From: lmpm@teal.csn.org (L. M. P. McPherson)
Subject: Saturn and Family Life (Re: Our Pal Dave; Was Re: Mr Cern)
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 07:18:55 GMT

casper@vxcrna.cern.ch (CASPER,DAVI./PPE) writes:
>
>...  My parents were divorced before I was born and I have never met my
>father.

>...  Now using what I've revealed here, everyone else can
>go back and say "oh yeah, that makes sense, look at this aspect here..."


But of course -- it's human nature. Social (and physical?) scientists
sometimes get results other than what they predicted in an experiment, 
and yet they have no trouble coming up with a new theory that makes
sense of the data... The human mind is not content without an
explanation for any data available -- strange beasties that we
are.

But rather than just say, "Oh, of course, there it is in the
chart," I will provide descriptions of relevant factors from
books written without Dave Casper in mind.

Given that you brought up your absent father on the net, I assume
you won't mind some polite public discussion of your family life.
To me, the most relevant pattern is Saturn in the fourth and
ruling the fourth (because Capricorn is on the cusp), in a tight
square to the Moon and also square to Neptune, forming a T-
square. In traditional astrology, Saturn rules the father and the
Moon rules the mother. The fourth house rules the home life and
more particularly the mother (or at least the parents), as well
as one's "roots", one's sense of security, patterns of emotional
reaction learned from the mother in early childhood, and so on.

Astrology "cookbooks" are not overly useful in analysing a chart
pattern such as your T-square because they deal with elements of
the pattern in isolation: Saturn in the fourth, Saturn square
Moon, Saturn square Neptune, and Moon opposite Neptune. Only an
experienced astrologer can integrate all these diverse elements
into a unified delineation. But here are some of the elements by
themselves, those I consider most important: Saturn in the
fourth, and Saturn square Moon. The square of Saturn and Neptune
is not nearly as close as the square with the Moon, and the Moon-
Neptune opposition is also not nearly as close, so their effects
will be less obvious.

My criteria for deciding which books to excerpt were (1) that the
book was sitting on my bookshelf, and (2) that the descriptions
were detailed and comprehensive. This also means that they are
bloody long! But I'm a pretty fast typist. None of the books
excerpted is a general textbook, for such books have delineations
that are too sketchy. Each is a specialty book (e.g., on houses,
aspects, or a planet alone).

First, Saturn in the fourth. Although Saturn is near the end of
the fourth, its rulership of that house makes its position there
more salient, and in any case Saturn in the fourth is similar in
effect to Capricorn on the fourth cusp. (With Saturn so close to
the fifth cusp, it also affects that house. This position tends
towards delays, disappointments, and deprivation in romantic
affairs, and absence of children or delay in having them, usually
associated with a complete lack of desire for children. Children
may bring trouble and heavy responsibility. It gives a tendency
to work at playing, so that the person with this placement has
difficulty just relaxing and doing nothing. Saturn in the fifth
also inhibits self-expression, creating self-consciousness. But
later in life, the person learns to enjoy life more and becomes
more self-expressive, less inhibited about being themselves. It
also tends to bring success in romance late in life, with a
reliable and faithful partner. My true love and I both have
Saturn in the fifth; when we met, I was 36 and he was 40. This
house placement of Saturn also gives a tendency to have love
affairs with people who are considerably older or younger,
probably because people the same age would have Saturn in the
person's fifth house too, and so they would tend to deny him
pleasure, inhibit his self-expression, and be critical of his
basic personality -- the latter because the Sun is the natural
ruler of the fifth house, and so this is the house through which 
one expresses his basic nature. But I digress...)


Here is an excerpt from Howard Sasportas, "The Twelve Houses":

Saturn in the 4th (Capricorn on the IC): The 4th house represents
the base of operations from which we meet life: this usually
means our home, but can also apply to the family background,
roots and race. Saturn in this house implies difficulties and
restrictions with respect to these areas. 

