posted July 05, 2005 08:32 PM            

Think my New York Minute is a lot longer than yours, but here, at long last, it is. Hope this helps you to help your Cappy!
I'll post this in two parts -- first the introduction to Saturn in the Earthy Signs and Houses, then Saturn in Virgo or 6th.

From Liz Greene's "Saturn - A New Look At An Old Devil"

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Saturn in the earthy signs and houses

The element of earth is related to the plane of matter in which we all consciously function and pertains to those areas of life where one's efforts, and mistakes, yield tangible results and require tangible tools. Earth is considered a simple element, and it is generally associated with money, resources, security, work, service, and achievement in one's profession. Earth may also be related to the psychological function of sensation; which means that through this function an individual's perception of reality is based on that which he experiences through his five senses and through the use of his concrete or rational mind. It may be assumed from this that there is little mystery about the kind of frustration which ensues from Saturn's placement in earth, and it is here also that the typically Capricornian qualities of perseverance, thrift, caution, and self-discipline are thought to provide the most obvious solution to Saturnian problems.
Earth is not, however, as simple as it is generally considered to be in our basic textbooks. This element has been the unfortunate victim of a body of popular opinion which suggests that matter, or the materialistic view of life, is in contradiction to, or exclusive of, spirit or the spiritualistic view of life. Those unfortunate souls who are predominantly earthy in chart makeup through Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or a stellium of earthy planets are considered in some vague and obscure fashion to be not quite as "evolved" as those coming under the other, more colourful, elements. Because the earthy temperament is concerned with the laws and workings of the physical plane and attempts to direct its creative energy and effort toward the understanding and control of that plane, this temperament is considered materialistic and therefore lacking in vision.
We may often obtain a good view of inner psychic reality from a study of man's myths and of the symbols he chooses to describe his various concepts of his gods. Through these symbols we express what we inwardly value as truth whether or not this is part of a prevailing popular conception of truth. We have chosen to place the birthdate of Jesus under Capricorn, the densest of the earth signs and the most ambitious in the worldly sense, although there is no historical evidence that this birthdate is appropriate. We have also chosen to place the birthdate of Mary at precisely fifteen degrees of Virgo, that most mundane and critical of signs. We also celebrate the birthdate of the Buddha under Taurus, that slowest and most inflexible of signs. The entire esoteric concept of initiation is connected with Capricorn specifically and the earth signs in general because the initiate has not earned his initiation until he is able to apply the higher consciousness he has discovered to the body and the environment in which he functions as a personality. Only when the physical world is made a fitting garment or symbol of the inner spirit is his task complete. The mysteries of the duality of spirit and matter have occupied the thoughts of occultists and mystics throughout the ages, and alchemy and astrology in the form we know them were both outgrowths of this attempt to understand spirit in terms of matter through the law of correspondences. The various myths and motifs which are connected with the symbol of Saturn, from Pan through Satan and Lucifer to the prima materia or "Mercurius Senex" of the alchemists, from the serpent in the Garden to the Hermit of the Tarot deck, should be sufficient to indicate that there is more to earth than meets the eye. And finally we must consider that we exist on the earth itself,. and that we are now beyond doubt demonstrated to be intricately connected through the "etheric" or energy field around us to every other kingdom of nature. There is much that we do not understand about the nature of matter. It may be that when we are told in esoteric literature that earth is the final test of initiation for man, there is also an equally valid rational or scientific law which describes the same truth—but we do not possess it yet.
Saturn in the earthy signs and houses pertains, on the surface, to those problems and limitations which affect an individual through his bodily comfort, his ability to support and sustain himself, his capacity to find meaningful work which allows him a share in the ordering of his environment, and his ability to achieve responsibility or authority in those areas where he has shown competence and skill. This is the simplest interpretation of Saturn in earth, and it will generally be found that this interpretation is valid. It is unfortunate that we are given in the Old Testament the inference that man was driven to labour as a result of original sin for we no longer believe that work can be a creative act. Even God, according to the same document, worked for six days to create the world. There is a basic need in each man to feel himself useful, and this is connected with what is called "group consciousness"—the sensing of a unity which implies individual responsibility and the need for a contribution, according to ability, to the whole. This group consciousness has nothing to do with enforced contribution or with mass consciousness where the individual has no meaning in himself. There is also a basic need in man to know that he has earned through his labours something permanent which is his unique accomplishment or possession. By it he establishes a sense of his worth to the group. This "something permanent" may be actual material reward. It may also be more abstruse: standards, values, talent, honour, service. Commerce and trade are as valid a form of communication between people as the written and spoken word, and money, as well as being a symbol of emotional independence, may also be a symbol of individual worth and of skills and services which are offered to others. Consequently, when we look to mythology, we find that Mercury, among his many rulerships, was the god of merchants as well as being the divine messenger, and presided in his inimitably suave fashion over the business deal.
It is possible that Saturn in one of the earthy signs or houses offers an opportunity to learn about the deeper meaning of this element since the solution to the frustrations which he symbolises when placed in earth rarely comes about through the application of earthy tools. It would appear that the other three elements must be understood and integrated to form a tool effective enough to influence the apparent dead weight of earth and alleviate the pain of thwarted instinct.

