As noted in our discussion of Jupiter, Saturn, along with Jupiter, is a planet symbolizing psychological regulation and is Jupiter’s counterbalance.  As the primary essence of Jupiter’s meaning is expansion, so the primary essence of Saturn’s is contraction.  If the force of expansion exists, then (in the finite world), the force of contraction is necessitated. 

Two types of contraction can be identified, which I will term active and passive (or implied) contraction.  I call passive contraction that force which resists expansion.  I call active contraction that force that causes a thing to actually contract. 

Regarding passive contraction, its root is found in the fact that expansion cannot go on forever.  Boundaries cannot be pushed outward indefinitely.  At some point a limit to expansion is reached.  That limit is Saturn.  Thus, Saturn is associated with all kinds of limitation.  We can conceive of a limit as an implied contraction.  It is the contractive force of Saturn coming up against the expansive force of Jupiter and stopping that force.

While the ego (which craves to do whatever it wants without any constraint) generally views limits as a negative (contributing to the view of Saturn as a “malefic”), limits perform valuable functions.  One of those functions is to protect.  Jupiter’s expansive energy.  Without limits, Jupiter’s forward motion will tend to overextend and travel into dangerous territory.  

Let us return to the analogy of Jupiter’s well-ordered kingdom.  In any kingdom or empire, the frontiers of the kingdom are generally more dangerous than the interior.  The rule of the monarch (or the central government) is less secure, because the frontier is farther away from the center of power or authority.  Good order begins to break down and there may be areas where anarchy reigns, where allegiance to the king is absent, where brigands roam freely.  The frontier has not been fully assimilated into the Jupiterian order and, if expansion of the frontier continues, those regions may never fully be brought under benevolent control as resources are spread thinner and thinner. 

Frequently, the wise ruler establishes fortifications and walls to mark the boundaries of the kingdom and to stop the unregulated expansion of the frontier.  These Saturnian limits to Jupiter’s kingdom tell the traveler that, beyond those limits, there can no longer be any guarantee of safety.  Beyond the walls, the protection of the ruler ends and the world is a dangerous and chaotic place. 

We can see in this idea of the protective limit the Saturnian concept of restraint.  The psyche is advised by its Saturnian force not to traverse the limits that have been set for our own safety and security, for our own protection.  Stepping beyond those limits invites unpleasant consequence. 

We can see Saturn’s role in the setting of moral limits, as well.  I am using that word in its broadest sense.  Jupiterian expansiveness coexists with a particular type of freedom—the freedom of the individual (or the group) to have their will.  If everyone were allowed to expand their will, however, the result would be chaos and conflict.  In order for this not to occur, society places limits on our behavior.  The psyche also places internal limits on our behavior, implicitly recognizing the danger in transgressing other people’s freedom. 

Those internal and external limits are Saturnian.  They are the rules and regulations by which society is governed and by which we (should) govern our lives.  Thus, Saturn governs all laws, regulations and rules, written and unwritten.  These laws maintain the good order of the Jupiterian kingdom and, so, we see an example of the way that Jupiter and Saturn act together to regulate systems—a model that is replicated in many other ways.  The process by which Saturn’s social behavioral limits are maintained is largely through the super-ego—which will be discussed much later when we come to the Midheaven.

When Saturn’s limits are transgressed—when one crosses the boundaries of the established order—there are consequences.  Those consequences may come in a variety of forms, all of which have been associated with Saturn.  If the transgression is public and disturbs the social order, there can be punishment.  Sometimes the punishment is dealt out by the authorities as when someone breaks a law.  Sometimes the punishment is personal, as when someone retaliates against an offence or when a parent disciplines a child.

The consequence can also be the result of cause and effect or the operation of the laws of nature.  If someone ignores the limits of physics by sticking their hand in the fire, they will get burned.  Cause and effect itself can be viewed as Saturnian, for this is just a set of rules (set up by the physical universe) to place limits on events and occurrences.  Effects are limited by their cause and by the wider set of rules that govern what effect(s) a cause may have.  Logic is built on the assumption of cause and effect and it can also be said that logic is the Saturnian component of mental (Mercury) expression—it is what structures analytical thought.