The child with Saturn in the 4th may not have experienced his or
her early environment as a very supportive place, and the
atmosphere in the home may have seemed cold, unloving, or
depriving in some way. In certain cases I have seen, the family
of origin was impoverished or struggling materially as the child
was growing up. In other instances, money wasn't the problem, but
rather a lack of emotional closeness in the family which obscured
the child's sense of belonging and well-being. One way or
another, children with this placement may feel unwanted or that
life is not on their side. Certain basic requirements of love and
security are not being met, and consequently they begin to wonder
what is wrong with them. They are hungry and not being fed or
they want to be held closely and reassured of things, but nobody
seems to be around when most needed. They begin to feel that they
must be inadequate, flawed, or failing in some way, and their
sense of who they are deep down inside is coloured by these
misgivings. The 'me' residing inside those with Saturn in the 4th
is a 'not-good-enough-me.' 

In short, for children with this placement, their sense of
security or 'okay-ness' is not easily found from outer sources.
Instead, they will have to discover their own strength, solidity,
support and lovableness from within themselves. If this is
achieved, then Saturn in the 4th is truly a blessing in disguise:
because once we establish our sense of value and worth from
within, then the outside world can never take that away from us.
This is the precious gift of a 4th house Saturn. 

In general, there is trouble with the father. Sometimes he is not
around at all. In other cases, he is physically there but
psychologically absent. He might be experienced as cold,
conventional, critical, materialistic and rigid or a burden and
responsibility due to ill health, personal problems, etc.
Children with this placement may feel that they have failed the
father in some way, or what's worse, that they have transgressed
not just him, but the whole family, race and background, and even
God as well. They grow up not only with a nagging sense of guilt
that they are not good enough, but also with a great deal of
suppressed anger and resentment directed at those they feel are
unappreciative and judging of them. Untangling this kind of knot
is never easy and will take a long time, if done at all. A major
step is achieved when they ask themselves "What do I really
need?" They may find that this is not all that dissimilar to what
they believed the harsh parent was trying to shove down their
throats. Or once they discover what it is they need, they can
proceed to build it in or provide it for themselves and let the
depriving father or whoever off the hook for not giving it to
them. More positively, a well-placed Saturn in the 4th could
indicate a father who models qualities of strength, depth,
patience, and a commonsense adaptation to the rigours and joys of
the material world.

Those with Saturn in the 4th are in a tricky position. They often
feel deeply inadequate and mistrusting of others and yet they
yearn for something permanent and stable in their life. Some may
compensate for their sense of insecurity by acquiring land or
property. On a more mundane level, Saturn in the 4th suggests
duties and responsibilities in the domestic sphere and problems
setting up a home. As usual, wherever Saturn is, hard work,
persistence and making the most even of a limited situation pay
off in the end.

People with this placement may take a long time to establish
their inner strength and identity, but once found, it is solid
and enduring. In doing the charts of older people with Saturn in
this house, I have observed that in the second half of life they
often discover what they feel is their true work or mission and
pursue a project or study with great commitment.

Capricorn on the IC is similar in many respects to Saturn in the
4th. The life is built on a deep need for stability and the
search for an authentic sense of their self-worth, purpose and
value. Looking for these things from the outside may prove
uncertain and disappointing.

                             ******

Here is an excerpt from Liz Greene's "Saturn: A New Look at an
Old Devil" (a book I highly recommend):

Saturn in Cancer and the fourth house [she equates the effect of
a planet in the fourth sign and the fourth house]:

The fourth house, corresponding to Cancer and the Moon, is the
domain of childhood, origin, family, and roots. As the base of
the astrological chart it represents the base of the individual
himself both literally -- in terms of the home he has come out of
-- and symbolically in terms of his inner sense of security and
safety. This house describes the emotions and atmosphere which
surround him before he is old enough to make a conscious and
rational choice about whether he accepts them or not. This house
may be associated with the Jungian idea of the personal
unconscious and with areas of conditioned instinctual reactions
imposed by the early environment.

