Joy = Power
I want to remind you that Joy = Power!
Laughter and Joy are your greatest powers - pure magic - and especially in a year such as this where Venus has such outsized influence, though I am not seeing much focus on that. When Venus and Uranus join forces you get the the joy trickster. Embrace doing the improbable! I know right now everything looks scary and depressing and all we are hearing is how bad it is and how long it will take to "fix" it, but I can tell you this - chaos offers opportunity. Chaos (Uranus) and the unexpected is a doorway that can be used to do otherwise impossible things. With rulership by Venus, those surprises become Venusian. There is so much possibility in that!
For the entirety of last year, but especially since the Great Conjunction, I have been getting the message of how important it is for all of us to start focusing on our joy (as much as each person can muster) and our own life path - our creativity and our own personal weirdness. The movement from the old Jupiter/Saturn cycle in earth to the new cycle, firmly in air (yes, I know we had Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Tropical Libra in 1980, but it went back into earth in 2000 - we are now in air for the full 200 years...) this new cycle is going to open new doors, and they are doors we might not even know are there, or could possibly even expect, so we might not even be looking for. Please pay attention to your inspirations right now, and DO NOT dismiss your fantasies, thoughts, inspirations with the old, earthy, iron-age thought-patterns like, "I can't do that" or "That's not possible' or "No one would be into that". Just shut that old voice up in your head, because we don't know what is possible yet, and we stand on the edge of a new way of being.
If you are hiding your personal weirdness due to shame or fear or judgement, either by yourself or others, it is time to start working through that, because all you are doing is depriving the Universe of the experience of your unique weirdness. Don't do it! You are the Universe, and your weirdness is what the Universe desires to experience. Embrace it! Things are possible now that have not been possible in centuries (the Jupiter/Saturn cycle) and even millennia (the Yuga cycle). I can't tell you how important it is right now to shove the fear back on those who want to layer you down with it, and embrace the new world that is emerging with joy, beautify and uniqueness. Creativity, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent are the words of the day. GO!!
Venus and Uranus joining forces as Uranus transits Taurus, ruled by Venus, is a doorway for the Joy Trickster. I don't see enough emphasis on how important Venus is right now to the expression of Uranian energies on earth, and of course, that means that, because of the affinity of Venus and Saturn, and Saturn's restraining superior square to Uranus, the Venusian expression of Uranus will be highlighted. I think this is very important! The aspects Venus makes to Uranus will be highlighted, and probably somewhat stronger than usual. The trines of Venus to Uranus will be especially important to make good use of, and the squares of Venus to Uranus will see positive action (or actions that lead to positive outcomes) - spurred by surprises and surprising events - that help to enact Saturn's agenda in Aquarius.
The trickster archetype often gets a bad rap, and maybe sometimes it should, but my experience is that all tricksters, in all forms, both negative and positive, are manifestations of the Spirit, and always serves some purpose. As someone who has an extra dose of trickster energy, for a variety of reasons, I think I am not only a good person to write about this energy, but also to explain some of the nuances of the archetype.
Modern astrologers associate the Trickster with Uranus, and that is apt, but the Trickster was associated in the past with Mercury and Saturn. It is my observation and opinion that all three can work through the Trickster archetype, and both Venus and Pluto can, as well. I would also point out that the Trickster archetype has long been associated with the Fairy Folk, who were always seen as tricksters. For me, the Fay always reflect Mercury, Venus and Saturn - and Pluto, of course.
Whether you manifest the Trickster energies personally, or simply encounter it in the world at large, it is important to understand which format you are encountering. I want to be clear that I don't judge either as "evil", but one can be much more destructive and difficult to deal with, while the other often borders toward ecstasy and embodies wholeness.
The negative archetype of Trickster appears when we are out of alignment, so it is necessary and useful - just not generally pleasant. Yet, if we are in a rut, deceiving ourselves or just going in the wrong direction, we need to be shaken up. The more out of alignment we get, the more intense and negative the Trickster will manifest. This is true for individuals, countries, species and planets, as we have been observing for the last few years... This darker aspect can embody the more negative energies of Saturn, as well as Uranus and Pluto. It can be especially problematic when it pulls in the energies of Jupiter and Mars, but in such instances, it often becomes self-destructing.
However, there is another face to the Trickster, and it is the real power of the Trickster - the magnificent power of the Universe in its most playful and joyous archetype. The Joy Trickster is the positive manifestation of the archetype, and it is found by those who have passed through the darkness and fear of the darker version of the archetype, those who have wakened from their delusions and course-corrected, setting themselves on a path that is in alignment with their true self. This manifestation of the Trickster seems to me to manifest, most strongly, as Mercury, Venus and Saturn, as well as positive energies of Uranus and Pluto. The later two when it moves beyond our day-to-day lives and becomes more universal in scope.
The Joy Trickster is first and foremost honest. It is in that honesty, both with self and others, that the Joy Trickster can stand in its power. To begin with, they first must be honest with themself, embodying their truth within their life, not hiding their weirdness and creativity for fear of judgement, and engaging their creativity and joy as fully as possible. Once that is done, then the challenge becomes focusing that energy with discipline and focus, in order to make a difference in the world, offering their personal experience up as a gift to the Universe.
The power of the Joy Trickster is engaged, aware ecstasy. It is the laughing joy of childhood, which is innocent and not based in mockery and fear. The first and greatest power of the Joy Trickster is to laugh with unbridled joy and engagement with the Universe, aware of their own shortcomings and foibles, forgiving self and other, and embracing the paradox and ridiculousness of this whole thing we call life. The Joy Trickster has the power to transmute energies and to transform situations, breaking up stuck patterns and bringing levity to the overly-serious.
Embracing the archetype means you might not be the most respected person by the "respectable". In fact, as has often been pointed out in discussions of the Trickster, that those who strongly embrace and embody the archetype have often been marginalized (Saturn) and lived on the fringes of society (Saturn), being oppressed (Saturn) by the power structure of hierarchical polite society (Jupiter). But I think one of the major changes we are about to see is that this phenomena of "the outsider" is going to start shifting (and we have already seen that beginning, of course).
