Saturn

So Saturdays are linked with Saturn the 7th and final day of the week (Originally). It's actually a bad thing that the western world doesn't start with the Sun (Sunday) at the beginning of the week. So, Saturn is commonly associated with isolation, restrictions, old age, fears, hard work, to name a few significations. The Sanskrit translation for Saturn is Shani, which means slow moving while the Sanskrit word for peace is Shanti. The derivation of these two Sanskrit terms holds a lot of relevance in the description of Saturn. Saturn is the slowest moving planet taking approximately 2 ½ years to transit a zodiac sign and 28 to 30 years to transit the whole zodiac. So the word Shani makes sense when describing Saturn as we need to slow down to find peace or Shanti. Through Saturn, we learn to let go and find peace, which sounds like a pleasantly liberating experience. Until someone has liberated you of your money, spouse and house, which doesn't sound pleasant but painful. So it's no wonder why Saturn is feared when in hindsight he's actually trying to teach a grand old lesson. Through Saturn, we are all forced to carry our own cross in life. The cross signals the crucifixion between spirit and matter and matter is limiting. Saturn is the son of the Sun and was born through the union of the Sun's wife's shadow. The wife is the daughter of Tvashtar (the celestial architect) but the Sun was too hot, bright and dazzling for the wife to carry through her marital responsibilities. So she created her shadow and left it behind and Saturn was born. The allegory suggests that Saturn is the projection of the solar radiance through the veil of matter, which is also capable of casting a shadow. The shadow indicates that the pure radiance of the Sun has been obstructed by matter. It's through matter that the spirit becomes most disillusioned, which obstructs the inner light. So, Saturn's lower energy manifests as worries and fears and relates to the base chakra and metal lead. And that's why we have leaders! The higher more evolved form of Saturn is to be at peace with nothing!