Saturn in Aquarius, Social Distancing + Heart Health // Borage and Onion Flower Essences
Hello friends!
It has been a time of monumental shifts, with some aspects occurring that have not been seen for many generations, marking the end of some cycles and the birth of new ones, and making this a truly unique time in history. Physically, many of us have been called to a time of rest or repair, especially as Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter are retrograde. It’s normal to feel low in mood or energy with the intense combination of energies we have in the sky these days, especially as our collective has been in turmoil with the pandemic, quarantine and continued flagrant abuse of human life.
As many astrologers have reported, our world’s current state of upheaval is mostly due to a cluster of activity happening in late Capricorn, which triggers destruction of a physical nature as Capricorn is an earth sign. Because the earth is a fertile element, many of the health conditions appearing during this time have a component of growth to them, as in the case with cancers. However, as some of these planets continue into the air sign of Aquarius at the end of this year, we are going to see new cycles begin with different types of diseases taking prominence.
One of the important cycles ending and beginning anew involves Saturn and Jupiter, which is the topic of this month’s article. Saturn, who is in Aquarius now until July 1st, will reenter Aquarius again on Dec. 17th and be joined by Jupiter for their conjunction, which occurs every 20 years.
This conjunction will be different, however.
Earth to Air
The dance between Saturn and Jupiter creates a pattern known as the great mutation cycle--a relationship responsible for major societal, governmental and economic shifts. For a 240 year period, Saturn and Jupiter meet up in the sky in the same elemental signs every 20 years. Our current mutation cycle in the earth signs began in Capricorn, January 1892 during the peak of the second industrial revolution in the US, where Saturn and Jupiter’s combined energy manifested as the spread of several grid infrastructures. With the upcoming conjunction of the two in Aquarius in December, a new cycle begins in air signs, signalling global shifts in the way we structure education, travel, communication and our communities.
One of the reasons I want to spend some time talking about Saturn is because the beginning of this new cycle of air sign conjunctions is going to super-charge our nervous systems with energy, which will especially affect our lovely air sign folks. The north node is also now in Gemini (the sign that rules the nervous system), increasing the amount of kinetic energy flowing through our entire bodies. Those sensitive to the subtle energies are no doubt already feeling this surge as spikes of anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, fatigue or general malaise.
Earth signs rule physical matter, so as the last mutation cycles have been occurring in earth signs, the rise of urban development, agriculture and sedentary lifestyles and workplaces in the conquering parts of the world led to an increase of physical issues with body structure, posture and chronic pain, as well as the prevalence of depression--a typical earth sign imbalance. The disparity built into governing systems by invading nations also link many diseases to the stresses of inequity, as marginalized or oppressed communities are at a much higher health risk. This is how our health has been affected by the Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions in earth signs.
Saturn entering Aquarius has already foreshadowed some of the themes we will be examining as a culture for the next 2 ½ years--social distancing, a sense of restricted freedom, fears of isolation, socio-cultural movements and the search for new ways to connect via technological channels. But what will this new cycle in the air signs mean for our physical bodies?
Disturbances to the Air Element
We can’t talk about air without mentioning COVID-19; the current pandemic is just one of the ways that the air element is beginning to be disturbed--the mask is a literal representation of Saturn in an air sign, blocking the flow of our breath. Travel, another manifestation of air energy, has also been restricted. Physically, the quarantine has many of us sheltering at home, stagnating our energy as the air element becomes blocked.
When Saturn blocks the earth element, our physical nourishment and vitality become limited. Our ability to build is stalled by a lack of material resources. When Jupiter occupies an earth sign, expansiveness comes at a high material cost and the tendency is to burn through resources. Therefore, when the great mutation cycle was taking place in earth signs, our growth as a global civilization was enabled by a massive depletion of the earth’s wealth. Value became concrete, embodied by currency, and time itself became monetized--“I can’t afford it” is the slogan of Saturn in an earth sign.