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posted July 05, 2005 08:34 PM            

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Saturn in Virgo and the sixth house

Work, health, servants, and employer-employee relationships are the traditional meanings assigned to the sixth house. From it one is said to gain insight into the individual's work habits, the kind of situations he is likely to attract in his work life, his attitudes toward routine and toward service, and his attitude toward his body as a vehicle of service. The state of one's health is denoted by this house, and any tendencies toward organic or functional illness are generally reflected by it. This is generally considered to be a "weak" house, as is the twelfth, because it is cadent and planets which are placed in it do not appear to express through the mode of events or external activity. The sixth house is in fact often overlooked or considered unimportant. It is possible that we possess very little real understanding of its meaning because we do not understand the nature of the physical body and its link with the mind and the feelings of the individual.
This house seems to be of great importance on an inner level, as is the twelfth house, for it seems to refer to a process of inner synthesis, purification, ordering, or gestation which precedes the external and objective expression of the person into the world of others. We are used to linking the first six signs and houses of the zodiac with one's personal development and the last six signs and houses with one's participation in group life. As a cadent house the sixth is the inner process of attunement or ordering which synthesises the qualities developed through previous effort and forges of them one integrated personality which can then be the vehicle of expression for the self. Work, when it is related to this house, then becomes not only a means of livelihood, or a means of justifying one's existence, but it also becomes a ritual or preparation or purification and assumes importance as a symbol just as money is a symbol when considered against the deeper meaning of the second house. The body itself is a symbol if this point of view is logically extended, and the health of the body is related to the success or failure of the integration process which is necessary for planets placed in this house.
This may seem an abstruse definition for plain, hard-working Virgo and her plain, hard-working house. But if we look once more to mythology, we will find that the virgin goddesses of the ancients were virgin not in the sense of sexual innocence or naivete for these goddesses were also prostitutes and ruled over the mysteries of sexual union and of birth. Virginal meant whole, single, possessed by no man, and the servant or slave of no husband or lover. The virgin mother goddess was a female archetype who mated and gave birth but who would never be a wife or helpmeet for she was wholly herself, independent, self-contained, integrated, and dependent on no one for her meaning or expression. It was only later that these goddesses were given to solar deities and were deprived of their autonomy and their sexuality in one clean swoop of patriarchal social development. There may be in this symbolism another key to the meaning of Virgo and the sixth house, for they appear to be connected with wholeness, the synthesis or integration of the various warring components of the psyche. On a larger level the synthesis or integration of the individual with his physical environment is also suggested, prior to his being able to join with others in a cooperative relationship.
The mysteries of the power of the mind over the body are being tentatively explored in psychology and psychosomatic medicine, and the less orthodox schools of healing, such as hypnotherapy, are perhaps even more aware of the subtle but unquestionable link between one's state of mind—and this includes the feeling nature—and one's health. But we still understand very little of these matters, and as much as medical science has been able to accomplish since ancient times, the recent exploration of the energy field or "etheric double" which permeates and co-exists with the physical body suggests that we have only just begun to comprehend the full meaning of the physical vehicle. The ancient science of acupuncture and the esoteric doctrine of the chakras or energy centres are not so absurd or unprovable as they were once thought to be. What we have always believed to be physical illness now appears to be originated from an entirely different level. We have only recently become aware of the concept of the unconscious mind, and prior to the birth of psychology in this century—accelerated by the discovery of Pluto—it was left to the medieval alchemists to make some sense out of man's fantasies and dreams, and this they were never able to achieve fully because they lacked the methods of scientific research. Perhaps we must wait for the discovery of another planet before the sixth house and sign will yield their secrets to us.
