Saturn and Inhibitory Control

The Crystal Ball

Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio
February 18 –– July 8, 2013

Saturn is now retrograde, turning to revisit the early degrees of Scorpio between now and July. The chart of his retrograde moment points to the mystical, transformative potential of this reflective time:

The Sun has just entered visionary Pisces, to conjunct Neptune, Pisces' ruler. The Moon and Jupiter are conjunct in Gemini, eagerly and playfully making new philosophical connections. And last but not least, the Moon and Jupiter sit at the apex of a yod with Saturn and Pluto at its base.

A yod is a tall triangle that points quite pointedly at something significant going on. The sides of the triangle are inconjunct aspects, an awkward link that forces a need for adjustment. So, Saturn and Pluto are ganging up on the Moon and Jupiter, making us uncomfortably aware that maybe some areas of our thinking, values, and understanding need to be revisited. Ouch.

I've been reading about the brain lately, its structure and functions. It turns out that a key feature of our prefrontal cortex, the shiny new part of the brain that makes us human thinkers and problem solvers, is the ability to inhibit the expression of our instincts and impulses.

Inhibition––sounds like Saturn, doesn't it? The planet of responsibility, limits, hard work and consequences.

Being able to control our impulses makes us functional members of society, whichever society we happen to be in. We learn what not to say, what not to do, because it's considered embarrassing or insulting.

Again, sounds like Saturn. If ever a planet relished saying things like "Because I said so," it's Saturn.

And yet ... it's that same inhibitory control that, quite literally, allows us to learn, think and create. Developing the ability to direct attention allows us to focus on something long enough to understand how it works, even if a new bright and shiny comes along to tempt us. Impulse control allows us to do something now that's not all that fun, because we know it will have a positive payoff in the future.

So, even though inhibition sounds like the opposite of choice––inhibition being the voice of "no"–– learning to master our impulses and control our behavior gives us the power to make choices.

The first and best victory is to conquer the self. — Plato

Saturn flows energy in an easy trine with Pluto today, and will again towards the end of his retrograde. With Saturn in Pluto-ruled Scorpio and Pluto in Saturn-ruled Capricorn, they are on the same wavelength. Astrologically, they're said to be in mutual reception.

In other words, the transformative, mystical power of Scorpio and Pluto are flowing with the pragmatic, real-world power of Capricorn and Saturn. This retrograde is about power, and what we do with it.

Thinking about power is not always comfortable. We want to control our own destinies, sure, but power? Isn't that dangerous? Only the power-hungry want power, and we're not like that. Besides, with power comes responsibility, and we don't really want that.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. –– Abraham Lincoln

For the next few months, Saturn will be offering us the opportunity (ok, he's be pushing, possibly even forcing, us) to examine our ideas about power. How we use it, how we let other people use it, what we use it for, and how that's working out.

Which house in your birth chart will Saturn be walking through? In this area in particular, issues around power, discipline, and control are likely to emerge. In fact, these issues have probably emerged already, because Saturn just made his first pass over that very territory. He's now heading back for a second look.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. ––Alice Walker

Saturn wants us to become the CEOs of our own lives, the authors of our own stories. How are we directly our attention (or not)? How are we focusing our energy, disciplining ourselves to attain our own goals? In the world of physics, power is the ability to do work, and Saturn is all about getting the work done.

He's not just interested in physical reality, though. In Scorpio, he's also diving into our psyches, emotions, spirituality, deep creativity and occult connections.

Where is old programming holding us back? Where are we engaging in self sabotage? Where are we getting our wires crossed and inhibiting creative expression because we're still worried about what other people will think? These too are areas up for review in the coming months.

So, work with Saturn instead of resisting him. He can make us really squirm, but his real goal is to get us to claim our power, step into the driver's seat, and get ourselves moving toward our goals. Over the next months we'll have the chance to learn from a master.