Karma is cause and effect operating on the moral/metaphysical level.  Karma is simply cause and effect that stretches through the astral sphere over lifetimes and operates on the principle that we all must face the consequences of our actions.  Saturn has been astrologically associated with all these things—punishment, consequence and karma.  These all tend to be viewed as placing limits on us and, also, as unpleasant—even painful.  Saturn takes much of its bad rap from such associations.

Saturnian barriers also protect the well-ordered kingdom from intrusion by marauders or barbarians.  Saturn can be associated with all kinds of ostensible protection, particularly if it involves some type of barrier.  Saturn can also be viewed as ruling the forces of protection and of maintaining order against chaos or violation, as long as those forces serve in a protective role.  Thus, the police role in protecting society is Saturnian; but when they act as oppressors or to enforce political or economic control, they should be viewed as Plutonian.  Similarly, when armed forces are maintained to protect a nation from aggression, this is a Saturnian function; but when the military is the aggressor or once active fighting ensues, then Mars becomes its ruler.

With regards to government, we can see the forces of Jupiter and Saturn working together, cooperatively and supportively, each keeping the other in balance.  As we noted previously, Jupiter is associated with government as largesse, as the benevolent ruler, as that which promotes abundance and general well-being.  However, just as boundaries cannot expand forever, so largesse cannot be given indefinitely and indiscriminately.  The Jupiterian cornucopia is not endless and, without some measure of discipline and restriction, it will surely be exhausted.  Thus, Saturnian discipline is necessary in order to keep the liberal Jupiterian kingdom from descending into bankruptcy. 

In order for the well-ordered, beneficent kingdom to be maintained, Jupiter must ally itself with Saturn.  It is Saturn that will set the fixed boundaries for government largesse.  Thus budgets and budgeting can be viewed as Saturnian.  Bureaucratic structures, rules and regulations are inherently limiting.  They place boundaries around what can be done and, thus, direct action along predetermined and fixed channels.  All this promotes stability, a Saturnian characteristic which is essential if Jupiterian well-being is to be maintained. 

The State is the Saturnian expression of Jupiter’s beneficent kingdom.  The State is constituted as a fixed entity.  Its boundaries are fundamental to the concept of its sovereignty.  Its apparatus is designed to enforce limits (laws, rules and regulation). 

Another mechanism through which implied contraction comes about is crystallization.  Organic formation is a process that should be associated with Jupiterian expansion.  Organic formation is a process of growth and development.  Organization is achieved through change with more complex forms evolving from simpler forms.  As with other types of Jupiterian expansion, this process of developing ever more complex organization cannot be sustained indefinitely.  At some point, this will become counterproductive, resulting in inefficiency, disruption and ultimately chaos.  However, before this state is reached, the Saturnian principle of contraction usually sets in to limit (end) the process of organic formation.

When this happens, when organic development reaches its mature state, the developed form becomes fixed into set patterns.  These set patterns cease to evolve; they become rigid and inflexible.  They are said to have crystallized.  This is how form and structure are created.  Once attained, structure can be replicated.  Although changes to structure can still be made, those changes are incremental in nature and involve a reordering of the structure rather than an evolution of form.  Generally, however, a point is reached in which structure ceases to change or there are a fixed number of structural options that may be implemented. 

Thus, we see that Saturn is associated with the process of crystallization and the structure and form that it produces.  Because form ceases to be fluid when crystallized, we find Saturn associated with rigidity and inflexibility.  However, structure also confers the Saturnian qualities of strength, stability and endurance. 

Discipline is the application of Saturnian limitation and passive contraction to action.  Discipline is not experimental; it is not an evolutionary process, although it may help us to evolve and it may initially have evolved through trial and error.  Discipline is based upon the crystallization of process into set forms which must be strictly followed (action is limited to following structure and occurs within set boundaries).  Here, too, we see the development of Saturnian contraction out of Jupiterian expansion, for correct discipline is based upon knowledge and wisdom.  Discipline works because it has been refined through the Jupiterian evolution of organic formation.  It is the crystallization of successful process and deep understanding of how a goal is to be accomplished.  Furthermore, proper discipline promotes well-being. 

