Saturn: Planet of Destiny
Issue 20 Volume 8          12 May 2025

Astrology Monday: Just the facts! 
Sergeant Joe Friday from the hit 1960s cop show Dragnet on American television always insisted on simple truths and pithy statements. Here’s this week’s boiled down astrological forecast:

12 May — Full Moon in Scorpio: 
Allow your emotions to turn inward where your needs are not being met. This is where you hold a falsehood about who you are AND a tendency to create château en Espagne: castles in the air. Stay on the ground and see through the illusion.
All week — Saturn squaring Jupiter in Gemini:
In Vedic astrology, Saturn causes Jupiter’s cheer and optimism to turn inward and practical. This is not a problem as long as you don’t let pragmatism drain you of your lofty intentions and generosity. Saturn relates to survival; Jupiter encourages revival. Let your zest for life guide practical decisions and necessary choices.
17 May — Moon conjunct retrograde Pluto in Aquarius
Beginning with the Full Moon, this week reveals a transformational possibility around needs. Pay attention to your unfulfilled needs and determine whether they deserve your attention. Depending upon your answer, either let them go or come up with a better plan to fulfil them.
18 May — Sun conjunct Uranus in Taurus
Unexpected events at work or through someone you know is pushing you towards more authentic expression. Don’t think you have reached the end of the road; there is a LOT more of you left to discover. 😉

We do not know if, out on the moons of Saturn, you will meet with good or with evil—or only with ruins a thousand times older than Troy.
~ Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 — 2008); science fiction author including 2001: A Space Odyssey
 

Dear Friend;

Poor Saturn. The most misunderstood of all the planets. Just because he devoured his own children does not mean we should not welcome him as a friend. As one of the most beautiful objects in the sky to amateur and professional astronomers across the globe, who do we have to blame for Saturn’s less than stellar reputation?

The Greeks certainly presented Saturn (Cronus) as a bad boy, a power-hungry titan who devoured his own children as a preemptive measure against a prophecy he would be overthrown by his own son. Not exactly an endearing quality, of course, but the Romans were more appreciative of his proactive nature and gave him the role as god of agriculture, justice, and strength who was said to have ruled over a Golden Age of abundance, prosperity, harmony, and peace. They even had a major gastro-busting and gift-giving festival in December (Saturnalia). Sound familiar? Saturnalia was later appropriated for the birth of Christ by Christians seeking to put an end to paganism in the Roman Empire. 

For hundreds of years, at least from the time of Alexander the Great, there was much commerce and cultural interchange between the Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians, and Indians. Their mingling influenced many aspects of astronomical and astrological knowledge. For example, we find many instances in classical texts where it is apparent Greek, Persian, and Indian astrologers exchanged knowledge.

In astrology, Saturn is associated with infrastructure, time, karma, and dissolution. As a symbol of death and the inevitable passage of time, Saturn “devours” everything, even his own children. Nothing with a physical attribute will last forever, not even the Cosmos and certainly not our body born of the elements. This is why the scythe which was a symbol in Roman times of Saturn’s rulership over agriculture later became associated with Death — the ever swinging scythe cuts down the stalks of life with stoic indifference. 

In Vedic astrology, Saturn is the planet of death, time, and the cycle of karma that brings us face-to-face with our destiny. Saturn is the inevitable retribution necessary to rectify the karmic debt delivering its results based upon past thoughts, speech, and deeds. Though, he has gotten a bad reputation because of the trials and tribulation he symbolises, Saturn is always just and the force behind the adage “you reap what you sow” and “what goes ’round comes around.”

Saturn in its fall in Aries
On 25 May, Saturn will cross the threshold from Pisces into Aries. In Vedic astrology, the signs actually take precedence over the planets, so when we consider transits, we must ascertain the sign and its  ruling planet. Aries, ruled by Mars, is fundamentally the sign of the zodiac that relates to the unlimited possibility inherent in the “conscious nothingness” before creation. Through Aries, we envision what is possible and conceive plans to make it happen. As a Mars sign, Aries is bold, courageous, enthusiastic, and focused on the goal. It is a fire sign that represents the spark of creation erupting from Stillness and exploding outward in a Play of Consciousness.

