Saturn and Incrementalism
Saturn and Incrementalism are words that just naturally go together. We might say that Saturn is the father of incrementalism. Its sad, because I know y'all hates 'yuns some incrementalism these days, but here we go with a post 'bouts it anyhow! In all serous though...
The new dirty word amongst the children does seem to be 'incrementalism'. Now, I get it. I was young once too (I've been young and I've been pretty, just never both at the same time...), but incrementalism isn't inherently evil, nor is it the basest of all impulses that humans have ever known. In fact (Surprise!!), incrementalism can be profoundly useful, positive and proper in the right circumstances. Nothing is inherently evil, or good. There is a place and time for everything, and a place and time where anything isn't appropriate. Saturn is the driving force of incrementalism, and of course, Saturn always gets a bad rap by the young, idealistic and impatient (and Mars and Jupiter, in general). So why is 'incrementalism' so triggering right now?
The current generation that seems to be so triggered by the thought of incrementalism has Pluto in Tropical Scorpio, and ranging from True Constellation Sidereal (TCS) late Virgo through TCS late Libra. This group is generally referred to as 'millennials'. The Scorpio aspect through the Tropical sign placement gives a Mars rulership, and that, of course, results in impatience, restlessness, anger and angst. With Virgo and Libra involved in the mix, the early part with TCS Virgo and thus Mercury rulership and the later part with TCS Libra and thus Venus rulership, the 'Millennials' are conflicted between the Mars rulership of their Tropical Pluto placement combined with the intellectualization of Mercury and the peace-seeking and indecisiveness of Venus. That's a lot of pent-up Martial energy, either operating through ideas, ideals, talk and restlessness, or operating through a desire for beauty, harmony, luxury and balance. The whole generation has had to face some ugly realities; a world in the grips of climate change, rising income inequality and diminishing opportunity, nationalism and isolationist tendencies, conspiracies and fake news, and all rolled up with a new focus on isolating technologies that pull the mind further and further away from community and nature, and deeper into egoic grasping for attention and fame, 'likes' and 'followers'. It is no wonder they are often angry and despondent.
I too see that there is so much that needs to change in this world, and for young people, if those changes don't happen soon, then they have to face the undesirable reality that maybe they won't get to experience the life they want. That is a bitter pill to swallow, but Saturn, dealing with reality as it does, often asks us to swallow bitter pills. Because we live in one of the long periods when Pluto transits the winter quadrant of the zodiac, we are forced to face a long period of contraction and deep change, while the generations older than both Millennials and Generation-X had the advantage of being born in the summer quadrant, and then growing up and living in the fall quadrant of the zodiac, which is not about contraction, but rather is about the harvest that comes after summer. The Baby-Boomers are the last generation to have lived the majority of their lives in the fall quadrant. The rest of us face the contraction of the winter quadrant, but the winter isn't utter destruction. It is rest and change. It is the rest before the expansion of spring begins again. It is not a change of celestial ages, but is simply a regular, if slow (depending on the planetary transit - so with Pluto it is quite slow), point in the cycle. It may seem like the world is ending, but it isn't. It is going through a necessary course-correction, and while this one may be unusual due to other longterm planetary transits and time-cycles, it isn't singular.
The great lesson of our time is Saturnian. It is a hard lesson, and no, it isn't fair that we all have to learn to live with less, have less and be less than those who seem incapable of taking responsibility for their own part in the current problems, but there it is, and here we are. The Universe doesn't make mistakes, and each generation is exactly what it is supposed to be, fulfilling its cosmic role in the great drama of unfolding. So with that knowledge under our belts, let's begin to look realistically at what Saturn has to teach us, and how we can apply the lesson of incremental change that seems so infuriating.
It is obvious that the number of things that need to change is overwhelming. It is both depressing and anger-provoking to consider the overwhelming plight we find ourselves in. It is almost beyond belief that so many people don't recognize these problems, especially amongst the wealthy and powerful who are in a position to actually set in motion the changes that so desperately need to happen. However, facing the reality of our situation is fundamental to figuring out what to do. The Millennials are, understandably, caught between the planets that rule their Pluto placements. They feel at a breaking point, where change must happen at any cost, and yesterday, but the lesson Saturn offers is one of self-discipline and learning how to make change within the confines of restraint, contraction and obstruction. There is a way to make change even within such bonds. It is subtle and requires wisdom, and yes, even an acceptance of incrementalism. It isn't the grand rush of adrenaline that Mars gives, the flurry of ideas that Mercury deals with or the luxurious, expansive beauty of Venus. It is the cold, hard, methodical, wise and patient domain of Saturn that is the hallmark of the winter, and it is the energies of Saturn that rule the times we find ourselves in, whether that is sexy or not.