Discipline is also another name for punishment, however, albeit supposedly corrective punishment.  The idea of being disciplined is that we are “taught” not to deviate from a certain set of rules, not to cross boundaries.  This is done when we suffer an artificially produced consequence of our poor decision.  We are “taught a lesson” so that, in the future, we will remain within the set structure. 

Thus, we find that discipline is often associated with pain (we have the adage: “no pain, no gain” as a motivation to remain disciplined).  We can see two Saturnian associations stemming from this.  One is that of “molding character.”  This, in turn, becomes associated with moral rectitude—especially when it is achieved by strictly adhering to the rules of behavior prescribed by society and by Jupiterian institutions bent on preserving a well-ordered kingdom. 

Implied contraction also suggests Saturn’s association with suffering and hardship.  The experience of suffering and hardship often occurs when we run up against limitations and boundaries that we do not like or that we feel we should be able to pass through.  As we shall discuss later, we also experience suffering as a result of active contraction.  However, the expectation of endless Jupiterian expansion that is cut short when Saturnian limits are applied generally will cause us to suffer and bemoan our fate. 

An amplification of the Buddha’s declaration that all suffering is born of desire is that suffering is the result of expectation.  Expectation is really a form of desire.  We are not talking about the neutral expectation of effect from cause but of emotionally charged expectation.  Our emotional expectations are that things will turn out the way we want them to and that our often unacknowledged desires will be fulfilled.  When those expectations are not met, we suffer.

Thus, suffering occurs when our expectations of Jupiterian expansion lie beyond the limits that Saturn has imposed.  We run up against this wall and we feel pain.  We are stopped before we reach our expected outcome and we feel disappointment.  If the limits that Saturn imposes are close and narrow compared to our desires or expectations, we may feel downtrodden or depressed, pessimistic about our ability to overcome the obstacles standing in our way.  If we continue to try to breach the Saturnian boundaries that we have encountered, only to be thrown back repeatedly, we are likely to feel frustrated.  All of these are Saturnian emotions that are the result of reaching Saturn’s limits (we think) prematurely.

It is tempting, particularly when our desires are being frustrated by Saturnian limits, to paint Saturn as a sadistic force.  However, as Liz Greene has pointed out (Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil), there is a purpose to Saturn placing limitations on us.  We can divide this purpose into three classes—strengthening, purification and acceptance.  As we shall see, one proceeds from the other.  We should note, however, before we begin this discussion, that these purposes, as well as the factors that lead to these purposes being fulfilled, also result from active contraction (which we have yet to discuss), as well as from passive contraction.

It is a well acknowledged precept that, when we work with Saturn’s energy, it strengthens us.  Through this dynamic—that of confronting Saturn’s limitations, obstacles, disappointments, etc.—we build strength and, therefore, Saturn is associated with our strengths, competence, and being accomplished at a task or a skill.  However, in order to build strength and competence, there must first be weakness.  If we are able to overcome obstacles and limitations without struggle, then they are not really obstacles and limitations.  If we are already strong, then there is no struggle—or rather, when there is struggle, this indicates that we are weak relative to the strength it will take to overcome the obstacle or limitation and move beyond it.

This, I believe, is a genesis for the paradoxical concept that Saturn symbolizes our insecurities, as well as our strengths.  From a developmental perspective, Saturn’s placement in the natal chart signals where and how we feel deeply insecure.  This insecurity is typically a manifestation of our feeling (or acknowledgment) of our incompetency in a certain area or life skill.  This incompetency is often so deeply rooted that we have, and/or feel that we have, no clue about how to function in the area signified by Saturn’s placement.  We may perceive that everyone else knows the rules of the game or inherently has the skills needed to function in this area of life, but we have somehow missed out on this.  These are all signifiers of a deeply rooted weakness or inability.  In relation to this, Saturn’s placement can be said to point to a life-purpose of overcoming this weakness and developing the ability to function where inability is felt.

