Dear Bernard
How can you say, as you recently did, that Saturn is less troublesome when it is in Aries?
Regards, Ray
Dear Ray
You may as well ask whether two wrongs can ever make a right. Saturn is usually considered the bad guy of the sky, weighing things down and creating rules and restrictions that weren't there before. Saturn is said to have his 'fall' in Aries, which means it's the most unfortunate place for the planet to be in. Now if a bad planet is in a bad place, does that make it difficult for him to exercise his powers, and therefore reduce his bad influence? Or does it make things even worse - doubly bad, in fact? Modern astrologers think that a planet in its fall has its abilities diminished, so Saturn is less restrictive than he would otherwise be. Traditionalists take the 'double-bad' view. If you've got a giant living in the woods near your village, then if he's a happy giant it's not so bad - but if he's angry and hungry, you're in real trouble. The difference between the two viewpoints is that ancient astrologers thought that planets, like giants, had powers of their own; modern astrologers see them simply as symbols, to be read and interpreted.
Tomorrow, Saturn changes direction and turns retrograde. Modern astrologers would say this relaxes Saturn's pressure on us and makes our problems seem less worrying. Traditionalists would say that having to go backwards just makes the giant angrier. Soon, you'll be able to see for yourself which it is!
