Saturn Return Can Bite Me

Skipped steps, nodal contacts, astrology

This is definitely something I find interesting, especially thinking of someone who has a planet on mine.

When you meet someone with one or more planets that conjuncts your skipped step, they trigger the issue. There is a strong past life connection between the two of you, because that person was part of your unresolved issue. When you meet them in this life, as a romantic partner, the pull can be extremely strong. But the feelings that arise can be complex and frustrating for both parties.

Hah, mine's almost this example, too, except substituting Jupiter. Which I have around the same place natally too.

Example 2: North Node in Libra/South Node in Aries

For our next example, let’s say Ann’s South Node is in Aries, and her North Node is in Libra. It’s easy for Ann to be independent and do her own thing. Relationships (North Node Libra) and cooperating with other people are not one of her strengths. They scare her because being in a partnership would mean losing her identity. In her past life, Ann’s existence might have depended on staying strong, staying separate and remaining unencumbered.

Ann’s Mars in Cancer is square her Nodal Axis. Here’s Henry with his Mars in the same degree of Cancer as Ann’s. Tons of sexual heat with Mars conjunct Mars, but he also triggers her distaste of nurturing. Hugs make Ann feel smothered, and neediness is a turn-off. In a past life, Henry might have been overly dependent on Ann; perhaps he was crippled and she had to (grudgingly) nurse him back to health. Maybe she was a warrior who was sworn to protect him. In any case, Ann abandoned him and did not fulfill her promise to protect.

Now Henry’s back with his Mars in Cancer, demanding affection. Ann might push him away again, or she could take a step forward and realize that her fear of being smothered/trapped is just that: a fear. Henry may have a vague, panicky feeling that Ann will break up with him. The more he tries to push for commitment, the more he drives her away. Ann won’t help matters by keeping him at arm’s length. If both can wrap their heads around the idea that what they are feeling is part of an old, past life script, they can evolve together.

Using Your Skipped Step to Evolve

It’s always tricky when a romantic partner triggers your skipped step. There is a powerful draw, with an equally powerful frustration, or even repulsion. The details of your unresolved story can be found in the house positions of the skipped step planet and the North and South Nodes. Your skipped step partner is more than just a painful reminder of your past life failings; they are your key to evolving in this life. But as always, it’s up to you and your partner, if you want to work through the story together and start a new chapter. Or, you may decide to leave this one for the next life.

TV Astrology: Switched At Birth

So I'm a big fan of Switched At Birth, which is rather ridiculously good for a family show. People are sympathetic and mostly sensible and you feel for everybody and it's awesome. I highly recommend it (go look on Hulu, the pilot's online).

Anyway, the recent episode "The Persistence of Memory" was just plain excellent. AND it also featured one of the switched-at-birth characters finding her birth certificate. Of course, Daphne's real birth certificate is actually for Bay, so... it's Bay's birth time and information. The show has stated the two girls have the same birthday, so I'm interested in looking at their birthday. Alas, Daphne's actual birth time hasn't been mentioned yet, so I'll have to guess.

For those who haven't seen the show: Bay Kennish is a brunette teenage artist type. She's tempestuous, dabbles in getting into trouble, and seems to move quickly when it comes to men. She's the one that got raised in a wealthy family but originally came from a poorer one. She's the one whose birth time we'll be looking at. Her birthday twin, Daphne, is the strawberry blonde athletic type. She's generally sweet and more of a people pleaser than Bay, a wee bit of a showoff herself at times, and has been deaf since the age of 3. She was the one born to the rich people, but got raised by a poorer mom.

I totally guessed that Bay must be a Leo rising, and by god, she is! The drama is very obvious with her. (Plus she loves Frida Kahlo. Both she and her biological mom Regina are really into bright colors.) I'd guess Daphne is probably born around 6 a.m., making her a TRIPLE Libra. Both of them are at least double Libras (sun and moon), but Daphne is clearly the one more interested in making sure everyone gets along.

Both of them have a lot of planets in Libra, with a Libra Moon/Chiron conjunction. That says "mommy issues and pain" like nothing else, which totally fits with the swappage. They both have Sun conjunct their Libra North Nodes, which I think bodes well for them learning Libra issues of partnership and cooperation. Certainly both of them pick up love interests left and right and are very attractive girls! Passionate too with Venus in Scorpio. They also have a Mars/Pluto conjunction, which I find kind of nervewracking. That does tend to bring on... well, physical accidents, maybe being a bit of an anger/violence magnet. That hasn't played out yet on the show, but it's a TV show and you never know when a show might resort to something crazy. I think it bodes a bit better for Daphne (rather than the uninterested Bay) that she is into sports, so she's got an outlet for physicality. (Bay, on the other hand, does graffiti and fake ID's.) They both have Mars in Sagittarius, which in my experience tends to mean that they're both going to be SUPER interested in travel. They both have Jupiter in Sagittarius, which should be pretty lucky. They also have a Neptune/Uranus conjunction. Saturn is in Pisces.

