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Saturn's
Lessons - The
Alchemy of the
Soul
by Guru Rattana, Ph.D. -
Issue #29, December 21,
2000

If you see yourself as

the cause, you can also
be the creator!
It seems like there always has
to be a bad guy. In astrology it
is Saturn. Traditionally Saturn
symbolizes pain, struggle,
restrictions, discipline, hard
knocks and karma. Not our
first choices on the
smorgasbord of life. Saturn
may equal hard lessons, but
these lessons are also
necessary lessons. Saturn is
really synonymous with the
human path toward
wholeness, and liberation
"from the chains that bind us",
for it is through learning life's
lessons that we attain true
freedom, experience personal
power and connect with
universal Truth. Below we will
explore how we can re-orient
our perceptions and attitudes
about Saturn and its role in
the human experience, and
connect with Saturn as the
alchemist of the soul.

The Paradox
Our attitude toward Saturn as
the malefic Planet is in
keeping with our cultural
attitude toward life's
challenges. First, we tend to
define everything as a
problem. Second, every
problem needs a solution.
Third, the sooner the problem
can be "fixed" the better. We
search for superficial quick
fixes and try to find an easy
way out of our predicaments.
There are several pitfalls to
this approach to life. The
superficial is devoid of
meaning. Quick fixes are at
best temporary solutions.
And the "easy way out" may
be a dead end. Any effective
approach to life must be
based on certain realities.
The reality of human life on
Planet Earth includes the
following:

There is no life without

Saturn. There is no life
without struggle. Life is a
Saturn teacher. Every life
experience is teaching us a
lesson. We can't escape
Saturn or our lessons and we
wouldn't want to. There is no
diamond without chiseling.
There is no alchemy without
pressure.

This is not a dismal

prognosis of life. These are
 simply some of the givens in
the human experience.

Another given according to

Yogi Bhajan - a true Saturn
teacher - is that "It is our
destiny to be happy".

How do we integrate these

two apparent contradictory
principles? What principle
resolves this paradox?
Paradoxes do not present us
with either/or choices. We
have to choose both.
Paradoxes can be resolved
only through integration.
Integration requires rising
above the level of the
problem, so we can gain a
more comprehensive and
"higher" perspective.
Resolution also requires
loving acceptance of both the
Beast and the Handsome
Prince. Both metaphors are
needed to achieve the
meaning and freedom that
we seek.

Saturn is the Beast

In the fairy tale of astrology,
Saturn is the Beast. In our
own lives, as well as in the
stories that teach us how to
navigate our human journey,
the Beast must be loved for
his own sake. It is only when
we can see the beauty IN the
Beast that we can free
ourselves from the spell of
ignorance and struggle. When
the Beast is loved, its
qualities and strengths are
integrated into the Prince, and
they become one. Integration
is achieved, and the stronger
and wiser Prince attracts yet
another Beast to tame. The
"fairy" part of the tale is due
to the fact that the story
usually ends before the
Prince discovers the next
Beast within himself. Life is a
series of Beasts, but if we
learn how to tame and love
them, life is also a series of
Handsome Princes (and
Beautiful Princesses!) -
Depending on our gender and
spiritual orientation, of
course.

If we want to achieve
happiness during our human
journey, we have to figure out
how to enjoy the process and
love our Beasts. To do so, we
have to understand the real
nature of Saturn and our life's
lessons.

Saturn Seeks Truth and

Wholeness
Saturn doggedly seeks the
Truth, for it is ignorance (not
karma or bad luck) that
brings suffering. Saturn
symbolizes the human
struggle toward
consciousness. The more
awake we are, the more we
recognize and embrace the
Truth. Saturn is a symbol for
the learning process, by
which human beings use
discipline to transcend pain
and restriction, to attain
greater understanding and
consciousness.

Within the human psyche is

the desire for wholeness.
Saturn symbolizes the inner
and outer growth process,
whereby we attain the
experience of harmonious
completeness. Our natural
impulse is toward the
experience of the
completeness of Self.
Completeness implies that
every human quality, not just
the "good" aspects of human
nature, is acknowledged
within the whole. The
harmonious result that we
achieve implies that every
part of human nature has a
useful function. It is in
transcending the "good-bad"
categorization that we are
able to uncover the value in
all our attributes.

It is in the transcendence that

we resolve the paradox of
struggle and freedom. It is
the experience of harmonious
wholeness that brings us
peace and fulfillment. It is the
exhilaration of emotional and
mental freedom that brings
us true satisfaction. It is the
alchemical experience of Self
that motivates us to pursue
our journey.

Keeper of the Keys to

the Heart
The placement of Saturn, the
house and the sign, in your
natal chart, is where and how
you have specifically chosen
to befriend Saturn this
lifetime. How Saturn presents
itself in your chart describes
the lessons that are the most
pressing and urgent for you,
i.e. what you have to do. You
will know, because they will
confront you at all times, or at
predictable intervals. YOUR
Saturn lessons are what are
most in your face. Many other
life lessons won't seem like
such a problem. They may
even be easy and fun to learn.
You can identify your Saturn
lessons because they are
accompanied by a sense of
urgency and relentlessness.
Be assured they will take you
toward the Light. You get to
choose HOW you make the
journey.

