Saturn Season Astrology

A stylized illustration of a planet with rings, resembling a cat's face with ears.

Author: Ellie

  • The Roots of the Chart (The Fourth House)

    Ahhhh, the 4th House! Another of my favorite house’s of the chart to dive into. You can learn a lot about the psyche of a person by dissecting the 4th House in their Natal Chart, and not superficial stuff, either. This house is typically assigned the keywords and phrases such as “The Home” (both early home life and now) ,” “The Mother” (or the Father, depending on the astrologer), “One’s Roots,” “The Family,” and “Private Life” (especially private since the Imum Coeli/I.C., typically the 4th House Cusp, is the most private place in the entire chart). I find this house to be all of those things, but especially what exactly home is to the native; the concept of home in general and how it can be different things for different people. (Things such as the 4th House ruler, planets in the 4th House, aspects made to the House, etc gives a better idea of how to answer that question). We are so conditioned to believe in home the same exact way; what to want, what to “need,” but these conditioned wants and needs aren’t necessarily what the individual truly needs, wants, or feels comfortable living in. Most of these concepts that we as people have of the idea of what home actually is stem from our early home life.
    Depending on what sign rules as guardian of your 4th House will color how exactly you express the energy of the house. Someone who has the 4th House in Aquarius possibly grew up in an ever changing environment in some way, such as moving a lot, or maybe there was a lot of shifting and changing within the family. All this changeability that they live with (and even seek out in some way) may seem crazy to other people (and maybe even to themselves), but it is usually what they know and feel most comfortable with. These individuals need a lot of freedom to come and go as they please, and they probably aren’t the kind that jump into long term living situations with others quickly or easily by choice. This is in stark contrast to those who have the 4th House in Cancer, which causes the native to want their home life to be a place of rest; these people want to put down roots and settle down (they aren’t looking to come and go.) Changes within the home environment and the family structure make these individuals nervous. They like things to remain consistent and stay pretty much the same (it could indicate the native living close to family/close to where they grew up).
    Of course, any planets that live here matter a ton (especially any planets that conjunct the I.C., but more on that a bit later). Having Jupiter in the 4th House is actually a nice placement overall. It can indicate a happy childhood home/a childhood that you enjoyed, and you generally associate the concepts of home and family with happiness. You may or may not have moved around when you were young, but as you get older you wouldn’t mind the adventure of moving around to new places and may very well seek out being able to do so. You will probably have strong values, morals and ethics that were instilled in you by your family that you hold close. Someone who has Saturn in the 4th may not have the same kind of fond and happy memories of their early home life (this is actually a difficult place for Saturn to live). These people’s childhoods tend to be a little rougher and more difficult. There is something strict and restrictive about this placement; these people don’t have the easiest time outwardly showing their love for their family members in the typical ways. Regardless, these people do have a profound sense of responsibility to their families (both those they are born into and the one they create for themselves), even in situations where they shouldn’t. **I would like to make note here that in these examples I’m throwing out generalizations here. Of course things like your 4th House ruler, different aspects made to planets in the 4th House, etc. will matter immensely with the “what” and the “how” that this energy is expressed.**
    The private aspect to this house is so important, and this is where the I.C. comes into play; the most private and personal part of the natal chart. The way I like to think of the I.C. is to think of the roots of a plant (the core of yourself in this lifetime), which then moves outward and upward along the chart, finally ending at the Midheaven at the top of the chart. Having any planets in the 4th House are important in dealing with our concepts of what home actually is to us and who we really are deep down, but planets conjunct the I.C. seem to intensify this 10 fold. Having Mercury conjunct the I.C. could have allowed you to have grown up immersing yourself in knowledge (or wanting too). These people are probably curious about their roots and their ancestors, and depending on other factors in their charts, definitely have the mental ability and clarity to get to the very bottom of their own psyche. Everyone likes to learn about themselves, but I imagine these people really digging into their own pasts and their family heritage. These people probably have an easier time than some in communicating (in some way) the more private sides of themselves. The people that have Neptune conjunct the I.C. probably have a different sort of experience with the most private side of themselves. There is probably something foggy or unclear about their family in general, despite them searching for answers to the questions they seek about their families (and these questions tend to be of a more spiritual and mystical nature). This placement can also indicate things like secrets and lies within the early home environment, which can cause the native to retreat even further into themselves. While usually very creative and empathetic, there is something putting a haze over their most private self/the core of their being.
    Another interesting topic dealing with this house is the concept of the “mother,” for many believe that this house and the planets that live there (if any) help to describe your own mother and the way that you perceive her to be. It can show the type of relationship that you have with her, along with the type of relationship (and type of mother) that you actually need. Having Pluto fall in the 4th House may cause you to see your own mother as sort of domineering or formidable person, or you could see her as the definition of what metamorphosis is (and this would also depend on other aspects made to this house and the planets that fall there). It could indicate that the mother is still domineering, even into adulthood. It could even indicate that the native maybe needed a more domineering parent in their childhood/adolescence for some reason. The aspects, degrees, etc made to the planets here can indicate which of the ways that your mother is shown here in the 4th House, but shown here she will be; she always is somehow. There is also a generational karmic bent to this topic as well, for they say that planets that find themselves in this house, along with the House ruler and aspects made to the House, can show a sort of generational inheritance (both good and bad) stemming from the family, but especially ones own mother. This doesn’t mean that you will both have the same planets in the 4th House (you could!) but more the things that she passed down to you karmically will find themselves here. For instance, one who has Venus in their 4th House may have inherited this “benefic” planet here in this House due to good Karma that their mother accrued herself, but usually due to karma passed down through several generations.
    Do you have any planets in the 4th House? Which sign is the guardian of your 4th House? Do you feel that planets in your 4th house may be a generational inheritance? Let’s discuss!