Looking at the placement of the houses in Bay's chart for certain, most of them are below the horizon. Nothing in the first or second houses, but the Libra stellium is in her third house of communication and siblings. I find this funny considering that she biologically has no siblings, but by adoption she has a brother and Daphne is probably more or less an honorary sibling. The Moon/Pluto conjunction lands in her fourth house-- trouble in the family, indeed. Jupiter is in her fifth house, so she has luck with creativity. The Neptune-Uranus conjunction is in her sixth house, so I'd imagine that could be ... interesting... in her work life. The planet of dreaminess and imagination combined with unusual events should mean she has an interesting art career, even if I doubt she'd get massively famous for it what with most of her planets not as on display as her Leo rising. Saturn is in her eighth house of other people's money. Maybe that's an indicator that the money she grew up with wasn't hers, after all.


I'm going to do an imaginary house placement for Daphne with a Libra rising to see how that plays out. It'd give her the stellium of planets in her twelfth and first house, so she is more publicly prominent than Bay despite Bay's Leo rising. (Indeed, her deafness may make her more noticeable in public.) Venus and the Mars/Pluto conjunction fall into her second house. Maybe the Venus in second means that she'll get money via love-- or that she was the one destined to be a rich girl. Except for the Mars/Pluto kaboom. Jupiter falls into her third house = luck with communication and siblings. Hm. Communication is an issue with her, being deaf and all, but for the most part she seems very skilled at all of the methods she uses to do it. The Neptune-Uranus conjunction would fall in her fourth house, and Saturn would fall into her sixth. I'd imagine Daphne will have a harder time getting a job. As for dreamy + unusual, maybe that describes the home life she grew up in, or the unexpected windfall of turning out to be from rich people?

Anyway, this may all be a lot of bull, but it's kind of fun to think about.

So, I think my mom just found a new boyfriend.

...Yeah.

That's ... weird.

On the one hand, I'm happy for her. God knows she could use a real boyfriend that she actually like, has feelings for (clearly this was never the case with my dad. Poor dad.). And is an actual boyfriend rather than the psuedo-one she's kind of had for the last few years. As long as he's not a jerk, I am totally cool with having a new stepfather. Though having stepsibs would be... interesting when I never had any of the original sort. Hope they're not jerks! 

On the other hand...dude lives in Arizona and we're in NorCal. And he definitely would not be the one who moves in this scenario.

So, yeah. On the one hand I think, "if I move down south, she'll only be 6 hours by car or 45 minutes by plane, that's a lot easier visiting than trying to go back up." On the other hand, I think, if I don't end up moving, my mommy will be very far away and what am I going to do....OH SHIT....

So, yeah.

There's also the ol' feeling of "Yeah, my mom'll get married for the second time long before I even have a shot at marrying for the first," but that's no surprise. My cousins in elementary school will probably get married before I do :P

Anyway, of course I want to check the astrology. And at first I'm thinking, "huh, dude has no Pisces or Virgo", which my dad and the guy Mom's been palling around with for years have and she seems to really like since that's her asc/desc axis, "how's that going to..."

Then I went to the karmic astrology. Mom and I have reversed nodes, and this guy has Mars/Neptune on her south node (my north node). She has Venus on her north, so that's some Venus/Mars there. Their composite chart looks like a giant ugh (tons of squares), but if there's karmic bindings... and she's got Saturn loosely square his nodes.

Hoo boy.

Well, I guess we'll all get along...

She asked me if there was anything going on transitwise for her right now, and tons of planets are going through her seventh house. So there you go.

Vertex vs. nodes

"Vertex contacts, no matter what end of the axis they hit, assist the process of that divinity directly. This is why Vertex contacts often seem to come ‘out of the blue,’ with no hint, no trace, no preparation. It’s because Vertex contacts aren’t part of a process. We can’t figure out the ‘why’ of a Vertex contact, it just is–and usually the sense of ‘fate’ comes from the fact that something or someone is provided just at the point it is most needed; whether or not we ever knew that we needed it before. In an odd way, the Vertex acts as a secret and sacred ‘helping hand.’ It’s almost Uranian in the way it operates: we might suspect something on the way if a big transit to the Vertex is due, but we have a hard time guessing how it might manifest. And honestly, if we can guess, it usually means that what we guessed is precisely what won’t happen. We might be anticipating a lover, but Vertex contacts are just as likely to manifest as an offer, a friendship, or a turn of mind that takes us down a road we would never have anticipated. We might not even notice the impact until the transit or progression is long past. One of my most profound Vertex transits happened on the day I was offered a new job–the loss of which, a short time later, enabled me to establish myself as a full time astrologer. Without that job (and the loss of it), I wouldn’t be here.