With the heavy emphasis of Aquarius for the next 40+ years, we are going to see the traditional outsiders become more embraced. So the old, more destructive nature of the Trickster energy will shift too, and will be less oppressed and marginalized in this era. As well, I would contend that "the outsiders" of the Yuga iron age will not be the outsiders of the Yuga ascending iron age, and therein lies part of the reason I am writing - to announce that the old, oppressed, dark Trickster is moving into the time when it can become the Joy Trickster, embracing its weirdness fully and being celebrated for that, sharing its gifts fully with the world and living them fully. Without the judgements of fear and rejection, the Trickster itself will transform from the inwardly turned self-destruction of the old era to the outwardly-joyful form of the new era unfolding.
So how do we do that? Well, get right with yourself. The time of deep, long agonizing "self work" is passing. Now is the time of embracing your creativity, your own uniqueness, whatever that means for you, and running with it. Stop obstructing your joy and creativity because of "what others may think". What do you think? That should form your baseline!
Finally, learn to laugh. The forces of the world want you to be afraid. As the old Yuga iron age world, and the Saturn/Jupiter earth element cycle, fades, that old world order is acting out. It knows what is happening, at least on some deep level, and all it has left to hold you back is its anger and terror, but I suspect the Universe is using that too, turning that into a dark Trickster to accelerate the disempowerment of the forces of the old cycles. The most important thing you can learn to do right now is to laugh. Laugh! Let the pure joy of the Universe ripple through you, and let that be both your shield and your sword. Let that be your magic spell and your sacred talisman. Become a power in the world. Not everyone is a conduit of the Trickster, in either format, but we can all utilize that energy to accelerate change, because change is the Trickster's speciality.
Some of us are manifestations of the Trickster, while others may just have brushes with the archetype at times, but we can all work with the energy, and it is more available right now than it has been in a long time, and is more beneficial too. Much of its manifestation in your life will depend on how your chart is set up, but the heavy activation of Aquarius for decades is going to see the archetype stronger, and more positive, than it has been for a long time. Make good use of it!
And don't forget to laugh. Have you seen 'The Witches of Eastwick'? Do you remember the scene when Susan Sarandon's character Jane falls off a balcony, and Sookie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Alexandra (Cher) tell her to laugh, and when she does, she starts to float? Yeah, that's it! Laugh! Spread that joy and let it tear down that which would suppress mirth, joy, love, peace and plenty! Be your own Joy Trickster!
This will be a very simple, quick overview - basically just some bullet-points to begin to introduce the concepts. I will have much more to say on the subject over time and in subsequent posts.
The Yuga cycle is a concept that comes from Vedic philosophy on the Indian subcontinent. It is used to describe a series of ages. There is disagreement amongst Vedic scholars as to whether it applies to a massively long cycle of 8 million years, or to the Procession of the Equinoxes, which is a cycle of approximately 26,000 years. I don't see why it has to be one or the other. To me, it can equally apply to both, and to many other cycles, as well.
The basic Yuga count is a numerical equation based on the number 20. It is then divided into two equal sides of 10 each - an ascending (positive) side and a descending (negative) side. Each side is divided into four segments, named for four types of metal (gold, silver, bronze and iron). The equation is 1/2/3/4/4/3/2/1. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10. It is my belief that this cycle can be applied to absolutely anything from time cycles to physical forms to the movement of the ocean, the planets, genes, or light. I suspect that it is the motion of the waveform in a mathematical formula. As such, applying it to the Precession of the Equinoxes is just one way it can be used, but is a valid use, no matter what other uses it may have.
When the Yuga count is applied to the approximate 26,000 year Precessional cycle, the base-unit (1) equals 1,300. The four periods within each side have lengths of duration based upon their vibratory rate (or level of awareness), so that 1 = iron or the lowest energy level. 2 = bronze and is the next highest level. 3 = silver and is higher than bronze, and 4 = gold, which is the longest cycle and the highest level. In terms of timespan, iron = 1,300 years, bronze = 2,600 years, silver = 3,900 years and gold = 5, 200 years for a total of 13,000 (1/2 of the total Yuga cycle as applied to the precessional cycle). The two halves, the ascending and the descending, each 13,000 years, totals the full 26,000 years of the Precessional cycle.
Amongst the Vedic sources that apply the Yuga count to the Precessional Cycle, there is a general consensus that we are in, or just entering, the ascending bronze age, though exactly when we did or will enter it varies by a century or two amongst the various sources. I would agree, generally, and see no major flaw in this. I have been fascinated by the Mayan Long Count calendar for several decades, well before the "2012" frenzy hit popular consciousness. I knew in my gut that what was being touted in the media and conspiracy circles was total BS, and I had run across a few sources that suggested a comparison between the Long Count calendar and the Yuga ages as early as the 1990s.
I have to say here that I know, deep in my bones, that something did happen in 2012. It just wasn't anything you could see or point to, but things shifted at that time. But why? I would suggest that the Mayan Long Count calendar was counting out the lowest phase of energy in the Yuga cycle as applied to precession. Why? Well, because it fits mathematically and the story which the Maya told about it fits too. First, the Maya said that the period of the Long Count was the darkest period in a long cycle of human ages (which they called 'Worlds'). They also said that the end of the Long Count calendar (falling on the 2012 end date) was the beginning of the time when things would improve, not that the world would end.