Because of this association with influences that occur prior to
the development of the discriminating mind, any planet placed
here is highly suspect because it points to something in the
psyche which must be first discovered and brought up to the
surface before it can be dealt with constructively. The influence
of this house lies like a great moving subterranean river beneath
the surface of the later personality which is developed in accord
with the Sun and Ascendant; and this river may be powerful enough
to dominate the behaviour without being seen. It is a wholly
personal house and does not seem to have much to do with the
larger area of collective unconscious streams which affect the
group emotional life. Because it is so personal, it is that much
more difficult to approach with a clear and unbiased eye.

The fourth house is generally considered to be the indicator of
the father and his relationship with the individual. This is of
course subject to much argument, and the only clear statement
which has so far come out of the confusion is that the fourth-
tenth house axis refers to both parents. In some ways it is
immaterial which house goes with which parent as problems with
one automatically create compensatory problems with the other;
however, I am inclined by experience to assign this house to the
father as it is he who establishes the backbone of the family,
gives it his name, and determines by his presence or absence the
security or instability of the child's early life. It is rare
that a child loses his mother except by death; but when a
marriage fails, or there is no marriage in the first place, it is
generally the father who leaves and whose support is withdrawn.
The background of a difficult or broken home in childhood is
usually coincident with afflicted planets in the fourth house or
the fourth sign. [Note: Saturn would be considered afflicted in
this case because of its participation in a T-square; it does,
however, have a sextile to Jupiter, so not all its aspects are
negative ones.]

It will be obvious that having Saturn working as an unconscious
factor from the plane of the feelings is rather difficult as he
is very slippery. He is usually considered, in Cancer or in the
fourth house, to suggest conditions of coldness, limitation,
authority without love, separation or isolation, and a generally
unsympathetic early home life. This is often in a very literal
fashion, where the father dies or the parents are divorced or
where the father is forced by circumstances to be away much of
the time. The isolation may also occur is a symbolic fashion
where the father is very much physically present but can offer no
love, sympathy, or emotional support -- or where he may be loving
and kind but is a burden or a great disappointment through
alcoholism, sickness, weakness of character, or an emotional
pattern which destroys the peace of the home. Or there may be
undue emphasis on material development and little on emotional
expression.

There are many possible avenues on the mundane level in which a
fourth house Saturn may find reflection. The forms are as varied
as are individuals. Regardless of which means of outward
expression occurs, however, the inner reaction is generally the
same; the sense of security, the feeling of protection needed by
a developing child as a base on which to build the evolving ego,
is denied or frustrated, and the natural expression of feeling
which seeks to find unity with family and a sense of heritage is
blocked.

It needs little further reasoning to see that this kind of
situation, working on unconscious levels, can effectively cripple
a part of the individual's emotional nature for the remainder of
his life if it is not understood. The mistrust of any emotional
intimacy, particularly the kind which revolves around a domestic
situation, is usually pronounced; at the same time a craving for
something secure and permanent and tangible in the emotional life
is also pronounced. It is a rare individual who is aware of this
polarity existing within him; he will see one end or the other.
He may either be inordinately tied to his family and the place of
his birth, or he may hate them or display coolness and
detachment. He is never truly indifferent, however, for something
which was necessary for his emotional development was missing,
and the entire structure of his psyche has had to develop
lopsided to compensate for the loss.

There is often great emotional instability with Saturn in the
fourth house, and a definite feeling of having been unloved,
unwanted, is common. This may not be wholly conscious, however.
Nevertheless it will show, in a very obvious fashion, to the
perceptive observer. There is also often resentment toward men in
general as the father is the first man or symbol of masculinity
encountered by the child. This can, of course, wreak havoc with a
man's understanding of his own masculinity and a woman's
understanding both of men and of her own unconscious male half.
This is particularly true if the father is actually absent from
the home; for then, however justified she may be, the mother must
play both roles, and consequently, whether she is temperamentally
suited to the role or not, she must become a dominant or
authoritative figure. This is as much true of the weak or inept
father as it is of the vanishing one. The areas of the emotional
life which can be affected in adulthood are much greater than the
sphere of the home, for the fourth house is one of the angles and
is therefore more significant in terms of the expression of the
man on the physical plane.