Now that we are shifting into a 240-year cycle of disturbances to the air element, we will see that the continuity of our species will come at high cost to the “air” around us--our personal space, freedom to communicate, ability to travel and the stability of the weather patterns. We will address the global health issues of overcrowding, climate change, radiation from increasing use of electronics and the psychological impacts of living for so long away from the earth and her natural cycles. Increasing space travel will help us understand our intrinsic, subtle connection to the earth’s rhythms and how our health is tied to the health of our planet. Degenerative or odd neurological conditions may grow in our awareness as we navigate the spread of wireless technologies.
Artist: Paige Sullivan
Leo/Aquarius and The Heart/Brain Connection
As we move into the air sign conjunctions, conversations on global health will shift focus to mental health and the adverse health effects that result from living out of sync with the earth’s rhythms. One example that we can see already unfolding is how limiting physical social contact negatively affects our emotional and mental health.
Research published by the HeartMath institute is revealing the heart to be a much more complex system than we originally thought, and especially sensitive to physical social contact. The heart actually sends more messages to the brain than the other way around, significantly influencing brain functioning as well as overall health. Different emotional states produce different heart activities, which in turn affect the brain in several ways. During times of stress, when the heart rate is erratic, the neural signals traveling from the heart to the brain inhibit higher cognitive functions. The heart’s input to the brain during times of negative emotional experiences also limits the brain’s ability to process emotions, in essence creating a feedback loop of stress or trauma.
On the other hand, when heart rate coherence is increased, cognitive function and emotional stability increase as well, bettering our whole body’s performance and well-being. Heart rate coherence, by the way, has to do with the spaces between heart beats, which can vary quite a bit even in what sounds to be a steady heart rate. While our sympathetic nervous system speeds up the heart rate, our parasympathetic nervous system slows it down, and the interplay between these two autonomous systems is what creates this natural variability in our heart’s rhythm.
Heart rate variability (HRV) has been shown to be a better indicator for overall health than heart rate or blood pressure alone because it illustrates our behavioral flexibility, resilience and capacity to handle stressful situations. It has also been found to be highly influenced by our emotional state, suggesting that our emotional well-being is bound to our physical health. Emotions such as anger or anxiety produce jagged, irregular patterns that deplete our energy and cause our bodies to operate inefficiently.
Astrologically, the intersection of the cardiovascular and nervous systems is found with the Aquarius/Leo axis, symbolizing the connection between the breath (Aquarius) and heart rate (Leo). Aquarius has traditionally been given rulership of the autonomic nervous system, but new science has found that the heart also contains its own little nervous system--a “heart brain” system--that produces electromagnetic fields and operates with its own intelligence. Science is just beginning to study these electromagnetic fields, but there is data to suggest that they not only synchronize our own bodies, but can affect those around us as well.
While this new information is quite cool, it reiterates what many ancient cultures already had an understanding of when it comes to the functions of the heart. It’s only been a few centuries since “modern” medicine classified the heart as being a simple pump, however, in almost every culture of the world, the heart has traditionally played a more multifaceted, complex role in the human system. The heart has bridged our understanding of emotional, spiritual and physical health in a way that no other organ has.
As our culture continues its research into heart health, we may find that the practice of social isolation has physical effects beyond anxiety and a crippling snack addiction--we may find that physical distance alters our electromagnetic fields, or that the stress of isolation and loneliness causes changes to our heart rate variability. Even something as innocuous as wearing a mask may contribute to our stress over time by blocking our innate primate instinct to read the faces of others for signs of danger. And with Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius, the big emotional trigger is the fear of a loss of personal freedom--a fear that can lead to projected anger, erratic behavior and defensiveness.
Even though Saturn will only be in Aquarius for a few years and Jupiter even less than that, the effects that their new great mutation cycle will have on air energy will touch all life on our planet for the next few generations to come. So what can we do to prepare our bodies for this shift in energy? Herbs that have an affinity to the air element (stimulating, circulatory enhancing, acrid or any other class that generates movement) as well as nervines to protect our vulnerable nervous systems will be good allies.