Conjunctions to either end of the axis are the most profoundly felt. Vertex contacts help to reveal our divine fate, but conjunctions to the anti-Vertex are no less profound. The anti-Vertex allows us to process our divinity through the vehicle of ‘other’–when other’s planets fall on our anti-Vertex, we reveal ourselves through the ‘not I.’ Often, anti-Vertex contacts involve commitment and sacrifice beyond the call of duty, and we usually don’t mind fulfilling those commitments because we feel the divine pulse of our own spirit gradually unveiling in our actions. The point of all Vertex contacts is to reveal ourselves from a perspective that is higher and deeper than ordinary conscious awareness. In a way, the Vertex is beyond the Nodes, which are all about the development of consciousness. The Vertex unveils the “Watcher,” in us. The one who knows. The one who is beyond the conscious Self.

Squares from one chart to another’s Vertex axis will stimulate this ‘Self beyond self.’ The Vertex is not an energy that we wrestle with or try to develop, or struggle to integrate. It just is."

Woody Allen's relationship issues

Great discussion about squares to the nodes here.

The most overused synastry aspects

Good points.

Cinderella and the nodes

I find myself liking this piece more and more.

"Three times Cinderella leaves her South Node home for her North Node dance and then goes home again. "Three" is a magic number which, loosely translated into psychological terms, means "doing something long enough to finally get it." But it isn't Cinderella who "gets it." It's the prince. If the prince hadn't gone looking for Cinderella, she might still be cooking, washing dishes, and sleeping in the ashes. But by the third dance, the prince has wised up. Figuring that Cinderella will again run away, he lines the staircase with a sticky substance. That night she flees, but her glass slipper sticks to the staircase. Now all the prince needs to do is find the foot that fits it.

When you're having trouble achieving your North Node, you need to rouse your inner Prince, and you need to leave behind a shoe. The prince is the son of wealthy king and he's certain that Cinderella is the one he wants to marry. He's the part of us that's focused, determined, has powerful resources, and believes in our creative gifts. His desire to marry is a desire to become whole, in a sacred marriage of active and receptive qualities. He sees us, not through the eyes of our limitations, but the way our fairy godmother would have us look, as the radiant vision of potential fulfilled. But he needs a shoe."

Obsession in relationships, part 2

Related to here:

Blame it on Pluto. 

"Pluto connects us to people whom we have known in many ways in many lives. Past-life ties are confusing if they open you to hunger that cannot be met by the person in this life. It is as if your subconscious memory of who this person was for you in a previous life awakens the hunger for what the relationship offered you in the past. It is doomed to fail because that past relationship is dead, and you will not be able to mold your current relationship to fill this hunger."

Ouch.

Obsession in relationships

This may be the best post on such I have ever seen.

I unabashedly advise my clients to focus more attention on the object of their obsession, not less. Some might think that’s mentally unsound, but let me explain my reasoning.

In my observation over the years, there’s always a reason for an obsession. It may not be obvious, and often it’s not what the obsession seems to be about. But usually there is a compelling reason. To my way of thinking, it’s mentally unhealthy to stay stuck in the obsession, but you won’t get unstuck by ignoring it. The very fact that it’s knocking you so hard over the head and heart means that you have an issue that needs to be resolved. The only way to resolve it is to confront it head on.

Wow. Good point.

If there are no difficult Pluto aspects, then I start looking for other indicators. Neptune aspects sometimes tell me that the client isn’t seeing the reality of the situation. For example, he or she may wish to be in a relationship with someone who isn’t interested or available. If this is the case, I ask what that person represents to the client. Unfortunately, this puts me in a tough position, because I have to deliver the bad news that the desired lover is in all probability not The One, and that’s not what they want to hear.

Occasionally, I see very close karmic connections between the client and the person he or she is obsessing about. In many ways, these cases are even more challenging than the aforementioned situation, because there are complications. After all, if two people destined to fall in love meet, date, and marry, they usually don’t need me! The only time I’m called in is when one person is either unaware of the connection or is aware but in a committed relationship already.

Oooh.