Saturn in the fourth house is also often concurrent with a
compulsion to accumulate land. In this way the need for some
sense of security on the emotional level is reduced to a physical
fact -- a common translation which Saturn very often attempts to
make. The translation usually fails, however, for material things
cannot satisfy an emotional need. But to the person carrying this
emotional burden, land is solid and unchangeable, a home which is
owned cannot be taken away in the same fashion that emotional
support can suddenly be torn away by death or absence. The
unchecked crystallisation of a feeling value will eventually, as
the individual hardens and grows older, lead to that which has
been referred to as a "lonely end to life."

It will be obvious from this that a fourth house Saturn -- and to
a lesser extent Saturn in Cancer for his influence seems to be
more obvious in the houses than in the signs -- can rule the life
with an iron although invisible hand by undermining the sense of
self-worth and making it difficult for the individual to permit
any close emotional contacts. It is the meaning of the position
that is necessary if it is to be utilised in a constructive way.

By denying a component which ordinarily comes from the
environment, Saturn's influence forces an individual to create
that missing component himself if he is to have any peace. He
must gradually withdraw identification of the value with the
external world and find its reality within himself as a part of
his own psyche. Thus the opportunity is offered, when Saturn is
in the fourth house, for the person to build an inner sense of
security and self-acceptance based on an understanding of his
real origin. This solid inner psychic structure cannot be
destroyed or shaken by circumstance; unlike the support and
confidence given by a loving parent which fosters emotional
dependency on others later in life -- the worst aspect of
Cancer -- this inner strength becomes the inviolable possession
of the soul. What begins as an emotional value must remain an
emotional value, but the field of its expression is expanded.

This kind of security on the feeling level is extremely rare. The
great majority of individuals bear many scars because of the loss
of security in childhood, or they are dependent on loved ones for
a constant supply of it. Only the individual with Saturn in the
fourth house is likely to have developed it on his own, and this
because he has had to. There is some amount of trust required in
the guidance or wisdom of the inner self who has chosen this
particular experience. Without this trust, there is no
possibility of understanding the meaning of the experience.
Saturn always drives a man to understand the nature of his pain.
With a fourth house Saturn he must understand the vulnerability
of his own feeling nature and the needfulness which underlies his
apparent coldness toward all family and domestic matters. It is
then necessary to accept the experience as a positive means to an
end which will be worth the pain and the effort since the pain is
relative to the dependency on others in the first place. The very
personal and intimate world of the feelings must be acknowledged
and encouraged. This is particularly difficult for men to do, and
for this reason a fourth house Saturn is more dangerous on a
man's chart; but in compensation, a man with Saturn placed here
who has taken the time to descend into his own emotional depths,
as do the heroes of mythology into the underworld, will display
that rare integration and serenity which comes from a balancing
of the masculine and feminine sides of the nature.

                             ******

Now to the square of the Moon and Saturn. The most detailed
descriptions I could find are for Moon-Saturn contacts in
general, not just for the square. So in reading the following, be
aware that the square emphasises the more difficult effects of a
Moon-Saturn contact.

Here is an excerpt from Sue Tompkins, "Aspects in Astrology: A
Comprehensive Guide to Interpretation":

Moon-Saturn: Defensive feelings. Controlled responses. Cautious
behaviour. The dutiful mother. The need for structure and
permanence. Bleak House. Lessons in the home.

There is often a feeling of the 'trapped child' in the
personality of the Moon-Saturn type. Sometimes this can be
observed physically in the woman who wears pigtails or the man
who blushes shyly when a woman talks to him. Very often, Moon-
Saturn had to grow up rather early and rather like Sun-Saturn
missed out on the maturation process, so that there is often a
delay in the emotional development of the individual.