A first step toward achieving this purpose is to accept responsibility for strengthening ourself in this area and developing competency.  If we are irresponsible, we will develop a victim mentality with respect to our weakness.  We will continue to feel incompetent and insecure.  We may constantly blame ourself but this is usually only just a device to attract pity and to deflect responsibility.  We may, alternatively, blame others for our lack of competency, our weakness and the consequent lack of success that we experience in this area of life.  This is also failing to take responsibility for strengthening ourself.  Here we can see responsibility (or the lack thereof when Saturn is “afflicted”) as a trait to be associated with Saturn.

Once we take responsibility for overcoming our weakness and inability, we begin to work at developing the skills and know-how needed to become stronger in this area of life.  Typically, at least initially, this work is difficult.  Often, it is difficult in itself but it may also be difficult to begin.  In order to overcome our insecurity and develop competency, we must do the hard work.  Work is hard in proportion to the level of struggle necessary to overcome the limitations and obstacles that we face.  When work is easy, this is Jupiter’s expansive energy opening up the path for us.  Work is hard when Saturn’s contracting energy opposes our efforts.

Thus, hard work is a Saturnian trait.  From a developmental perspective, the purpose of work being hard is to strengthen us.  When work is hard, we learn to overcome, we learn to do things better and we become more accomplished.  The obvious analogy is body-building.  If we want to strengthen our muscles, we must lift weights that are difficult for us; once it becomes easy to lift a weight, it is no longer strengthening our muscles. 

Hard work is often accompanied by delay and constantly occurring obstacles.  This is analogous to increasing the weight we are lifting.  Hard work accomplishes its task slowly.  Effort takes time.  Developing strength takes time and the consistent application of effort.  Thus, we find Saturn associated with delay, a slow pace, steadiness and constancy, and with reward that comes only after prolonged effort.  This also suggests Saturn’s association with Time.

Time can be viewed as the limit that is placed on Eternity.  Our concept of time, our experience of time, is the limitation of experience to the moment and of a finite sequence of experience defining phenomena.  Our direct and immediate experience of time confines us to the present.  If we were to become completely centered in the present, then we would experience infinite space.  However, although we can only live in the present, we are almost never centered in the present.  Our minds are occupied with past and future—what we have experienced and what we may experience but not what we are experiencing.  In this way, time limits the way in which we experience Reality.

Time can also be conceived as passing through successive frames of space.  These frames of space contain within them constructs—the things, or res, that are forms existing in space.  We identify these forms and with these forms and, in this way, we conceive of them as distinct bodies to which we give names.  The giving of names itself limits these forms; and forms and names are both Saturnian. 

However, forms in space change with each passing moment.  Sometimes the change is perceptible and sometimes it is less so.  Eventually, however, all forms will change so radically that they are no longer what we have named them.  A person dies and is no more in time.  A rock crumbles into dust and is no more in time.  Thus, the passage of time marks the duration of form—the limits of their existence as such. 

Let us return to Saturn’s strengthening purpose.  To summarize, when we take responsibility for our weaknesses, we work to overcome them and, in the process, confront obstacles and limits.  The more effort we put toward overcoming these obstacles and moving beyond our limits, the stronger we become.  We become stronger because it takes more strength than we previously had in order to move past these obstacles and limitations.  Therefore, we can say that the purpose of those roadblocks that Saturn imposes is for us to develop the strength to move past them.

Once we have developed that strength, we are called upon to exercise another type of responsibility.  This is the responsibility to use our strength for good purpose.  We can use our strength selfishly, for our own gain and to feed our ego.  We can become hard taskmasters simply to lord it over others.  We can become rigid tyrants.  We can push others aside as we rise to the top of a hierarchy.  We may limit others’ abundance and success so that we may grab more for ourself.  All of these dynamics are Saturn’s energy manifesting negatively.

However, if we act responsibly, then we will use our strength to promote the good of others, in harmony with the Jupiterian impulse toward generosity and creating well-being.  We will use our strength to build beneficial structures, to protect others and the common good, and to support others. 

