“At times it is folly to hasten; at other times, to delay. The wise do everything in its proper time.”
Ovid
The 3rd and final opposition (in the current cycle) takes place on March 28, 2011 at 5:10 pm US EDT at 14’21 Libra (Saturn) and 14’21 Aries (Jupiter). The Sabian Symbol for 14 Aries is A Serpent Coiling Near A Man And A Woman. A Serpent. In order to understand and digest what I am about to say, you must first throw away any misconceptions you may have regarding the Serpent as a force of evil. The Serpent is a sacred, healing symbol of The Goddess, a regenerative life force and a “vehicle of immortality.” (The Once and Future Goddess
, Elinor W Gadon, pg 47). The snake is also a symbol of transformation and renewal and, as discussed quite thoroughly in the previous Jupiter-Saturn articles (see The Potent Relationship Brew and The Cauldron Bubbles), transformation is what we are being asked to embrace.The Goddess will show herself potently and clearly during this opposition as Venus will have moved into the Piscean waters where she is extremely comfortable. She can relax here and allow love to flow; however, she requires a transformative, spiritual love while traveling amidst these waters. Not just anyone will do and if Venus is unhappy with her experiences, Neptune is close by and he is always willing to lend Venus a hand when she needs one. After Venus and Mars were caught in a trap Vulcan erected to catch them together, they were fiercely ridiculed by the other Gods. Neptune, however, took matters more seriously and offered to pay Mars debts if he couldn’t so that he could go free. In some versions of the story, Neptune was willing to marry Venus himself after she was cast aside by Vulcan. At the time of the opposition, Mars is also in Pisces and is caught as the focal point of a t-square with the nodal axis, now moving through Gemini-Sagittarius. Mars is not so potent in Pisces and may express himself somewhat as a victim; Mars does not enjoy being held captive. I feel Neptune’s hand here, offering to bail Mars out. The balance point – or outlet – of this t-square is 26’39 Virgo: A Boy With A Censer Serves The Priest Near The Altar. This is a cleansing energy, an energy intended to strip away falsity and pretense in our relationships.
When the energy of Venus and Neptune are combined, as they are at the time of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition, a tidal wave of understanding may crash over us. We may finally understand the importance of mating with someone who can really dive below the surface and reach the depth of one’s erotic needs. Many relationships will be found to be lacking, as symbolized by the Mars – nodal axis t-square. The serpent will be coiled close to man and woman, urging both to let go of their inhibitions, their feelings of shame, and any lingering guilt they harbor regarding sexual satisfaction and emotional intimacy so they can evolve through relationship.
During the 3rd Jupiter-Saturn opposition, both sexes will desire to feel an alchemical connection with their partners and may lose any interest in continuing to preserve a troubled, unsatisfying relationship – UNLESS one is still bound too firmly to the material world. Breaking apart these bindings is the intention of the final Jupiter-Saturn opposition, and the Goddess disguised as Serpent will be present. Picture a Boa constrictor coiling around the bindings which trap two people in a relationship that no longer serves their individual growth…if the serpent puts on enough pressure, the cords will eventually snap and free the individuals. The pressure will be more intense if one partner (Jupiter) is ready to move on and the other is still clinging to the past (Saturn).
If you are one who is dragging his or her feet and refusing to let go and embrace change in your relationship or style of relating, the cauldron WILL erupt with or without your permission. The brew has been boiling for months now, on high boil since last August, and the process is nearing completion. Go ahead and give yourself permission to make necessary changes in your life because that will make Saturn more comfortable and less controlling. Utilize his energy to build up new structures even as the old support system continues to shift beneath you. The Sabian symbol representing Saturn’s energy during this final opposition is 14 degrees Libra, In The Heat Of The Noon Hour A Man Takes A Siesta. Holding on to old habits, destructive or useless patterns, and trying to hold up the weight of the dead is draining! If something has died, why continue to pretend that it is alive and vibrant? If your methods and thought-patterns are not creating the life you wish to lead, why continue to hold on to them? What will really happen if you step back and take a nap? Sleeping – dreaming - can bring answers to our deepest questions and find solutions to our most difficult problems. Don’t be afraid to sleep!
