Giving Saturn a New Form & the Value of Therapeutic Myth

July 21, 2024

"Saturn often gets a bad rap in culture. Saturn is - again, the definer of the laws - and Uranus, Neptune & Pluto represent the forces in us that allow us to break those laws and allow us to transcend reality. But it's also useful - we need to learn the laws or the art form before we can begin to mess with it.

Saturn is the power of definition and how radical that is. So William Blake reminds us, 'I must create a system or be enslaved by another's. I will not reason and compare; my business is to create.' People who know a little about astrological terminology go 'Oh Saturn, wooah - oh, Saturn return - bad!" and we go no, that's a little more spiritual harassment! As a colleague of mine who loves Saturn says, 'Saturn oh - uh-oh, uh-oh! Might get something done! Woah! No!'

Saturn is the god of form, structure, definition and authority. And Saturn is very eager - it's a concept I want us all to entertain - that the gods are really tired of their old forms, so these forces are happy to grow new forms and we will be giving Saturn a much cheerier form of expression."

- Caroline W. Casey, Making the Gods Work for You

Whether you know a little or a lot about Saturn, if you're looking to give him any new forms of expression in your own life, then The Greatness of Saturn is a great place to start. The story is what is known as a therapeutic myth, and it is included in the Saturn module within our Foundations of Planetary Myths online course. If you're interested in understanding how the planetary principles in astrology came about, this course is for you. It will expand your ability to utilize all of the planetary archetypes in order to give them new forms that revitalize your life & rejuvenate your spirit.

For now, let's back up for just a moment and ask: what is the function of myth anyway, and secondly, what does it mean for a myth to be therapeutic?

A myth is a story that contains a living wisdom which is always available to us in the form of guidance within the eternal now. It is unbound by the laws of linear time and it is also free from dogmatic rules, meaning individuals from any kind of cultural background may apply its wisdom to the situations they may be facing at the time.

When a story of living wisdom is re-told, the characters in the tale come to life via a symbiotic relationship with its listeners. The metaphysical nourishment these stories provide contains a glimpse of the workings of reality on the spiritual plane - the infinite intelligence behind all things - and this energy can be transmitted to those whose hearts are open and willing to receive. Therapeutic myth can be described as having the power to induce a mystical experience. It can be likened to those synchronistic moments when a piece of music gives listeners goosebumps, or whenever a poetic verse evokes feelings of awe & wonder.

As a therapeutic myth ,The Greatness of Saturn certainly inspires awe into the reader who learns about Saturn's incredible power. Even more impressive is how spiritually cathartic the tale turns out to be. This myth has the power to open up that space inside of us that used to be filled with emotional baggage at the unfairness of life and to ceremoniously clear it out in order to make room for a newfound inner strength.

The story's plot illuminates startling differences between a Saturn transit experience for someone who has allowed themselves to fall into the traps of arrogance versus the experience for someone who intentionally cultivates appreciation for all that life has given them (including its tough lessons).

It is the gods in particular who are always trying to impatiently cheat their way out of a Saturn transit & take shortcuts, which always backfires in the end, with no exceptions. No one is spared what Saturn teaches - and his lessons, which we’ll explore in a moment, are as precious as gold. Saturn’s gifts of patience, grit & humility just don’t seem to appeal to the gods, who take their own seemingly omnipotent powers for granted & assume they’re untouchable. Without exception, each of the gods discovers that no one can outwit, outrun or outfox Father Time. The reader may also be surprised to discover that it is those very trials of long delays, disappointments & tests of faith under which they’ve acquired a beautiful inner compassion that would give the gods a run for their money, plus enough practical wisdom to overcome absolutely any obstacle that gets in the way of living their happily-ever-after.

Speaking of happy endings, if know the story of Beauty & the Beast, you’ll recall that Beast’s curse was only broken when he was loved for exactly who he was - that is, a love that was truly unconditional & extended beyond surface appearances. In the book Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, astrologer Liz Greene likens the archetype of the Beast to Saturn’s primal nature - at first, it infuses that area of our life with a cold, almost brutal austerity that ‘locks us away’ in isolation until we figure out what must happen in order evolve into the higher self - the Handsome Prince who is no longer arrogant or disdainful of others.

Saturn is so good at teaching us to love all of the parts ourselves, and he accomplishes this through really difficult life circumstances. It truly does feel like we must ‘earn’ our happily-ever-after, but isn’t it curious how the things we cherish the most end up being the very things we had to work so hard for? Further, it is our very appreciation of these things that will keep them in our life because we don’t take them for granted, and this is the sacred process by which Saturn helps us to build things that actually stand the test of time.

It’s not enough for us to simply want a situation to change, or to try to put a band-aid over a negative outcome - Saturn demands that we truly fall in love with the underdeveloped or uncivilized parts of ourselves so that we can directly experience our wholeness & completion. We have to say, “Yes, I absolutely cherish & adore the immature part of me that messed everything up because now I possess the wisdom I need to be set for life!”

This radical self-love means that we can’t give into any feelings of futility along the way or else we give up before we have a chance at living our happily-ever-after. The reason that The Greatness of Saturn allows the reader to see the protagonist go through this exact process of coming to know their own wholeness, and to be grateful that the reader’s own suffering need not be so unbearable because of wisdom gained by the simple reading of the story.

If you want to masterfully collaborate with these planetary archetypes and play with giving them new forms, check out Foundations of Planetary Myths, where we cover the archetypal experience for each of the celestial bodies. If you would like to take the course as a complete beginner to astrology and Transurfing, you can! There are aspect worksheets with an Aspect Delineation Guide, planetary principles and mythology modules which guide you through the basic chart interpretation and archetypal work with no prior experience.

If you already have a foundation of astrological knowledge which you use to internally align yourself with your outer goals, then you will find yourself challenged to apply the myths in creative ways you may not have considered before. You will also practice eliminating excess potentials for every archetype and aspect in the chart, which allows you to view them from a higher level of consciousness because those old obstacles and problems are no longer there. You will have completely new vantage point from which to consider the purpose of each aspect.

The level one course includes a bonus Saturn Return Module with your course purchase. This means you can begin learning to interpret planetary transits along with natal aspects. Many people fear the Saturn return, but this is totally unnecessary - it actually helps you capitalize on and work with your limitations. Saturn is our inner authority, and working intentionally on your return can give you more latitude & creative freedom to choose out of your own sovereignty instead of out of societal conditioning.

It’s quite fortunate that Saturn rules the chart of the course’s author, because she knows exactly how to befriend this planetary heavyweight so that his influence isn’t at all scary, and instead feels steady, nourishing and supportive.

Enjoy the process!

Love,

Phoenix

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