When we have turned our weakness and insecurity into strength, we will also be ready to engage in the next Saturnian task.  Liz Greene identified the archetypal role of Saturn as Gatekeeper.  As we discussed above, Saturn’s passive contraction is expressed as limitation, or the setting of limits to Jupiterian expansiveness.  In a cosmic scheme of evolutionary development, these limits serve a purpose.  They are designed to ensure that the soul (or in more mundane contexts, the person) does not enter the next developmental level until the current level has been mastered.  The process of mastery may be viewed as a type of purification, especially where spiritual development is concerned. 

This is not a purification in the Plutonian purgative sense.  Rather, it is the purification resulting from increasing competency.  Through this process, weakness is transformed into strength or, we could say, strength developed through struggle and overcoming barriers and obstacles replaces former weakness.  This creates the ability to pass whatever “tests” are required to progress to the next level.  At a very mundane level, this may be compared to studying and working hard to pass the exam in order to acquire a trade or professional license.  In a more spiritual context, those “tests” require the “applicant” to consistently make correct, often moral, choices.  Thus, it can be seen that this process of Saturnian purification strengthens the buddhi (a connection illustrating Saturn’s exaltation in Libra). 

Meeting the challenge and strengthening the buddhi and the Will generally requires much effort and discipline, a constriction of the psyche’s willfulness and of the purview of the ego.   Since this is no easy matter, disappointments and set-backs are common experiences when attempting to become strong and pure enough to pass through Saturn’s gate to the next level—all Saturnian experiences.  Many would consider them to involve pain and suffering, although when one is determinately set on their goal and motivated by Love, this pain turns sweet and would not be perceived as suffering.

This brings us to the third purpose of Saturnian limitation—acceptance.  Acceptance (which fosters a state of being in equanimity and peace) is born of facing struggle and adversity and of rising to higher levels of consciousness as we are purified of our weaknesses.  It is no great feat to accept life when it is going well, when Jupiter’s energy is waxing.  The challenge is to accept life with gratitude when we experience obstacles in our way, disappointment, suffering and straightened circumstances—in other words, when we are facing Saturnian contraction. 

There is a story told of Rabia of Basra, a ninth century Sufi woman saint.  Rabia and a group of Sufis were conversing and someone asked who could define true gratitude.  Someone said that it was giving thanks for all of the favors that Allah has bestowed.  Someone else said that it was giving thanks even when we experience pain and suffering.  Someone else said that gratitude and acceptance was not distinguishing between pleasure and pain but giving Allah thanks for both equally.  Rabia responded that none had gone far enough in their definition of gratitude.  She said that gratitude exists when we are not even aware of any distinction between pleasure and pain and are in a state of constant gratitude. 

This state that Rabia describes is achieved only after long and hard spiritual work, Saturnian application.  It is preceded by various levels of growing acceptance.  At one level, we realize that the adversity we face, the limits, obstacles and barriers that are placed before us, are there to teach and strengthen us and we accept them for this role that they play.  Then we willingly engage in the struggle to overcome those obstacles. 

Another level of acceptance occurs when we realize that we are not the victims of the pain and suffering that we experience, the obstacles and adversity that occur in our life.  These are not the result of others’ behavior toward us or of our bad luck or unfavorable circumstances that have been arbitrarily thrust on us.  As we become aware of the Saturnian law of karma and all of its implications, we accept that whatever events or conditions, whatever relations we are experiencing are the result of our own past actions.  We may then accept responsibility for these actions and their consequences and, realizing this, accept with equanimity whatever is our life experience. 

This reminds us of another Saturnian association—Saturn’s rulership of judgements.  Karma is a sort of judgment—a judgment that we impose on ourselves (subconsciously or super-consciously) recognizing that we have broken a moral law of the Universe (or that we are to be rewarded for performing some good deed).  This aspect of karma is mythologized in Hinduism and Sikhism as Dharam Rai, the divine Judge before whom the soul is brought at the time of death.  In Christianity and Islam, we have the image of the Day of Judgment (and co-existing with the soul being brought before the Lord for judgment after death).  These are all Saturnian images.  Judges and judgment at the mundane level are equally associated with Saturn.

