fine tool. They help to reboot our thinking. We don’t have to promise to become perpetually happy and grateful, but we do need to clean out the negativity from time to time. So use Gratitude Lists whenever you need them–when life gets too tight or hopeless, when you lose confidence or your zest for life. You don’t have to make a big deal about it. You don’t have to write a GL daily for forty-two days without fail. You’re an adult, says Saturn. And a free one at that, says Sag. List what you’re grateful for whenever you decide you need that balance. And know that whenever you do over the next couple years, Saturn will be watching with a smile.
What else does Saturn (and the other planets) want from you this year? Find out by checking your transits and progressions with a Skylog report!
I did a gratitude list last month and promised to myself to be positive for a month and nothing good happened. On the contrary, every week something very bad happened like someone wanted to play with me for trying to be positive.
What can you be grateful for when you are now alone, they try to make you quit at job and your sister has miscarriage at the 8th month? You can write about having all fingers and toes but you can’t really focus on this.
I’m so sorry, Kalypso, it sounds like a rough time. Gratitude lists aren’t meant to control outer events–they’re one of many ways to control the inner system that responds to outer events. Grief–allowing your despair to move through you–is also a means for balancing the inner system. It’s the way we heal. That may be the better practice for you now.
Thank you!
Awesome weave of both the Aquarian and Sag energy of this post Dana. Thanks!
Hi! Love this post! As a Scorpio in the final degrees I am sooo relieved and grateful that Saturn is moving off my sun. These last few years have been a doosy as they say. Surprisingly, I’m feeling excited that Saturn is going into Sagittarius. The last time Saturn was in Sag, I got married to a foreigner and move to Europe. As you mentioned, I’m feeling more hopeful about life being more exciting and open to new adventures. I used to do gratitude lists – in fact toward the end of last year I participated in a GL for 40 days to change my life. It was ok but I did lose interest in doing them. I like your suggestion that doing them as needed and when it naturally comes into your awareness to do them is perfectly ok and natural – after all we are only human. Thanks again for a post with lots of food for thought and fun!
Happy Martin Luther King Day!