Second is the maths - the Long Count began in 3114 b.c.e, ending in 2012 c.e. - a period of 5,126 years. As you can see there is no lower level Yuga cycle that is that length (yes, each side of the gold age is that length, but the gold age is counted as one unit of 10,400 years, and both of the 5,200 year sides are, well...golden, so that is out), but what if we add together some sections of the lower energy parts of the Yuga count that follow each other in order? Can we then reach a number close to this? I knew that the Vedic scholars often cited that we were in, or were about to enter, the ascending bronze age. That is the time when energies really start to turn upward. It is interesting that in the Yuga cycle, the ascending gold age falls into the descending gold age and then the descending iron age rises into the ascending iron age. Only gold and iron touch their counterparts of the opposite movement. If we were near the ascending bronze age, that meant the ages preceding were the ascending iron age, the descending iron age and the descending bronze age. Iron is the lowest of the energies, and even the ascending iron age is still an age of ignorance and vice. So the lowest parts of the cycle are the descending bronze, descending iron and ascending iron - right where the Vedic scholars said we were (or had recently exited), and they represented the lowest energies, just as the Mayan described for their Long Count period within a long cycle of 'Worlds' or human ages. Finally, when you add the descending bronze age and the two iron age phases you get - 2,600 + 1,300 + 1,300 = 5,200...within 74 years of the exact length of the Mayan Long Count calendar. There is no other Yuga period, running back to back and of the lowest energies that even approaches, and the Vedic placement of where we are in the cycle would seem to agree.
So, to me, these are two markers from opposite sides of the world and widely separated cultures that points to the exact same cycle. Not necessarily because the Vedic and Mayan cultures were communicating, but because they are describing the same cycle, within their own cultural context and languages. Now, I know that the maths of the two do not come out to the exact same number of years. There is a discrepancy of 74 years. To begin with, the 26,000 years for the precessional cycle is only a estimate, an approximation, and it can vary a bit. Some see it as something more like 25,600 years or 25,800 year, etc. I round it off at 26,000 just to make it easier to work with and because I am not concerned with being that exact. I am looking for the patterns. Second, the 74 year discrepancy is only one precessional degree (1 precessional degree = 72 years), and when dealing with spans of time so vast, I don't expect exact numbers, and in time cycles so vast, 76 years is not much time. So I mark 2012 as the movement from the ascending iron age into the ascending bronze age, coinciding with the shift of numerous other, smaller cycles, such as the Jupiter/Saturn cycle. I feel comfortable with the 2012 date, as I suspect the Maya were much better mathematicians than I am, and I know I observed an intense shift of energy at that time, but which was too subtle to be recognized at large.
In closing this little introduction, as the Mayan said about the cycle following the end of the Long Count, and as the Vedic sources suggest based upon the descending bronze and both forms of iron being the lowest parts of the cycle, we are now in a new energetic format, and it is a higher level of energy than we have know in a long, long time - at least 5,200 years, and maybe even much longer than that (the ascending cycle ended last time around 12,000 b.c.e). So we are truly in a new age. It isn't the Age of Aquarius (that is still some centuries off) and it isn't "the golden age" (as that is a couple of Yuga cycles away), but we are on the great Golden Path that leads us upward to those heights, and we can now begin to implement changes that haven't been possible for millennia.
This is the secret your not supposed to realize! Our entire written history has occurred within the Long Count, the descending bronze, descending iron and ascending iron ages. None of our histories can tell us what positive ascending energy should look like, because all of our written records, right back to the Sumerians, are of a world in decline and falling apart, things getting darker, more violent, more hierarchical and more ignorant, as happens in the descending cycle. I realize the years since 2012 have looked bad, but in times of energetic change, the crap all floats to the surface to be seen, recognized, acknowledged and flushed out. If we don't acknowledge that darkness, we can't clear it. If we don't see it, we don't know what it is. Now, we begin to ascend out of darkness and entropy! Now we forge a path that leads us upward. I have so much more to say about this in the coming months and years, but I beg you to start thinking of what your part is, where your dreams wish to lead you, what the synchronicities in your life are pointing out to you, and where the Universe itself is beckoning you to apply your power and joy.
In light of the end of the ascending iron age and the beginning of the ascending bronze age, I want to point out that fairies, and magical folk in general, in legend and myth, have been said to be harmed by iron, which is though to nullify their magic. Could this be some vestige of the understanding that the iron age is the lowest energetically, with the lowest vibration, and was therefore antithetical to the easy working of magic? I suspect there is something to this.
The descending iron age began about 600 b.c.e. and ran to about 700 c.e., with the ascending iron age running from about 700 c.e. to about a decade or so after the start of the twenty-first century. This is the period that saw the collapse of all the old magical religions, and the rise of the monotheistic religions, with their general stance against other religions and their magical practices.
Throughout the period of the iron age the old religions were hunted, nearly into extinction, all over the world and right into modern times through colonialism and empire. LGBTQIA+ (sexual and gender minorities of all kinds) were hunted right along with the practitioners of the old ways. Often magical themselves, and frequently seen as either sacred due to their otherness or themselves officiants in the old religions, sexual minorities have been minimized in modern westernized cultures, just as the great old gods, witches, magicians and fairy beings have been reduced to stereotypes of little winged pixies like Tinkerbell. The use of 'fairy', 'Tinkerbell' and 'fay', terms used for fairies, interchangeably used as slang terms for LGBTQIA+ peoples has never been lost on me.
The movement into the ascending bronze age, along with the movement of the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter into Tropical Aquarius, and its 200 year air element cycle, adds a particularly favorable circumstance to this time for minorities of all kinds, and then, Pluto will enter Tropical Aquarius in 2024, which will add a massive boost of power to all 'outsiders' and minorities. Many of us who do not fit the dualistic, binary, heteronormative mold hold types of magic that is rooted in paradox, otherness, the fairy world and the old ways. Now, as we rise out of the iron age, and rise up into the ascending bronze age - and here is the crux of the matter - our powers are no longer hampered or nullified by the low vibrations of iron. None of the other metals hurt the fay! In fact, Elvish and Dwarvish smiths are always the most skilled!
