THE SATURN/NEPTUNE OPPOSITION OF 2006-2007
Part One
copyright 2006 Arielle Guttman
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THE SATURN/NEPTUNE OPPOSITION OF 2006-2007
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Many of you who follow astrology and planetary cycles know that the planets Saturn and Neptune will form a strong pattern in the sky from fall 2006 until summer 2007. To draw a single conclusion from that planetary picture alone is difficult because there are always many factors or conditions that are in effect on any given day that contribute to the nature, character or destiny for any particular individual or for the world at large. There are very few single planetary patterns that affect EVERYBODY exactly the same. Having said this, I will next say that to consider the historical changes that are brought about from the planets of Saturn to Pluto (including Uranus and Neptune) the conclusion can be drawn that these are conditions that do affect the world in a much greater way than any other set of planets in aspect. The planets from Saturn through Pluto, when making any kind of strong aspect pattern to one another for a period of at least 3 exact hits are history-making aspects. In other words, look for a historical event to shape the world view based upon the planets, aspects and signs involved. I will borrow Al Gore’s excellent title for a work timed precisely to describe this current cycle of Saturn and Neptune: An Inconvenient Truth. So, what are we in store for now, when Saturn opposes Neptune from Leo to Aquarius? If you are getting the feeling that the boat you’re floating on is sinking, don’t be too panicked about it. Saturn/Neptune periods are known for quickening the erosion process of structures whose time it is to go. If those same structures are meant to remain, they will still undergo a great redesign that first might look like dissolution before the existing model is re-formed into what it will become. Aspect, for those not conversant in astrology, simply means geometric relationship. One planet forms an aspect or a geometric relationship to another planet. This has the effect of harmonizing with or distressing one to another. Just as you and I might harmonize together at a particular moment or distress with one another, according to the planets in our charts acting upon one another or the conditions in the sky at the moment of meeting, so do the planets with each other, according to their natures and the natures of the aspects encountered. The particular aspect Saturn (the faster moving body in this case) will make to Neptune is an opposition, an angle of 180° which then tells us that they have reached a full moon relationship or point of maximum distance and separation, leading to crisis as they are just prior to this aspect, followed by release. The Time Period that this Saturn/Neptune opposition occurs is also significant, because it requires 9 months to complete itself. Thus, the aspect will be in effect for long enough to witness some new condition or change upon the world that can be remembered historically. Mentioned earlier was that whenever Saturn acts upon any of the planets beyond it, or those planets act upon each other, it can be construed as a history-making event or series of event, when ideas emerge that have the power to shape collective thinking—social, political or religious--and times when Saturn is acting upon them, that legislation is enacted to legitimize such new ideas. Take the last time Saturn encountered any of these outer planets. It was from August 2001 to May 2002 and
it was Saturn approaching and completing its opposition point to Pluto. Less than one month after the first of three
exact hits, the world was awakened to and shocked by the events of September 11, 2001. The Saturn/Pluto opposition was
most relevant to that event, lasting as it did for 9 months. But in many ways, the collective psyche of the world,
in particular America, has been living with the aftermath of that planetary event and its fallout – and enacting
legislation as a result of it – for the past 5 years. So now, on the 5th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the very
next large scale Saturn encounter to an outer planet arrives this time with Neptune. They will form the same angle –
the opposition or 180° aspect-- as the previous one. And it practically repeats the same months, 5 years to the date: Now the symbology of Pluto is well documented in astrology and mythology books that proliferate the field*. Pluto is quite well associated with underground forces emerging from the shadows and bursting into consciousness in a dramatic and often terrifying way. The destruction of Saturn (order) from Pluto (terror) was and has been the theme of the world for this past 5 year period. But the Saturn/Pluto period has ended, and the more important point is this: it is a time for a new vision to come into the collective. That story, or his-story from that period is now phasing out and it is not a time for visions of terror, carnage and conquest, but the time for a vision based on yours and mine and your neighbor’s and your relations’ – near or far – dreams and visions. This is a time to be inspired by a poet, dreamer, musician, visionary teacher, world leader or role model that will in effect bring us closer together in love and peace rather than disturbed by and preoccupied with fear and terror, as it has been, these past 5 years. Saturn/Neptune brings visionary people forward to take a stand and to create a structure or foundation for bringing peace and healing to the world. This is based, in large part, upon the premise that many of us in the world today are sick and tired of war and conquest. Sick and tired is another way to think about the Saturn/Neptune configuration. People will be struggling with trying to stay strong and healthy, but epidemics of huge proportions will sweep the global landscape, with shortages in the amount of time and availability the remedies can be administered. It’s a good time for each of us to do whatever we can to keep our systems healthy, so we don’t wind up on a panic wagon. The first of the three Saturn/Neptune oppositions to take place over the coming year is shown in the chart