Sometimes the child had to take on responsibilities at too young
an age, often becoming a surrogate mother, perhaps by being born
the eldest child and having to look after younger siblings. Often
the mother or other caretaker is overburdened and Moon-Saturn
ends up playing mother to its own mother-figure. That lunar
aspect of parenting which might be termed 'unconditional love' is
often in short supply. The kind of love that says: 'I will love
you no matter what, I will be here to support you, to protect
you, I will be able to absorb and cushion your anxieties, your
fears, your tears, your anger, your rage.' With Moon-Saturn many
of these positive features of childhood were rather thin on the
ground. And basically, the individual has to learn how to feel
and express these qualities from scratch.

The Moon-Saturn child generally gets the message very early on
that it has to be emotionally self-sufficient. The child receives
early messages that they will be loved only if they behave in a
certain kind of way; responsible and unobtrusive, staying in the
background, not getting under people's feet. Often there just
never seems enough *time* to pander to the child's needs. Often
the mother is on her own, perhaps weighted down with
responsibilities, often working all day, seldom with any spare
time. Usually the child becomes extremely sensitive to her needs
and learns how to react accordingly. The ramifications of this
are that in adulthood, the individual finds it very difficult to
react and respond in a spontaneous kind of way because there is a
constant, very often barely conscious, expectation of criticism.
People with hard contacts, and the conjunction too, tend to
express their feelings with great caution and a certain
defensiveness.

The early life may not have been that oppressive, though there is
usually what Liz Greene calls a 'business before pleasure' kind
of feeling about the home life and the individual's subsequent
attitudes. I also think of it as the 'Bleak House' combination as
once during a workshop, we discovered that four Moon-Saturn
people in the room had either read Dickens' book or had some
other association with the name.

The Moon-Saturn combination is common in the charts of people in
farming communities where home is also a place of work. As in
farming situations, there is often a strong tradition in the
family set-up of the Moon-Saturn background. Perhaps for
generations, the family may have lived in the same house, or
locality, or pursued the same kind of profession. The result of
this can mean that it is very difficult for the individual to be
able to get away from the duties, responsibilities and history
that they were born into.

From the outsider's point of view, the behaviour of the Moon-
Saturn type is often very likeable (if a bit wooden and
predictable at times) and this can be said of most Saturn
contacts, especially to the softer planets, because such contacts
tend to be very sensitive. Certainly the Moon-Saturn type is
often painfully so. Here we have an individual who tries very
hard to please. The classic Moon-Saturn type feels vulnerable and
is scared of being hurt and thus will behave in what the
individual considers to be as socially acceptable a way as
possible. This often involves conforming, in a bid to elicit the
approval that they need. Saturn usually inclines to a 'formula'
kind of response with regard to the planet it touches; with the
Moon, the responses may be overly controlled, underplayed and
careful or overly eager and gushy.

Perhaps, Moon-Saturn's greatest needs are to feel as safe and
secure as possible. Safe in being able to behave as they feel,
safe enough to allow themselves to *discover* what they actually
*do* feel. The greater the insecurity the more emotional wall-
building Moon-Saturn is likely to indulge in. And secure or not,
after a while it becomes a habit. Moon-Saturn may have needed a
few defences as a child but as an adult the goal must be to feel
safe enough to be able to drop at least some of these defences.
They must learn to take a few risks with their emotional
responses and with emotional life generally. As always, Saturn
craves whatever planetary principle it touches and with Moon-
Saturn the individual craves nurturance -- craves the very
deepest emotional bonds, real feelings of security and usually,
quite basically, a home and a family, in the hope that they might
provide these. Though, as Liz Greene tells us, that kind of
security is often illusory. The typical Moon-Saturn person will
often seek to own their own home, to have something really solid
behind them. Individuals with this contact strong often draw
bricks when doodling. Images around stone and brick walls and
fences are very appropriate with this combination.

The beauty of the Moon-Saturn person can be that they do take the
emotional realm so very seriously. For this is the person who
might never let you down, in practical terms anyway. Problems can
arise for Moon-Saturn when they take their feelings and what may
have happened in the past, so seriously, that they find the whole
emotional realm so scary and so emotionally exposing that they
won't open up sufficiently in order to receive the emotional
feedback that is required.