We reach another level of acceptance through Saturnian discipline in spiritual practice, through the wearing down of the ego through the experience of Saturnian limits and “failures” that humble us, through the realization of our powerlessness to change fate as we fail in our efforts to avoid pain and adversity, and through an increasing concentration and focus on reaching our spiritual goal.  Imbibing these Saturnian lessons, we realize our insignificance (the insignificance of the ego-self) and accept our state and the state of the world around us, whatever it may be.

As we become spiritually mature, when we have exerted some control over our animal passions, and after much effort, the aspirant begins to realize spiritual truth.  They see the Divine Goodness and that everything occurs according to Divine Plan.  We, then, are able to accept whatever occurs as coming from the Divine Source and being for our own ultimate benefit.

Self-control is, thus, a Saturnian virtue.  However, if the ego becomes involved, then the discipline of control is diverted away from the self and projected onto others.  Saturn then becomes associated with dogmatic and draconian forms of control and with self-righteous morality.  Saturn’s dysfunctional energy can also manifest in other forms of controlling behavior.  If Saturn’s negativity is combined with Pluto’s, the results can be particularly harsh, the Spanish Inquisition being a prime example of this type of dynamic.

Simultaneously, or as a part of the process of spiritual maturity and advancement, the buddhi is purified.  Through Saturnian experience of ultimate disappointment with what had previously been judged to be “good” and pleasurable, and the Saturnian experience of finding that what we had judged to be painful and undesirable has actually been edifying and has improved our situation, we begin to discard our attachment to these dualities.  The Buddhist axiom of “Not this; not that” is applied to the falling away of our attachments to pleasure and pain.  Our sense of discrimination is sharpened and redirected by these experiences until the buddhi’s touchstone becomes that which leads us forward spiritually and that which pulls us backward.  The more we move spiritually forward, the more indifferent we become to so-called pain and pleasure and the more fully we accept the Goodness of what Is.

We can now turn our attention to the principle of active contraction symbolized by Saturn.  In a sense, active contraction evokes many of the same reactions and experiences as does passive contraction, except more intensely.  While with passive contraction, we may feel that we are running up against obstacles and limits, with active contraction we are likely to feel that we are being pushed backwards, constricted and losing ground.  Our tendency is to view active contraction as producing pain and loss.  Loss is generally met with sorrow (unless we have risen above our attachment to gain and loss).  Grief over loss is a Saturnian emotion.

Loss or contraction may also be experienced as a reduction in resources.  We may feel as if what we had possessed is being taken away from us.  This reduction in resources produces scarcity and extreme scarcity (or even relative scarcity) is experienced as poverty.  Poverty, in turn, can be viewed as financial weakness, a source of insecurity.  Indeed, in real life, poverty is frequently a traumatizing experience that produces deep-rooted psychological and emotional insecurities.  Saturn should be seen as ruling poverty and scarcity. 

Contraction and accompanying loss is often experienced as painful, another Saturnian association.  This, however, is largely a function of our ego’s attachment to what has been “lost’’ and, more generally, to the ego’s attachment to easy Jupiterian expansion and abundance.  Nevertheless, whether a function of unmet expectations or being physical constricted, Saturnian contraction can be painful.

Contraction and loss are naturally experienced as we age.  We lose the keenness of our senses; our physical abilities are contracted; we may lose mental functioning.  We may also lose some of our attachments to things in life as we prepare, consciously or unconsciously, for death.  Thus, old age is associated with Saturnian contraction and Saturnian loss with death.  Perhaps the usual strong association of loss with pain and suffering is one reason why old age is viewed negatively in our society and why we resist, rather than accept, its onset. 