To begin to reclaim our rightful place, both in society and in the magical/spiritual world, it is important we face our own shadows- the internalized oppressor mentality that we have been burdened with from birth, and that often informs our shame and fear and loathing, for ourselves and other LGBTQIA+ people - often without us even realizing the outsized influence it has on our thoughts and reactions. Some have always managed to work through this, even in the darkest of times, just as some managed to work magic in the iron age, but now this will be an easier process, just as magical working will become more possible and accessible, and so too will the work of expunging the shadow of oppression become more available to sexual and gender minorities as the ascending bronze age unfolds, ushered in by the Great Conjunction, the new air element of the Great Conjunctions and the long stay of Pluto in Tropical and True Constellation Sidereal Aquarius.
Finally, the power of fairy magic is the power of joy! All fay work their magic with joy, whether they are light or dark in their orientation. They enjoy what they do. They do what is natural to them. They do not judge their essence. They do not question their natures. Embrace your nature, your creativity, your true self, and explore your world, inner and outer, with joy!
"I am Leto, Lion of Atreides, returned from the desert to announce Secher Nbiw - The Golden Path..."Leto II - Children of Dune - Frank Herbert
The Golden Path... in the Dune series it is the key to human survival and lies at the heart of all the books. It is a grand vision rooted in Taoist philosophy and ecological, psychological and sociological awareness. Frank Herbert was truly a brilliant mind, well-read and erudite. The Golden Path resonates so strongly with me for many reasons, but one is that I see Saturn held aloft within it.
Now, I will be the first to tell you that the Dune series is just fiction, but Herbert based it in human philosophy, history, psychology and sociology, and his deep understanding of ecology and environmental awareness. He also was known to take a mushroom trip now and then, and knew the song of the mycelium, repeatedly having the expansive vision the fungal life-form offers to those who seek it.
The reason that The Golden Path resonates to strongly with me is that as I have studied the movements of the ages, through precession and the cycle of the Yuga count, and came to realize that we live at the turning of one great age to another great age within the Yuga cycle as applied to the precessional cycle - from ascending iron to ascending bronze when energy finally can start to accelerate and become more fair, balanced and magical (again) - I came to realize that we truly are on a golden path. That is to say, the path we tread in the newly arrived ascending bronze age, every step we take and decision we make, leads us back to the Yuga gold age. Though that age is still thousands of years away, we must take the Longview and think about how our lives shape even that distant future. To begin with, any of us who reproduce in this life literally pass ourselves through the genes on into the future, and what if there really is reincarnation? I don't know if there is or isn't, but I don't see it as preposterous, or at least no more preposterous than anything else humans believe or have invented. But if it is true, WOW! what a responsibility we have to ourselves! Let alone the responsibility we bear to the world and all who come after us.
I frequently come back to the Dune series of books because the series is so filled with human wisdom, drawn from so many sources, and because of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. Many aspects of the Dune series could be seen as prophetic - the equation of Spice with Oil, CHOAM with OPEC, Spice Melange with the mycelial teachers, the ecological transformation of Dune (several times and over vast millennia) with the accelerating climate change we face. But of it all, to me, the Bene Gesserit are the most profound and even hopeful aspect. They are Saturn in its purest, most positive form. Now, for those who have just seen the movies or just read the first book or two, I always get shock and outrage about "those manipulative, evil women!", but the series spans six books (by Frank Herbert himself), and they span more than 15,000 years. They detail evolution in action.
The Bene Gesserit of the first four books are masterful power-brokers, who prefer to work behind the scenes and manipulate human outcomes, but through the fourth book and into five and six, we see an evolved, matured Bene Gesserit that I feel are the pattern of what an evolved, disciplined, powerful and positive Saturn looks like, and I see them as a goal for our future, a template even. It is intersting that in interviews Herbert said that he created the Bene Gesserit merely to be a plot foil, but that over time, they took over the series and became the center of it, and not really by his choice. The last two books focus almost solely on them. I could write a 100,000 word dissertation on them, but for now, I will leave it here, and simply say that I believe we face our own Golden Path and that key to that is to obtain the height of Saturnian discipline and skill as exemplified by the Bene Gesserit.
To summarize, we face an uncertain series of climatic changes, which is not uncommon at the changes of the age (both the astrological or the Yuga age) as well as many social and cultural changes and upheavals. As we enter the ascending bronze age, we still have centuries of the astrological, precessional age of Pisces to go, but that is the good news! We have ONLY had the precessional age of Pisces in Yuga iron, so we have only seen its lowest aspects. Now we have a period to get it right, and I can tell you that everything New Age thinkers have attributed to "The Age of Aquarius" is purely Jupiterian/Piscean themes.
And well it is that we are not entering the precessional Age of Aquarius, because, ruled by Saturn as Aquarius is, it is not an age of expansion, but rather an age of retraction, contraction, restriction and discipline - an age of karmic repercussions, and I don't think we would fare well as a species if we entered that realm of judgement now. But we have the opportunity to get it right, to care for our brothers and sisters, to love each as if they were self (because they are...), to care for the earth and to grant each their fullest opportunity. We have a chance to walk the golden path and enter the age of Aquarius ready to be judged and found worthy, not wanting. Only those judged worthy and disciplined, filled with self-knowledge and compassion, will be able to go through the contractions of Aquarius/Saturn and come out the stronger for it, refined in the judgement of Saturn, ennobled by the passage through the test the great Ringed-One offers. The promise of Saturn is that humanity will become more mature, through the lessons of the 2,600 years of the ascending bronze age and be prepared to enter the ascending silver yuga age, meeting then another higher level of awareness, as they walk the golden path on toward the Yuga gold age.