  • Behind the Veil (The Twelfth House)

    When I get asked about the 12th House in the natal chart (such as what it means when such and such planet finds itself paying rent there), there is usually a sort of fear behind the question. Behind the question usually lurk a sense of “oh my gahhh, I have Venus in the 12th house, I just know it’s bad.” Many of the different keywords assigned to this house can seem nasty at first glance, so people tend to naturally think having (whatever) planet in the 12th house is automatically to their detriment. Though planets found in the 12th house of one’s natal chart aren’t necessarily easy, they certainly aren’t unilaterally negative and their placement in the 12th house has a purpose (usually to grow and evolve one in a spiritual way/on a soul level).

    Of the houses in the natal chart, the 12th house is one of my favorites to explore (along with the 4th house, but I’ll get around to that one later). This house is typically given keywords like “karma,””empathy and compassion,” “escape,” “the womb/mother’s labor experience,” “the unconscious,” “spirituality”, “prisons/imprisonment,” “hidden enemies,” “serve or suffer,” and the ever fear inducing “the house of self-undoing.” Unfortunately, in my experience people tend to focus far too much on the negative keywords and not enough on the positive ones. This house has a magical sort of quality to it, especially in terms of all the spirituality and compassion that can be found dwelling here (and even more so once the native has begun evolving beyond the more difficult traits of this house).

    All the planets that live in this house live under a sort of fog, a veil, in the unconscious. None of the planets and their planetary energies are easily accessible here in an overt and conscious way, and this is where I believe the keywords “hidden enemies” and “prisons/imprisonment” come into play. Of course, both of those keywords could be taken literally, but I’ve never really read them that way (unless there were other clear aspects in the chart to indicate some type of imprisonment of the person/some kind of enemy hidden in the shadows). Let’s say that you have your Moon in the 12th House. That’s a tough place for the Moon to take up residence. Since the Moon rules our emotions, having your Moon under the fog of this house may make someone not understand their own feelings and emotions about things as easily. They know they have these certain feelings, can sense them on an unconscious/unseen level, but can’t consciously (easily) figure out clearly why they feel the way do. This would, I imagine, cause the person to feel imprisoned by their own emotions, by their Moon. Almost as if the 12th House is holding that planetary energy hostage, not letting it leave it’s grasp. The same sort of thing could be said about “hidden enemies.” The planet and planetary energy that is in this house could explode in more destructive ways, thus turning that person’s own planetary placement against the native, becoming an enemy of the chart holder. Again, for example, the Moon in the 12th may cause someone to have emotional outbursts at inappropriate times, in inappropriate ways, directed at the “wrong” person, and for the “wrong” reasons (how this would manifest would really also depend on the aspects made to the planet, what sign the planet was in, etc).

