Saturn - The Greater Infortune

If you were to consult any of the works of the medieval or traditional astrologers on the planet Saturn, you would likely find expressions like “(the greater) malefic”, “melancholy”, “decay”, “malevolence”, “restriction”, “death”, the “author of solitariness”, and, my personal favourite, “offensively acid, stinking".

As the planet most remote from the earth and closest to the fixed stars, Saturn is far removed from our normal human concerns and daily routine. In fact, we try to avoid him as much as possible and the things he rules. We want the riches and honours promised by Jupiter but without the disciplined study and hard, often thankless, work that is often required; we want the effortless and exhilarating romantic relationships that Hollywood tells us we deserve (regardless of how awful a person we might be), but Hollywood neglects to mention the personal sacrifice and commitment that a long-term relationship with another requires. Unfortunately, like ageing, gravity, death and taxes (which, not coincidentally, are ruled by the Greater Malefic), we cannot escape the influence of Saturn.

In medieval astrology, due to its extreme cold and slowness of motion, Saturn is thought to bring delays and obstacles, and its influence on a person will often colour the personality with a tinge of melancholy. Saturn afflicting the moon brings melancholy, Saturn afflicting Venus or the Lord of the 7^th house can bring delays in marriage, Lord 5 a delay in having children. When Saturn is a significator of the native, and he is ill dignified, it makes that person – according to William Lilly, at least - “envious, covetous, jealous and mistrustful, timorous, sordid, outwardly dissembling, sluggish, suspicious, stubborn, a contemner of women, a close liar, malicious, murmuring, never contented, ever repining”. Not exactly the kind of person you would invite to a dinner party.

The gifts of Saturn

As feared and as hated as he was, Saturn is not all bad. William Lilly tells us that a person with a well-dignified Saturn as his significator “... is profound in imagination, in his acts severe, in words reserved, in speaking and giving very spare, in labour patient, in arguing or disputing grave, in obtaining the goods of this life studious and solicitous, in all manner of actions austere.” He may not be the most fun person at your dinner party, but he will likely be the most interesting.

The author of the Ghayat al-Hakim, one of the oldest source books of medieval astrology, tells us that Saturn “is the planet whose source holds great strength and has the knowledge of mysterious orbit and the power to obtain the reason behind things and the ability to find their intentions, the spell of wonders and knowledge of secret and mysterious issues.” The great renaissance philosopher, Marsilio Ficino, considered melancholy - a condition he attributed to the influence of Saturn – to be the seed of genius, a philosophical position which had a great influence on the writings of the Romantics in the 18^th century.

Remedies for an afflicted Saturn- medieval avoidance and Vedic appeasement

Not everyone wants to suffer the fate of a Chatterton or Shelley, and even Ficino occasionally found Saturnine melancholy a little hard to live with sometimes. The influence of Saturn, whether in one's nativity or by transit, can be undeniably difficult to bear.

The strategy of medieval astrology for dealing with an afflicting Saturn was based on the notion of the four humors (and their corresponding temperaments), a theory with roots in the philosophy and medical practice of ancient Greece. As Saturn was Cold and Dry in nature (corresponding to the melancholic temperament), its cure was sought in Jupiter, whose nature is Hot and Moist. The author of Ghayat al-Hakim tells us “...Jupiter fixes everything Saturn damages” (Book III, Chapter 7) and Marsilio Ficino in his De Vita says “when you fear Mars, set Venus opposite; when you fear Saturn, use Jupiter.” 

 

The most common practices in medieval astrological magic involved the creation of talismans and images corresponding to the planet in question. In this case, we would make a Jupiter talisman at a time elected when Jupiter is strong and unafflicted. However, this was often part of a holistic approach which involved immersion in things of a Jovial nature over an extended period of time; "...take physical exercise in Jupiter's day and hour when he is reigning; and in the meantime use Jovial things such as silver, jacinth, topaz, coral, crystal, beryl, spodium, sapphire, green and aery colours, wine, sugar, white honey; and entertain thoughts and feelings which are especially Jovial, that is, steadfast, composed, religious, and law-abiding; and you will keep company with men of the same kind - men who are sanguine, handsome, and venerable." (Marsilio Ficino. De Vita, Book 3, Chapter 2.) Ficino also found music to be a useful palliative measure against the melancholy induced by the influence of Saturn.

The Vedic astrologers considered Saturn (Shani) a malefic planetary deity, but a deity nonetheless. Indeed, according to the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the foundational text of Vedic astrology, the Navgraha, the 9 planetary gods, are manifestations of Vishnu, the universal god. 

 

In Vedic astrology, specific Shani transits are considered to bring delays and difficulties, but he is considered an important teacher with regards one's spirituality as he rules asceticism, meditation and detachment from the world. In one story, the other gods cannot abide the presence of Shani in a King's shrine and depart. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is the first to go - Saturn aflictions in the nativity often bring poverty, and letting go of one's hardearned wealth is the first step on the path to becoming a sanyasin, a renunciate. One by one the other gods depart, until only Satya (Truth) remains, and they return only because of the Kings dedication to Truth. 

 

Although it is considered best to work with Shani's influence through spiritual practice such as yoga, fasting or meditation, Vedic astrology does give various remedial measures to lessen some of the more unpleasant manifestations of Saturnine energy. These include; asceticism (fasting for 9 Saturdays in a row), charity (offering black clothes or iron/steel objects to beggars), and propitiation (a shani nivarna sadhana involving the recitation of Shani's mantra). Since all planetary deities are aspects of the universal deity, the supreme method is considered to be yoga, union with the universal deity.