that follows: But what of Neptune’s influence to and from Saturn? Neptune, like Pluto, is a planet of the collective, thus possessing the power to create an energy affecting the world at large. But Neptune is a planet whose energy comes from a different world than Pluto** -- Neptune comes from the watery depths of the sea and with it the same power and intensity that the sea can have upon the earth, but Neptune is possessed of a mystical, visionary and dream-like quality. Neptune governs the arts, music and film and during Neptune periods we find a great outpouring of expression in a heart-felt way by artistic, musical and cinematic geniuses. Neptune possesses the power to shape beliefs, dreams and visions of humanity. Neptune also brings to our attention the suffering of humanity, like no other planet, and during these Neptune periods, humanity responds to such outcries with a great deal of compassion and aid. The last Neptune/Saturn opposition, in 1971, brought ex-Beatle George Harrison (born with a Saturn/Neptune trine) forward to stage a benefit relief concert, inviting his super-star rock musician friends to join with him for The Concert for Bangla Desh The proceeds of the concerts and subsequent film raised much money and awareness for the suffering in that region. It was the first benefit of its kind, spawning many over the subsequent decades by heart-centered musicians and pop stars. More recently, Bono has taken up similar causes (Bono was born with a Saturn/Neptune sextile). During the same 1971-72 Saturn/Neptune opposition, television brought us a 3 year running Emmy-award winning show called All In The Family (Archie Bunker & company) which parodied for Americans the divisiveness in the country (and in so many families) of so many opposing issues, not the least of which was the VietNam War and how the government was not serving the people. Neptune has the collective power to dissolve, diminish or deflate anything that has become too stiff and rigid (an extreme behavior of Saturn) when it has gone too far. I believe that we have gone too far with Saturn/Pluto. Terrorism will always exist in one form or another. But to respond to it with fear and counter-terrorism is never the answer. A governing universal principle, with much greater power than man-made laws is that of cause and effect. How can counter-terrorism indeed defeat terrorism? It only spawns more and worse. Saturn and Neptune make three exact hits over the 9 months of their encounter, which are as follows:
Translation for those who don’t read an ephemeris: three precise oppositions (opp, marked in red) will occur, beginning August 31, 2006 and continuing to June 25, 2007 between 17° and 22° of the signs Leo and Aquarius. Three contra-parallels (cpl, marked in green) will also occur during a similar period, from September 2006 until July 2007. The oppositions occur in the fixed signs of fire (Leo) and air (Aquarius). When air signs are acted upon by fire, the principle is that air or the airwaves are inflamed or increased by the rapid spread of fire or heat or energy that heats people up. The obvious example is heavy winds spreading fires, making them increasingly impossible for humankind to manage to control. Whether we are talking about actual literal fires or fiery messages spread through the airwaves and circulating rapidly through the mass consciousness with the power to create a new belief system or to dispel people’s previous beliefs, it is a power than cannot be manipulated by humans—it is a force of nature with which we must contend. But be very aware of the power of the airwaves to spread false messages or to shroud them in Neptune’s mystery, weaving them into very eloquently told stories that have people unwaveringly supporting those make-believe stories. And often the most blinding wake-up calls we get in our own lives where we finally see through the veil is during Neptune periods such as the one we’re embarking upon now. If this is geared to become a time that makes lies (past or present) seem rather silly and shrivel them to shreds, let us welcome it. We have been hearing for some time now about the lies that were told to justify the war with Iraq that were once taken very seriously and honestly believed to be associated with those imaginary weapons of mass destruction which now seem glaringly and embarrassingly non-existent, or as Al Gore has said, “Now, of course everybody knows that every single one of these impressions was just dead wrong”****. Though we’ve known for some time now, the real deflation and impact comes with this next Saturn to Neptune aspect. Because Neptune possesses the power to psychically penetrate through portals or doorways into other dimensions and utilize voices from those dimensions to come through more clearly, it seems timely that a new voice or message will emerge in this time period to shape people’s thinking in a very different way. Remembering we are at the full moon, or oppositional point of the cycle, the message that arrives can have a very different meaning depending on who is interpreting it, and to also keep in mind that every issue has two sides. * Guttman, Ariel and Johnson, Kenneth: Mythic Astrology (1993) and Mythic Astrology Applied (2004) (Llewellyn) copyright July 2006 Arielle Guttman For more about Arielle Guttman: www.sophiasantafe.org/arielleguttman.html |
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