So incrementalism means to bring something about in stages, by degree. To make these gradual changes effective, a sound foundation must be laid down first, so that the rest of the desired changes can be brought to fruition. It isn't sudden, and it isn't exciting. Some of the stages don't seem like they make any real difference, but every little change you bring about accelerates the greater momentum of change, and over time, builds a positive feedback loop that increases the level of change. I realize that it is very exciting and sexy to feel that you are in some grand struggle of good versus evil, where you just have to throw one ring in the lava, or tear down one entity or class, and instantly, the struggle is won, but that is not how reality (Saturn) tends to work. Forward momentum builds upon itself, and every little change you bring about gets you closer to the bigger goals.
But herein lies an important point. You can't really bring about incremental change if you don't have a plan. Plans can be as realistic or idealistic as you want to make them, but only those well-grounded in reality, and the way things really work (i.e., Saturn), have any hope of coming to fruition. Now, I am not telling you that nothing good can happen, and sometimes the Universe causes sudden and wide-ranging changes that are unexpected, but you can't force the Universe to make sudden changes. You can only take advantage of such movements of the Universe through careful observation and the application of wisdom, but if the Universe is not supporting sudden and accelerated changes, you can't force them to happen. A good analogy is that you can't plant seeds in frozen ground, or flooded fields. You plant when the ground is ready and the weather supportive, or the crop fails. So it is with planting our intentions and carefully cultivating them to fruition.
I strongly believe that the Universe is in a position to support certain kinds of change at this time. I think that there was a significant astronomical change that occurred around 2012, but just looking up at the sky on the morning of the Spring Equinox an hour or so before sunrise emphatically tells us that we aren't in the precessional Age of Aquarius just yet (or for the next few centuries), but the precessional cycles are not the only longterm cycles that matter and effect us. I would also say that the constellational sign that any of the solar system planets occupy is not a big enough cycle to define ages by, though you can define generational energies by the movement of our solar system's outer planets. With that said though, we can chart the movement of the generational energies as the outer planets of our solar system move through the four seasonal quadrants of the zodiac. And with that, we can deduce a good bit about where we are right now (bigger cycles not withstanding).
The winter quadrant period, especially for the outer planets, and most especially as concerns Pluto, gives the period from 2008 to 2068 (when Pluto enters the spring quadrant) a specific energy, and if we try to fight that energy, and make it anything other than what it is, we won't fair well, but if we work with the energies of that period, then we can make significant and lasting strides. There are energies concerning two age-cycles (precessional and Yuga cycle) that also influence where we are, and I will look at those in future posts, but the main focus is toward Pluto in the winter quadrant, which is ruled by Saturn, and thus is about discipline, contraction, restraint, outsiders, power structures and reality itself, and how all those themes will be transformed and restructured. If we want to make change during this period, it will come most effectively through disciplined action creating incremental change that comes from a well-grounded plan and follows the wise application of an understanding of how reality works and how the power structures that exist function so that all these themes and structures can be transformed and changed. Careful planning and understanding of slowly moving levers to create incremental change that leads to much bigger change is essential now.
The desire to just 'burn it all down' is a hallmark of Mars, but Mars will tend to have no longterm plans. Mars isn't burning anything down to build something better in its place. Mars is burning it down for the sheer adrenal rush of the flames. While Mars is not a natural complement to the winter quadrant, Mars is dignified in Capricorn, but Mars functions in Capricorn when it is disciplined, consistent, patient and follows the Saturnian dictate of 'having a plan and sticking to it'. Get a plan, children! Make sure it is based in reality, and isn't just a Hollywood movie revenge fantasy. The explosions are pretty at night, but when the sun comes up, you have to figure out what to do next.
For more on incrementalism, check out the Wikipedia article on the subject as a jumping off point. There are strengths and weaknesses to every system, and so to use incrementalism efficiently, you need to know where it can go wrong, as well as where it is most effective. In times of accelerated and systemic change, incrementalistic focus can hold one back from taking major leaps forward, so one must be fluid and know how to recognize when the Universe itself is opening a window to big leaps (and wise observation of astrological cycles can help you deduce this), but incremental approaches and practices offer a longterm base from which to work, and then accelerated leaps can be exploited when they happen to present themselves.
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