As August begins, the Sun opposes Saturn, a transit that doesn’t deserve its doleful reputation. The first few days of the month, when Mercury too is involved, would be an especially good time to work on our Saturn-phobia.
Since December, Saturn has been prodding us to clarify what groups match – or at least complement – our own ideas (Aquarius). The transit’s shadow has shown up as political partisanship and sharpened divisions between cohorts — racial, gender and generational. It has had a cooling effect on some friendships.
But it has solidified others.
Earning their keep
Saturn wants us to stop and think about which acquaintances are earning their keep in our lives. By getting clear about our alliances, we get clear about our values.
This makes for a relatively detached and businesslike attitude towards socializing. It enforces boundaries, as was made literal with the introduction of “social distancing.” The phrase entered the lexicon just as the ingress took place in the sky.
Bouncer at the door
Saturn is always about separation: it’s a culling process, dividing the sheep from the goats. In Aquarius, the sign that puts together like-minded people, it clarifies who’s in and who’s out. Interestingly, we’re now hearing about post-quarantine “cave syndrome:” the sense of having forgotten our social skills. But Saturn’s telling us it’s appropriate to be cautious about who we consort with.
“I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.” — Groucho Marx, resigning from the Friars’ Club (possibly apocryphal)
Saturn has been retrograde since late May (you may remember that week when it stationed, which also 
featured an eventful Lunar Eclipse). That was when Saturn moved into review mode: a four-months’-long exercise of cautiously re-considering our social options.
This may not jive with the exuberance we’re supposed to be feeling now that the parties are back. But let’s open up to what Saturn’s trying to teach, rather than condemning it for what it isn’t. It isn’t Venus.
Cost analysis
There’s never just one thing going on in the sky, of course. This month’s transits also support a sense of play, from the Sun and Mercury in Leo. It’s just that while we’re playing, Saturn is asking us to do a cost analysis.
It’s asking us to choose our associates wisely, and then commit to those who make the cut. This commitment will take many different forms, depending on the context. It might mean starting to pay actual dues to an organization, or moving someone’s contact info from a scrap of paper in our pocket to a permanent database.
Escape clause
But be sure to write in an escape clause. We need to allow for a sudden change of heart or circumstance, because Uranus is still in the mix. The ongoing square between Saturn (commitment) and Uranus (freedom) remains the main plot line.
Just before the Full Moon on 8/22 – the day the Sun ingresses into Virgo — Uranus goes retrograde. During the days surrounding its station on Aug 19th Uranus will dominate the skies. Our craving to break the rules will vie for prominence with Saturn’s insistence on social responsibility.
It’s a classic conflict, but it isn’t an either/or. These two urges don’t have to cancel each other out. As soon as we notice that both impulses are at work – the recognition of social rules as well as the urge to be spontaneous and unfettered — we’ll get insights about how to integrate them.
When we do, we’ll understand, better than we did before, what it means to be a creative team player.
Images:
Top illustration: Nicholas Kalmakoff: The rebel angel, 1930