    The 12th House is thought to be associated with the karma that we bring with us from past life, as well as karma that we may incur during this lifetime. Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about THIS particular thing. Can the 12th House be karmic? Absolutely. Do I ALWAYS take the karmic approach when reading this house? No. If I were to go the karmic route with this house after taking the whole chart into consideration, here is how I would carry on with that train of thought: The notion of karma can be both good and bad (we need to keep this in mind first and foremost). The aspects the planet(s) in the 12th House make with different planetary bodies in the chart are an indicator of how the karma functions. Since planets and their energy/traits that fall in the 12th House aren’t as easily accessible to the native and are covered by a sort of fog, there is a theory that planets that that reside here in a natal chart do so for karmic purposes. For example, let’s say you have Mars in the 12th House. In a past life maybe you misused your drive, ambition, and aggression towards the more negative side of the spectrum. In this life, maybe you decided (or it was decided for you) that your Mars would fall here as a way of making this energy less accessible to you, thus making it harder to misuse it in this lifetime. Since Mars here lives under the fog that covers this house, it could incline one to have a difficult time overtly expressing those Martian energies like drive, ambition, aggression, and even anger. This would sort of balance out the karma accrued from the abuse of those energies in a past life (or past lifetimes).

    Another interesting notion about the 12th House is the idea that the planets that find themselves here in the natal chart can represent what the native’s own mother’s pregnancy with them was like. For example, Neptune in the 12th can indicate that the chart holder’s mother’s pregnancy was also kind of under a fog of sorts/possibly something unclear here about her feelings at the time (and it’s also possible that her life at that time was unclear). Maybe she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the entire situation of being pregnant, impending motherhood and the like. Maybe she had never planned to be a parent at all (but found herself becoming one)? Maybe there was something unclear and uncertain about her life situation at the time she was pregnant that put a haze over her pregnancy? The closer that planet (or planets) is to the Ascendant (I’d use a 10 degree orb or less here), the more likely that/those planet(s) are telling the story of the native’s birth/the native’s mother’s labor. Does the native have Saturn in the 12th House within a 10° orb of the Ascendant? This could indicate that their mother’s labor with them was long, and possibly difficult in someway. As an aside, Saturn here conjunct the Ascendant can indicate that the native themselves wasn’t ready to be reborn into this incarnation; their soul was resistant to come back and do the whole “living on earth thing” again.

    The keywords of “The House of Self-Undoing” and “Serve or Suffer” to describe the 12th House are my personal favorites to try and decipher. While the keywords certainly sound very doom and gloom, I tend not to see them as such. The 12th House is where one shed’s their ego; Ego doesn’t exist here. I actually tend to believe that it is the “self-undoing” (and the “serve or suffer”) keywords that tend to liberate ones from the fog of this house. One of the very best ways to work through the planetary energy in this house is by channeling that typical planetary energy into the 6th House. (I actually believe this to be true for any difficult planetary energy in any house, but specifically for the 6th/12th House Axis.) Since planetary energy in the 12th House is more hidden and one may not even really know what energy to channel into the 6th House, I would suggest learning/reading about said 12th House planet, but learn about it in the 6th House as well. For example, if you have Venus in the 12th House, you may have a harder time easily and naturally showing expressions of love to those around you; there may be some kind of blockage in being able to do so. The way to work through that might be to become actively aware of this, and become of some sort of service towards those you love and other people as well (generally in some way which you spread positivity, beauty, and love to those who need it most). By being of service to others (regardless of the planet in the 12th house), the native is able to work through the fog of those 12th House planets which helps them to see the planet and its energy in a more clear and open way. By working through this energy (these energies), you are essentially “un-doing” yourself. Undoing the natural way/programming that you unconsciously use to handle the energy of the planet(s) that live there, so that you can use this/these planet(s) in a conscious way. Sometimes we must all “un-do” ourselves to grow and evolve into something better, into a higher state of being.

    Want me to read for you? You can do that here 🙂 If you are more of a watcher than a reader, you can check out Saturn Season Astrology on YouTube.

