Saturn conjunct South Node; breaking down structures
For several years now the energies of Capricorn have been extra heavy, with Pluto, Saturn and also the South Node travelling through the sign of cardinal earth. Established structures, authority issues, responsibility and our literal, cultural and spiritual heritage are all under scrutiny. Right now, Saturn and the South Node are almost exactly conjunct and will meet at 13°58' Capricorn this Saturday 28th September. Like all of the slower moving planets, this conjunction has been active for a while (including earlier this year) and stays in orb for at least another week.
So what does it mean when Saturn and the South Node meet? Saturn is the planet of limits, the last planet visible with the naked eye, and so has always symbolised endings, rules and time. The South Node forms a dynamic opposition with the North Node and the two are generally interpreted together. The South Node is where we are coming from, the inner resources we have available and the patterns laid down in our early lives, or even past lives. The South Node is our comfort zone, the things we know and are familiar with. The North Node is the opposite, so it shows where in our chart we move out of our comfort zone, where we are learning and growing into a new self. There are fewer resources here and North Node energy can feel challenging because it's unknown. But it also carries the potential for fulfilment and personal growth. We can see it as where we are moving up to a new level of the spiral, instead of going around in the circles of the South Node. When Saturn meets the South Node, it also opposes the North Node. So straight away we can see that the past is highlighted by this conjunction and that new ways of being may feel out of reach, however much we yearn for them.
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn so we get a double whammy of Saturn energy, and we don't need to look far to see the structures of authority being questioned and those same structures clinging to power for all they are worth. The toxic masculine, the capitalist system, established patriarchal authority, all of these are Saturnian challenges. This week we've had a British prime minister declared to have made unlawful use of the systems of government, made worse by the fact that the rules and laws delineating these systems are so archaic that even experts struggle to understand them. We've also seen climate activist Greta Thunberg calling out the older generation and their refusal to accept necessary change. Both of these carry the energy of Saturn conjunct South Node, the Lords of Karma demanding that we break down and destroy structures which no longer serve or help us. The South Node is an opening, a point of release for structures which have become too rigid.
On a personal level, Saturn conjunct the South Node brings an opportunity to reckon with our past, to mine our inner depths for the emotional patterns which no longer support us and the structures which hold us back. We may find ourselves confronting authority issues, as the journey of Saturn is always to discover our own inner authority so we can release our compulsion around external authority. Endings can be painful and there is a necessary process of grief, but also the relief which comes with liberation. Saturn conjunct the South Node breaks down the inner walls so that we can breathe again. As the planet of boundaries, Saturn calls us to set healthy and flexible limits, the kind that grow with us rather than stopping our growth. Perhaps we've been conditioned, by the capitalist ideal of unrestrained growth as much as anything, to believe that all limits are bad and we should be able to do as we like. But as we know, because we live it, this is not a tenable or even desirable approach. Saturn conjunct the South Node asks us to let go of unhealthy limits and those imposed from outside so that we can accept mature and flexible boundaries. Each of us needs to take responsibility, whether we are running a country or changing the world.
So what does it mean when Saturn and the South Node meet? Saturn is the planet of limits, the last planet visible with the naked eye, and so has always symbolised endings, rules and time. The South Node forms a dynamic opposition with the North Node and the two are generally interpreted together. The South Node is where we are coming from, the inner resources we have available and the patterns laid down in our early lives, or even past lives. The South Node is our comfort zone, the things we know and are familiar with. The North Node is the opposite, so it shows where in our chart we move out of our comfort zone, where we are learning and growing into a new self. There are fewer resources here and North Node energy can feel challenging because it's unknown. But it also carries the potential for fulfilment and personal growth. We can see it as where we are moving up to a new level of the spiral, instead of going around in the circles of the South Node. When Saturn meets the South Node, it also opposes the North Node. So straight away we can see that the past is highlighted by this conjunction and that new ways of being may feel out of reach, however much we yearn for them.
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| How solid are your structures? |
On a personal level, Saturn conjunct the South Node brings an opportunity to reckon with our past, to mine our inner depths for the emotional patterns which no longer support us and the structures which hold us back. We may find ourselves confronting authority issues, as the journey of Saturn is always to discover our own inner authority so we can release our compulsion around external authority. Endings can be painful and there is a necessary process of grief, but also the relief which comes with liberation. Saturn conjunct the South Node breaks down the inner walls so that we can breathe again. As the planet of boundaries, Saturn calls us to set healthy and flexible limits, the kind that grow with us rather than stopping our growth. Perhaps we've been conditioned, by the capitalist ideal of unrestrained growth as much as anything, to believe that all limits are bad and we should be able to do as we like. But as we know, because we live it, this is not a tenable or even desirable approach. Saturn conjunct the South Node asks us to let go of unhealthy limits and those imposed from outside so that we can accept mature and flexible boundaries. Each of us needs to take responsibility, whether we are running a country or changing the world.