Saturn is the keeper of the

keys to the gate of the heart.
Saturn is the bearer of
freedom through self-
understanding. When and
where Saturn appears in our
lives we often confront
difficulties, and feel frustrated
and thwarted in our creativity
and self-expression.(1) The
purpose of these challenges
is not to make our lives
miserable. Their purpose is to
educate us in a practical
"street wise", worldly way. It is
through the growth they
produce that we evolve. It is
through our own evolution
that we feel empowered. It is
through our personal
empowerment that we attain
true happiness.

Growth on Planet Earth and

the right use of free will
happen through experience
and discovery. Our
psychological transformation
is earned through self-
discovery. There is nothing
that motivates us faster than
the pain, that offers us no
other choice but to get to the
heart of the matter, and do
the work necessary to liberate
ourselves from our misery.
Many of us would like to think
that things don't have to get
that bad to be motivated to
learn our lessons, but
wherever we are on the
spectrum of self-motivation,
we must recognize the need
for and effectiveness of
Saturnian prodding.

Unconscious Creations
So what about all these
painful circumstances that
just seem to happen to us?
(Victim question number
one.) Our normal
interpretations and
rationalizations include the
following:

It is someone else's fault

It is the political, economic or

social system, or all three

It is bad luck

It is the fault of a poor

environment

It is due to bad diet and/or a

poor standard of living.

But what if any or even all of

the above are true? WE are
still the one's who have to do
something about it! No one
can extricate us from our
predicaments but ourselves.
Two of the greatest sources
of codependence and misery
are (1) we hope or expect
others to save us and (2) we
try to rescue others. Saturn's
job is to teach is to save our
own wounded psyche and
rescue our thoughts from
victimization trips.

It is true that we do not

consciously create all our
circumstances. "It is the larger
self, the total psyche, which is
the dynamic energy behind the
individual's unfoldment".(2)
When we are not aware of
how and why our higher self
creates situations for us to
grow, it appears that we are
pawns of fate, victims of
circumstances, and have little
or no control over our lives.
We free ourselves from our
own prison, as we begin to
understand the value and
purpose of the experiences
we attract. As we learn from
them, we learn about
ourselves and develop into
more complete beings.
Nothing stimulates us more
to explore the nature of our
Self, and the lessons we have
chosen to learn this lifetime,
than the pain and frustration
that we associate with
Saturn.(3)

Inner Exploration
It is through our inner
exploration that we identify
the mental and emotional
patterns that generate our
outer reality. It can be scary
and unpleasant, when we get
in touch with the precise and
synchronous fashion in which
our inner and outer realities
reflect each other.
Recognizing how we attract
our life situations to
ourselves, by the creative
power of our own thoughts
and emotions, is a
prerequisite for creating
change in our lives. We can
liberate ourselves only by
accepting responsibility for
what we have created. Once
we see ourselves as the
cause, we can also be the
conscious creators of our
lives.

Merely desiring our life to be

different, and understanding
the superficial reasons for our
predicament, does not make
change happen. For what we
often interpret as problems
are really attempts to force us
to grow, to expand, to
become more aware, and to
achieve a higher degree of
integration and balance in our
lives. Our Soul is always
striving for wholeness, and
will attract situations that
oblige us to attain higher
degrees of Selfhood. What
we consciously make
available is what our Soul has
to work with to lead us to
self-empowerment.

Misunderstood Values
We have all been
brainwashed with useless
and even destructive
methods for dealing with our
problems. Traditional Saturn
advise includes:

1. have patience

2. wait out the storm

3. have self-control

4. maintain a positive attitude

5. have faith
 6. apply discipline

Superficially interpreted,
these dictums may be
ineffective and even
counterproductive. Properly
understood, they are valuable
touchstones and tools to
meet life's challenges.

1. Patience is a virtue. Patience

is extremely useful and even
essential for our emotional
and mental health. But
patience is NOT an
explanation or a solution.
Unless with are born with the
gift of patience, we have to
learn it and earn it like every
other human lesson.

2. Waiting things out is often a

good strategy because it
gives us time to cool our
emotions and become more
rational. Everything changes
and things can change in our
favor or at least calm down.
Waiting can be a good tactic,
but it is only a tactic. As my
Chi Gong teacher once told
the class that was waiting for
his arrival, "Waiting is
wasting".

3. Self-control is often poorly

defined. For starters, the
following definitions could
make it a very useful concept.
1. Personal participation in
your own life. 2. The
conscious ability to make
Soul directed decisions. 3.
The right use of will and of
your positive, negative and
neutral minds.

4. A positive attitude is effective

if it is a true reflection of how
we feel. As a smoke screen to
cover up fear, anger and
denial, it slows down our
search for the Truth.
Superficially superimposed
 on raging emotions and a
conflicted mind, it prevents us
from honestly acknowledging
what is really going on and
keeps us from expressing
what we really want and
need. Being out of touch with
our inner guidance makes it
more difficult to achieve
positive results.

