SATURN INTO FIERY LEO: 2005 – 2007
all that glistens is not gold...

Every two and a half years, the underlying karmic structure of our lives is changed by the transit of Saturn, Lord of Karma, into a new sign of the zodiac. Richard Giles, astrologer and Feng Shui expert, gives us the good oil on the transit of Saturn through Leo over the next two and a half years.

On July 16th 2005, Saturn, which rules earthy Capricorn, leaves its opposite sign, Cancer, and moves into the Fire sign of Leo. During the previous period of Saturn in Cancer (mid 2003 - mid 2005), many world leaders have tried to play a parental role to their people. Governments have thought that they know what's best and many pieces of repressive legislation have been passed. The new laws were designed to "protect" us, but in this new phase, we the people are going to feel as if there is just too much restriction on us with Saturn having moved into such a strong and fixed Fire sign. These two years ahead will be very challenging for those in authority.

Today there's an atmosphere of fear – fear of terrorism, fear of refugees, fear of the USA, fear of Arabs, fear of anyone outside the normal boundaries. Only through the care of their leaders, could people be "protected" and made safe. Anybody who opposed them was seen as a danger to that frail stability that their leaders maintained. To vote them out meant that you were risking a great and nameless danger.

With Saturn's shift in 2005, roles will start to reverse and people may begin to see and treat their leaders like children. Leo rules children, who are the creative issue of their parents (the leaders). With this role reversal, so will the previous balance of security of those in positions of leadership, and many will be severely criticised and challenged.

Leos Like Authority

Leos tend to be bossy and like having their own way as much as Saturn likes authority. This can signal clashes as those in authority try to squelch the natural exuberance of people who are exerting their good nature or their native creativity. Saturn is the planet of control and structures, as well as wisdom and maturity. Demands for personal freedoms, restructuring of old political systems and the right to be one's own self, will increase. In particular, government and corporate practices will be under profound scrutiny. Check to see where Leo is positioned in your chart, and see who in authority you might tangle with over the next couple of years.

Saturn is the principle of good governance and Leo represents the potential for creative leadership. When healthily integrated, we get the combination of constructive leadership in government and management. When the head of a business is creative, and willing to exercise a new form of leadership based on principles of respect for one another's talents, then you have the ingredients of a well-run enterprise. Its thus possible to have a nation that is united behind its leaders (though it does seem very hard at this moment with so much political cynicism about), because those leaders are seen as respectful of all they serve and lead. A key for success with Saturn in Leo is to lead with respect, establishing an atmosphere that encourages creative self-expression.

Saturn transiting Leo is also likely to be a sign for war, or a sudden escalation of current wars, because of a bellicose side of Leo. There is a high chance of an Israeli-American air strike on Iran's nuclear power centres and missile defences any time after July to October of 2005 or later after the mid-term US elections in late 2006 to 2007. North Korea's nuclear facilities possibly may come under attack also in 2006.

The last passage of Saturn through Leo from September 1975 to November 1977, and January to July 1978, gives us a feel for what may happen now. During 1975-1978 in Australia the Whitlam government was dismissed; in the US the Watergate conspirators were jailed for their parts in that conspiracy; the South Vietnamese government collapsed and the US army fled Saigon; assassination attempts were made on President Ford in the US; the Seychelles declared its independence from Britain; East Timor was taken over by the Indonesians; President Carter granted an amnesty to all draft evaders in the US; Iran was in turmoil as the Ayatollah Khomeini appealed for people to topple the Shah of Iran; the English pound and the Italian Lira fell to an all time low while the Australian dollar devalued a record 17 percent; the structure (Saturn) of the Sun's (Leo) magnetic field was first mapped by a US Pioneer spacecraft; Mao Zse-Tung, leader of the Chinese revolution died in 1976; the Panama Canal was returned from the US to Panama; King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by a nephew; the US and China established full diplomatic relations for the first time and Lebanon began to fall apart as fierce fighting erupted between Muslims and Christians.

Gold and Children

The entertainment industry is ruled strongly by Leo, as is the precious metal gold and the value of currency, the physical organ of the heart and children. The entertainment industry is likely to suffer greatly from declining (Saturn) revenues, and new pieces of legislation protecting children will be passed in many countries. The rights of the child will become extremely important and the legislation to protect children from abuse and violence will be enacted in many countries. Research into heart disease and programmes to help people in exercise routines for the heart may falter from funding setbacks due to budget cuts.

The price of gold will probably begin to decline steadily, and many currencies could crash, or be seriously devalued in nations around the world. Leo is the sign of Heads of State, so it is also likely that several kings, prime ministers and presidents will die in office, be assassinated or have to step down due to the exposure of corruption and scandals during this coming cycle.

Of special interest is the Pluto in Leo pivotal generation born late 1938 until 1958 who are now aged between 47 and 67. Numbers of them are in positions of power and influence in all fields of human endeavour, business, politics, science, the arts and administration. Many members of this generation will go through very big personal shifts in relation to their personal power and life purpose. Structures may crash around them to reveal new ways of being alive, with a new lease of life and that Leo creativity abounding. Much will depend on their personal charts of course.

