Mars And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect
If Mars and Saturn in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive. My observations and notes on this theme may also be of interest to you if your Mars is in Capricorn or the tenth house, the natural home of Capricorn. This has a similar effect to a Sun/Saturn conjunction.
This chapter of the Astro Files is dedicated to all who are suffering from one of these aspects. No matter what traditional astrology used to say about their severity, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into the lives of those affected by them. Fortunately, it is by now coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and grow. They are meant to help us become more spiritually aware and better people who are capable of making some genuine evolutionary progress in their present lifetime.
The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity. This is especially true for the trials that arise in the areas of our lives influenced by the hard Moon/Saturn aspects. However, if we willingly accept Saturn as our teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on our character, enormous soul growth will be ours through a renewed understanding of our own nature and the purpose and meaning of our present existence and all life. Alas, for as long as the soul still believes that it is struggling against unseen and unknown factors in its character make-up and life lessons, suffering seems to be unavoidable. Take it from me, the whole thing can be turned round and transformed into a success story. To understand this, we need to reach out a bit further.
In days gone by, the hard aspects had an exceedingly poor reputation for the simple reason that the time had not yet come for recognising their true value. The best that was known about them then was that they were an indication that the person, in whose chart they were found, was a thrifty and cautious soul. Fortunately, modern astrologers look at all difficult aspects with different eyes. We appreciate that in the part of our chart such aspects affect, a considerable inner struggle initially always takes place. However, through these conflicts dynamic spiritual growth can be achieved during this lifetime, if we are willing to pay attention to what the difficulties in our life are trying to teach us. The first step towards resolving any conflict is a growing inner awareness and understanding that everything that is in our life has purpose and meaning. The next and equally important step is trying to find out what our difficulties are trying to teach us.
No matter what traditional astrology used to say about these aspects, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into our lives. Fortunately, we are living in times when it is coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and become more spiritually inclined and better people who are capable of making some genuine progress on the evolutionary spiral of life in our present lifetime. The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity, especially with the trials that arise in the areas of our lives affected by the hard Mars/Saturn aspects. For those who willingly accept Saturn as their teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on their character, enormous soul growth will eventually be achieved through a new understanding of themselves and the purpose and meaning of their present existence and all life.
As the contacts between Mars and Saturn are usually extremely painful and difficult ones – especially for those who are not usually given to introversion and self-examination – those affected by them to my mind are indeed in need of some assistance. That is why these notes came into being. The first and most important step towards recovery and healing from the inner wounds we received through the effects of the lessons provided by these aspects, is facing up to the fact that everybody has a strong potential for being both their own best friend and their worst enemy. It’s just that when one of these aspects is found in our chart we have an especially great need for learning to stop acting against our own best interest and learning to be our best friend, at all times. Whether we are as yet consciously aware of this or not, we do not have much of an appetite for power. These aspects could be indications that during previous lifetimes we abused the power we were given over others. That’s why during our present return to the Earth plane we may initially be denied all access to power. This is because the intention behind this soul lesson is that we should learn to gain access to our own inner power and take possession of it.
The Hidden Parts Of Our Consciousness
When one of these aspects is found in our chart, hidden in the deepest parts of our consciousness on the subconscious level, waiting to be dealt with and released, there is quite a bit of ruthlessness and cruelty. As it operates from the subconscious, this may not show at all on the surface of our character, but it is there. It may reveal itself in our present lifetime as cruelty we had to and maybe still are experiencing at the hand of others. The result of this could be that we are inordinately passive and not at all willing to defend ourselves, as and when the need for doing so arises, possible for the simple reason that we are afraid. There could have been physical maltreatment in our childhood, which in later life may have led to sexual inhibitions and difficulties. There is only one way forward and out of this and that means lovingly resolving our difficulties and overcoming them through a) a better understanding of this lesson, b) forgiveness for those who trespassed against us and c) the same for ourselves for creating the necessity for this lesson.
The concept of our will could have an exaggerated importance in our life and we could often feel as if we had no will of our own or – at least – when we try to express it, doing so may frequently feel ineffective. This is because throughout this lifetime, as likely as not, our will has often been overlooked and thwarted. The task before us is to develop inner confidence in our own will and our own decisions. I find it helpful to have become aware that the most painful things we experience in our present lifetime are the ones we did to others in a previous one. If we can learn to fully accept this, it will be the beginning of finally finding forgiveness and maybe even love for those who hurt and wounded us. Knowing that this is possible is a vital part of the healing journey of this lifetime. Through finding forgiveness towards those who hurt and upset us, we not only set them free but – more important – we release ourselves and are then ready to love again. Nobody would pretend that this is easy, but it can be done, and if we are willing to act accordingly our reward will come as sure as night follows day.
