He drew a circle that shut me out–

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!
~ Edwin Markham

Saturn's In A Good Mood!

We often shudder at the thought of Saturn. He can be very stern, hard to get long with, and demanding about how he expects us to follow his instructions: Be careful. Go slow. Look before you leap. Do it right the first time. Measure twice, cut once. (Yes, Sir!)

Saturn has been in Pisces since March 7, 2023 and stays there until May 24, 2025, plus a 6-month retrograde backtrack from Sep. 1, 2025 to Feb. 13, 2026. Pisces is a kinder, gentler energy and can soften Saturn's rough edges. Whatever you're building or developing can be made better through higher intentions, a more humanitarian purpose, or a more beautiful and loving shine.

Consider this example: Say you're out snorkeling in the beautiful ocean and suddenly a shark comes along and says, "Hi there, what's for dinner?" Suddenly you see every scary scene from the movie Jaws flash before your eyes. Instinctively you kick out to make it go away.

But you find that because of the drag of the water, you lack the force, agility and leverage you need to really plant one in the Mr. Shark's gut. And it might simply thrust you away from it, but not enough to give you a safe distance. Again, your impulse may be to kick harder, but the more you keep kicking the more you're just going in circles and feeling vulnerable and exposed. Exasperated, you conclude, "I'm going to need a bigger foot..."

Silly scenarios aside, the point is that in Piscean waters the rules don't work quite the same way, much to the chagrin of Saturn who lives and breathes rules, structure, order, cause and effect. On dry land, you kick and you make an impact but in deep water it's harder to make the same kind of impact. You have to go about it a different way, with strategy, analysis, creative thinking, and intuitively connecting the dots.

That was our friendship: equal parts irritation and cooperation.

~ Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Rocking the Cradle

Saturn is sextile the Capricorn Moon, trine the Cancer Sun, sextile the Taurus Jupiter, and Jupiter is trine the Moon and sextile the Sun. And since Mercury is less than 3° from the Sun, he too is involved in these aspects.

All of this adds up to a Cradle aspect pattern, with the Sun-Moon opposition as the top edge of the "cradle." This configuration has all harmonious aspects – trines and sextiles (60° and 120°) – except for the opposition which is dynamic, stressful and polarizing. It holds the essential energy of the Cancer-Capricorn opposition – Mother and Father, childhood versus becoming a grownup. Nurturing and protection versus having to become your own parent and take care of yourself. It's the foundation of what you grew up with versus what you build in your life in terms of purpose, career and life goals. It's your support system that you can fall back on, versus braving the harsh realities of life through your own decisions and actions.

For the most part, Saturn is wired into the chart with easy-going and easy-flowing aspects. If you've done your homework and laid the foundation, this can be an opportunity to grab your ambitions by the love handles and give them a big sloppy kiss. If you're still struggling with getting your ducks in a row, or herding your cats into alignment, then this can be a time when you can develop your vision and plans for where you're trying to go and what you're aiming to do.

Friendly aspects notwithstanding, there are three cautions in this aspect figure:

FIRST is that if you're not steering your own intentions toward your chosen destination, then circumstances could take over and do it for you—only you might not end up exactly where you hoped to get to. The more you can apply deliberate action based on your willingness to take responsibility for your choices and results, the more you'll probably approve of what comes out of it. If you're hoping some symbolic Mom or Dad will step in and make it all happen for you, then you'll be giving away your power and unlikely to be happy with the results.

SECOND is that in order to harvest the best of those beneficial trines and sextiles, you'll need to come to terms with the Cancer versus Capricorn dichotomy. In other words, the "if-only-someone-would-take-care-of-me" versus "I-can-take-care-of-myself" motivations. And yet ironically, the act of working toward those benefits can also help you master the growing-up dynamic. It doesn't have to be either-or, but for best results you need to at least work with one side of the polarity – retreating into self-care or facing the challenges in front of you.

What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you're searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don't find the time for finding?
~ Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Shadow Boxing

The THIRD caution in the Cradle configuration involves another aspect pattern that features Mars, which I call a Hard Wedge.

Mars is semisquare the Sun and sesquiquadrate the Moon, which forms a Wedge triangle shape with the Sun-Moon opposition. In this case, Mars in Leo is a force that's determined to take action and/or keep the current energy moving. Since he is wired into the Sun and Moon through stressful aspects (cousins in the square family of aspects), Mars can be quite insistent.

In that case, he could be hellbent on making sure all that easy-going energy, with the Jupiter and Saturn trines and sextiles, doesn't go to waste. So, you may find your motivation is kicking you in the butt and saying, "Come on, don't just sit there. You owe it to yourself. Just DO something!!"

