Saturn and Neptune, arriving into Aries

The big astrological shift of the summer is both Saturn and Neptune moving into Aries. They have both arrived there now, and will almost meet in the next few weeks, before retreating back into Pisces for a little while and meeting in exact conjunction next February. Chiron has been in Aries since 2019, so now we have three relatively slow moving planets there. An emphasis on this warrior energy, on drive and action and movement. The shadow side of this energy is very clear in the world right now - war, hyper individualism, toxic masculinity. Aries can be solipsistic at times, with a strong sense of self that is sometimes taken to an extreme.

Neither Saturn nor Neptune are hugely comfortable in Aries. Neptune is a boundaryless energy, a softness which needs to express itself through force in Aries, a flow meeting the flame. Neptune in Aries yearns for action, but this is not a proactive planet, rather an archetype of relationality and interconnectedness. There are paradoxes and contradictions here, as so often in astrology. Likewise, Saturn is in fall in Aries, meaning that it’s not able to express itself in a way that comes naturally. Saturn wants to be cautious, steady, measured. Aries doesn’t make that easy. Saturn might smother the fire. Or try too hard to control it, so that it can’t burn freely. Mythology tells us of this dynamic - Kronos devouring his own children, Saturn’s fear of the new, the young, the creative impulse which might threaten the security and solid foundations Saturn has built. The old - Saturn - naturally struggles to express itself in the sign of the young and the new - Aries.

But Saturn is also the lord of time. And with time, Saturn here can learn to contain the fire just enough to keep it burning consistently. Saturn here is especially self-contained and independent. There may be an ability to take the lead, perhaps an enjoyment of working alone. In Aries, Saturn can express itself in a way that’s decisive, autonomous. Authority is created through doing, through taking action.

I see a bird here - what about you? Photo by Rishabh Mathew on Unsplash

As for Neptune, I’m seeing a flow between life and un-life. Aries is the raw energy of life, the spark of creative life force. Neptune in Aries yearns for that spark, reaches for it, even as it risks extinguishing it with its own diffuse energy. Some experiences drain our energy, they are experiences of un-life, leaving us depleted and disconnected from ourselves. Un-life rather than death, because death is generative too. Un-life uses energy up and leaves nothing, and this can be Neptune in Aries, leaving us with barely a flicker. But perhaps Neptune in Aries is also the glimmers, the moments which connect us with the life force, which replenish and energise us. And scrying in the flames, which is where the image above takes me. Neptune is where and how we imagine ourselves into being, and in Aries this is the impulse not just to survive but to thrive, the spontaneous arising which seems to come from nowhere.

Clearly directed and focused (Neptune needing some help from Saturn there), three planets in Aries can make warriors and activists of us all, energising us to reach for life in its fullest sense. The world is burning around us, but we can all take that burning energy and redirect it, co-create something genuinely new. Neptune in Aries brings a longing to take back our power - and Saturn gives us the will to do it. Each small action is an overcoming of Saturn fear, an assertion of Neptune yearning for the life force, and an experience of Chiron healing.