5. Have faith needs the depth of

experience to be real in our
psyches. The best way to
have faith is to have proof
from the past that our
attitudes, actions and/or
prayers create results.
Sometimes, "have faith"
translates into "grit your teeth
and do nothing" because we
have bad karma to pay off.
Even if the problem goes
away temporarily, it will
resurface at a later date.

6. Discipline is a tool, not

punishment. Discipline helps
us shift energy because to
shift energy and to establish
a new energetic pattern
consistency is required.

The point is that the

traditional virtues ascribed to
Saturn - self-control, caution,
prudence and discipline -
often bring us more
frustration, force us to
repress our emotions,
support avoidance,
encourage us not to take
action for ourselves, and dig
us deeper into self-denial.
When properly understood
and applied they are our
dearest friends, that pull us
through hard times, and
create a character foundation
to deal with all aspects of life.

Ask "Why?"
Faced with life's challenges,
Saturn teaches us that it is
useful, and ultimately
necessary, to ask the
question WHY? Nothing
happens by chance. There is
always some explanation that
is more empowering than "It
is someone else's fault". If we
do not want to remain pitted
against ourselves, and
continually destroying our
dreams before they even
have a chance to manifest,
asking WHY is the best
approach. Delving into WHY
certainly is not the most
comfortable tact, but it can,
and eventually does, produce
results. Uncovering WHY
provides us with insights that
lead to inner peace and
sanity. (That alone is worth
the effort!)

Asking WHY helps us gain

"greater insight into the
mysterious mechanisms of
the psyche". Why are we
experiencing this fear? What
does this disappointment
mean? What is the intent of
this delay? How can the
above be used as
opportunities? By asking
WHY, we can:

1. find out what we are doing to

sabotage ourselves

2. understand the inner

mechanisms of our minds
and emotions

3. identify self-defeating
patterns, and

4. perceive meaning and

purpose in our lives.
Self-Initiation
Properly understood, Saturn
is not an agent of deprivation.
Saturn is the taskmaster, who
provides the tests that help
us acquire maturity, and take
responsibility for our actions.
Saturn is known as the Lord
of Karma. He is the guardian
who stands at the Gates of
Initiation. Not only must our
debts be paid before we can
pass through the gate of
higher consciousness; we
must earn this grace by
cultivating the ability to make
wise choices in the face of
crises and challenges. We
must comprehend and live by
universal laws. In the face of
every test, we must be able to
live consciously and make
appropriate choices. Saturn
requires self-discipline, not to
make our life miserable, but
to awaken us to the
consciousness where our
dharma is revealed to us.
When the door of dharma
swings open, we must be
able to dutifully follow the
path, and make our
contribution to the world.

Crystallization
Saturn moves through the
Zodiac in 29 years and 166
days. He methodically
pressurizes each sign of the
Zodiac for two and a half
years, slowing grinding us to
our perfection.

Saturn represents the

principle of crystallization. He
obliges us to consolidate our
energies, and to use them
wisely and responsibly, for a
meaningful duty or higher
purpose. When we use our
energy and resources wisely,
Saturn cooperates with us, to
help bring our goals into
reality. Problems arise,
however, when we squander
our resources, and do not
wisely use our mental,
emotional and physical
energies. When we try to
cheat the dictates of time and
space, Saturn deals us hard
blows, which include burdens,
setbacks, delays and other
forms of obstacles. Of
course, these troubles make
us unhappy and depressed.
Saturn's goal is not to feed
our sense of fate, but to teach
us that we have to learn to
live by natural laws, and
respect the boundaries of
time and space.

Saturn requires that we use

right judgment in the
economic use of our mental,
emotional and physical
energies. The tests that
Saturn subjects us to are
geared to the crystallization
of our mental energy, so that
we can manifest in the outer
world. Through our thwarted
aspirations and desires, we
gain an understanding of the
laws of manifestation.(4)
When we properly discipline
our mind, the ideas we
generate can be realized, and
material abundance can
result. Saturn is a harsh
teacher only until we learn to
live by the law of cause and
effect. Once we learn to live
by this law, the rewards are
many, and Saturn appears to
be a wise teacher and a
benevolent Father.

The Saturn Process

What may appear to be a
barrier or a restriction to us
humans, is a reminder from
Saturn that we must cultivate
patience and act prudently.
Saturn teaches us that
"reliability, regulation,
management and respect for
some superior force (rules,
standards, tradition and
authority) is required".(5)
Saturn is the experienced
professional who
demonstrates "the value of
composure, organization,
apportionment, loyalty,
perseverance and
thoroughness in achieving
success and acclaim". Saturn
obliges us to appreciate the
necessity for dignity, patience
and responsibility.