Mars is also quincunx Neptune. You could feel like you're trying to find something to push against to get yourself moving, like a clear obstacle or an inspiring principle or a righteous sense of purpose. The problem is that although those motivational forces might be there, they may not be concrete enough to really push against. As a result, you might wind up feeling like you're shadow-boxing – trying to plant a solid wallop against something real, but feeling instead like you're fighting a ghost in a dream ...or a snarky shark in the water.

Within these energies, what you actually need to push against can be found inside yourself. You'll need to bring into clear focus the vision or inspiration or moral value that lit you up to want to do this in the first place (whatever "this" is – a project, a goal, a state of being, a sense of purpose, a guiding beacon, a bonfire of courage, etc).

And just to make things even more "interesting" Neptune is stationary, having just turned retrograde 2-3 days ago. This gives Neptune a lot of extra spin, winding his usual hazy glow into something more like a psychedelic aura. In fact Neptune hovers in the same degree and minute as its station (27:41 Pisces) for about 2 weeks, from June 22 to July 8.

Mars also remains in quincunx aspect within 1 degree of orb for several days (July 4-8, exact on July 6). So, if Mars in Leo is demand that you pick up your feet and dance to the Saturn-Jupiter music, it may be that the Mars motivational coach in your is afraid that you could get lulled into a Neptunian state of lethargic flow, letting all that developmental potential pass you by.

It probably wouldn't be the end of the world if you did, but you'll have to decide which you want more – an emotional vacation of coasting through the days, or making some concrete progress in something important that you're working toward. Maybe you can weave both together somehow?

Unless we move beyond what's behind us, we cannot reach out to what lies in front of us.
~ Dr Prem Jagyasi

Parallels and OOB Planets

The Capricorn Moon is very high Out-of-Bounds by declination (circled in red), which leans toward being independent, autonomous, and having the courage to take a stand. On the other hand, this might also crystalize the Capricorn Moon tendency to feel sad and alone – to be left to your own devices, perhaps because you seem so capable and strong to others that they figure you don't really need the support.

Or you might feel like no one will do what needs to be done like you know you can do it, so you take yourself further up the mountainside where you can concentrate on doing it yourself. The warning is to resist any urge you might have to be a martyr about it; like a resentful attitude of "Nobody understands like I do, so I have to do it all myself." The adage of "it's lonely at the top" comes to mind – just don't wrap yourself up in it like a flag.

This self-contained Moon rules and opposes the Sun and Mercury in Cancer. These planetary energies in you might long to be supported, cuddled, or just know that someone out there "gets" you. There's nothing wrong with that, although the Cap Moon might come to you through circumstances that push you to think for yourself more and learn to be your own nurturing parent.

Mercury is also Out-of-Bounds (circled in gold), which gives your mind some extra stretching room to be resourceful and creative in how you go about getting what you need. This can also enhance your ability to extend that caring to others and to recognize when they need some support. There are no standard planets in Air signs in the chart, so your thoughts, ideas, perceptions and observations turn to OOB Mercury in Cancer – highly intuitive, sensitive, protective, empathic, creative, loving.

The Sun is tightly contraparallel with Pluto (circled in brown), which often happens when planets are in widely in opposition (but this can vary). Pluto is back in Capricorn for a while (June 11 to January 20, 2024), and the Sun and Mercury are opposite by sign while they are in Cancer. The Sun-Pluto contraparallel is exact on June 6 and July 4, and at the Full Moon a scant 7 minutes of orb apart. Even Mercury is not very far away from being contraparallel Pluto (currently about 1:20 orb, and exact on June 21 and July 8).

The Sun-Pluto connection adds extra intensity to the feeling quality of the Cancer Sun and to your wish to be nurtured and protected. Or perhaps it could make your desire to give this to others feel a little more urgent. When it works (giving or getting that love, caring and creative inspiration) it can be transformative, but be careful not to overdo it to the point where it backfires.

Lastly, there is a group hug going on between Venus, Mars and Jupiter (circled in green). Venus and Mars are conjunct in Leo (as discussed at the New Moon in Gemini) although Jupiter is in Taurus, 3 signs away. Nevertheless, they are all huddled together by declination, spanning a mere half-a-degree. They all reach an exact parallel together the next day after the Full Moon (Venus parallel Mars, Venus parallel Jupiter, and Mars parallel Jupiter, all within a period of less than 4 hours). All three planets remain within 1° of each other (by declination) from July 2 to 7, and the whole multiple parallsl unfolds from June 26 to August 6 – about 6 weeks in total.

This could bring an auspicious time of beneficial energy that combines opportunity, assets and action. Or down-to-earth wisdom with courage, confidence and joie de vivre. In the context of the Capricorn Full Moon ruled by Saturn in Pisces, this can be a time when you're able to look "through the looking glass" at the ordinary world around you, and see something a little magical in it all. It's easier to spot the gems, treasures and possibilities that are hiding in plain sight, and see how they can be turned into something greater than the sum of their parts.