We here, at the beginning of the ascending bronze Yuga age, have the opportunity to lay a new foundation that can allow the progression toward that gold age to advance, but only if we walk Saturn's Golden Path. Remember that Saturn was King of the Golden Age, and I can assure you, his rewards do not come without effort. As the Sun moves over Saturn today, I meditated and over and over, this is the message they showed me... "Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty." - Frank Herbert - Chapterhouse: Dune (book 6 in the Dune series)
Venus is the Secret Sauce…Part 1
As I have been saying for weeks, Venus is the secret sauce of 2021. Ruling Taurus, Venus is setting the tone for Uranus throughout its entire time in Taurus and Mars during its tour of the green cattle pasture of Taurus in the first six weeks of 2021. For the last two weeks I have been discussing the inauguration with astrologer friends, who were all certain of absolute doom and destruction, mostly based on the events of Jan 6th. And certainly, I could understand their fears and misgivings but I have worshipped at the alter of the Ocean-Born-One for a long time, and I know her well, her energies and how she directs things when she is in control. Plus, Venus and Saturn work and play well with each other, and right now, Venus is in Saturn's sign, trining its own sign of Taurus, while Saturn in its own sign of progressive Aquarius is making a restraining superior square to the planets in Taurus, so Saturn and Venus are the ringmasters, and generally speaking, Saturn likes to let Venus do her thing.
Watch Venus closely throughout 2021. Her aspects will all be prominent, and especially so her aspects to Uranus. For 2021, Venus is the Secret Sauce. Enjoy!!
As Venus begins her journey through Aquarius, we will shortly see a conjunction of the two planets. Much is made of the terrible, oppressive energy of Saturn. We are told that Saturn is just a stodgy old frowner, always holding back the young idealistic upstarts who just want to give peace a chance. But is Saturn really such a party-pooper? Well, Venus doesn’t seem to think so, and no one is more fun than Venus, right? Now, we will hear that Jupiter is the real benefic, the Great Benefic, while poor Venus is just ok, the Lesser Benefic. But what if the real story is that Saturn and Venus are both kinda fun, when you learn their complicated dance, and you quit listening to the Jupiterian propaganda, which has a clear agenda in painting Saturn as all-bad, all-the-time.
Let’s start by considering this question. Why are Venus and Saturn so closely interconnected if Saturn is the force of no-fun? To begin, I am just going to say that Saturn isn’t the dead-weight of dourness that you have been taught he is, nor is he the force of all things bad, as many want to pretend. Who benefits from such a story? Well, Jupiter of course, and we know from myth that Jupiter stole Saturn’s throne and position as ‘Head of the Gods’. But Venus knows another story…
The Birth of Venus
I want to make a correction here and then expand on my original point based on that correction. When I originally made the post of section of the blog on Facebook, I wrote...
"To begin with, the Greco-Roman myths tell us that Kronos/Saturn was afraid one of his children would replace him, and so he ate them all at birth. Then, courageous, valiant Zeus/Jupiter put an end to the Kronos/Saturn tyranny, freeing his siblings and claiming the throne from his wicked father. The story, of course, is more complicated and may well be a metaphor for the turning of the cycles of the ages, and specifically for the change from the ascending period of the cycle to the descending period of the cycle. We are told in the myths that Saturn was the ruler of the Golden Age and that he loved humans and gave them a paradise, which Zeus/Jupiter swiftly dismantled because he thought Kronos/Saturn had “been too kind to them and that they should have to work and die”. Sounds to me like Zeus/Jupiter was jealous and sought revenge against humanity. But what does this have to do with Venus?"
"Well, ladies and ladymen, it has everything to do with Venus, because the act of treachery by Zeus/Jupiter was what brought about the goddess Venus. You see, she was still only a thought in the mind of Kronos/Saturn when Zeus/Jupiter overthrew him, and when overthrowing his father, he castrated him as well, just for good measure, because - clearly - no revenge…right? When Zeus/Jupiter snatched off Kronos/Saturn’s godly jewels, he cast them down to earth where they landed into the Mediterranean Sea, we are told, near Cyprus. From the froth of the divine testes, Aphrodite/Venus arose, fully formed, and washed upon the shore in Cyprus. Therefore, Venus is Saturn’s balls, and the only one of his children that he did not consume, so she exists after and beyond the other children of Kronos/Saturn, and so doesn’t have the feelings toward him that the others might."
The error here is that I accidentally blended two mythic stories from the Greek cycles. Thanks, dyslexia!! Happily, my friend Jim from Aquarius Astrology sent me a private message to remind me that I had gotten part of the story wrong, which I very much appreciated. As soon as I read his message, I remembered the actual myth and knew how I had blended two together. It had been decades since I had read the birth of Venus story I was working with, after all. But as I thought about the actual story I realized it was a happy accident that allowed a number of great opportunities. I also did some checking, just to be sure I had my stories straight, and found multiple stories of how Venus came to be, and that will lead to a longer blog post about why there are so many 'birth of Venus' stories, when there aren't so many origin stories for many of the other Greco-Roman gods.
So, first, this allows me to point out that, yes, I am human and make mistakes. Surprise! The idea that we should never make mistakes or always be functioning at some level of illusory perfection is more of the Jupiter shell game, and is really just a tool that equally flawed humans use to tear down other humans. Show me someone who has never made a mistake and I will show you someone who is not human. Further, my dyslexia means that there are times when I know the story and yet read or write something different. Like autism, it is simply something I live with and so if you can never forgive a mistake or error (and there will be more in the future), then go find someone "perfect" to follow. Good luck, gurl!!
Now, the actual story of the birth of Venus is exactly the same as I outlined, except it is Uranus who's balls she sprang from. Everything else I said above about Kronos and Saturn is true for the story of how Zeus overthrew Kronos. Uranus was the father of the Titans, including Saturn, and just as Saturn was overthrown by his son Zeus, so too did Saturn overthrow and castrate is father Uranus (Indo-Europeans were really into castration myths, but that is a topic for another blog post). Otherwise, the story is exactly as I recited it. But this opens some fascinating new avenues of astrological synthesis. First, this story means that Saturn and Venus are brother and sister and that Venus is older than the Olympians, being one of the primal Titans, like Saturn. Other, later stories, say that Venus is the daughter of Zeus, but as Venus doesn't appear to be a goddess of Indo-European origin, she is likely based on the truly ancient deity Inanna and her antecedents. This then would put her on par with Saturn and the other ancient deities, and so her ancient origin is reflected in her birth from Uranus. The later story attributing her parentage to Zeus would seem to be an attempt to integrate her into the Olympian pantheon in an inferior position and obfuscate her ancient origins. Fascinating stuff that we will come back to in future posts.