Saturn in the sixth house seems to provide an opportunity—often through frustration, disappointment, and ill health—for a journey into the mysteries of the interconnexion between mind and body and the possibility of a conscious and deliberate synthesis of these two, the reward of which is good health and a new awareness of the meaning of the body and of the material environment. Few people, however, are aware of this opportunity because we are not made aware that there might be a deeper meaning to work and to health. More commonly Saturn placed in the sixth refers to a state of disease, of discomfort, or of frustration and limitation in one's work situation. The fundamental psychological need for rhythm and ritual, the careful ordering of external life as a symbol of the careful ordering of the inner life which should, and rarely does, parallel it, is often denied in childhood. This need is as valid and as real as the need for security or for achievement.
If Saturn's darker side is considered first, the lack of this ordered rhythm of both inner and outer life will often be felt later as an area of inadequacy and fear. A heavily structured discipline or routine in childhood is common with this placement, but the routine is often lacking in fundamental meaning because there is no effort at inner alignment. Chaos threatens perpetually to intrude on the inner level for there is little integration there, and an almost compulsive ordering of the outer environment frequently ensues. Saturn may exaggerate the natural love of work, routine, and order until the love becomes a fear of anything outside the known and well-trod path. There is often a deep inner anxiety over physical or mental disintegration, and this placement has been linked with mental as well as physical disorders. It is the outer form of order which Saturn clings to rather than the inner blending of the mind, the feelings, and the intuition through the medium of the body; consequently, he experiences frustration for once again he has attempted to make tangible something which is essentially an inner process.
The individual with Saturn in Virgo or in the sixth house may externalise his situation so that the adjustment and the frustration pertain to his work life for in the function of usefulness to the larger group, he expresses the function of his body and its intricate structure to his total psyche. Just as an organ in his physical body may be out of harmony, he likewise may, as an organ of his environment, be out of harmony with the larger structure. It is his task to integrate himself to his world and to his body for he stands at the midpoint of these two. His body must serve his inner purpose as he must serve the inner purpose of the group.
When the man is relatively unconscious, Saturn may be symbolic of discontent and resentment because he may be aware only of the fact that he is in a rut and that he is imprisoned by circumstances. He may feel that he is capable of better things and will chafe against the boredom of his endless routine. Yet the meaning of the routine escapes him because he does not truly understand the meaning of service. The inner serenity which can be achieved through an alignment with the group life by service is rarely achieved in this case. Only the monotony of the outer pattern, repeated over and over again, is apparent. Saturn in the sixth house may suggest that the individual will be drawn toward service, but his conception of service is generally a situation where one does menial tasks for others. It is said in esoteric teaching that service, rather than being "good works", is an innate quality of the inner man; it is a state of consciousness rather than a planned act. Service of this kind is the result of inner integration for once the body and feelings and mind of a man are in balance, he can then begin to become aware, intuitively, of the purpose and nature of his inner psyche. He is no longer occupied in reconciling the battling components of his nature, but through an inner attunement—achieved through a ritual ordering of his personality—he can listen to his real direction. This is the goal of meditation, and of yoga, and of certain kinds of ritual magic, all of which are given to the sixth house—although the meaning is rarely made clear. Service which is the result of inner balance is the potential result of Saturn in the sixth house when he is expressing in a conscious way, and this placement is common among physicians, surgeons, and those who tend to the mental and emotional ills of others because it is a fulfilment of the inner need of the group.