Also, modes of healing that are vibrational--reiki, homeopathy, crystal therapy, sound healing, chanting, EFT and many others-- will take dominance over our current methods of physical, chemical, earth energy medicines. As a flower essence practitioner, this excites me greatly, as it will ease the strain that commercial harvesting has placed on so many of our earth’s precious resources. So for this month, I want to focus on two powerfully wise flower essences--borage and onion.
Borago officinalis
Borage Flower Essence
The flower essence society website has a wonderful article on Borage that covers its history of usage as well as medicinal, homeopathic and flower essence indications. Rather than reiterate that information here, I would like to add my experiences working with the essence.
In herb school, we learned an adage about Borage--Borage for courage. Part of the signature of flowers that droop or turn earthwards is that they are suited for a heaviness in mood or mentality. In the case of Borage flower, this heaviness tends to come from early responsibilities in life such as taking care of a family member or a child assuming the role of the parent. The personality profile of Borage is one who has been focusing on their duties for so long that they become stiff or inflexible, unable to relax or accept their own weaknesses.
Anger is a key element of the Borage personality. Often they spend so much time maintaining a facade of strength, reliability and dependability that a resentfulness builds up over time, reflected in the aggressive signature of Borage’s prickly stems. Physically, anger in the system can manifest as high blood pressure, liver dysregulation, headaches, muscular tension, inflammatory skin or digestive conditions, and for all of these ailments Borage essence would be beneficial. Like it’s leaves, the energy of Borage essence is calming, soothing and cooling.
Underneath the obvious anger in the Borage personality lies fear. The core fear operating is one of abandonment or rejection--if I stop over-performing, not only will everything completely fall apart but I will be abandoned and unable to care for myself as a result. Often the Borage personality is quite unhappy with some element of their life but is stuck in a trauma pattern where they are afraid to release it because of the sense of control it gives to them. They are afraid of losing the people in their lives even as they resent them. This energy of holding on settles into the muscle tissue and creates patterns of chronic tension and pain.
Energetically, I have found Borage essence to have an affinity for the solar plexus and heart chakras, connecting one’s true soul passion with their ability to act and manifest. A person who needs Borage often has not been taught how to self-care, and so I have also found it helpful to take Borage in conjunction with trying a new hobby or doing something that otherwise challenges the deep fear of change or exposure.
Astrologically, Borage is fabulous for working with fixed sign folks because of its ability to loosen and create more flexibility. A strong affinity for the water element breaks up the stagnation of heavy earth energy, and allows one to tap into their own flow of intuition. Courage, which is the slogan for Borage among many herbalists, in this case is really just the openness to try a new approach.
Allium Cepa
Onion Flower Essence
This humble plant is so commonly seen in the kitchen that we may forget how powerful she truly is--she can bring even the hardest exterior to tears with ease. Like the layers of her bulb, trauma is often wrapped around us in layers that we must do the work of peeling off one at a time. Onion flower essence cuts straight to the heart of the issue and brings us right up to the root of the problem, which can be overwhelming at times but is perfectly suited for our current astrology.
Flowers with spherical, umbel-shaped inflorescences facilitate our inner wholeness and sense of completion, a feeling that we get after we integrate our traumatic life experiences. Onion does this walking us through the grieving process, sometimes triggering massive emotional releases after a single dose. Onion knows our defense mechanisms as well as she knows her own strong smell, allowing us to enter a place of softness that is so hard to reach for someone recovering from abuse.
Those who are stuck in unresolved grief are in need of onion essence. Indeed she is a valuable remedy for all of us right now, as our current atmosphere of death, fear, loss and social isolation has us all in a process of grieving on several different levels. And as an extra immuno-protective measure, eat the onion, too!
