Seat thyself sultanically among the moons of Saturn
― Herman Melville
Saturn. Lord Shani. My Atmakaraka (planetary deity with the most say over what happens with the karmas in this life). Why does the mind resist that which it actually loves or would benefit our entire lives 1000x with just a few simple tweaks? The fall continues. The habits. The traps. The defaults which quickly become routines engineered by the inner saboteur. The mind usually fights discipline, structure and routine because it wants to endlessly jump around like a crazy monkey or Rahu chicken with head cut off, but the soul certainly craves the momentum of consistency. Even knowing that structuring time is what expands it and how essential it is to make appointments with oneself to do those things you love or want to do the most the way you would with anyone or anything else in your life is easier preached than practiced. Yet, Saturn is about the endurance. The long haul. Never giving up. He is patient and gives us endless opportunties for mastery. We just have to take the first step and keep taking it with humility, surrender and prayers for Divine Grace to carry us through the inevitable obstacles. Obstructions and impediments of the mind that appear as external problems until we turn inward for reflection and notice patterns.
The regularity and punctuality of routine for many of us is the ongoing struggle. Either that or we fall on the other side of being too rigid and hard on ourselves. Saturn can either lift us up like a child or drag us down like a stone as the song, "the Grudge" (by Tool) goes. As Saturn slows way down to his station in just five days from now, it’s a reminder of how essential those Saturnian values are to implement in our lives. Regularity, honouring time, punctuality in our practices, consistency, strategising, planning--all easier said than done and for Intuitive types, (not our forte to say the least). We prefer to go with the flow. Spontaneous time. Lingering. Dreaming. Creating. We can weave endless castles in the air but what have we actually got down on paper? What have we turned into practice, into form? Saturn is the building blocks. It's the small but consistent rituals that we can create a rock solid foundation with. We start small so we can remain consistent. The biggest time suck is social media, social anything. Rahu, the shadow graha, or North Node presides of social media addiction disconnecting all of us from our bodies. Conversations in general can also waste a lot of our precious time and energy. Especially chit-chat, gossip and how many hours lost sending memes back and forth over What'sapp? Although there is definite therapeutic value to that practice as long as it's not 2am and you can't stop scrolling for the next one to top the last.
No wonder my Guru has been so insistent on us to cut back on the mingling and socialising here over the past few weeks. I know it’s more than just a COVID prevention protocol. She has higher motives as always. She even said, with your make on nobody can even see if you’re smiling so don’t waste your time worrying about who likes you, smiles at you, or is speaking to you. She truly wants us to turn inward for solace and connection. Saturn Bhava all the way. The reminder that a little bit goes a long way if it’s done with intention. My Guru always reminds us not to give up or feel defeated. It’s probably been Her biggest teaching through COVID. Never give up, never feel defeated—find strength and courage. She says if we fall down, don’t just lie there. Get up and try again. Like one of my favorite Cure songs, Fight, Fight, Fight, you don't have to give in. Never give in.
