It’s Been a Long Week

To paraphrase one non-astrological blogger I read a few days ago, it’s been a long week.

Saturn is moving very slowly now, having crept up to 4°39’ Libra on Wednesday, where it turned retrograde, and is squaring Pluto again at 4° Capricorn, exact on January 31.

Saturn is lead, the heaviest, most stable, and most inert metal. The houses in our personal natal chart with Capricorn and Aquarius on the cusps are the areas where we acquire strength slowly and deliberately. A relentless and scorchingly honest look at the matters of those houses, along with a steadfast determination to keep the farthest and most precious goals in mind, may be clues to keep us on course and responding with integrity to the demands at hand.

And for lightheartedness, let us thank the air signs. Today the Moon in Gemini trines the Sun-Venus in Aquarius and Saturn in Libra. The Moon will also sextile Mars and square Uranus before tomorrow night’s trine to Neptune, the last aspect before changing signs. I hope this suggests that you will have time to enjoy these diverse commentators on current events!

Sky and Telescope magazine has a great column, This Week’s Sky at a Glance. Go there for a map of the sky this week where you can easily see the upcoming Mars-Moon conjunction. If your skies are clear, it will be a beautiful night.

Alan Oken has a fine article on Haiti, including the country’s Independence Day chart and the chart for the moment of the earthquake.

Claudia Dikinis writes about the earthquake in relationship to the solar eclipse at 25° Capricorn on January 15. She notes, among other succinct observations, the staggering symbolism of the Presidential palace in ruins.

David Crook includes the Saros cycle of the lunar eclipse that preceded the earthquake (i.e., on December 31), and the fixed star Algol, “the most malignant of stars,” was on the Ascendant in Port-au-Prince at that eclipse.

Moses Siregar is a generous astrology teacher. He has an article on Saturn in Libra, Haiti, and Mars in Capricorn on his website. (The Haitian independence chart has Mars in Capricorn square Saturn in Libra.)

Maggie Kerr has a thorough article on Saturn in Libra, including mundane and personal considerations. She looks at Saturn’s place in the transiting cardinal cross as well as suggestions for Saturn’s transit in Libra for each of the signs. (Remember to read your rising sign if you know it.)

For a more personal view, here’s a gentle look at Saturn in dignity in Venus’s sign, Libra.

Jupiter moved into tropical Pisces on January 17. Jeff Jawer beautifully captures that quality in his blog, The Wisdom of Sadness.

If you can’t get enough of Saturn, fortify yourself with Scott Whitters’ wonderful article Melancholy: The Saturnine Temperament on Deb Houlding’s site.
“With the melancholic temperament, there is an understanding of time, of preservation, and of the importance of the internal processes, not just the external displays.”

All the very best to one and all.