  • Natal North Node at 0 degrees Aries

    Natal North Node at 0 degrees Aries

    Charts where the natal north node is at 0-degrees Aries…..these charts absolutely fascinate me. This is because when you have your north node at 0-degrees Aries, your draconic chart is exactly the same as your natal chart. Since the nodal axis deals with the soul (what the soul is comfortable & familiar per the south node and one of the soul missions in this lifetime per the north node), it would stand to reason that this type of situation would cause THIS lifetime to be very important to the native (along the course of ALL the lifetimes that the native experiences). What could this mean? Lets explore some ideas 🙂

    *Natal North Node at 0 degrees Aries*

    When a person has their natal north node at 0-degrees Aries, this causes ones draconic chart to look the same as their natal chart; all of the planets and aspects are conjunct when doing an overlay between the two charts. The closer that your natal north node is to 0-degrees Aries, the more similar the natal and draconic charts will appear. In the context of a this blog post I’m talking about people who have their natal north node either at 0-degrees Aries or conjunct the Aries Point within 5 degrees applying & separating. There are some theories that I have about what this can mean for the person who has this in their natal chart (and mind you, these are all just theories that feel like they might be right). When studying these types of charts together there isn’t a whole lot out there … so I figure I’d throw my ideas out there into the fray. 

    I have seen it mentioned various places that having your Natal North Node at the Aries Point could mean things like:
    -Since the Aries point is considered the beginning of a new cycle, it could mean this is your first incarnation in this realm, or that even though you’re soul is in this realm, you have somehow ascended to another level of consciousness in this lifetime (thus starting a new cycle, but not being a “new” soul).
    -People that have their north node at 0 degrees Aries are essentially getting a “do-over” life in this incarnation. Since some astrologers believe that the draconic chart is the natal chart of ONLY the native’s most recent past life, it would make sense to think that maybe both charts (the natal & draconic) are the same because something happened in their past life to where they weren’t able to complete their souls mission that time around, that something cut that lifetime short. Thus getting the opportunity in this life to be the same kind of person to try and rectify this and complete their soul’s mission from the previous lifetime.
    -The Aries Point holds a lot of power in general, and having ones north node here may incline the person to have a powerful sort of destiny that their soul wishes to act on and act out in this lifetime……if they choose to act on this destiny and desire, that is.
    *All of the above seem reasonable to me. However, my ideas are below*

    It seems that when one has this position in their natal chart, it causes the person to be exactly who and what they are on a soul level (the good and the bad and everything in between). There is no ‘natal-chart-of-this-lifetime-mask’ to be worn here; these people get the divine opportunity in this lifetime to be exactly as they really are. This makes a lot of sense (to me anyway), since I feel that the natal chart is the chart for a particular lifetime in human form, but the draconic chart is the chart for the soul across all time and space. There is a real vulnerability to this position that I have instinctively sensed, because like it or not… you are who you are. The people that I have known with this placement (and I’ve come into contact with several (myself included)) tend to be “what you see is what you get” kind of people, and this does appear to intensify the closer to exact their natal north node is to 0-degrees Aries. I also feel that for these people this particular life is of paramount importance in their soul’s evolution, and where this evolution is supposed to take place will depend on the house the natal north node finds itself in (and of course, any aspects made). If the north node is one of the soul’s main missions for this lifetime, and the draconic chart is the chart of a native’s soul across all lifetimes, then it would make sense to me that in this lifetime the person is supposed to really accomplish things that the person really wants (on a soul level). 

    -Something to take note of here: the nodal axis is retrograde more often than it is direct. If you use the mean node it will always average out retrograde. If you use the true node will bounce around between retrograde and direct (but it will be retrograde more often). Because of retrograde motion here, the END is 0-degrees Aries and the beginning is 29-degrees Pisces. This makes me think that there is definitely a beginning and end thing going on in this lifetime for these people (perhaps something both ending and starting up in this current incarnation). 

    Anyone else have the north node at 0-degrees Aries in their natal chart? Anyone else studied it? If you have anything to add or comment, I’d love to discuss! 🙂

  • Stuff about Draconic Charts in Astrology (Part Two)

    In the first posting about Draconic Charts, I went into what exactly they are and what they are thought to represent, along with my own personal beliefs about these charts. In this post, we’ll get into how one should approach reading a Draconic Chart and the lens in which they should probably be read. The Draconic Chart can either be read as it’s own entity, or can be read in conjunction with the Natal Chart. Really, I find the later is the more complete way to read these charts, but on their own they are also very interesting.

