Saturn in Capricorn 2017-2020
Dismantle & Rebuild
Saturn in Sagittarius: 12/23/14 - 12/19/17
We're moving on from the Saturn-in-Sagittarius themes of walking-our-talk and generally overhauling, purging, and rebuilding our belief systems. Now that we know more clearly what we believe, and what motivates and inspires us, it's time to build lasting structures that support and give material form to those beliefs and inspirations.
Saturn in Capricorn: 2/13/1998 - 2/6/1991
Some big things went down in the world the last time Saturn was in its home sign:
The Berlin Wall fell.
The USSR ended.
The Cold War ended.
The apartheid system in South Africa was dismantled.
The Gulf War began.
Huge strides in the realm of the internet occurred.
Major progress occurred in the field of genetics.
Saturn in Capricorn: 12/19/2017 - 12/16/2020
This tells us we can expect structures that don't work anymore to crumble, and new structures to take their place. You'll see this in the vaster world, and you'll see this in your own life. Saturn's transit in Capricorn will dismantle anything that just doesn't work - whether it's outdated, or it just plain never worked. It might hurt a bit, but the good news is that with that detritus cleared out, Saturn in Capricorn will help you build solid structures that fit in the here and now of who you are in the context of the current world and society in which you exist.
Government Overhaul
Since Capricorn is associated with governments, and Saturn restructures, we'll witness major reforms in governments all over the world. There will also be a more definitive shift in which countries hold the most power in the world. Some countries will rise to the top, and the countries currently at the top will - willingly or not - relinquish their throne. Expect this to hit a peak in late 2019 and early 2020, due to the influence of Saturn and Pluto (the planet of death & rebirth, and of unearthing buried power) conjoining in Capricorn in January of 2020. Both Saturn and Pluto are exacting and truth-telling without any sugar coating to their approach.
The U.S. in particular is primed for major overhaul because this country will have its first Pluto return in 2022. A Pluto return is the single most potent influence of shifts in power, endings and beginnings, and overall change-of-form stemming from deep - often buried - material. We see this transformation brewing in the U.S. already as the underlying racism and sexism of the culture and its structures pustulate in more visible forms. This overhaul includes both internal shifts of the U.S. government and society, and external shifts of the level of global power and influence the U.S. has.
Personal Overhaul
The structures of your life are going to shift on the personal level as well. This will mean different things for different people - career shifts will be common, but also shifts in family structures, shifts in how you structure your time, and changes of the structure and layout of your home or garden.
Here are some inquiries to help you work constructively with this influence, using the metaphor of a bare tree that's dropped it's leaves for the winter:
What is the underlying architecture of your life - the central trunk, the main branches, & the main branches of the root system?
What parts of that architecture support you - which branches bring in the most light, which roots bring in the most nourishment, and is your trunk strong enough to hold all of that?
What parts of that architecture require more maintenance than they're worth - do you need to prune or tie back some sub-branches or even some major branches? Do you need to nourish your soil to better nourish your roots?
There's your function. Now let's look at form...
Do you like the overall shape of your tree, or would you like to make some aesthetic adjustments? Consider the twists and turns that are so prized in a bonsai tree. Some of them are accidental, and some of them cultivated and shaped with great intention and care.
Herbs for Saturn in Capricorn:
It's time to tend our bones, ligaments, joints and teeth. Herbally, you can include some horsetail, dandelion leaf, oat straw, red clover, and nettles to support your bones. Turmeric when mixed with black pepper makes an excellent anti-inflammatory for joint (and other) pain. As for teeth, take care of your pearly whites - floss and brush with more consistency and consciousness.
Integrity - The Sea-goat meets its maker
Saturn is the natural ruler of Capricorn, and therefore the foundational energy of that sign. The symbol of Capricorn is the sea-goat, a mythical creature that travels from the depths of the ocean to the tops of mountains. One of the key characteristics of this sign is its fierce determination, but this potency is a double edged sword. When that determination is put in service of fear, greed, or hatred, great harm can be accomplished. However, when an individual or group puts that determination in service of heart-felt intentions, positive change happens not only for that person or group, but also in the world at large. So it is essential that we ask ourselves throughout the next few years:
Is my motivation coming from my heart, or is it coming from fear, greed, or anger?
This is not to say that anger is bad, but it is a secondary emotion. Beneath anger is a longing, and that's where our actions need to come from. Fear also indicates deeper longings, and greed is merely a twisted version of our deeper longings. Fear and anger can come along for the ride, but they have no place in the driver's seat when we're making decisions and taking actions. As for greed, well, you probably don't want that one in the vehicle with you. Transmute that one.
Capricorn Folks:
Anyone with a strong influence of Capricorn in their natal chart will feel this restructuring process in a bigger way, especially those with their Sun, Moon, Saturn, or Ascendant in Capricorn. If you have Saturn in Capricorn, you'll have your Saturn return soon, which indicates you are at a major turning point in life, ideally into a truer alignment with your core.
Harvest:
Saturn is a god of harvest, and one of its main tenets is that we will all eventually reap what we have sewn. So especially while Saturn is strongly placed in its home sign in the next few years, be very clear about the boundaries of your garden, and tend those things that are truly your responsibility. Let the rest go. Let others tend their own gardens. Let the wilds be the wilds. Pull the weeds from your life. Prune the overgrowth. Plant the seeds that will grow well in the climate your garden exists in. Tend the plants that you grew with care, and also the volunteer plants you've grown to love.
And as much as possible, enjoy your garden, let it talk to you, and let it work its own magic. Sit or lay in it. Watch the plants grow. Enjoy its smells, textures, and fruits. Watch the worms aerate the soil for you. Let your garden nourish, delight, and even surprise you.