When we do not pay attention

to Saturn, and rush forward
with lack of caution and
thoroughness, disaster and
disappointment are our
reminders to live within
physical limits. Saturn
represents practical universal
values, established authority,
and the rules of life that make
life, and indeed civilization,
possible.(6)

Saturn is the master of inner

alchemy. There is no room for
avoidance, escape or
distractions from the work
that must be done. Saturn
insists upon confinement and
containment of energies.
During our Saturn periods we
may lose interest in external
activities. Isolation, lack of
hope and withdrawal, are
normal reactions during the
Saturn alchemical process.
While we are in our sealed
container, transformation,
integration and regeneration
occur. The price tag is high,
but the reward is priceless -
wisdom, self-mastery and the
ability to manifest our
dreams.(7)

Depression and Self-

Mastery
Saturn is often associated
with depression. Depression
is one way Saturn gets our
attention. Depression can be
defined as a "response to
psychic problems whose
purpose is to help us resolve
these inner difficulties and
restore us to a healthy, higher
level of psychological
(8)
functioning". Depression
forces us to turn inward, to
identify and resolve the inner
sources of our malaise.
Depression thus acts as "a
process initiated by the
psyche to facilitate the
resolution of inner problems".
(9)

Saturn is the initiator of the

alchemical process that
forces us to face our issues.
The depression, induced by
experiences of loss, adversity,
separation and grief, is one
mechanism that Saturn uses
to force us to come to terms
with our life experiences.
Saturn takes off our rose-
colored glasses, and forces
us to examine our situation
and how we created it. He
obliges us to let go of
immature behavior and
thought patterns. We must
release our defensiveness, let
go of our ego's need for self-
gratification, and humble
ourselves no matter how
much it hurts. Sounds like a
hard pill to swallow and it is.
But it does lead to a cure and
greater levels of awareness
and self-empowerment. We
are obliged to extract the
lessons and then move on,
hopefully with greater
wisdom, acceptance and
maturity.

Saturn is the planet

associated with grief,
frustration, sadness,
pessimism, loneliness and
sorrow. We experience the
above when we are separated
from our Souls and from the
Source. Depression is a
modern-day label given to
spiritual anguish resulting
from separation from Source.
Saturn also holds the remedy
in his pocket, but the
medicine is not easy to take.
We must confront our inner
conflicts and deal with them.
We must befriend our pain
and suffering. We must
undergo a psychic cleansing.
We must align our personality
with our soul.

Saturn is a thorough and

relentless taskmaster, who
forces us to grow spiritually.
Saturn's goal is to free our
soul from the prison of the
intellectual mind, and the
paralysis of the negative ego,
and to deliver us to our own
soul. When we are in touch
with our authentic selves, we
receive guidance from our
soul, align with our true
identity and reconstruct our
life in harmony with our life's
purpose.

Overcoming Deprivation
and Hardship
Wherever Saturn appears in
our birth chart, is the area of
our life where we will
experience some sort of
deprivation or hardship, that
we must overcome during
this lifetime. Our need for love
and nurturing may be
suppressed and rationalized
away by obligations and
duties. We may forgo
pleasure and prevent
ourselves from enjoying life,
instead choosing to devote
our time and energy to the
achievement of worldly goals.
Our sense of inadequacy and
shame may suppress our
self-confidence and natural
passion and zest for life.(10)

However Saturn presents

himself and gets our
attention, his purpose is not
to condemn us to a lifetime of
emotional or physical
deprivation. This is an area of
our lives that we must
reclaim. We are supposed to
learn how to fulfill our
suppressed needs. This
requires the examination of
the reality we have created
that denies our fulfillment.
This also requires the
creation of another reality
where we can fully express
ourselves and get our needs
met.

Structure of Reality
Saturn represents the
structure of our reality. Our
ability to function in physical
reality depends upon
understanding and living
according to the rules of
society, and the basic laws of
cause and effect. Our Saturn
lessons teach us how to
master these laws, so we can
successfully negotiate our
way though life. Saturn
represents internal as well as
external laws. Saturn teaches
us to focus our energy and
organize our time, so that we
can accomplish goals, realize
our ambitions and master the
skills required to do so.
Saturn teaches us self-
control, self-discipline and the
art of commitment. Saturn
teaches us the skills that
allow us to make wise
choices, to create structure in
our lives and to succeed.

Saturn obliges us to create an

inner reality that can
withstand the tests of life. We
must contact and connect
with the indestructible source
of power that resides deep
within our soul. In the
process, we must align our
will with a purpose for living
that is far more compelling
than mere survival. It is the
alignment with deeper
meaning that aids in healing
the nervous system from our
conditioned and chronic
activation of the stress
response, and stimulates the
production of hormones that
activate the "optimism" center
of the brain. We can then
repattern our emotional
responses based on a feeling
of confidence and safety.
With a strong inner reality,
feelings of inadequacy,
anticipation of adversity and
the fear of failure(11) are
replaced with a feeling
resiliency and an ability to call
and rely upon our personal
resources when faced with
life's challenges.

The Father Archetype

and Relationships
Capricorn and his mentor
Saturn embody the father
archetype. While the Sun is in
Capricorn is an auspicious
time to pursue our
understanding of and
relationship with the father
archetype, and how we relate
to and restrict male energy.
What limitations do we
impose upon ourselves in the
expression of masculine
energy, and how can we
release these restrictions?

