It’s my pleasure to share this article by guest blogger Patricia Lantz with you. Patricia knows Saturn well and offers some amazing insights on this feminine planet. Wait, did she say feminine? Yep, she sure did. Read on.
A Capricorn Reflects on Saturn and Her Mother by Patricia Lantz
Most of what we read and learn about Saturn can lead us to believe its primary function is limitation. For the most part the astrological keywords tend to reinforce this assumption – responsibility, obligation, discipline, duty, task, work, etc. Even the mythology of Saturn is quite gruesome, Saturn eating his children – Oh My!!! All of this seems to paint a very ugly picture of a very beautiful, if not the most beautiful, planet.
Perhaps we should reflect on a few of Saturn’s physical features and take them into consideration before making any final judgment. Saturn, like Earth, has seasons. It is the least dense of all the planets – a piece of Saturn would float in water on our Earth. Its beautiful ring system is believed to be various sizes of water ice particles and rocks coated with water ice. What could be the meaning of these physical features? Could the light density of Saturn indicate softness and sensitivity? Do the ice rings perhaps shield and protect a giant softy from the hard knocks of life? And might Saturn eating his children be just the best way the ancients could understand why Saturn’s rings seem to vanish at certain times?
Astrologer Erin Sullivan wrote in her retrograde book of Saturn “encapsulating” what it touches by transit, and refers to Saturn as “the protective coating around specific areas of the psyche.” Could this be the image of a mother enfolding her child in her arms for protection?
Which brings me to the question: Is Saturn a really masculine planet? What sense does it make that a masculine planet should rule Capricorn, a feminine sign? Saturn is not an outgoing energy. Perhaps the confusion lies in the strength symbolized by Saturn. But Saturn’s strength is not the warrior strength of Mars or the ego strength of the Sun. Saturn’s strength is the inner strength of the feminine. Perhaps there are two aspects of mother. The lunar mother of Cancer who is nurturing and emotional, as well as the Saturn mother who, by comparison, may seem harsh and demanding in protecting her child by teaching her to survive and thrive in the world.
Can it be that Saturn at her finest is the energy that truly sets us free? Saturn teaches discipline in the way of a loving parent, who for a child’s well being set limits. For example: A loving parent might restrict their child to the back yard to play. If the child shows co-operation and maturity by staying within these boundaries, she is given permission to go next door – given more freedom but with new limits and boundaries. If she follows these rules she will soon be allowed to cross the street and play with her friends. As the process continues she is given additional freedoms. However, anytime she over steps her boundaries, she is quickly restricted once again to the back yard. As any good parent knows, Children need boundaries on their behavior in order to grow safely, and to feel loved.
I am a Sun Sign Capricorn – square an Aries Moon – square Saturn in Cancer. So as you can imagine, it was to take many years but I have come to believe that Saturn was my Mother’s gift to me. Of course to some this may seem like giving a 6 year old child nothing but a coat and mittens as a Christmas gift, practical but not too exciting, and it did to me when I was younger. So I didn’t really appreciate her gift and longed for the bright and shiny gifts my friends found under the Christmas tree. BUT, I have come to understand that when it’s freezing outside, the snow is falling, and the most exciting thing in a 6 year old’s life is building a snowman – it’s the coat and mittens that will protect her and enable her to enjoy the magic of the cold winter day.
Happy Mother’s Day, Thanks Mom!!!
Patricia Lantz is a practicing astrologer and hypnotherapist living in Atlanta, Georgia. Patricia is a former StarIQ columnist and currently writes as the Atlanta Astrology Examiner. She invites you to follow her on Examiner.com as she examines life on this small planet through the mediums of astrology, hypnotherapy and other related topics.
Auntie Moon 
Wonderful! This reminds me of when I was young and learned to write poetry in specific forms (eg, sonnet). I resented it at first, not being able to write free verse (badly, mind you), but then I found out how freeing it was to have this structure to work within. I have Sun square Saturn (w/Saturn on the 5th house cusp). I also have Moon conjunct Uranus trine that Saturn – so inspiration first, then mold it into form!
A wonderfully empowering new perspective of a beautiful and mysterious planet. Perhaps my Saturn is protecting my Venus (conjunction) in Scorpio 2nd from selling herself short. I’ll be looking at all the Saturn aspects in my chart with a new and more tender eye. Thank you both so much.
I would like to repeat Sabina’s comment above..I will be looking at Saturn with a more tender eye! Wonderful article, thanks for posting xxx
Facinating piece and like Sabina said above, I shall reflect upon my own Venus-Saturn conjunction! It is very thought provoking to considering the two aspects of the feminine in Cancer and Capricorn. Thank you.