Astrologically, though, this is even more fascinating than what I originally wrote, for Uranus is in Tropical Taurus, ruled by Venus, while squared by Saturn from his own sign of Aquarius. I have detailed the interesting transits Venus will make during the Saturn/Venus squares further on in this blog post and will write more about Venus transits to both Saturn and Uranus through 2021. If I were a mythologizer, though, I would say that siblings and ancient Titans Saturn and Venus team up this year to bring about a little revenge on their father, forcing him to tow their line and conform to their dictates. What will come of that? Well, they will reduce the more extreme chaos of Uranus and force the unexpected and surprising changes of Uranus in Taurus to be more Saturnian and Venusian, encompassing patience and beauty. The surprises will be that things don't get as chaotic as expected and that there is a restoration of order that allows innovations in all things ruled by Taurus and Venus. It is an opportunity of profound proportion for those who know how to make use of it.
Before the Greeks
However, even when we look further back in time, back before the Greeks and their bloody castration story, we find a strong association between the planets Venus and Saturn, as seen all the way back to the Sumerians, who viewed the planet Venus as the Star of Inanna and the planet Saturn as the Star of Enki. Enki, brother to the high god Enlil, and the creator god of Sumer, ruler of all the waters of life, was the primary male deity of the Sumerians and was a major god amongst all the cultures that followed in Mesopotamia. Inanna to the Sumerians was the bright maiden goddess, deity of both Love and War, though in Sumer she was more associated with Love, and less with War, which she became more associated with as time went by within the later Mesopotamian cultures. Inanna also was a dying and resurrecting deity, with a Persephone-like journey to the Underworld.
In the Sumerian stories, Enki and Inanna have a special relationship and there are many stories that focus on the two. In one, when Inanna had been trapped and killed in the Underworld, Enki sends a being he created, neither male nor female, down into the Underworld to retrieve Inanna’s body and feed her the ‘plant of life’, resurrecting her and retrieving her to life and the Upper world. In another, and I consider this one extremely telling about the relationship between the two deities and the two planets, Inanna is given the city of Uruk. She wants to make it a great city and become one of the great gods. So she goes to Enki who possesses all knowledge and a set of tablets or records (called “MEs” in the Sumerian texts) to get the knowledge. She gets Enki drunk and seduces him and he gives her all the ‘MEs’. She flees back to Uruk before Enki awakens and leaves her minister to delay Enki. When he awakens, he realizes the ‘MEs’ are missing as is Inanna, and so seeks to find them. The minister works to delay Enki, but Enki knows what has happened and pursues Inanna,. However, she beats him back to Uruk and now has the knowledge. Even though he retrieves the ‘MEs’, Inanna now has the knowledge they contain and proceeds to implement that knowledge, building Uruk into a great city-state and becoming one of the great gods.
We are told throughout the Sumerian myths that Inanna is precious to Enki, and she is always helped by him, even when she is being difficult or deceptive. Her charms always melt his wisdom and she gains the upper hand. The Sumerian myths would seem to imply that there is true affection between the two and that there is also a mutual respect. Furthermore, they seem to stress that the young energies of Inanna recognizes the wisdom of ancient Enki and is drawn to that knowledge and power, while ancient Enki is drawn to the beauty and innocent grace of young Inanna. I would stress that they are not partners, not married, not a couple. This is no May/December love story. At its heart, I believe it is a story of respect and acknowledgement, even appreciation for, different skills and abilities, different positions within the wheel of life. Enki remembers his youth fondly. Inanna knows she can grow into something not unlike Enki.
How’s That Work?
So we see that for millennia Saturn and Venus have had a dance and an affinity that has been recognized by humans. The two planetary energies are deeply related as well. To begin with, almost all Venusian enterprises require a certain level of planning, skill, patience and effort. We often think of Venus activities - all things involving beauty - as sort of fluffy and unimportant - but let’s see you style a wig, or do a really good job of makeup, or anything else you might look down on as “unimportant” related to beauty. Let’s see you paint a beautiful painting. Do you think the great artists, stylists, designers and musicians lack skill, patience, planning, effort or perseverance? But Venus doesn’t just rule art and fashion. Venus also rules finances, goods of the earth, and all places of beauty. I don’t think I need to go into detail to explain that Saturn is intimately involved in all such enterprises, do I? But here is an example you might not naturally think of. Think of beautiful places in nature. How did they get like that? Were they just formed that way and have always been? Or, have such landscapes come about through manifold processes, mostly small and slow, that gradually form the landscapes into the environment you are looking at? See Saturn in that expression of beauty? Yeah, me too. Conversely, all successful Saturnian endeavors require a certain aesthetic, so Venus influences Saturn just as Saturn influences Venus.
Venus/Saturn Conjunction
As we move toward the Venus/Saturn conjunction, the question should be, “How do I create the beauty I want to see in the world?” In the Tropical sign of Aquarius, while also in the True Constellation sign of Capricorn, the answer is resoundingly Saturnian - patience, care, skill, forethought, planning, effort and perseverance. In addition, with Tropical sign Aquarius, the answer will also involve embracing your own path, your own interpretation of beauty, and your own personal weirdness. Don’t let anyone tell you what your aesthetic ought to be. Embrace you personal weirdness and make your plan.
While Venus will move fast and only be on the Conjunction with Saturn for a day or two, and then in Tropical Aquarius for a few short weeks, it will continue to aspect the degree of this conjunction for many years, triggering episodes involving this conjunction. As Saturn transits Tropical Aquarius over the next three years or so, and then Pluto enters Tropical Aquarius in around 2024 to be in that tropical sign over two decades, this area will be very active. You might not be able to both conceive of and implement, and then complete, your plan the day Venus makes the conjunction to Saturn. You might not complete your vision while Venus is in Tropical Aquarius over the next few weeks, but over the next three years or two decades? Plant those seeds now, then proceed to take all the steps, and let your beautiful weird, wonderfulness loose into the world. The world needs you!