Saturn is retrograde during this last Jupiter-Saturn opposition suggesting that it is time to build up a more solid personal inner structure as once Saturn turns direct at 10’26 Libra on June 23, 2011, the ‘eruption’ will be in full force and there may not be a way to turn back. We need to be able to support ourselves as our old structures are collapsing and we can no longer depend on them. Use the interim, between March 28 and June 13, to take practical steps toward a new way of being. For some of you this may well mean that you leave an outdated partnership and strike out on your own. For others, it may mean that you are the one who is left. Those who are single but lonely may find themselves ready for a committed partnership after they’ve done more personal work on themselves. As always, it depends on your own circumstances. Do what work you need to do to prepare for your own situation.
The Sun is square to Pluto at the time of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition – you are no longer the person you were last May. At the height of the oppositional energy, Uranus is firmly ensconced in Aries and lodged temporarily at the Aries point (0 degrees) in a conjunction with Black Moon Lilith (yes, more Snake energy). No, there is no going back. You cannot turn back the hands of time (though strong Saturn types might try!); you can only look forward, toward the future.
Pluto has been raiding the Capricornian lair as well and Saturn must accept changes within his own domain. He may not like it but he is facing off against his own sons again, Jupiter (Zeus), Neptune (Poseidon), and Pluto (Hades)…his kingdom was divided amongst them when they sent him to Tartarus and here they are again, forcing him to relinquish control and surrender. As Saturn is in Venus’ sign of Libra, relationships are of great concern…they can be our greatest vehicle of transformation now, either toward a more loving union with others or with our own being. With the strong Aries energy pulling us into our individuality, it is important to express who we really are deep inside – this is why we’ve been boiling away in the cauldron for so long – as otherwise, we will be unable to form a satisfying and deeply erotic (transformative) union with another. No matter what our individual relationship challenge may be, we all have the potential and the responsibility (a nice Saturn word) to transform our way of relating and to embrace the changes that are upon us.
In the opposition chart, the Sun is at 7 degrees Aries, squaring Pluto at 7 degrees Capricorn…I find that the Sabian Symbol for 7 Aries is a potent one: A Man Successfully Expressing Himself In Two Realms At Once. What more does a relationship ask of us other than to successfully express and honor ourselves while listening to and honoring another? To literally live in two realms at once – within our own Being and within the relationship entity. The Veiled Prophet Speaks, Seized by the Power of God is the Sabian symbol for 7 Capricorn. This is a fateful interaction and the tension between Aries at 7 degrees and Capricorn 7 degrees is one asking us to LISTEN as well as successfully express ourselves – this is about COMMUNICATION and how two people must be able to communicate truthfully, from the heart, with one another in order to know what is happening within. Words spoken now will have a fateful, perhaps prophetic quality to them…Mercury is septile to Venus at the time of the opposition, suggesting a timely cosmic intervention may help push us forward in our love lives.
Mars, freed by Neptune, will move into his own sign of Aries on April 2nd, happily joining Uranus and the Black Moon at 1 Aries at the time of the New Moon in Aries on April 3rd at 13’29 degrees…this may be the day the eruption begins for many of us, once the Moon begins to separate from the Sun and triggers the very tender 14 degrees Aries, which we’ve seen is the exact degree Jupiter opposed Saturn from on March 28th. This New Moon is definitely a time of new beginnings, even if they are brought about in war-like or aggressive fashion.
The gift of the cauldron, the gift of the ‘eruption,’ is the inner gold that has been transmuted from Saturn’s prima matter. The inner gold will boil over the sides of the cauldron and streams of liquid gold may spew up into the air…it may not be possible to contain this eruption; perhaps you shouldn’t try. Although you may not feel there is a ‘gift’ while you remain inside the cauldron, by the end of June 2011 you should certainly be aware of the beneficial aspects of any hardship or growing pains you’ve been experiencing in your relationships. This is the third and final powerful confrontation between Jupiter-Saturn, marking the culmination of a ten year build up in intensity that began at the last Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus at 22’42 degrees on May 28, 2000. Whatever we began in May 2000 that continues to inhibit our own evolution needs to be relinquished. If we’ve been doing our inner work since May 2010, when Jupiter first opposed Saturn in the current cycle, we should be able to finalize our plans peacefully and with integrity.
When you are ready, expose your dreams to the world…share yourself with others, even if you must relinquish control, even if your dreams and goals no longer mesh with someone you’ve been with for years. It is time to be your own unique being and to embrace the person you are becoming. Be vulnerable if you need to; be honest. The time is swiftly approaching - Be YOU. You’ve earned it. This is your gold! As Minister John M Mason said: “As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time.” Life is short. Don’t waste it.
The 3rd Opposition Chart is below:
