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It's not hard to see the effects of Saturn in Taurus
(June
1998-April 2001) here
in France, where literally millions of trees lie with their roots in the
air, and whole forests are flattened like pick-up sticks, the result of
devastating holiday storms. This upturning of what we believed to be solid
and enduring is not the work of Saturn alone, but a graphic and powerful
expression of the tensions created by the square
(challenging right angle) from Uranus in Aquarius.
The tornado
force winds that snapped huge pines in half remind us of the force contained
in squares between fixed signs, and the often invisible power of the air
element. In some parts of France the whole system of distributing electricity
has been seriously damaged, and again we see the symbolism of Uranus at
work, because Uranus rules electricity, and the role of air is to keep
energy circulating. Company officials estimate that it will take years
to restore parts of the network.
So far, the
effects of the Saturn-Uranus square have been most visible in the natural
world, with multiple earthquakes, mudslides, flooding and much loss of
life and property in different parts of the world. Some see evidence of
global warming and permanent damage to our fragile biosphere, others see
a warning: time to change our values and to rebalance technology (Aquarius)
with nature (Taurus). But on a more personal level, these images may offer
us a meditation on solidity and change in our own lives, and a sense that
even the most familiar landscapes can be transformed in an instant.
Uranus in
Aquarius blows through our lives with an irresistible force, and when
the birth chart is touched by its passage we must learn to move with it,
to find a channel for change. Saturn's square increases resistance-too
much of this can result in broken places, leaving only fragments of our
lives and emotional or material havoc in its place. I've seen clients
literally break bones with these transits, but others make impressive
breakthroughs in the way they live their lives.
We may be
asked to let go of things that we believed were absolutely constant, the
very ground of our existence. This square, like all squares in fixed signs,
rumbles underneath, creating cracks and strains in the taken-for-granted
and settled parts of our lives. The sign Taurus represents the time when
a plant sends roots down into the soil for nutrients and anchoring.
For the moment,
the Aquarian realm of technology seems harnessed to our material needs,
with the Internet speeding things up, changing the way the markets work
or the way we buy things. And yet Aquarius may be one of the least earthed
of all signs, carrying a pure stream of inspiration for the future-for
the unknown and untried. We need not be surprised if it brings much greater
and more far-reaching change than we may have first imagined.
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