By virtue of my astrological chart, I meditate a great deal on Saturn. It is by far the strongest and most capable planet in my map. It is in Capricorn, in domicile, and even in its own term, in the 4th house, at the bottom of the chart. It is domiciled and angular, capable of full manifestation. And he also loves the 4th, because it points downwards, towards the interior of the Earth, because he is the guardian of the ancient alchemical maxim V.I.T.R.I.O.L., Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem (“Visit the interior of the Earth, and by rectifying you shall find the hidden stone”). The 4th house is also part of the winter arch of the zodiac, the favourite of Saturn. Because, of course, he rejoices when things die.
Saturn, which is already the significator of the melancholic temperament, is in a sign that is likewise cold and dry, thereby adding an enormous melancholic density to my temperament. Why? Because my Ascendant is Libra. And Saturn is exalted in Libra. It is also the Almuten of the degree of my Ascendant, the so-called Almuten Ascendentis, profoundly impacting my temperament. And also my Almuten Figuris, the planet which accumulates the greatest number of dignities when the five hylegiacal points of the natal chart are calculated. And, as if this were not enough, it is also my Alcochoden. Being in such good zodiacal condition, without adverse aspects and entirely at ease, it grants me major years of protection, 57 years. The greater malefic is, ironically, the protector of my vitality, however strange this may seem. It is like having a really old, experienced, but nevertheless capable bodyguard.
As it is in the 4th house, it is a significator of my family, of my father, of my home. I will now tell a small vignette from my early life. My grandmother was the one who raised me during my childhood. She worked as a carer in nursing homes. I spent many late afternoons and weekends with her doing shifts at the home, as a child. I grew up among old people, playing dominoes, chess, and cards, for hours on end (by the way, Saturn rules my 5th house, Aquarius, and is therefore also the ruler of how I have fun). I really liked it. It was not boring at all. But I saw many of my old friends die, the coming and going of hearses, the coffins, things to which I became accustomed and which never struck me as strange. I just thought dying was entirely part of life, despite how sad it was to see them go. Is there anything more Saturnian and fourth-house than this? Anything that represents finitude more clearly and the impact this planet has been having on me?
The chart with which we are born is the one we carry to the grave, until we disincarnate, to put things in a language this lord of time likes. In my case, I shall always have this Saturn as the greater force in my life.
Kύριε ελέησον