One of these aspects is also in my own chart and because it is such a painful and difficult one, this investigation first came into being. Now, I am ready to share the result with you, in the hope that you too may find it helpful. The likelihood is that in past lives you and I failed to give adequate expression to our physical resources. We may have been over-concerned with proving our physical strength, as a means of gaining status. To make our point, we could have resorted to acts of cruelty, possibly against those weaker than us. We could have been very hard working and over-concerned with gaining respect for our efforts. We had high standards of self-discipline and may have attempted to force them upon those around us, and could have acted as slave drivers in the home or at work, possibly both.
On our return to the world of spirit, we learnt that as far as our physical drives are concerned, it is important to develop a balanced sense of responsibility. To practice this during this lifetime, it is going to be helpful to allow ourselves to be guided by a sincere wish to play our part, rather than the urge to gain social status or respect. During this lifetime, we may find that our physical drive is somehow impaired. This could either be because of a physical disability or through some form of weakness. We could also be somewhat accident-prone, and may always have a sneaking feeling that all our efforts never get us anywhere. Even to achieve average results, we seem to have to make a far greater effort than anyone else. We have difficulties asserting ourselves and constantly feel frustrated, because we lack the confidence to assert ourselves, the way others can. We are so afraid of being ridiculed and that our weaknesses could all too easily be spotted, that we constantly avoid confrontations. We may suffer from impotence or frigidity or maybe just a general sense of sexual inadequacy, and we are extremely inhibited when it comes to expressing our innermost passionate feelings.
Because of all this, some of us develop into workaholics, who are unable to switch off the adrenalin flow, even when we have reached our point of exhaustion. This makes us highly susceptible to physical or nervous breakdowns and other forms of illness. We could be tempted to become promiscuous, in the hope that this may prove that we are capable of sexual conquest, after all. We may suffer cruelty at the hands of others who try to get the better of us, when we have no chance of retaliation. Usually, this expresses itself through our father or other male partners. Our upbringing is likely to have been excessively disciplined, with too much stress on the importance of hard work, responsibility and physical endurance. We could have been forced to suppress forms of self-expression, like anger, temper and tears, because they were considered by those around us as wasteful. And there could have been a general disapproval of sexual expression in our home background.
The male figures in our life, especially our father or our male partner, if we are a woman, could be workaholics and/or prone to excessive self-discipline and self-repression. As a result, we could be suffering from physical stress symptoms, particularly inflammations, such as eczema and ulcers. These are caused by frustrated energy that is constantly being channelled inwards, because it can never release itself outwards in a natural way. Periodic bitter outbursts will, at least once in a while, help to release the tension, which is building up within all the time.
During this lifetime it may be necessary for us to face up to the following challenges:
• Considering the extent to which we could be repeating past lifetime negative behaviour patterns.
• Taking personal responsibility for difficulties we experience, as a result of physical disability or accidents; a sense of frustration; feelings of personal inadequacy; fear of appearing to be ineffective; inhibited self-expression and sexual hang-ups; the tendency to become a workaholic; anxiety and stress-related ailments; cruelty at the hands of others, as well as an excessively disciplined upbringing.
• Asking ourselves whether we are fulfilling our obligations to express our physical resources. Learn to giving for giving’s sake and not because of a sense of obligation towards the world around us that is dictated by a desire to gain social respect and standing.
• Cultivating patience and make a moderate but structured effort of building up our physical strength and endurance, as well as learning to assert ourselves in diplomatic and loving ways. In time and with perseverance, Saturn will change its role from teacher into rewarder and assist us with achieving the goals we have always been dreaming of.
This chapter of the Astro Files is loosely based on the book ‘Astrology of Karma’ by Pauline Stone.
Recommended Reading:
• ‘White Eagle On Saturn And Patience’
• Saturn As The Teacher And Rewarder’
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The above is part of ‘Everything That’s Worth Knowing About The True Meaning Of Saturn’
.If it has whetted your appetite to read more, please follow the link below:
‘Everything That’s Worth Knowing About The True Meaning Of Saturn’