Saturn, however, is in its fall in Aries. For more or less the next three years, Saturn’s power as an aspect within us will struggle to find security in the unlimited expanse of Aries. Saturn is structure, security, borders, and pragmatism. In the expansiveness of Aries, it becomes disoriented, uncomfortable, and even fearful. Even in terms of the Earth there may be an uptick in earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and other natural disaster relating to the earth element.

What to do?
For starters, you might fire up the grill, invite some friends over, and have a modern day Saturnalia celebration. This may appease Saturn and get him on your side. Of course, Rome did fall… 

Better, yet, seek to understand the greatness of your own Saturn and appease this aspect of yourself through concrete steps and strong effort. Saturn symbolises Shiva, the aspect of God manifesting truth, authenticity, and identity with the immortal Self. When our Saturn is vibrant and pulsating with duty, dispassion, and dharma, we are organised, objective, embrace routine as medicine, and put forth our best efforts. Now is the time to strengthen the foundation of your physical body and mind and tend heroically to your external affairs and circumstances. Your obligations will one day be seen as your treasure.

We’ll chat more about Saturn in Aries. Stay tuned.

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Planning forecast and weekly reminder
• Hero’s Journey: Free App
•  

Moon Planner
Has the Moon got you hurried and harried?
 

No worries! The Moon represents your capacity to receive, a feminine quality, and recognising the resources you have available to fulfil your emotional needs.  Too often, we get distracted with what is not ours to have and miss out on the available opportunity, experiencing disappointment and disillusionment… or worse, we become like the poor fellow in the photo.  

Full Moon in Scorpio:
Monday, 12 May: Full Moon in Scorpio (16:58 GMT)
Full moons magnify your emotional mind, good or bad. There is science behind this: just as full moons create higher than usual tides on earth, so there is a natural draw of fluids into your brain. Full moons are a great opportunity to access profound emotions bringing you deeper insights and intuition.

The Scorpio Full Moon can help you understand how your emotional tendencies colour your perception and thus, your world view. Emotions are aspects of our personality which make the experience of life more enjoyable. However, as we witness with so many of the mindless rants in public and across social media, when we allow emotions to hijack our logic and reason, common sense takes a vacation. 

Emotions are not meant to destroy life; they are part of nature’s way of enhancing life. Yet, every day our emotions rain destruction upon ourselves and others because we allow the survival mechanism to influence their expression. Contrary to popular opinion, life is not about “me”; life is a multiplayer game where the only rule is to express yourself as a piece of the Cosmos. This is not selfish; this is about experiencing yourself as a part of everything else.

The bright half of the moon cycle is an opportunity to expand your capacity for emotional expression in a healthy way using the resources available to you. During the dark half, there is a natural drawing down of the attention which is useful for rexamining what you consider is a need. is it a valid need or is it an expression of your fear that seeks survival above all else. Ask yourself what is it that thinks it needs to survive even when you are in the quiet of your home in bed or at the dinner table…

Scorpio is the sign of transformation. Allow it’s energy to power-wash away your false needs and you will step into a you that is more real, more vibrant, and more beneficial to the world and yourself.

Mother’s milk from mother Moon: Gurumayi of the Siddha lineage once shared with us two practical ways to harness the full moon energy. The first is to simply go somewhere quiet and gaze at the beauty of the full moon for an extended time paying close attention to your feelings. Another is to leave milk in a clear, covered glass overnight in a window sill where it will catch the full moon’s rays. In the morning, consume the milk. Milk easily absorbs the positive energy around it as well as neutralise negative energy and is used to purify jewellery of negative energies or unhelpful karmas that may be associated with the jewellery maker or previous owners. You can also do this as a jewellery rejuvenator every six months or so to keep your jewellery energetically fresh. It is best to use organic whole milk, raw if possible.

Put astrology aside for a moment: transformation begins with your willingness to change. Retrograde Pluto in Aquarius thru 13 October helps you push the reset button. Where in life do YOU want to reinvent yourself?

This week’s Sun-sign conundrum:

Transformation Special! If you would like to go deeper into the potential and possibility of the next three months for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online; audio recorded. Contact me here.