This table shows when the Venus-Mars-Jupiter parallels [E]nter and [L]eave 1° orb, and when they're e[X]act.

Sabian Symbol

Sabian Symbol for Capricorn 12: A student of nature lecturing OR An illustrated lecture on natural science reveals little-known aspects of life.

Dane Rudhyar (the second phrase wording: An Astrological Mandala) saw in this Symbol an invitation to "explore unfamiliar realms and discover the laws underlying the complex processes of nature." In other words, nature is an intricate web of structured and dynamic development, and if we peer under the surface long enough we might learn the secrets of the natural world.

In our context of the Full Moon in Capricorn, it suggests that you have the opportunity to study the workings of events and dynamics in the world around you. However for best results, this needs to be done, at least partly, using intuition and creative thinking. By examining the hidden and obscure aspects of what you're seeing, and contemplating the inherent structure of how it's all wired together, you could gain some significant insight that takes you beyond the obvious.

Beware, though – you're in the realm of the imagination here. Not all intuition is necessarily rock solid, but some learning can always come from it if you know how to look. It might not be something that's true literally, but may be insightful metaphorically.

This not just about understanding, though. The image is about someone sharing their knowledge and teaching others. In the original wording (the first phrase above) it is not an accomplished professor at the lectern but a student who is still learning.

It brings to mind a quote: "You teach best what you most need to learn." (Richard Bach, Illusions – The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah) In other words, if you want to learn something, teach it to others. Through the process of preparing your lessons will you learn something much more thoroughly than if you just read a book about it.

Maybe I'm not so different from everyone else after all. It's like somebody gave me a puzzle, but I don't have the box with the picture on it. So I don't know what the final thing is supposed to look like. I'm not even sure if I have all the pieces.
~ Sharon M. Draper, Out of My Mind

Piecing the Puzzle

The Capricorn Full Moon is ruled by Saturn in Pisces, which is ruled by Neptune in Pisces (by modern systems). And Neptune is stationary right now, so this energy is very prominent.

Capricorn is normally concerned with the physical world, and the rules and laws that "make it go." Capricorn and Saturn represent the cause-and-effect dynamics that make the world turn – literally and figuratively. If you do this, this will happen, within the confines of physical reality. If it hurts when you do that, then don't do that.

Of course, life is never quite that simple. There are layers upon layers of energy flow that affect which way the final result is likely to go. Physics, human interaction, psychological impulses, unconscious yearnings, emotional assumptions, past history and future expectations, as well as personal needs and practical priorities that tell us how to arrange our proverbial ducks in the most effective row.

Since Saturn is ruled by stationary, cosmic Neptune, we have an opportunity to look through a kaleidoscope of perspectives. These reveal unseen, obscure, and often-dismissed shards of insight that hint at a larger, more complex picture that by far transcends the plain nuts and bolts of what we see on the surface.

Think of it like putting the pieces of a puzzle together – you can try to force the pieces together in the way that looks like it should be right, but then somehow the intended picture never really comes together. Oh, you'll come up with something, alright. It might be playful, intriguing, weird and wonderful, but if you still want what the original picture offered, you may be out of luck. At the very least, it won't look the same.

Each piece of life relates to the universal whole in a certain, specific way, and it requires Capricorn patience and focus to discover how it all fits together. Don't be hard on yourself if you feel like you can't quite get the hang of it. This is what lifetimes are for. And try not to be too hard on others if you feel they're not either. (I know, way easier said that done.)

With the help of the Cradle aspect pattern, there are cooperative energies rocking our world right now that can be excellent resources when we're ready and able to act on them. In the puzzle analogy, try working on the hard parts first. If you get too frustrated or discouraged, then do some easier ones for a while. Few things in life have to be done in a straight line, and most things tend to work better if you zig and zag your way through. Saturn may be about structure, but you still get to choose how best to work with that structure.

Whatever way works best for you, works – just don't be afraid to try something different. There's a smorgasbord out there right now of tools, resources, perspectives, and food for thoughtful imagination. Sample some of them – they can help you be productive, constructive, inventive and creative. You might even find you can stretch beyond your usual reach.

The next update will be for the Full Moon in Capricorn on 3 July, 2023. In the meantime, stay safe. Stay sane. Stay awesome. The world most definitely needs you. ❤️

Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses in your life; you realize everything that happens in life is a result of the previous choice you’ve made and start making new choices to change your life.
~ Roy T. Bennett

© 2023-07-02 Wendy Guy, all rights reserved. Astrological diagrams by Wendy Guy. Divider cropped from Mountain Goat by Vero_Fasching via Pixabay.com. Sabian symbol image of Meeting by Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay.com.