©2003 by Nikki Davis
Saturn is now in Cancer, and finding its expression in this sign can be painful. Emotional frustration is one key phrase that marks this two year time period, and it may surface in many forms. Cancer is a sensitive sign of nurture and traditional femininity. Saturn is a hard-driving energy of discipline and worldly achievement. Think about what conflicts these discordant energies may bring up in the work and/or domestic realm. Does it feel as though people's needs are in conflict with what you're trying to accomplish? Are you feeling misunderstood or neglected by your superiors? Or by those you are responsible for?
In my case, having Cancer on the Ascendant, working motherhood never felt quite this hard. I feel as though my cherished five-year-old daughter slurps the blood from my veins like apple juice from her sippy cup. Her need for my time and attention feels insatiable. At the same time I find myself more emotionally driven than ever to achieve new heights in my work. The drive for security and validation feels disparate. Other people's needs seem to be a constant obstacle to fulfilling my own needs. And time appears to be ticking faster than ever.
You may be experiencing the reverse of this scenario. You may be feeling that your own needs are being eclipsed by other people's limits and burdens. Or, your own sense of obligation is superseding your ability or willingness to take care of yourself. In any case, the whole realm of responsibility is casting a dark shadow over our emotional landscape right now, and life feels way more about work and struggle than cozy satisfaction.
The good news is that we have an opportunity to resolve issues that were kicked up 30 years ago, when Saturn was here last.
Where were you in the mid-70s? Inflation soared to frightening heights. Working in the public sphere became no longer a choice but a necessity for most of us. And there it started for women, the birth of our new enslavement, the "Superwoman" mind-set. We learned that if we were to cherish our hard-won freedom, we'd have to bear the masculine and feminine burdens of existence by mastering both realms.
How do we make peace with our opposing responsibilities and reclaim the moment?
Whether we're married or single, working in or outside the home, none of us escapes
the tyranny of overwork. Certainly men as well as women feel the conflict between work
and family, or the compulsion to achieve vs. the need for self-care. The discord
between Saturn and Cancer present to us through our aching backs and shoulders,
through family and work squabbles, or through any heightened anxiety and stress symptoms.
Frustrations of this magnitude are never without purpose.
However the constricting energy of Saturn is surfacing for you at this time, Saturn in Cancer presents a supreme opportunity for healing through flower essence therapy. The following are some flower remedies that address the issues of overwork-related conflict and stress. These essences help us get a grip on the soul lessons behind our distress, enabling us to become more of who we are in the time that we have.
Pomegranate: Nurturing AND Productivity
The Pomegranate, produced by the Flower Essence Society (FES), is a remedy for balancing the feminine consciousness of nurturing and care-giving with the more masculine qualities of achievement and production.
In her Flower Essence Repertory, FES founder Patricia Kaminski refers to this dilemma as a ". . . crisis in the feminine soul."
And about Pomegranate, she writes: "...Those who attempt to balance both possibilities may feel that their energies are drained and compromised, so that neither role provides full, creative satisfaction... Pomegranate promotes conscious alignment with the feminine creative Self, so that a woman can see more clearly her right destiny and choices."
As I take Pomegranate, I'm seeing how every interaction with my daughter is suddenly a call to heal my father's impatience with me as he pursued his "fortune." I am at risk of repeating his emotional mistakes, which would leave me impoverished no matter how successful.
Pomegranate is useful for men who may be torn between their affections and ambitions. If it's more fulfilling to review your bank statements than to play ball with your boy in the park, consider what is driving your priorities. This essence can help you make more conscious choices about what you value.
Star Thistle: Inner Sense of Abundance
Saturn with its reminder of all that is finite and limited, easily evokes a primal fear of scarcity as it journeys through Cancer. We may be reminded now of all we didn't receive in childhood.
We may focus this fundamental insecurity on money, love, material possessions, or anything that sustains us. We worry about what will happen to us if it all goes away, leaving us helpless.
FES's Star Thistle addresses this anxiety. Instead of focusing on what we're not getting and can't give, Star Thistle promotes a consciousness of plenty and trust, despite the real deprivations we may have faced in the past. This essence helps us see the reality of abundance over the fear of lack.
Impatiens: Patience
If life were a bicycle race, under Saturn's influence we couldn't pedal
our way out of first gear. Our feet would spin as fast as they could, and
our competitors would whizz by. We can never get where we want to go fast enough. We encounter obstacles that require patience and re-thinking.
The Impatiens flower essence is a signature Saturnian remedy that helps us make our peace with the limitations of time, and overcome the fight-or-flight need to rush a mindful process.
Impatiens is part of the original 38 Bach Flower Remedies, usually available in your nearest natural foods store. I blend Impatiens into any remedy for support through Saturn-related stress.
Elm: True Accomplishment
Elm is another Bach remedy for overwork. If we've taken on more than we can comfortably achieve, Elm is the remedy that helps us get a realistic handle on what's possible.
Elm is for the overloaded mother, doctor, healer, teacher, contractor, or anyone who is managing people. We may have been raised to take it all on. The Elm remedy helps us understand our interdependence and enlist the support we need to carry out our grand missions.
With Elm, I realize how much happier I am when I approach house chores with a sense of myself as a project manage, rather than a domestic slave. My daughter pitches in joyfully, and my husband is less inclined to cringe when I say his name.
After taking a mixture of the above remedies recently, I was late for work and my daughter was taking her usual sweet time climbing into her car seat. She landed on my lap instead of her car seat in effort to pick up all the toys she had dropped on the floor from our last ride. What is more critical? That she holds her super ball, rubber snake and slinky on her way to school, or that I get to work on time? I sighed out loud with an exasperated tremor.
She felt my distress, and turned to me with big inquiring eyes. "Mommy? Did you breathe like that because you love me so much?"
"Yes," I lied. And laughed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nikki Davis, M.A. has been studying, teaching and healing with astrology for 17 years. She has a Master's Degree in traditional psychology, and values astrology as the most useful and comprehensive model of the human psyche and soul. With their gifts of facilitating change, flower essences fit beautifully into the art of Counseling Astrology. Nikki has been practicing flower essence therapy along with her counseling work since 1995. You will find these and her full array of services, including taped phone readings, on her www.HolisticOasis.com website.
The World Wide Essence Society does not mean to imply any recommendation of nor give certification to any individuals or companies above. This article is provided purely for informational purposes. We ask consumers to make their own determination as to quality of the services and products offered above. This article is not meant to be advice, and the information is not meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.