Our natural favoring of Jupiterian expansion over Saturnian contraction tends to lead us to have expectations of constantly moving forward.  When we experience setbacks due to Saturn’s active contraction, we may view this as defeat or failure.  If contraction is our predominant experience, or if we constantly fear contraction, then we may adopt a defeatist attitude toward life.  We become pessimistic—another Saturnian trait. 

All of the pain and sorrow that we feel over loss, however, is because of the ego’s attachment to gain.  By extension, we can say that all of the negativity that is associated with Saturn is a reflection of the ego’s unwillingness to accept contraction as a natural part of life.  In reality, Saturn’s contractive force is a necessary counterpart to Jupiter’s expansive force.  A prime example and symbol of this co-existence and mutual dependence is the breath.

Breath is produced by the alternating expansion and contraction of the diaphragm which, in turn, causes our lungs to expand and contract, taking in and expelling air.  This is mirrored in the contraction and expansion of the heart which pumps life-sustaining blood through our bodies.  Without contraction, neither of these vital functions could exist. 

Even death, the contraction of the life force as it is removed from the body, is vital to the continuation of life.  We see a continual display in nature of death nourishing life.  Death is but a part of a great natural cycle of exchange of energy.  We can also conceive of the great coming and going of soul or life force as a cosmic play of contraction and expansion—the contraction of the life force into the astral plane and its expansion into the physical world (or perhaps we can view this as a contraction into the physical world). 

In fact, this idea of the soul precipitating from the astral onto the physical plane evokes another Saturnian contractive phenomenon.  All forms of precipitation from a less dense to a more dense state can be viewed as a form of Saturnian contraction.  A most basic example of such precipitation is the precipitation of matter from energy.  Thus, we find Saturn associated with matter and the material world.  Saturn is the preeminent Earth planet.  Saturn is the planet of the physical, the concrete.  All physical forms are a contraction from their astral or idealized forms. 

In our discussion above, the process of crystallization was framed as a placing of limits on Jupiterian expansion.  It can also be conceived as a process of active contraction in the sense that structure contracts or precipitates from idea.  In any event, all types of bodies are Saturnian.  The denser the body, the more Saturnian its character.  Therefore, within the body, it is the skeletal system that is most closely associated with Saturn.

Active contraction also produces concentration.  Concentration can be described as a sustained narrowing of focus or attention.  In concentration, the attention is withdrawn, or contracts, from extraneous surroundings.  Concentration, or the fixing of attention on an object, is a necessary ingredient for accomplishment.  Accomplishment is not possible is one is distracted and undisciplined.  Saturn’s association with accomplishment and success owes much to the contraction of attention resulting in concentration.

Concentration is not only necessary for accomplishment in the material world; it is also necessary for spiritual accomplishment.  In order to obtain mystical experience, the attention (the soul) must be withdrawn from the outer world and focused within.  By concentrating the attention, consciousness is withdrawn within and ascends onto higher levels of reality. 

Loss is also an ingredient in and a result of spiritual practice.  While vows of poverty are sometimes undertaken by spiritual aspirants, poverty also has a more esoteric meaning among mystical practitioners.  Material poverty implies a loss or restriction of financial resources.  Spiritual poverty, however, rather than being associated with a lack of spiritual resources, refers to the loss of ego and attachment that is necessary for, and a trademark of, spiritual advancement. 

Spiritual poverty refers to the stripping from the soul of all attachment to other-than-God.  This entails a process of falling away or intentional “loss.”  Everything that is of the material world and the ego must be jettisoned as the field of activity in the external world is progressively narrowed.  Paradoxically, as the attention is restricted from the material world and concentrated within, it expands within the inner worlds. 

Eventually, the aspirant reaches the stage that the Sufis call fana or annihilation.  At this stage, the soul is completely naked of any material attachment and the ego has been totally lost.  This is not the final stage of spiritual realization, however.  After fana comes the stage of baqa, or subsistence.  At this stage, the True self is reestablished and subsides in the Divine Essence.  United with that Essence, the aspirant becomes a complete servant to the Divine, conforming implicitly to the Divine Will.  This state of perfect obedience to the Divine Will and complete servitude to the Source of All is the highest expression of Saturn’s contractive force.

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