Let's start this discussion

with the basic question and
the honest answer, and then
work back from there. Who is
our father? God is our Father.
All problems with the father
archetype start and end with
this basic fact.
When we are a child we see
our human father as God.
Obviously we do not know
what we are doing, but
psychologically we view our
father as the Almighty One.
From a child's point of view,
this is in many ways true. We
see our father as a source of
support, protection, discipline
and knowing. Of course, this
is also our fantasy father. Our
fathers, being regular people
who never got the
appropriate training how to
be fathers from their fathers,
are rarely the perfect father
role models. Herein lies the
first basic problem. We see
our fathers as God, and we
incorporate their
shortcomings into our image
of God.

For starters many people

never even grow up with
fathers. So automatically we
perceive God as absent.
When our fathers are actually
physically present, they are
generally emotionally absent
so we grow up with the
emotional imprint that God is
emotionally unavailable and
unsupportive. If our father
was mean, we believe God is
mean. Whatever human
imperfections our father had,
we impute to God. Whatever
way we felt abused,
neglected or unsupported, we
attribute that relationship to
our relationship with God.

Of course, the basic problem

is that we don't have a
relationship with God. We
substitute our relationship
with our father for our
relationship with God. We will
get to that a little later. The
second basic problem is that
we look to our fathers to give
us what only God can give us.
We want Daddy's love, which
we never got (because he
couldn't even love himself).
This basic scenario is a root
cause of our relationship
problems. Women are
programmed to try to get
from their mates the approval
and love they didn't get from
their dads. Most women are
endlessly searching for
Daddy's love. Of course, no
man can measure up to these
unrealistic expectations.

Women get angry because

they don't get what they want
and need. Men get frustrated
because they can't fill the
bottomless emotional pit and
endless demands of women.
Our anger issues get
transferred and projected on
to our mates. This is
perpetuated, because we
attract mates who recreate
the same patterns. The basic
issue is that we are angry
because we feel separated
from and abandoned by God.
This unfulfilling scenario re-
creates itself until we
establish our basic
relationship with God. It's no
one's fault. It is the way the
system works. It pushes us to
reconnect with the Divine.

There are an infinite number

of ways that this basic
pattern plays out. Some are
more satisfying and workable
than others, but in the end the
fundamental problem
remains - no human being or
relationship can replace our
relationship with the Divine.
And to try to get our needs
met by relying on another, is
only to invite trouble at worst
and shallowness at best. The
third basic problem is that
women hold Daddy in their
hearts instead of God. When
they do so, they have no
room in their hearts for a
relationship with another
person. Women who do this
are always searching for a
Daddy replacement, but there
is no space to allow it in even
when they attract it. In this
scenario, no man can
measure up to a woman's
fantasies or meet the
demands of her neediness.
The situation is made worse
by the fact that we recreate
the negative attributes in the
partners that we attract.
Finally, we attach ourselves
(partner with or marry)
someone who is not available
to us, and who we have an
innate anger toward. In sum,
we create fantasy and
destructive relationships.

Re-Parenting: a
Relationship with the
Divine
Of course, the basic problem,
I repeat, is that we don't have
a relationship with God. If we
did we would not need to try
to get our needs met though
another, be it a man or a
woman. One of the most
fundamental parenting skills
should be to teach a child
how to have a relationship
with God and Goddess. For a
child to grow up secure and
connected, he or she must
learn how to cultivate a
relationship with the Divine
from a young age. Actually
children should be
encouraged to maintain their
relationship to the Divine,
instead of substituting the
false God's of the mother and
father. Obviously this rarely
happens, so we must learn to
re-parent ourselves. What is
really means is that we must,
in our own meditation and
inner work, cultivate our
personal connection with God
and Goddess. As we fill
ourselves up with God's love,
our neediness subsides and
the relationships that we
attract change dramatically.

The good news is that we are

not condemned to perpetuate
the dysfunctions, based on
the fact that the woman has
not separated from her father,
and the man has not
separated from his mother.
The most fundamental and
permanent solution is to
develop our relationship with
God as our primary
relationship. As we do so, the
basic patterns outlined above
shift. The key, of course, is
that our relationship with the
Divine must be real, and we
must cultivate it every day
and, optimally, at every
moment. When our
relationship is real, we
experience the reality of the
love, the abundance and the
support of the Universe. Any
programming to the contrary
will disappear. When God is
our primary partner, the
pressure is released from our
worldly partners. The void
that can only be filled by our
relationship to the Divine is
filled, and is no longer
expressed as emotional
neediness.

The further good news is that

we can attract partners who
also have the Divine as their
basic relationship, thus taking
the pressure off of us to take
care of, mother or father
them. In the process we
make ourselves available for
truly transcendent
relationships. A lot of men
and women talk about tantric
relationships and tantric sex,
but fail to do the deep inner
work that makes these
relationships possible.

