Introduction to an A.K. Reader series from one Saturn cycle ago, on Saturn/Uranus in Sagittarius

On Friday, August 25, Saturn will turn to go direct from its retrograde motion at 21°11 Sagittarius, where it has been since April 6, 2017. This is the final time Saturn will turn during its two-and-a-half year procession through the sign of Sagittarius. As it does so, it both exactly conjuncts my own 21° Sagittarian Ascendant and the Moon of Donald Trump. What does this shift portend?

Think of Saturn as the planet of form, structure, rules, roles, regulations, discipline, focus, grown-up behavior! Saturn forces us to concentrate our energies, to get real with whatever sign it is moving through. In the philosophical sign of Sagittarius, Saturn is asking us to recognize the overall structure that holds all our ideas and perceptions, and thereby gain perspective on the bigger picture. That structure is not just personal, it is generational, it is cultural. It is what we learned to call a “paradigm” 30 years ago, when Saturn last traveled through this same sign.

It behooves us to recognize the import of Saturn in Sagittarius, and realize that we must, now, truly, shift the way we think, including the way we think about thinking. What I call “alt-epistemology” needs to become the wave of the future!

The last time Saturn occupied Sagittarius, 1986-1988, it was also, during part of that time, conjunct unpredictable, wild card, radical Uranus. Two principles, at odds with one another, conjunct! This time, during 2017, these two planets are trine one another, or 120° apart, and thus in harmony. In fact, these two planets formed two points of a fiery grand trine with the Sun/Moon conjunction during the Total Eclipse of August 21, 2017. I.e., we have a very real opportunity during especially the remainder of 2017 to transform our thinking patterns in a smooth, harmonious manner, so that we don’t have to hate each other for having different, or even opposing, ideas! It needn’t be so traumatic! The current dramatic polarization in American society is, hopefully, just the initial stage of this transformation into a more spacious comprehension of the life of the mind.

Or it can be. Whereas 30 years ago we had no idea how to break through the old philosophical paradigm (though some of us knew, even then, that we must), now we are learning exactly how to do that.  We must allow everyone their own point of view, realizing that none of us have the ultimate point of view. It’s about recognizing the infinity of points in any infinite space. It’s about learning how to get along with each other beyond the rational mind, by centering in the open heart of Leo (where the eclipse was located).

It’s about time! It’s almost too late. As usual, we learn what we must learn in the nick of time, that is, just prior to when Saturn moves into Capricorn, and a few years later, where it will join Pluto, and together, fulfill their  promise to totally restructure not only our thinking, but the flesh, blood and stone capitalist institutions that have not only created massive inequality among humans, but ruined the natural world.

In honor of this upcoming Saturn turning time, I offer here a series that I wrote and published when Saturn occupied Sagittarius the last time. I offer the first of five Parts here, and hopefully the others over the next four days surrounding this Saturn turning time.

See next post.