As I’ve said again and again since the middle of 2020, Venus is the secret sauce of 2021. Venus is planet that we don’t generally give that much significance. Often thought to rule over flighty, maybe-not-so-important, trivial things, and moving too fast to make significant long-term aspects by transits, Venus is far too frequently given short shrift, but what happens when a slow moving planet transits a Venus-ruled sign? Well, Venus then is in a position to have the long-term influence of the slower planets through the slow moving planet that is under Venusian control. We currently have such a configuration as Uranus transits Tropical Taurus, ruled by Venus. But there is also another layer, because while the North Node of the Moon is in Tropical Gemini, it is in True Constellation Sidereal (TCS) Taurus. This means that within both zodiac systems, Venus is active and in charge of a major activator of change and future evolution throughout 2021.
In considering how Venus is influencing Uranus and the North Node, I would point out that it is the transits of Venus, all the aspects she makes, as well as the aspects she makes to Uranus and North Node, that trigger major events involving those two points. And, of course, Venus has made a bunch of aspects lately and will continue to be very active. As Venus makes a full circuit of the zodiac every year or so, Venus will make all the possible aspects during 2021, culminating in a retrograde in Tropical Capricorn (trine by sign to Uranus with North Node set to move into Tropical Taurus within a month) at the end of the year.
At the time of this writing (Jan. 07, 2021) Venus is in Tropical Aquarius, which is the fixed sign in superior square to Taurus, and Venus has just finished her conjunction to Saturn and is just minutes past her superior square to Uranus. Venus will be in Tropical Aquarius until February 26th, during which time she will make a ton of aspects. I feel that her transit of Aquarius is the activator of the 2021 astrology and the Venus aspect cycle of 2021. Maybe though, we could push that back into January when she transited Tropical Capricorn, conjuncting Pluto and made the trine to Uranus, as that is where she will return to by the end of the year and make the retrograde into early 2022. One way or the other, the passage of Venus through Tropical Aquarius sees her conjunct Saturn, square Uranus, conjunct Moon (on the cusp of the Aquarius New Moon), conjunct Jupiter, conjunct retrograde Mercury, trine North Node/sextile South Node, square Mars while also squaring transiting Moon that is then conjunct Mars, and conjunct astroid Pallas. The only planet currently in Aquarius that she doesn’t conjunct in that sign is the Sun, which she conjuncts in Pisces shortly after changing Tropical signs, though Pisces is ruled by Jupiter and Jupiter is in Aquarius, so under the Saturnian influence. All of these Aquarian conjunctions are square to Uranus and Mars, if not by degree, then at least by sign/element. I think that is very important, and as it is the superior square, Venus rules, both through superior aspect and through rulership of the sign of Taurus. In other words, this is the Venus segment of the Saturn show, and she is dictating terms to both Mars and Uranus, terms laid down by Saturn, so their actions will serve Venusian purposes, and through that, Saturnian dictates.
Venus makes many more aspects through the year, and I will be writing about them all, but for now I only want to touch on one last cycle. I believe this is THE most important series of Venus movements of the year, and that is how, and from where, Venus is aspecting Saturn and Uranus at the three Saturn/Uranus squares of 2021.
During the first square, Venus is in Aquarius, in the Superior square and not very far past her conjunction to Saturn. At this first Saturn/Uranus conjunction on February 17th, Venus is at 19 degrees of Aquarius, just past her conjunction to Mercury and Jupiter, and approaching the conjunction to Pallas and the square to Mars. Again - this is all about Venus dictating terms and giving Uranus and Mars Saturnian marching orders.
The second Saturn/Uranus square occurs on June 15th, 2021 and sees Venus at 15 degrees Cancer, sextile to Uranus and inconjunct to Saturn. I expect reorganization and rearrangement of the dictates of the Feb. 17th square, a leveling-off if you will, and Venus finally allows Uranus to shake things up a little. But by this time Mars is no longer in Tropical Taurus, having made its way over to Tropical Leo at 2 degrees, and so is ruled by the Sun, which is in Tropical Gemini and TCS Taurus. Again, all roads lead back to Venus. This Saturn/Uranus square sees Uranus able to do its thing a bit more, but won’t be influenced by a co-present Mars and so will be less volatile, probably less violent and destructive, and will still be working under Venus dictates, as laid down by Saturn.
The third Saturn/Uranus square on December 24th, 2021 sees Venus in her retrograde cycle in Tropical Capricorn, conjunct to Pluto, and with the North Node approaching its movement into Tropical Taurus. Venus is out of aspect with the Saturn/Uranus square, but is in Capricorn, ruled by Saturn in the Tropical zodiacal (and in TCS Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, which is still in Aquarius - all leading back to Saturn), so any way you slice it, Saturn is still dictating the whole show, still playing ring master to the planetary circus. Mars is in Tropical Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter ,with Jupiter still in Aquarius, so again we go back to Saturn, and so Mars is restrained by association with Saturn at this square. This entire year is a dance between Venus and Saturn. We will look at all these aspects in more detail as each approaches throughout 2021.
There are positives to Uranus in Taurus, ruled by Venus. We will see women more elevated, but also surprises in regards to all things ruled by Taurus and innovation in both how we interact with the earth, but also in terms of beauty, or aesthetic and the arts, design, crafts, etc. It is important to look for the potential good, as there will be chaos, or chaotic situations and events that will require unexpected responses, allowing Venus to innovate her domain. Many of these surprises will turn out to be positive surprises. With Saturn by sign and superior square to Venus-ruled Taurus, along with the superior aspects to Mars through July, and with Venus and Mars then traveling together after that through much of the rest of 2021, and the compatibility of Venus with Saturn (who is exalted in Libra), I expect there to be positive restraint provided by the interactions of Venus and Saturn as applied to Uranus. So through this, we will see surprising innovations that effect Venusian endeavors, all that Venus rules, and that bring about positive change through effort, patience, discipline, perseverance and following through on all the necessary steps to achieve our goals, but this does require that we start to define our Venusian needs, desires and goals, especially now while Venus is in Tropical Aquarius, so that we can be working and planning, and be in a position to both not overreact to any shocks or surprises, and also be able to implement our plans in spite of such shocks and surprises, and then maybe even integrate these surprises into our work. In the end, those surprising, out-of-the-blue events may even help us, especially if we re ready for them.