Tantric sex is not possible

between a woman who is
trying to have a relationship
with her father and a man
who wants to marry his
mother. It just doesn't work
that way. In tantric sex, the
man and the woman must be
free give him and her self.
This is not possible if either
one is still tied to their mother
or father. Tantric sex is
possible only between a man
and woman whose primary
relationship is with the Divine.
It is a tall order, but the most
fulfilling, non-codependent
and intimate relationships
require that we attain and
maintain emotional and
spiritual self-sufficiency.

No Easy Solution
So if Saturn is here to stay,
and our destiny is to be
happy, what is the trick?
There is no trick. There is no
easy solution. Attainment of
the Truth that sets us free
does require discipline, hard
work, introspection, feeling
our emotions, feeling
uncomfortable, even getting
in touch with our shame,
wounds, deceptions and rage.
The bad news is that there
are no easy answers. The
good news is that there ARE
answers. The best news is
that if we do the work that
Saturn requires, we will find
them. When it comes to
solutions, it is useful to
remember Yogi Bhajan's
words, "The Universe was set
up for you to win".

So what about the Happy part

of the story? Our satisfaction
is not in eliminating our
problems; it is in being able to
deal with them. Our
contentment is not in
carefree life; it is in being able
to take care of ourselves
during our challenging
moments. Our happiness
does not come from material
acquisitions. Happiness
builds as we experience a
sense of wholeness from the
gradual integration of all our
attributes. Our peace does
not come from eliminating
our emotions. Peace comes
from the acknowledgment of
the divine purpose and power
in each emotion. Our power
does not come from external
status. Power comes from
the realization, in our own
psyche, that Saturn energy
gives us an anchored rope to
hold on it, a purpose to
pursue, and the
determination and grit to
continue our journey. Our love
does not come from another,
but from our direct
relationship with the Divine.

Profound Satisfaction
We can achieve a very
profound sense of
satisfaction and happiness,
when we open ourselves up
to the process and the
lessons of Saturn. I have
found that I experience a
deep emotional contentment
from learning my Saturn
lessons. The impact on the
psyche from the sense of
accomplishment is almost
overwhelming. There is also a
cozy satisfaction in step by
step accomplishment,
building a solid inner and
outer foundation, and
methodically doing what
must be done to reach our
goals.

One of the keys to

experiencing this satisfaction
is to stay emotionally
balanced and to be in one's
body instead of one's head, to
feel the Earth energy of
Saturn and our own physical
presence. For the satisfaction
is not only in the thought, but
also in the sensations that
physical-chemical integration
produces. We generally do
not get deep or present
enough in our own bodies to
feel at this level. We have to
slow down to penetrate to
this level of existence. We
can't be running around in the
fast lane of ideas and
thoughts. As we develop our
instinctual selves, we are able
to better tune into, and enjoy
a more complex and
complete level of peace and
contentment in the human
body.

One night as I was going to

sleep I experienced Saturn
stubbornness and
relentlessness as
unchallenged support. I felt
solid and present to a
foundation deep inside me
that would never fail me. I
knew there was a part of me
that I could always trust to be
there for the other parts of
me. This experience is not
what we normally think of as
happy, but the peace that I
achieved through that
experience made me feel
cozy and warm. It is on the
hearth of one's own inner
fireplace that we make
friends with those parts of
ourselves we thought were
our enemies. In the process
we kindle the flame of our
Soul. This is true happiness.

The Alchemy of Saturn

Saturn is our enemy only
when we do not know how to
make friends with him, or
relate to God as our Father.
Saturn is not pitted against
us. We are pitted against
ourselves. Saturn is not out to
get us. We have to stop
fighting ourselves. Saturn
does not declare war on us.
We fabricate our own wars in
our own minds, with our own
hurt and unloved emotions. It
is our ignorance that keeps
us from opening the doors to
Saturn's gifts. The keys to the
door are never handed to us
on a silver platter. They are
delivered on the humble plate
of our honest and sincere
efforts.

Saturn is the substance from

which the alchemy of the
Soul takes place. "In many
ways the ancient art of
alchemy was dedicated" to
making friends with Saturn.
"for the base material of
alchemy, in which lay the
possibility of gold, was called
Saturn, and this base material,
as well as having a concrete
existence, was also
considered to be the alchemist
himself".(12) Whatever we call
the principle and the energy
of Saturn, in the human life it
represents the alchemical
process by which we earn
enlightenment.

Like all alchemical processes,

making friends with Saturn is
neither fast nor easy. The
magic potions are discipline,
perseverance and grit, for
they are the tools that craft
the coal into the diamond. We
would never have the chance
to polish our diamond, or
produce the gold in which to
set our radiance, without
Saturn. And the Truth is - It is
worth it. We know it. We
wouldn't have it any other
way.

No Life without Saturn

Life would be fluffy and flimsy
without the stability and
predictability of Saturn. We
couldn't manifest our dreams
without Saturn. There would
be no permanency, no
deliverance, no results
without Saturn. Without
Saturn and Capricorn there
would be no mountains to
climb, no windy mysterious
paths, no summits to reach,
no attainment of our goals.
There would be no heat to
bake the cake, no tools to
polish the diamond. Life
would actually be frustrating
and devoid of juice without
Saturn.

