Saturn in Sagittarius (sidereal) in 2017
- January 26 – April 7
- October 26 – January 23, 2020
There is probably no greater, more stark contrast between adjacent signs in the zodiac than between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Only the contrast between Pisces and Aries can compete. The former moves from a Mars ruled sign to a Jupiter ruled sign, the latter from Jupiter to Mars.
As we embark upon Saturn in Sagittarius it also means we move closer to 2020 when the Great Conjunction occurs. That is the conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn. It happens every 20 years and it’s the marker of times of peace and times of war, times of plenty and times of scarcity.
But let me not get ahead of myself…
What is Saturn?
Saturn is cold and dry. It’s of the night time sect. Its home is in Capricorn and Aquarius, and it is an honored guest of Venus when in Libra. Saturn is far from home with no friends in Cancer and Leo, and it is antagonist to Mars when in Aries. In all of the other signs, Saturn is peregrine. It has no authority or agenda, neither inimical nor congruent with its own nature.
Saturn is the keeper of time, the builder of buildings, and the harbinger of death. And when he enters Sagittarius, he will have to answer to Jupiter. Jupiter seeks to establish a framework for synthesizing one’s experiences as a way to anticipate the future. Jupiter is the teacher, the preacher, and the guru. He’s the senator and the judge, the zealot and the proselytizer.
The placement of Jupiter during Saturn’s time in Sagittarius will inform the how we experience Saturn both individually and collectively.
Jupiter in Virgo
Saturn begins his first ingress of Sagittarius while Jupiter is in Virgo. And this is where Jupiter will be for most of Saturn’s time in Sagittarius this year. This puts the planetary behemoths in a square relationship by sign with Jupiter receiving Saturn because Saturn is in the home of Jupiter. But that square relationship is one of adjustment.
Jupiter is in its detriment in Virgo, far from home and family. But he’s been forced to adopt the ways of the land in which he finds himself. Virgo is the calculator and the categorizer, putting things in their right place. Jupiter here uses calculation, facts, and figures to anticipate the future. Logic is the measure of truth. What can be known is that which can be accounted for, measured, and solved.
Sagittarius on the other hand loathes paper and pencil as the tools of knowledge, unless of course he’s writing a memoir of his exploits. He must get out there and get his feet wet, as he craves lived experience as the measure for truth.
Since Jupiter receives Saturn, Jupiter must begrudgingly set aside his spreadsheet of poll data and consider that perhaps all of the answers can’t be found by taking a subset of the population as a representation of the whole.
Both Sagittarius and Virgo have their biases. We run into problems because Virgo believes the numbers can’t be biased, and Sagittarius knows he’s biased, but still believes he’s right.
Narratives of Saturn in Sagittarius
~The paternalistic zealot calls the statistician back home with his own version of the truth.
~The establishment, overtaken with a passion for truth, challenges the the data.
~The senator is met with resistance. He believes he’s got the numbers, but he never accounted for this change.
~The government moves forward eagerly, when they realize they must answer and the numbers don’t add up.
~The excitement of change is tiring when you’ve got the same problem but the solution changes every time.
~Bureaucracy faces off with the courts.
Saturn says, “Here is the spirit of truth to which we must be loyal.”
Jupiter replies, “But the numbers show that this is what the people really want. See?”
“What do you expect me to do with numbers? Numbers are meant to measure trees, and count objects. But numbers can’t measure truth, nor can they assess the motivations of the heart. You need wisdom for that. Here, take this. Proceed cautiously” the wise father replies.
Jupiter in Libra
Jupiter will be in Libra while Saturn is in Sagittarius from October 26, 2017 – October 11, 2018
Now the game gets fun! Saturn in Sagittarius will be in mixed reception with Jupiter in Libra. Libra is the sign of Saturn’s exaltation. And of course Sagittarius is the domicile of Jupiter. These two signs are in sextile. So they get to working together and making it happen.
Jupiter in Libra synthesizes by gathering all of the facts, it’s truth by way of reason. Of course, too many facts and too much reason can often lead one further from a truth that resonates personally. The letter of the law overrides the spirit of the law. Lucky for Jupiter in Libra, Saturn in Sagittarius can at least work with that.
The letter of the law meets the spirit of the law and they work together to find a workable solution. Saturn in Sagittarius’ thirst for truth is tempered by Jupiter in Libra’s penchant for reason.
This part of the year seems less volatile, but I wouldn’t be so sure. Never know what can happen when an overzealous bureaucracy meets with a judge with reason. He will judiciously gather all of the facts, but can he discern truth with empathy? When Venus is in Libra while Jupiter is there too will be the best of times for this transit. November 2, 2017 – November 25, 2017. I’d say that is the best time for the courts to have a say in all of the unconstitutional activity occurring in the new US presidential administration.