The Nigredo: Confronting the Darkness
Saturn goes direct today opposite Jupiter, and the Moon is in Capricorn.
Here are some wonderful random writings I discovered on on a site called Soul Guidance about this very valuable alchemical /Jungian concept of what it means to face the darkness one experiences during a heavy Saturn transit. (*sadly no author is cited to the transcript below):
Psychologically, nigredo is a process of directing oneself to find self-knowledge. A problem is given full attention and reduced to its core. This is not done so much in an intellectual way, but especially by feeling the emotions. By really going into to it, one causes putrefaction, the decomposition of that in which one had been stuck. The confrontation with the inner reality is often painful, and can lead to depression. But once in the depth of the darkness, with the discovery of the seed of the problem, the seed in the ‘prima materia’, the white light is born (=albedo, whiteness, the next phase). A state of rest arises. Insight into the problem has been gained, it has been worked out emotionally, and knowledge arises on how to handle it in a more positive way and to build a more pure attitude.
It's odd to call suffering a blessing, but those rare and precious moments when our soul won't let us get away with distractions, addictions or other choice escape mechanisms is indeed a rare and auspicious occasion in that it's an opportunity to actually confront all of the hell we've been avoiding. There is rest when we finally give up the restless struggle and are forced to just sit and feel. How amazingly difficult it is to just be with something. But as the text on alchemy above illustrates, it's the only way to move beyond stagnation.
Saturn's rings, limits and boundaries provide a powerful crucible to keep us from running too far astray. We need a container to seal the powerful psychic tension required for the transformation. On some level we are all going through this right now collectively as reflected in the opposition between Jupiter in Pisces (our philosophical/higher consciousness and inner guide) and Saturn in Virgo. We're in the heart of the struggle between spirit and matter. And we cannot choose. Again, it's about holding the tension of the opposites until the new healing symbol has time to emerge. Do we have the patience to die into the new life?
Just like other joyful moments of life, death can also be a joyful experience. — Amma
"Gravity" -APC
Lost again, broken and weary
Unable to find my way
Tail in hand, dizzy and clearly
Unable to just let this go
I am surrendering to gravity and the unknown
Catch me, heal me,
Lift me back up to the sun
Help me survive the bottom
Calm these hands before they
Snare another pill and
Drive another nail down
Another needy hole
Please release me...