Because of their need for permanence, Moon-Saturn will always
tend to cling to the familiar, tried and tested path and nowhere
more so than in relationships. Moon-Saturn often ends up with
partners who are even more like their parents than usual, perhaps
because there is a vague feeling that any love is good love.
There is also a fear of being on one's own and a reluctance to
take on board responsibility for a home of one's own. Perhaps
basically, Moon-Saturn craves for a mother and sometimes craves
to *be* a mother.

I have known several cases of women with anorexia and bulimia
whose charts have had strong Moon-Saturn contacts. In such cases,
the individual can be seen to be either denying themselves food,
controlling (or not) their food intake, or overeating in a bid to
nurture themselves, to make up for a time where they have not
been 'fed' previously. Some psychologists interpret anorexia as a
resistance to mothering, nurturing, adulthood and the feminine
generally, coupled perhaps with a strong, unconscious, emotional
bonding to the father image, which fits well enough with at least
one possible Moon-Saturn manifestation. Moon-Saturn men and women
may feel awkward with the feminine, the 'yin' side of themselves
and especially that aspect of emotional life which encompasses
mothering, nurturing, holding and expressing one's own neediness.

Although I said earlier that there is often an early message of
'be independent' from the parents to the Moon-Saturn child, there
is also often a counter-message which says, 'Don't grow up fully
because I need you, don't have a family, don't move away.' As
adults the Moon-Saturn type will often make themselves available
for the parents who maybe get sick or for some other reason are
not able to cope on their own. The child remains controlled by
the parents and colludes with the situation for many reasons no
doubt, not least the fact that the family situation is a familiar
one.

Women with these contacts are usually either desperate to have
children or cannot bear the thought of doing so. For some, the
physical presence of children serves, like a certificate, as
proof of the individual's maternal and nurturing ability. Not
infrequently also, Moon-Saturn parents look to their child for
the nurturance they never had. And a good way of contacting what
you want, can be to give those things to others. By being a
parent, it is possible to heal some of the wounds of childhood,
especially if the individual is aware and conscious that such is
the opportunity. The urge for a family can also be part of the
individual's hankering for emotional and domestic security.
Whilst the permanence of family situations may indeed be
illusory, they provide an arena whereupon the individual may
learn about those illusions and learn and gain confidence about
their ability to care and be cared for, by others. Arguably, it
is only through facing their fears about their neediness, that
Moon-Saturn can emotionally develop into adulthood.

                             ******

Here is another excerpt from Liz Greene's "Saturn"; the entire
description of Moon-Saturn aspects is six pages long, so I have
edited it, deleting the part relevant only to women and a
digression of the author on reincarnation which I assumed would
be of little interest to you.

Saturn in aspect to the Moon: Moon-Saturn contacts have a poor
reputation traditionally, although the classical Saturnian
virtues of thrift and caution are usually linked with them. They
are said to indicate a personality which is often sensitive to
the point of morbidity, restriction and inhibition, withdrawal
and difficulty in emotional expression, shyness, and lack of
imagination. These qualities, which are generally associated with
the afflictions of Saturn to the Moon, are fairly awe-inspiring
for what is a common enough contact, and although this
description is accurate enough about many Moon-Saturn
personalities, the contact may also be seen from a different and
less depressive point of view. Thrift and caution are, in the
final analysis, fairly uninteresting compensations for the
unpleasant qualities usually linked with Moon-Saturn aspects.

