Astrology: Saturn and Mars opposition


Saturn and Mars aspect one another mutually from 2nd May. Both Saturn and Mars are natural malefic planets and cannot help each other with this 7th opposition aspect. Taurus and Scorpio are both fixed signs – so the results from these signs and aspects are said to be inescapable. We look to the opposition of Saturn and Mars and to what the effect is within the human, and the external effects on our planet.


 

Two planets said to be implacable enemies, Mars and Saturn, oppose each other every two years as they transit the various signs of the zodiac. Some say Mars tolerates Saturn, and Saturn is venomous towards Mars. Some say both have antipathy, each towards the other. Nonetheless, the planets have specific gravitational mass, and when they oppose one another with the Sun in the middle, the Sun weather watchers point out that this planetary opposition actually causes sun-weather related events on Earth.

Mars owns the signs Aries and Scorpio. Saturn owns the signs Capricorn and Aquarius. Currently, Mars is transiting Taurus and directly aspects Saturn in Scorpio, 100% – a less frequent event which happens only about every 28-30 years. Some astrologers predict dire events, disasters and doom. In times past, when this opposition of Saturn and Mars in Scorpio and Taurus occurred ~ every 28-30 years, we have seen big earthquakes and major accidents occurring in the days leading up to the opposition. While this is true, we need to look to the purpose the planets play in our lives, the role of the magnetic energies they dispose and and the karma they help unfold.

Mars comes with force; grounded force which is inescapable. Son of Mother Earth, Mars is a warrior ever protecting the Earth from unseemly forces and action. In the sign of Taurus, fixed sign and Earth nature, Mars stands ground, implacable and with strong energy: the grounded masculine who has fire within the belly. Where Mars directs energy, to the fourth, seventh and eighth signs from its placement, there will be pitta energy (fire energy) emergent. In Vedanta, water contains a fire element, and so Saturn, currently residing in a water sign – Scorpio – is not exempt the sight or aspect of Mars. This means those who have a Scorpio moon, Sun or Ascendant will experience inner eruptions – usually unpalatable, frustration and similar tensions within. This is Saturn, grounded in experience and delay and full control of destiny, resists the push, drive and vigour of Mars. Hence, serious inner conflict, emotionally or physically.

Saturn, on the other hand, is inherently more powerful than Mars in a less vigorous fashion. Saturn is of air nature (vata) and rules longevity; in Scorpio, the sign of hidden – sometimes occult matters – Saturn slowly ferreting matters out and bringing them to confrontation. Matters which rarely see the light of day are exposed for all to see. Attitudes, behaviours and feelings about seldom considered matters – perhaps pushed into the darkness of the depths – this or other lifetimes are brought to our attention. Scorpio is the repository of the shadow side of the human psyche and Saturn – dispositor of experience – forces us even more strongly than Mars – to look at ourselves and and integrate the unloved parts of our lives. Anything that is not integrated is going to be exposed to the antipathy betwixt Saturn and Mars.

Integration brings peace. If we have this inner peace, then nothing in the outer world can disturb the equanimity within. The planets may raise us up, they may pull us down. It all depends on how we utilise the energies of the planets within. Planets have a subtle conversation within the human, as they are specific magnetic forces within which unfold the soul contract we have chosen to take up and embody. Hence, we may take the opposition of these two planets in a constructive manner as we seek the goal of life. As Lord Krishna says, “the field of right conduct – the arena where righteousness occurs – is the field, the place of the human body. Humans are chitta, consciousness, conscious awareness, sarira, the body with shape and form, and have intellect, which is nearest the soul and derives more than 80% of its illumination from the Soul itself. Hence, we have all the necessary instruments of action within ourselves to achieve peace within, and integration. Integration brings peace.