You are here to be you, not some cardboard cut-out of conformity and mediocrity. As the entire series of posts I have been making in this series have pointed out, we are all playing guest-spots on the Saturn and Venus show this year, and in the coming years and decades. Now if you need a big roaring party complete with a fight and a lot of expensive entertainment..well, sorry - the Mars and Jupiter show has been cancelled this year. The Saturn and Venus show is beautiful, subtle, maybe a little odd and something more akin to a Japanese Tea Ceremony than a Rock and Roll after-party or a wrestling match. Think more any movie by David Lynch or ‘Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’, than ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’… When Venus and Saturn combine forces, especially with an Aquarian twist, things are beautiful, subtle, slow and stunning - like a geological formation that is beautiful in every season.
As I have detailed, Saturn and Venus have a strong affinity, but let’s go a little deeper here. Saturn traditionally ruled Aquarius (and all that Uranus calls its own was Saturn’s already…in terms of astrological rulerships and attribution), so Saturn’s people can obviously be the elderly and those in positions of authority through expertise and achievement, but Saturn, especially in Aquarius, also rules all outsiders, and specifically sexual and gender minorities, racial minorities and those who are minorities based upon declarations of conscience - often attributed to radical thinkers, and certainly so throughout the dark ages of the iron age, but this may shift in the centuries to come, as roles and societal structures realign, and even reverse in some instances. We have been seeing a loosening of societal opinions toward minorities of all kinds and this will only excel into the future.
I want to point out that Saturn has been associated with outsiders for millennia, going far back into antiquity. And specifically, Saturn has had a relationship to the priest(ess)hoods of the various Semitic and Indo-European goddess that the planet Venus was associated with. Often, these priest(ess)hoods were composed of men who cross-dressed as the goddess they served. Sometimes men, sometimes women, sometimes eunuchs and sometimes any combination of all three served in these roles in the various cultures of the Old World. I refer to them all as priest(ess)es to collectively include all genders and gender-expressions, regardless of the individual intricacies of any particular place, time or culture.
Whatever the minute details, these religious officiants were always outsiders within their own cultures - essential workers who kept the balance of heaven and earth, but who were not a part of the traditional gender roles within the cultures from which they arose. While I am not attempting to make current gender and sexual minorities shoehorn into this narrow definition, the parallels are there to be seen by any who choose to look. Officiating and excelling in the arts, religion, culture and beauty, just as these ancient people did, modern sexual and gender minorities have been a driving force in the modern world, encompassing both Saturnian and Venusian archetypes and will only continue to become more prominent, embraced and celebrated in culture as we move forward into the Aquarian period of the next forty years and the ascending bronze age, which will still be in effect well into the precessional Age of Aquarius, which will begin in a few centuries, only intensifying the position of Saturnian, and by proxy, Venusian, persons.
So it is time for each of us to start finding our own truths. Whatever your truth is, the time is now to begin to embrace it. Are you a straight, white guy? Great! You do you, Boo! A transgender man who performs as a drag queen? You go, gurl (…or boi…)! Non-gender-conforming Gender-fluid biological male? Great! Serve it up, Them/They/Their! A black masculine gay man? Pose! Any other point on the widely variable flow chart of gender, racial, cultural and sexual continuum? Make a space for yourself! The question we all need to ask is, “What does Venus and Saturn want from me?” They want you to do you, whatever that is, and there has never been a time when you had more options, because in the past, if you were anything other than part of the binary gender conforming masses, you just had to go into the temple service or live marginally on the edges of society maybe as a thief or sex-worker (both ruled by Saturn, btw). But now, you can be a sex-working, gender non-conforming accountant and live in the suburbs, and it is about fucking time!
So you figure out what you want to do, you do it beautifully, encompassing your own particular definitions, paradoxes and personal mythological weirdness and be the god(dess) you want to see in the world! You’re in luck, because Saturn and Venus support you, and if Saturn is for you, who can be against you? Saturn has staying power, and with Venus along for the ride, and dictating aesthetic, you can make something of lasting beauty, and look good doing it! More than ever in our history, the world needs you particular, special, personal weirdness, because the time is now and the energy is here. One of the most important things to consider about the prominence of Saturn in the coming years is that there will be more respectability given to all choices, more ability for “outsiders” (those outside the heteronormative gender binary) to become “insiders”. How Uranus in Taurus is that? Surprise! Some things actually got better, and there didn’t actually have to be an end-of-the-world apocalypse to make it happen…
Now as we move forward into the first of the Saturn/Uranus squares of 2021, contemplate how tired tropes of societal breakdown and apocalypse may only apply to those who want to hold on to an old world that should have died a long time ago. What if their end-of-the-world is the beginning of your heaven-on-earth? Saturn and Venus are in charge of how the Uranian energies manifest, and I sincerely expect that this will mean the worst of the chaotic Uranian potential will actually be channeled into productive, useful and more positive directions, even if there are bumps and shocks and the unexpected along the way, and it takes a few years for us to realize it all worked out ok. Simply put, Uranus can’t manifest its worst potential in a Venusian sign while Saturn is in superior square to Uranus, and Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is working directly with Saturn from that superior position. I think we have all become so addicted to fear porn and self-defeating thinking that we just want some horrible destruction to happen. Put your mind to better uses! Venus would like to remind you that Joy = Power!