The Moon has a variety of possible interpretations which is
fitting for her fluid and changeable nature. From a psychological
point of view alone there are many avenues of meaning all of
which are applicable to the Moon's symbolism. There is some
general agreement that she is, among other things, a symbol for
the feminine half of the human psyche -- the feeling nature, the
sensual nature, the mother, the unconscious or dark aspect of a
man's psyche. The archetype of the great lunar goddess in ancient
mythology, who was also goddess of fertility and of the earth,
still carries power today in the conscious expression of woman
and the unconscious of man, and the language of symbolism and
dreams, of moods and fantasy, is also linked with the Moon. She
is also, on a more prosaic level, a symbol of one's childhood and
of the roots from which the individual's character grows; she
often describes in a clear and concise manner on the birth chart
the nature of the atmosphere of early home life and the
relationship with one's mother. In terms of behaviour the Moon
appears to be related to an individual's instinctive habit
patterns, his natural unconscious manner of expression. The Moon
is the line of least resistance, and her qualities by sign and
house and aspect are expressed most obviously in intimate
emotional relationships and in those situations where instinct
rather than conscious deliberation governs a man's actions.

...the Moon represents a link with one's childhood and one's
heredity and roots and usually suggests an area where the need
for security and a sense of continuity with the past is obviously
expressed. In some ways the Moon symbolises what the parents have
been and where the longing is greatest for an emotional rapport
and instinctual closeness which will replace the comfort of the
ancient umbilical tie.

There is the suggestion with Moon-Saturn contacts, including the
"soft" aspects, that the experiences of childhood have been
structured and defined along Saturnian lines and that there has
been rather a lot of emphasis on duty and on the appropriate
forms of behaviour. Sometimes Moon-Saturn contacts are concurrent
with a childhood which is difficult because of financial reasons;
sometimes there is an abundance of material comfort but little
warmth or spontaneity of emotional expression. The mother is
frequently undemonstrative, or a disappointment in some way. Many
Moon-Saturn people carry a well-defined stamp of emotional
closefistedness which infers [sic] a long past of learning to
control the feelings -- beginning at an age where feelings,
freely expressed, are the only outlet a child possesses for
communication. There is often a brooding loneliness about this
contact, and even with the apparent stability and steadfastness
which are typical of the easier aspects, there is an aloofness
and isolation which is not easily broken. There is frequently a
cool and apparently efficient exterior presented although the
efficiency is questionable if the aspects are close because there
is often compulsive defensiveness which interferes with the
practical instincts. Moon-Saturn contacts often concur with the
sort of personality which likes to present itself as practical,
but this is usually a substitution of values of the kind which
Saturn is so good at; the practicality is usually developed
because the individual cannot express himself in any other way.
Often a deep loneliness and needfulness is present with Moon-
Saturn, particularly for the security of emotional bonds which
only a family with its sense of blood relationships and
continuity can provide. There is a need for roots, for tradition,
and for the physical structure of a family unit. Usually this
emphasis on the structure carries an inherent disappointment with
it for the family, when the Moon is closely aspected to Saturn,
can often offer nothing except structure.

The early home life is of primary importance in the shaping of
the Moon-Saturn personality characteristics. Both of these
planets are related to the vertical axis of the chart with its
associations of parental influence, and both planets are also
connected with aspects of the unconscious and of behaviour
patterns which are built up over past experience. Both parents
are represented by this contact and not in the kindest of
fashions. The suggestion of a "business before pleasure" attitude
is strong. Sometimes there is the atmosphere of a strict
morality, linked with religious viewpoints; this contact is
common among people who have been subjected to the more dogmatic
religious systems with their emphasis on a harsh and duty-
conscious deity. The parents, often through no fault of their
own, are a burden or a disappointment to the child.