Service is often seen by the average individual with Saturn in the sixth house as an easy road because it does not require courage, initiative, or the braving of the unknown—qualities which Saturn placed here often has difficulty expressing. Yet he may resent being a servant because of the sameness of his situation and the anonymity of his role. One of the most common reflections of this placement is the individual who remains in a job which he dislikes intensely yet cannot leave. We may hear him complain about it bitterly and about those for whom he works; he may be underpayed and overworked, or at least believe that he is; yet he will generally find excuses for avoiding any confrontation or effort at improvement because if his circumstances are irritating and frustrating, at least they are safe and familiar. If he does attempt to help himself, he is frequently refused because he projects an attitude of self-doubt or because he lacks the skill or qualifications to earn him a better situation. He often misses the need for the development of a skill because this requires an inner purpose for the outer training, and he is uncomfortable when forced to consider inner purposes. He may very neatly lock himself into his own prison without realising that he still, and always, possesses the key.
There is real administrative or organising ability with Saturn in the sixth house and often real healing ability and a fine and subtle insight into the intricacies of the mind, but these must be brought into the light and polished into usefulness. They are rarely available without effort. The man generally finds that a confrontation with the shadowy side of his nature, which seeks to avoid the problem of responsibility to the life of the group, is necessary. Humility of a genuine kind, which is one of the more endearing Virgoan qualities, is rarely present by natural inclination when Saturn is in the sixth house; subservience is often expressed instead, and they are not the same thing. The unconscious man with Saturn in the sixth house is like a gardener who loves only the flower, the final result of the process of growth, without understanding that the flower has meaning only against the context of the slow and orderly sequence of growth of the entire plant. The plant does not grow to produce the flower for him; it is only accidental that he is even there to appreciate it for the plant responds to its own inner purpose. Therefore, when the flower dies, his joy is gone.
Saturn in the sixth house is commonly associated with ill health as well as with a fascination for the laws of health. There is no reasonable answer to the problem of inherited or congenital disease for if we seek a cause-and-effect principle, or even a purpose, we are confronted with the philosophical problem of the nature of the soul. There are often simpler principles at work in the case of psychosomatic illness, however, and this is common with a sixth house Saturn. The least glamourous cause of this kind of pattern is a desire for attention, and this is common enough; the individual who completely dominates his household and his family through the demands of his illness is very common. Also common is the desire to avoid that which is unpleasant, either work or the deeper need for ordering which the psyche calls for and which seems an impossible task. The hypochondriac with a sixth house Saturn is not an infrequent occurrence. This is Saturn's method of avoiding the problem of integration for illness is always a reflection of imbalance—even if we assign it a purely physical origin.
We may also see the opposite extreme of Saturn in the individual who is obsessed with being "healthy". This is a much clearer example of the need for ordering which is compressed into a tangible method of expression. But whatever the external manifestation, Saturn in the sixth house reflects an imperative need for inner integration which, if avoided, may produce illness and, if forced into a material channel, may produce inner frustration, moodiness, irritability, and depression. If an individual works consciously toward a practical understanding of his psyche, and of its relationship with his body, and of the relationship of this working unit to the environment of which he is a part, then Saturn in the sixth house can make of the mind and the body not two interrelated things but one thing, a finely balanced vehicle which is then available for the use of the inner man who is no longer confined by his material expression. Toward this end alchemy was directed, and today the process of individuation in analytical psychology is also directed toward this synthesis. It is reflected in the ancient alchemical injunction: "Thou wilt never make from others the One which thou seekest, except there first be made one thing of thyself.

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posted July 05, 2005 08:40 PM              

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Gemini sun, Cancer rising, Taurus moon

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A woman's head is always influenced by heart; but a man's heart by his head.