Saturn is about as permanent

as things get in this universe
of continual evolution and
change. When things need to
change, Saturn stands in the
way, not to prevent change,
but to ensure that we know
what we are doing, and why,
to create a secure foundation
for the next era. Saturn
makes sure that our lives and
institutions are built on solid,
ethical principles and worthy
values.

A New Life with Saturn

In the astrological symbology
of the unfoldment of human
life, Jupiter is the energetic
impetus to reach for
something higher. Jupiter
expands our vision of reality
and the future. Saturn defines
how we manifest our dreams
and methodically and
practically build our visions.
Saturn and Capricorn precede
Uranus and Aquarius.
Aquarius is the inventor and
innovator, but before we can
invent a new reality, we have
to figure out how to do it. We
have to stop doing what does
not work. We have to learn
how to do things another
way. We have to be willing to
approach ourselves and life
differently. Befriending Saturn
ensures that we are well
equipped to continue our
journey in Aquarian territory.
Saturn is where and how we
work things out. Saturn is the
edge to a new life. Saturn is
the gate to a new world.

Exercise to Release
Father Attachments
Below I offer an exercise and
a meditation. The exercise
facilitates the release of the
attachments and
programming that keep our
earthly fathers in our hearts
and psyches. The meditation
imprints the true nature of
God in our psyche, and
cultivates the experience of
the Divine within our minds.
By the way, both men and
women have to work with,
and cultivate, a relationship
with both the feminine and
masculine aspects of the
Divine. This means that we
have to heal our relationship
with both our mother and our
father. I will cover the
relationship with the mother
in a later issue, when the
energy is more relevant,
probably when the Sun is in
Cancer. Although the basic
principles are the same, the
same releasing exercise can
be done. I would recommend
the Adi Shakti meditation and
mantra for healing issues
with the mother energy.

Exercise:
Every day for 30 to 40 days
write a letter to your father to
say Good by. Make a list of all
the positive and negative
memories. Let go of
everything and return it to
God. Let go of all
inappropriate attachments.
The only appropriate
attachment is the love
between our souls. Generally
limit yourself to the front and
back of a lined piece of paper.
You can write as much as you
feel you need, but the idea of
one piece of paper is not to
indulge, but to get straight to
the point.

It is also a good idea to write

part of each letter, or some of
the letters, with your non-
dominant hand. (Left if you
are right-handed and right if
you are left-handed.) You will
access a different part of
your psyche this way, usually
the deeper programming and
the inner child. You probably
won't be able to read what
you write with your non-
dominant hand, but that
doesn't really matter. You
may prefer unlined paper and
colored pens for this part of
the exercise. Keep these
letters in an envelope or box.
At the end of the 30 to 40
days or when you feel that
you are complete, burn them.
At the end chant
Akaaaaaaaaaal 3 times and
release the past. You may feel
days of leveling off, but keep
going for at least 30 days.
The psyche must be cleansed
and retrained and it takes at
least this long to do so.

You may want to keep a

journal of what transpires in
your life. This is a very
powerful exercise and almost
immediately shifts occur in
your inner and outer lives.
After only the first day, I
notice a profound shift in my
psyche concerning prosperity
and taking care of myself.

The goals of this exercise are:

1. To release unhealthy
attachments and memories
that are imprinted in your
mind

2. To move to the level of

forgiveness that comes from
empathy for another and truly
understanding the dynamics
of what was transpiring

3. To move into an attitude of

gratitude and detachment.

There are many probable

outcomes to any form of
spiritual growth. Any deep
emotional work will change
your relationship with
yourself and others. This can
manifest as a deepening of a
current relationship, or the
end of it. New found
emotional availability can
open up the space for
relationships that were
previously not possible, or it
could be just what an existing
relationship needs to make it
more intimate and
meaningful. However, if one
partner cultivates a
relationship with God as their
primary relationship, and the
other does not, the
relationship may no longer
meet the needs of either one.

Our anger at our father and at

God will become conscious.
The more we give this anger
back to Source the less we
will project this anger on our
partners. The other good
news is that the more we
cultivate a real energetic
relationship with God, the
more our false concepts of
God will be exposed. In turn
the anger will be transmuted
to energy and vitality.

Attachment to our human

father often creates
economic hardship. Not only
because our energy is tied up
with trying to get something
from someone that cannot
give it to us, but because we
are not recognizing what we
can generate in our alliance
with the Universe. The
process of freeing ourselves
from our fathers can open us
up to prosperity.

Meditation to make God

Your Father
We can cultivate our
relationship with God using
any meditation. I recommend
the Mul Mantra (also given
last month in Issue 28)
because it incorporates the
basic characteristics of God.
By chanting this mantra, you
will imprint these
characteristics into your own
psyche. What you become,
you will attract.

Accepting God as our Father

is not an empty dogmatic
directive. It must be
experienced as reality to
make it real. You will know
when it is real for you.
Feelings of lack and
restriction will disappear.
Feelings of love will replace
feelings of sadness. Neurotic
behavior will give into a deep
longing for the Divine.

