Neptune represents the infinite, the transcendent, and Saturn, the finite – our limits and responsibilities. I’m working my way through a lovely book by Kristoffer Hughes entitled, ‘The Journey into Spirit: A Pagan’s Perspective on Death, Dying & Bereavement’. This quotation stood out for me today:
“…as soon as we attempt to rationalize or conceptualize infinity, we make it ‘something,’ and this immediately limits it; it ceases to be a permanence by its very defining…”, reminding me also of these words from a hymn: “Our God contracted to a span/Incomprehensibly made man”
Saturn and Neptune in my natal chart make a sextile aspect, and Liz Greene (‘The Outer Planets & Their Cycles: The Astrology of the Collective’) talks about Saturn’s connection to an outer planet (the conjunction being the strongest) as the need to ‘do something with’ the energy of that planet in our lives – to manifest it in some way. The poem (from c 2000) speaks to this Neptunian longing for me:
The longing in me comes not from a sense of something missing
More from a knowing something ‘is’ – and reaching for it
If I expressed it in this grounded reality, made it manifest
Would the longing cease?
Or merely move on to something other that was just beyond my grasp?
My fear is that the something that I reached for would die, disintegrate
Turn into something ugly
Or judge me for my stepping out-of-time
There is a place, out-of-time, where we can touch each other
And we do
But on this plane we’re called to hold both ends
What is ‘out-of-time’ jars with ordinary reality
Spirit enters matter
And heart longs for embrace in this parched and thirsty world
… and it remains to be seen how well I manage to manifest anything truly Neptunian in my lifetime… 😉
Saturn has recently moved into Sagittarius (23rd Dec 2014), which also sits very nicely with the idea of structuring our exploration and (re)defining our beliefs. Looking back again to 2000 (I feel so old sometimes 😉 ) when Pluto began his journey through Sagittarius (which also overlaps with my own 9th house) I wrote in my journal about ‘standing on the edge of the abyss’ with regard to my sense of meaning – and now I’ve got Saturn in the same position helping me to ground and structure those beliefs, as well as his timely help in anchoring me (or his ‘for god/goddess’ sakes get real, Helen!’) after what seems like an endless Neptunian phase… Saturn, of course, has been through this part of my chart previously in this lifetime, in the mid-1980s – looking back I can see this time also had an element of defining beliefs. It always fascinates me looking at the planetary transits in this way – how the planetary patterns interweaving with my own chart trigger the blueprint and bring opportunities for growth and insight (both at the time and, in this latter case, retrospectively).
And lastly some more quotations from my recent reading which speak to the necessity of definition 😉 – the first one is again from Kristoffer Hughes (ibid) and the others from Bill Plotkin (‘Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche’):
“In my tradition, the spirit equates to a fragment of the soul that experiences the universe as an individual entity; it is the experience of individuality, yet it is simultaneously connected to the source, to the soul… The soul is the constant that houses (the spirit)…” KH
“By soul I mean the vital, mysterious, and wild core of our individual selves, an essence unique to each person, qualities found in layers of the self, much deeper than our personalities. By spirit I mean the single, great, and eternal mystery that permeates and animates everything in the universe and yet transcends all… Soul embraces and calls us toward what is most unique in us. Spirit encompasses and draws us toward what is most universal and shared.” BP
Who would have thought that the same two words could have an almost opposite meaning? It really does pay to check out our assumptions…
And now a little structuring for the year to come: I’m planning to open up the second Saturday in alternate months (Feb 14th, Apr 11th, Jun 13th, Aug 8th, Oct 10th and Dec 12th, 2015) for study/workshop purposes – my initial thoughts are for an overview/information session from 10.30am-1pm, with more of a workshop/playing with the big chart session from 2-4.30pm (each session could be dipped into separately or they could be taken as a series). Do let me know if you’re interested – and keep an eye on social media for further information…
Wishing you all a blessed 2015! Helen x
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