What this kind of pattern does psychologically varies depending
upon whether the individual is a man or a woman; it also varies
because the bias of the rest of the chart may suggest the usual
wide spectrum of apparent expressions of Saturn, ranging from the
close and withdrawn emotional temperament one might expect, to
the apparently effusive and sentimental temperament which Saturn
so easily demonstrates as compensation. But whatever his external
manifestation, Saturn always inclines toward the development of
strength through isolation, and the individual with Moon-Saturn
is usually cut off from both his literal roots and his psychic
roots and must develop his own sense of continuity and emotional
security. He cannot retreat to the pleasant memories of childhood
because they are frequently unpleasant, and he also cannot depend
upon others emotionally to provide a nest in which he can bury
himself so that he does not have to grow. When he relies on his
instincts, they usually let him down, and he often finds at some
point in his life that he must burn his bridges behind him if he
is to develop into a mature human being. The structure of the
family and the rules of good behaviour which served him in the
past as a reason for being are no longer satisfactory, and the
individual is given an opportunity to develop the conscious
decision-making aspect of his nature more fully, symbolised by
the Sun, because the line of least resistance is blocked. It
might be said that when Moon-Saturn contacts are present on the
birth chart, it is time for the individual to begin to become a
conscious, thinking entity; the total structure of his psyche
will usually not permit him to fall back on his feeling nature
for his direction or his behaviour.

The Moon on a man's chart has some bearing on his choice in a
female partner since this is affected by the temperament of his
mother and the kind of relationship he had with her. As a symbol
of his own female side, the Moon usually suggests those qualities
which are likely to be projected upon a wife or lover; the Moon
is one of the keys to the attributes which personalise the
"anima" figure in a man's unconscious psyche. Moon-Saturn
contacts suggest that some difficulties are to be expected both
in a man's relationship with his own unconscious and in his
relationships with women as the living symbol of his female self.
The feeling side of his nature is likely to be forcibly clamped
down, and in place of feelings -- which are likely to be a rather
powerful and always wholesome energy -- the man may express
sentiment of a kind which is peculiarly characteristic of Moon-
Saturn contacts and which is always well-behaved. The feeling
nature is not consistently well-behaved any more than the Moon is
consistently full or new; it is the totality of feeling
experience which is symbolised by the Moon, and it is this
totality which is such a threat to the Moon-Saturn man. Because
the feeling nature is rarely permitted acknowledgment let alone
expression, the Moon-Saturn man is likely to attract women of a
particularly instinctual and dominant nature into his life, and
the voracious lunar goddess, flanked by her bestial symbols,
which has been denied integration in his own psyche, will usually
appear as a woman in his personal life. Just as he is inwardly at
the mercy of his moods and feelings -- one of the typical
characteristics of Moon-Saturn -- he is also at the mercy of his
women through the vulnerability and childishness of his feeling
nature. The medieval astrologers stated that the Moon's
application to Saturn on a man's birth chart boded no good in
terms of marriage, and it is possible that in some ways they were
correct.

One of the most important opportunities offered by this contact
on a man's chart is the possibility of coming to terms with his
feeling nature because he generally suffers disappointment
through women and consequently finds it useless to attempt to
project his feeling nature onto them and live this side of his
psyche out vicariously. He must experience it himself, and it is
through this means that a man can in the end free himself finally
from the grip and control of his own past. He becomes what is
called "twice-born" through this confrontation with and
understanding of his feeling nature, and it is possible for him
to become closer to a whole person than the ordinary man whose
female half is always expressed through the women in his life.
Moon-Saturn contacts are important on a man's chart although all
too often the man will attempt to sidestep the challenge and bury
himself in practical affairs which take his mind off the
loneliness and vulnerability which constantly nag at him from
within. Saturn's gift of independence usually follows on the
heels of failure or disappointment because only failure appears
to be sufficient to cause a person to question himself or to
develop the necessary inner wisdom and strength. With Moon-Saturn
contacts he offers the possibility of true emotional independence
-- a quality or experience which is relatively rare. The security
of family ties is an illusory one, and it is often very dangerous
to assume that one has the right, because of blood ties, to
command emotional support from others. Parents can die, partners
can leave, and children can grow up; and the person with Moon-
Saturn is generally courting pain and disappointment if he seeks
to bind these external things to himself by emotional need. As he
builds his own inner stability and taps the resources of his
creative and intuitive side, he generally finds that he does not
have to demand the affection of others. This is offered to him
freely, because he has something to offer in return -- a whole
person.

[Her description of the effects on women in particular deleted
for the sake of relative brevity.]


Maggie