    Read in conjunction to the Natal Chart, you are looking at charts with two different types of energy and two different purposes. You can think of the Natal Chart as the outward manifestation energy and the Draconic Chart as the inward manifestation of energy. That’s not to say that the Natal Chart is only an outward manifestation of energy (clearly it isn’t when looked at on its own), but put up against the Draconic Chart the Natal Chart is infinitely more outward than the Draconic. Another way that I like to think of these charts is the Natal Chart is like the EGO and the Draconic Chart is one’s ID (like Freud’s theory of the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO). The Natal Chart is how one presents themselves in this lifetime, how they are in the here and now, the EGO of the charts. The Draconic Chart is primal like the ID, and instinctual. It is how we innately operate on a soul level, all the positive and negative that we truly are. There are astrologers that believe a newborn baby (or a small infant in babyhood) would closer identify with their Draconic Chart….if they were able to identify with charts. This is because the if the Draconic is considered the chart of the soul, then a newborn baby’s (or infant in babyhood’s) soul is so new here on earth that they still identify strongly with their soul-makeup rather than their makeup for this lifetime; they still identify solely with the ID, the EGO hasn’t taken hold yet.

    From my understanding, you read the aspects, planets, houses, angles, degrees, etc. the same way that you read a Natal Chart, you just read them through a different lens. This lens needs to be directed inward, deep and probing, and most of all, intuitive.
    *For example, the I.C. in the Natal Chart represents your roots, your early home life, and the home that you want to create for yourself. I also like to think of the I.C. as asking the question “what/where is home to you?” Maybe home to you is in the same sort of situation you found yourself growing up? Maybe it’s something completely opposite, or even something avant-garde? The concept and question of home is asked by the I.C., regardless of what the answer is. Now, in the Natal Chart the concept of home is seen through the lens of this lifetime, whereas in the Draconic Chart the concept of home goes much deeper, beyond just this lifetime. It asks the question of “what/where is home to you?,” but it is asked on a soul level. What you are set up to need in this lifetime may not paint the full picture of what your soul really needs. The I.C. of the Natal Chart and I.C. of the Draconic Chart may even feel like they are conflicting somehow, like they are wanting two very different things. When this occurs, it’s my theory that the native set themselves up for this sort of unconscious struggle about what they want and need in the present life v. what they really need on a soul level. Just to be clear, this conflicting present lifetime need v. soul need can occur with anything between Natal Chart and the Draconic Chart, not just with the I.C.
    *For another example, say someone has Venus at 17 degrees in Libra in the 7th House in their natal chart. This probably makes them someone that is all about relationships and partnerships, wanting to bring peace and balance to them. If Mars is at 17 degrees in Capricorn in the 7th House in the Draconic Chart, this makes Mars and Venus conjunct between the charts. This can cause that Natal Venus in Libra person to maybe, on a soul level, be a little more aggressive, authoritative, strategic, and assertive than they even realize when dealing with their relationships, what they project onto other people and other 7th house matters. This underlying urge can pop up from time to time (or may always be present under the surface). These two planetary energies are merging (by way of being conjunct), but they don’t always jive well together within the same person. This could be another example of conflicting needs between the soul level and this lifetime. The person needs to figure out a way to bring these two energies together and have them operating in-sync rather than one competing for attention (which can easily happen with conjunctions).

    An important point to bring up in talking about these charts being analyzed against one another are the aspects created between the two, specifically the conjunction and opposition aspects. There is something very karmic about these aspects naturally regardless of what chart you are looking at, with the conjunction blending together two energies and the opposition pulling two energies in completely different directions. Since these aspects can be karmic in nature, it only makes sense that they would take precedence in the very karmic Draconic Chart. When looking at the aspects between both of these charts, I would advise keeping your orbs much tighter than usual, probably not more than 3 or 4 degrees. Some astrologers like to go even tighter than that (in the 1 to 2 degree orb range). Usually I will try to keep them tighter than 4 degrees, but it really depends on the what planetary body, angle, etc. is being analyzed and the overall feel of the two charts read in tandem.