Those people living ostentatiously (Leo) and beyond their means with huge credit card debt and too big a mortgage, will mostly likely have to come down to reality (Saturn). You can expect to see an increase in personal bankruptcies and mortgage defaults. Plus it's likely the property market will suffer a severe setback over these two years.

As Saturn moves through the zodiac sign of Leo there are a few key dates to look at as pivotal moments in time for Saturn to manifest its power very clearly.

Important dates are:

• Saturn turns
  • retrograde on 22nd Nov. 2005,
  • direct again on 5th April 2006,
  • retrograde on 6th December 2006
  • and direct on 19th April 2007
  • before moving into Virgo in September 2007.
  Saturn retrograde will be a time for taking inner stock of ourselves and for making sure we know by personal investigation what our limits are. It's a good time to slow down with worldly plans and to put time into better planning for the future. Political systems that don't work will be sorely tested and found wanting by their people.
  
• Mars squares Saturn three times on 31st July 2005, 19th Nov. and 28th December 2005. Mars moves into earth sign Taurus in July 2005 and remains there until February 2006. It retrogrades (backwards motion) from October through to mid December 2005. When Saturn and Mars square from fire to earth signs we can expect clashes over needs around the issues of money, value systems and the Earth. With Taurus representing our appreciation of the Earth and its fertility and life systems then the square between the two may trigger large differences about how to care for the planet and its resources. New directions in Earthcare policies may come from this clash.
  
• Jupiter squares Saturn on 17th Dec 2005, 22nd June and 25th Oct. 2006 (from the signs Scorpio to Leo). One of the more significant times in the past that this square was in operation was in 1986. The last big Jupiter/Saturn square signalled the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl and the nuclear fallout from the event. Then too Jupiter was in Water and Saturn in Fire signs. Other times were in 1995 and 1976. In 1976 Legionnaires Disease was first identified when it killed 29 veterans at a US conference, and waves of rioting and fighting shook Sth African streets for months over apartheid laws.
  
• Saturn is inconjunct Uranus in September 2005, January and August 2006. The inconjunct is a 150 degree angle that often sets off triggers in accumulated pressure, giving rise to a tumbling effect whereby everything moves forward after waiting years for the right moment. The need for social changes and individual development is large, but the changes can be so provocative that we suddenly say, "Oops I've done too much" and we retreat to conservatism. We'll still be on edge, however, and things will remain tense until a new way manifests itself..
  
• Saturn opposes Chiron in February 2006. Chiron is in Aquarius until 2011 and will change our medical, technological and community systems with new techniques and breakthroughs in innovative approaches to old problems. Aquarius is also about human rights and the freedom to do what you want. Last time Chiron was in Aquarius, the Rock and Roll revolution began with Elvis Presley, leading to the huge social shifts of the sixties. As Saturn opposes Chiron it seems to create situations where you can triumph against all odds. It did this from 1986 through until 1994 when the world and its political systems went through massive changes as Communism collapsed and old monoliths fractured into new states, eg, Russia, Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia.
  
• Saturn opposes Neptune on 31st August 2006, 28th February and 25th June 2007. Saturn and Neptune opposing each other last happened in 1971/72. It occurred with Saturn in Gemini and Neptune in Sagittarius. Saturn opposite Neptune can bring up issues of responsibility, spiritual directions and purposes, or guilt, remorse and self-criticism. Fear and apprehension of vaguely defined threats can be a feature too. 1971/72 was the time of the Vietnam war at its peak; India and Pakistan at war; an attempted coup against Mao Zse-Tung in China; the arrest of five men inside the Watergate complex leading to Nixon's eventual downfall; Britain imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland; Arab terrorists attacked the Munich Olympic village and killed two Israeli athletes; and the shortage of fuel resources in the US reserves first became apparent.

We will see clearly that issues about petroleum reserves (oil and gas are ruled by Neptune) will probably come to a head about 2007 and the world will have to face a future with no new petrol resources to exploit and a race to find alternatives for transport. It could signal either an economic decline or the birth of new industries around new forms of energy. The result of that opposition will be up to us as to how we use the energies. The reassessment function of Saturn/Neptune is probably to be the most important outcome of that period. Those who can do with less will weather the changes best.

Saturn into Leo will do much for our personal selves. Since Leo is ruled by the Sun, the centre of our solar system, it's about ourselves and our own individual consciousness. Try to make sure you reassess yourselves and your true needs over the next few years. A new way of planning for personal growth and social change will be apparent over the next two years and it's likely that the older leadership concepts of groups and countries will be thrown on its head. All in all, it's going to be an exciting and yet a levelling time for many in the world.

Footnote:

Thanks to Robert Blaschke and Ray Merriman (both US astrologers) for some of the inspiration for this story.