Saturn-Jupiter Square

Saturn-Jupiter Square - Pessimism vs. Optimism

"Remember: You are your own father. Do not let yourself spend years creating yourself only to let your guard down and allow the ghost of the past — father, habit, history — to sneak back in."

— Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power

Mercury returns to square Saturn and oppose Jupiter this week for one last time. The Saturn-Jupiter square also returns this week, making the second of three passes in a longer lasting interaction that is ongoing into June of next year. Mercury 'inserts' itself into the ongoing interaction in ways that produces more confusion than diplomatic balance. Active engagement seem to be encouraged but our 'engagement' won't bring the expected or desired results that we hope. The second Jupiter-Saturn square completes on Christmas Eve while the Moon is VOC and the initial impact seems to be somewhat muted. Mercury is still in the shadow of the last retrograde period and it's involvement seems to somehow confuse the conversation between Saturn and Jupiter, making the challenge of balancing optimism and pessimism especially confusing. The issues are also revolving around new ideas vs. the 'Status Quo'. Mercury's review of Sagittarian Territory has allowed us to adjust our 'frame of reference' and offered opportunities to look at things in a much different way. In mutual reception with Jupiter, Mercury has been giving us a chance to see our situation from a new, expanded perspective. However, under the waning Moon, coming off of last week's Gemini Full Moon (in a murky, foggy square to Neptune), there aren't many stable 'handles' to hold on to this week. Nonetheless, Mercury's forward motion is encouraging us to test out a completely new 'frame of reference' — new perspectives that we have gained over the last few weeks under the retrograde Mercury. Staking out a position and finding our footing may be challenging this week but our efforts will begin to bear fruit once we reach next Monday's Capricorn New Moon (2:26 PM PST 9° Capricorn). Once again, it is important to be willing to listen to the perspectives of others and avoid trying to foist our ideas on those whose perspectives are different from our own. A Venus-Chiron sextile, early in the week helps us to keep an open mind, even as the Mercury-Saturn square may produce a more single-minded attitude. The square may also bring temptations to fall back on old habits and bring doubts about the value of our new perspectives. Ultimately, any arm-twisting to bring others in line won't bring the expected results. We'll do better to stay objective and alert. This week is an important 'testing ground' for our new frame of reference but we need to be willing to stay open to new information as the landscape continues to shift dramatically.

The challenge on Sunday is to fully grasp what others are really trying to tell us. We have more confidence in our own insights than what others are saying. There is a bit more humility available on Monday to allow us to listen to what others are saying. But there may also be a tendency to exaggerate. We are encouraged to engage with others on Tuesday but we won't have the outcomes that we expect. Motivation and vitality are quite low. Personal influence is surprisingly effective on Wednesday in a broadly sociable atmosphere. We need to pay close attention to subtlety. When we dig in our heels on Thursday, we may find ourselves stuck. Facts seem inconvenient or at least beside the point we're trying to make. Confusing investigations lead us down 'Rabbit Holes' during the early part of the day on Friday. There is a restless, impatient independence. We have significant opportunities to demonstrate 'lessons learned' on Saturday. We have a new frame of reference that we're ready to try out.