    If you would like for me to read for you, get a reading with me! If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, you can find videos on draconic charts in astrology on my YouTube channel 🙂

    Links to other posts in this series:
    Draconic Charts Part 1
    Draconic Charts Part 3

  • Draconic Charts

    I’m going to be starting this blog off with a bang, talking about a subject within Astrology that I absolutely love. 🙂

    Draconic Charts….they are absolutely fascinating. The idea behind them is that one’s Natal Chart is the native’s chart of this lifetime (obviously), but the Draconic Chart is the chart of the native’s actual soul, and it’s incredibly karmic. There actually seems to be some debate here as to if the Draconic Chart is the native’s chart of their most recent past life, of any single previous past life, or if it shows the chart of the native’s soul over multiple life times and the souls true nature in its purest form.  I tend to believe the last one…..something about that explanation just feels right. Using that as my definition of what a Draconic Chart is, lets begin.

    First off, these charts date back to Ancient Babylonia (so they would fall under the umbrella of “old as fuck” astrology). There was a long swath of history where they were not commonly used, but are now seeing an increase in popular usage (as they should, they are incredibly useful). Draconic, in Latin, translates loosely to something being Dragon-like. This something that is Dragon-Like are the Nodes of the Moon in the Draconic Chart (and the Nodes in the Natal Chart). The North Node is said to be the head of the dragon and the South Node is said to be the tail of the dragon.  In these charts, the 0 degree Aries point is paramount, because this Chart is based on the place where the Moon crosses the elliptic from North to South, thus making the 0 degree Aries point the traditional North Node position for these charts. The Aries point is said to symbolize a point of taking action and new beginnings.

    In someone’s own Draconic Chart, the placement of their own Natal North Node aligns with and becomes that 0 degrees Aries Point. For example, if  your Natal North Node is at 20 degrees Taurus, this placement in the Draconic Chart becomes 0 degrees Aries and everything will shift over some. The aspects in your Draconic Chart remain the same as in your natal chart, but the houses will be ruled by different signs due to the shifting and the degrees of the planets and the signs they are ruled by may change. This could cause someone who Nataly has their Moon in Virgo to have their Moon in Cancer in their Draconic Chart. The closer your Natal North Node is to 0 degree Aries, the less your Draconic chart will shift. The further your Natal North Node is from 0 degree Aries, the more your chart will shift. It is because of this shifting that some people may happen to identify with their Draconic Charts more than their Natal Chart. Some people don’t feel that their Natal Chart is “them,” and it tends to be those people that heavily identify with their Draconic Chart…..it just tends to feel more like them somehow. Maybe your Sun is in Libra in your Natal Chart, but that has never felt quite right. However, when you look at your Draconic Chart you find your Sun falls in Pisces and that just feels more like you. (The opposite could also be true, that the Draconic Chart doesn’t feel like you at all, you feel completely in tune with your Natal Chart). And what could that mean?

    Since I believe that the Draconic Chart is the chart of the Soul over all lifetimes, of the soul’s true nature, then (just spit balling here, feel free to disagree) I might assume that those who identify somewhat or strongly with their Draconic Charts possibly are more in-tune (at least somewhat consciously or unconsciously), or more aware of their soul’s true nature, whatever that true nature actually is. Possibly then, those that don’t identify with their Draconic Charts at all maybe aren’t as in-tune or aware with/of the true nature of their souls. This isn’t a bad thing (so please don’t take it that way). Maybe in this life, for some reason, the person wasn’t supposed to identify with their soul’s true nature. Maybe they were supposed to be solely focused on this life (thus possibly identifying strongly with their Natal Chart), and not aware of their souls true desires, where they have come from and what they have been through across time and space. Maybe this is implemented to shield or protect the person in some way, for some reason.

    This post is getting longish already, so I will proceed on to my next points about Draconic Charts in another post. Such as how to possibly interpret them and what it could possibly mean when your Draconic Chart and your Natal Chart look the same…..which happens when someone’s Natal North Node is at 0 degrees Aries.

    *As an aside, there is some debate on which to use for calculation purposes; some astrologers swear by the MEAN North Node, and some swear by the TRUE North Node. Personally, I use the TRUE North Node, but to each its own :)*

    Links to other posts in this series:
    Draconic Charts Part 2
    Draconic Charts Part 3