It is especially beneficial for

men to train themselves to
embody the qualities of the
Mul Mantra as the qualities of
true essence. In the process,
you will begin to find our
identity in God and the Father.
Your self-image will change
and you will acquire the ability
to love yourselves. We will
become very attractive, and
only you will know why!

Mul Mantra Meditation

One of the most basic
mantras in the Kundalini Yoga
tradition is the Mul or root
Mantra. It contains the 108
elemental sounds of the
Universe. Yogi Bhajan has
given this mantra as one of
the 7 mantras to be chanted
daily for 21 years - starting
June 21,1992. These mantras
align us with the energy of
the Aquarian Age.

This root mantra sets out one

version of the basic attributes
of God, the principles of the
Universe and the energy of
our soul. When we chant this
mantra, we align with our true
essence. When we align with
our true essence, we align
with the Universe, God and
the Father, which are all ways
to get us to connect with
universal love. When we align
with universal love, we
experience true joy and the
abundance of the Universe
flows to us.

Transitions to a Heart-
Centered World by Guru
Rattana, Ph.D., is a rich and
unique compilation of the
core teachings and Kundalini
Yoga kriyas and meditations
of Yogi Bhajan.

The new Second Edition,

revised and updated,is ready
to welcome a whole new
generation of students to this
life-changing technology. It
offers powerful and effective
techniques to both teacher
and student, to empower your
lower chakras and open your
heart to unconditional love.

Contains literally dozens of

meditations to access heart
and soul consciousness.
There are many ways to
chant this mantra. It can be
chanted out loud or silently.
For beginners it is best to
start out loud so that the
action of the tongue on the
upper pallet imprints the
vibrations into to the brain
cells. Silent versions of this
meditation can be found in
Transitions to a Heart-
Centered World and
Introduction to Kundalini
Yoga Vol 2.

It can be chanted in a
monotone or to one of the
various musical versions. For
a guide to pronunciation of
this and many other Kundalini
Yoga mantras, check out
Mantras of the Master, by
Santokh Singh Khalsa, D.C.

Simply sit in a comfortable

position with the hands on
the knees, thumbs and
forefingers touching and
command your
consciousness with these
divine sounds.

This is such a beautiful basic

mantra. I encourage everyone
to learn it. It soothes the soul
because it vibrates with who
we really are and aligns us
with the fundamental
frequency of the Universe. In
the process we merge as one
and awaken the true essence
of the Divine in our hearts.
The Mul Mantra resonates
with the basic consciousness
that we wish to acquire - the
consciousness that exists in
our very souls. Although we
chant in the divine sound
current, it is powerful to
reflect on the meaning of the
sounds, so we can integrate
them into our active
consciousness.

Ek Ong Kar - One creator, the

creator of all is One
Sat Nam - Truth is His Name,
Truth is identified
Kartaa Purkh - Doer of
Everything
Nirbhao - Fearless
Nirvair - Revengeless
Akaal Moorat - Undying
Ajoonee - Unborn
Saibung - Self-Illumined
Gur Prasad - Guru's Grace or
Gift
JAP - Chant, meditate, repeat
Aad Such - True in the
beginning
Jugaad such - True through
all ages
Haibhee Such - True even
now
Nanak Hosee Bhee Such -
Nanak says Truth shall ever
be true.

Season's Greetings and

the Christmas Eclipse
Saturn is the Lord of Time.
This holiday season, my
prayer for you is that you give
yourself the gift of time to
connect with the Divine.
Saturn and Capricorn are
offering us an opening to do
so, with a new moon and
solar eclipse on Christmas
day in 4° Capricorn. This is an
optimal time to evaluate old
patterns in both our work and
personal lives, and to set
goals for new beginnings in
the New Year that
significantly alter the status
quo. Although your initial
response may be the
proverbial Capricorn, "NO"
and resistance to change,
allow yourself the space to let
the opportunity for far-
reaching change sink in. It is
time for new directions and to
forge new paths up your
mountain of life. Any changes
will require realistic planning
and concrete steps to reach
your goals. A deep alignment,
and relationship with the
Divine, are your most solid
foundation for your trek in the
New Millennium.

References and
Footnotes
The Astrologer's Manual,
Landis Knight Green, CRCS
Publications, Sebastopol, CA,
1975.

"The Astrology of Depression,"

Barbara Banfield, Mountain
Astrologer, #92,
Sept./Oct.2000, pp. 45-50+.

Saturn: A New Look at an Old

Devil, Liz Greene, 1976,
Samuel Weiser, York Beach,
Maine.

Soul-Centered Astrology, Alan

Oken, The Crossing Press,
Freedom, CA, 1990, pp.192-
199.

An in-depth study of Saturn

and its role in awakening our
consciousness, can be found
in Issue 143.
1. Liz Green, p.11
2. Liz Green, p.12
3. Liz Green, p. 12
4. Oken, p. 303
5. Landis Green, p. 145
6. Landis Green, p. 147
7. Landis Green, p. 147-48
8. Banfield, p. 45
9. Banfield. p. 47
10. Banfield, p. 49
11. Banfield, p. 79
12. Liz Green, p. 14

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