To Be or Not to Be: The Saturn/Neptune Opposition

By Eileen McCabe

A few weeks ago while staring out at the ocean in Montauk and not having the foggiest idea of what I was going to say about Saturn and Neptune, I simply wrote down these words "to be or not to be". While I wish I could take credit for thinking this up as an original, I can't think of a better way to sum up the planetary opposition between Saturn and Neptune. It's not that a Saturn-Neptune aspect indicates suicidal ideation but what it does represent is an existential dilemma between being in the world and not wanting to be in the world at all (or of it) at the same time.

While Saturn symbolizes physical incarnation and the external forces that define our personal reality, Neptune is the reality of an invisible world where we seek to lose the burdens and definitions of our human ego. If Neptune is a current that pulls us too far away from the shore, Saturn is there to bring us back to land so that we have both feet on the ground. While Saturn ambitiously edges us on to manifest ourselves in society, Neptune takes us away from the clamor of the world so that we can find inner peace and rest. Without the magic, mystery and beauty of Neptune, our day-to-day world can become an austere grind where we are inundated with the demands of the material world. Neptune is there to remind us that we need some poetry and music in our lives so that our world is not just about duty, obligation and the constant discontent of the personality. However, without Saturn nothing comes to fruition or manifestation, and the creativity and dreams of Neptune remain dormant as we remain in a passive fog without any real direction.

If the Sun is the purpose of our lives, then Saturn is the way to concretize and make the purpose of our lives real and authentic. Saturn represents the tools and resources that we need in order to manifest our lives. Saturn demands a commitment, and the more we internalize this father archetype the less we will be at the mercy of an external taskmaster who can make our lives miserable. With Saturn we are learning to be grown ups and to take responsibility for our own lives. But Neptune is antithetical to this way of perceiving the world because Neptune is about escaping from outer duty and fulfilling the needs of the soul. We know as astrologers that Neptune can be anything from mysticism, music, and the majesty of the ocean to drugs, alcoholism, psychosis and the complete need to escape from the saturnine world of reality.

What does this all have to do then with the present Saturn-Neptune opposition that has been affecting our lives and will continue to do so for the upcoming year? At this point of the Pluto in Sagittarius craziness, I loathe having to quote anything biblical but "rendering onto Caesar what is Caesar's and rendering onto God what is God's" is one way of describing the Saturn-Neptune theme as well. To be in the world but not of, to pay your bills and keep your external life intact while still feeding the Neptunian urges for all things magical, inspirational, spiritual and creative seems to be a theme for this configuration. However, there is a darker aspect of Neptune that can manifest in extreme passivity where we lose ourselves in too much TV, sleep, inertia and an unproductive fantasy life that pulls us away from being connected to life itself.

Because the opposition is a relational aspect, one of the planetary archetypes often gets psychologically-projected onto something or someone outside of ourselves. Since Saturn is where we work hard to establish ourselves in the world, then the undifferentiated energy of Neptune will be perceived as a threatening or seductive force that is trying to undermine the very fabric of our existence. Saturn will often respond to any threat to what it has established by becoming cold, rigid, and even more defensive. So the question now is who is the Saturn in your life and who or what will be the Neptune? Where do you draw the boundaries and how do you remain open and psychically receptive? How do you hold onto yourself while still being compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others? How do you serve the demands of your physical life while also serving the needs of your ideals and inner life? While there may not be any right answers to any of these questions, especially given the often vague and ambiguous vibration of Neptune, it's important to at least contemplate the overall meaning of this planetary configuration from a personal as well as from a collective viewpoint.

From an astrological perspective, you need to look at where this opposition is occurring in your chart while taking into consideration the houses ruled by both Capricorn and Pisces. Saturn through a house requires that we bring back some kind of balance there, we will be tested and there will be concrete evidence as to what we need to do more of or less of in relation to that area of life. There is no mystery when it comes to a Saturn transit. Whether you see for yourself the issues or the outside world does it for you, a Saturn transit is a very clear wake-up call as to how you are handling (or not) your karmic obligations.

In contrast, a Neptune transit can make you feel like your life is slipping through your fingers and it's difficult to know what's real and what isn't. Like a foggy day on the beach when you can't see the differentiation between the sky and the horizon, a Neptune transit throws you into having to trust in the unknown without having to make any real sense out of anything. But the inspirational ideas and visions of Neptune are as real as any Saturn transit. The trick is keeping your feet on the ground and your ego intact while you allow yourself to float and be pulled by a current that is requiring you to let go of any preconceived ideas of reality.

Saturn in Leo is about the structure and individuation of the self, an ego that needs validation and recognition from the external world. Neptune in Aquarius is a more impersonal or transpersonal reality that has more to do with the needs of the entire human race and one's place in the overall collective. But the meaning of an opposition is that you can't really have one without the other. In order to change the world, you need strong individuals who are willing to come together for the sake of something greater than their own egos. And you can't really make a positive contribution to the scheme of things if you don't know who you are or what you personally have to offer.

Astrologers often say that one of the expressions of a Saturn-Neptune aspect is that the dream can become a reality. So when you make a wish upon a star, don't forget to include the whole planet.

Eileen McCabe, LMSW is a clinical social worker and an astrological teacher and counselor with a private practice in New York City. She presently serves as VP of the New York Chapter of NCGR.

December 21,2006