A Saturn Return can suck. Just when you think life has smoothed out after a period of personal growth …just when you think you’re getting a handle on that question you came to answer (see my December 2012 blog), up bubbles another issue that needs to be examined and understood. Oh, crap.
Life can be a roller coaster at times and a Saturn Return most definitely throws in a few of the hair-pin curves. The Return lets us revisit our issues and provides us with new opportunities to understand and examine ourselves. We are trying to show ourselves that we can master a new way of being.
We are learning who we really are, what we came to do and then figuring out how to make the roller coaster ride work for, not against us. And wow, can it be quite a ride. We humans are very, very, very good at creating obstacles for ourselves – it seems to be part of everyone’s journey. The Dalai Lama said something that explains it, at least to me. Conflict and obstacles are here as a resistance so that we can learn the depth of our own strength and develop compassion for our journey. I’m not advocating you create obstacles along your way, but acknowledging that there will always be boulders in life.
According to my astrological chart, I’m especially fond of climbing big mountains with large boulders as part of my path to awareness. So, my roller coaster ride includes boulders from time to time. The trick for me is to make sure I’m climbing the RIGHT mountain and removing the RIGHT boulders – those that most hinder me versus those that I use as a distraction from doing the real work. How do I do it? The best way I know is to take it one step at a time. I’m trying to live by the old adage, “How do you move a mountain? One shovelful at a time.”
Let’s say if my goal is to participate in Mara Freeman’s sacred sites tour of Scotland in the summer of 2014, then I have a year to release a few pounds and change my couch-potato status to active-potato. I’ve set a goal of walking 30 minutes every morning – it’s my first shovelful. By setting this clear walking boundary – 30 minutes — I’ve honored the boundary energy of Saturn (think of those rings encircling Saturn as a perfect description of this energy). Next, I’ve picked a specific path in my neighborhood. By choosing this, I’m honoring another Saturn attribute – that of learning about routine. The final piece is discovering the discipline I need to complete my task. This doesn’t have to be a taskmaster-yell-at-yourself type of discipline. Instead, it can be a chance to accept your own quirks and habits and find a way around your boulders. For example, I’d much prefer to stay under the down comforter versus going out into the chill, morning air to walk. My solution — I don’t give myself time to think about it. When the alarm rings, I just get up, pull on my clothes, grab my keys, and walk out the door. No hesitation, no grousing about the weather, no brewing a cup of tea first. I literally pull on my clothes and head for the door – of course, some mornings I may be going on my walk in mismatched pajamas, but hey, the people I have been meeting in my neighborhood are very friendly and I am sure they would applaud my commitment. By the time I am fully awake, I am enjoying the fantastic, lush gardens and great overhanging trees in my area. Early birdsong is a delight as well, so I am optimistic this is a plan that can work for me — and I understand that there might be a boulder or two called a rainy day along the way.
Each morning I am now consciously honoring the energetic core of a Saturn Return – setting a clear boundary, teaching myself a routine, and finding a way to create a discipline that works for me. This will inform the work I do for the rest of my day as I step into another circuit of the roller coaster.
I invite you to find an area in your life that will help you master these gifts of Saturn: boundaries, routine, and discipline.
Life can be a roller coaster at times and a Saturn Return most definitely throws in a few of the hair-pin curves. The Return lets us revisit our issues and provides us with new opportunities to understand and examine ourselves. We are trying to show ourselves that we can master a new way of being.
We are learning who we really are, what we came to do and then figuring out how to make the roller coaster ride work for, not against us. And wow, can it be quite a ride. We humans are very, very, very good at creating obstacles for ourselves – it seems to be part of everyone’s journey. The Dalai Lama said something that explains it, at least to me. Conflict and obstacles are here as a resistance so that we can learn the depth of our own strength and develop compassion for our journey. I’m not advocating you create obstacles along your way, but acknowledging that there will always be boulders in life.
According to my astrological chart, I’m especially fond of climbing big mountains with large boulders as part of my path to awareness. So, my roller coaster ride includes boulders from time to time. The trick for me is to make sure I’m climbing the RIGHT mountain and removing the RIGHT boulders – those that most hinder me versus those that I use as a distraction from doing the real work. How do I do it? The best way I know is to take it one step at a time. I’m trying to live by the old adage, “How do you move a mountain? One shovelful at a time.”
Let’s say if my goal is to participate in Mara Freeman’s sacred sites tour of Scotland in the summer of 2014, then I have a year to release a few pounds and change my couch-potato status to active-potato. I’ve set a goal of walking 30 minutes every morning – it’s my first shovelful. By setting this clear walking boundary – 30 minutes — I’ve honored the boundary energy of Saturn (think of those rings encircling Saturn as a perfect description of this energy). Next, I’ve picked a specific path in my neighborhood. By choosing this, I’m honoring another Saturn attribute – that of learning about routine. The final piece is discovering the discipline I need to complete my task. This doesn’t have to be a taskmaster-yell-at-yourself type of discipline. Instead, it can be a chance to accept your own quirks and habits and find a way around your boulders. For example, I’d much prefer to stay under the down comforter versus going out into the chill, morning air to walk. My solution — I don’t give myself time to think about it. When the alarm rings, I just get up, pull on my clothes, grab my keys, and walk out the door. No hesitation, no grousing about the weather, no brewing a cup of tea first. I literally pull on my clothes and head for the door – of course, some mornings I may be going on my walk in mismatched pajamas, but hey, the people I have been meeting in my neighborhood are very friendly and I am sure they would applaud my commitment. By the time I am fully awake, I am enjoying the fantastic, lush gardens and great overhanging trees in my area. Early birdsong is a delight as well, so I am optimistic this is a plan that can work for me — and I understand that there might be a boulder or two called a rainy day along the way.
Each morning I am now consciously honoring the energetic core of a Saturn Return – setting a clear boundary, teaching myself a routine, and finding a way to create a discipline that works for me. This will inform the work I do for the rest of my day as I step into another circuit of the roller coaster.
I invite you to find an area in your life that will help you master these gifts of Saturn: boundaries, routine, and discipline.
