quote:
Synastry
Moon-Saturn contacts
Moon-Saturn aspects between charts have a reputation similar to Sun-Saturn contacts as they are often given a fatalistic or "karmic" implication if sufficiently close in orb. There is certainly a compulsive quality about these, as well as all, Saturnian contacts if the orb is under three degrees. Moon-Saturn connexions suggest a definite area of difficulty between two people, yet they are common enough in marriages and friendships and if handled with understanding, have a definitely positive and constructive side. They seem to be productive of a bond of emotional fidelity as the protective, sympathetic, and mothering nature of the Moon responds readily to the obvious vulnerability of Saturn.The Moon symbolizes the feeling nature and the natural flow of the instinctual, unconscious side of the personality. To the Moon's eagerness to experience new sensations, Saturn can prove rather stifling. He may react to her obvious emotionality with feelings of fear, vulnerability, awkwardness, and a sense of his own lack of emotional responsiveness. Unlike the Sun who gives forth light and energy of his own, the Moon's gift is her sensitive response to others on the plane of feeling, and it is this open and easy sensitivity that Saturn both envies and fears.
This contact may cause irritation and resentment if it is not understood. Saturn may feel himself to be callous and constricted when confronted by the Moon and may react by attempting to structure and confine the fluidity and responsiveness of his partner. The Moon may feel cramped and inhibited and, on some vague level, disapproved of, like an errant child. Because of the lunar sensitivity, she is easily discouraged and hurt by Saturn's criticism and apparent emotional coldness. Saturn's tendency to offer free and unsolicited advice, and to display resentment if his advice is not taken, is exaggerated by this contact. The Moon is involved and a child whose Saturn is at work. The Moon can become increasingly self-conscious in the presence of Saturn for nothing she does is right.
The Moon is a symbol for the unconscious, the primitive and instinctual self, and denotes those qualities which have been integrated from childhood, from hereditary patterns, or - if the idea of rebirth is considered - from the longer past. She is therefore representative of the line of least resistance, the behaviour which is instinctual and which reacts rather than acts. She is a reservoir of experience on the personal level from which the conscious will of the Sun can draw emotional support and instinctual wisdom. It is not difficult to understand why the Moon is a natural threat to Saturn for his experiences and knowledge are also of the past and may be related to childhood, to parental influences, and perhaps to the "long history" of the individual, but his past is on which is unpleasant to recall and which has taught him self-defense. Saturn and the Moon both suggest unconscious levels of behaviour, based on past experience, but one is a defense against the environment. Saturn attempts to create space between himself and the things or situations which have hurt him while the Moon attempts to draw everything to herself as part of her own subjective feeling experience. The Moon clings to those areas which are most disturbing to Saturn. and this becomes apparent even in the realm of personal habits. It is common to find Saturn irrationally irritated by a small and often meaningless personal idiosyncrasy of dress of habit expressed by the Moon for it is only a symbol of a deeper disturbance.
Since the Moon also seems to be connected with the private self-image which a person cherishes in his imagination - the guise which he wears in his fantasy-life - the Moon's qualities are most likely to be expressed in close relationships, particularly in a domestic situation, where it is not as necessary to maintain a facade. Any other planet falling on the Moon from another chart tends to bring forth a response of a positive kind from the Moon as this private self is in some subtle way understood or encouraged by the other person. For this reason we tend to feel more spontaneous, free, and capable of expression of the private self around those whose planets kindly aspect the Moon, and this is on of the facets of the Sun-Moon tie which is traditionally indicative of compatibility of temperament.
When Saturn contacts the Moon, this private self is certainly understood, at least after a fashion - although overlaid heavily with projection - but it is discouraged or disapproved of. At least this is the impression which Saturn may give although the actual situation is probably closer to greater longing and needfulness, carefully masked. Consequently there is often a certain embarrassment which the Moon feels in the presence of Saturn, the kind of feeling which sometimes occurs in dreams when the dreamer discovers that he is naked in the company of a group of people. Saturn, in his attempt to protect himself from his own vulnerability, may unconsciously become critical, nagging, and demanding, and may attempt also to undermine the Moon's confidence in order to gain her attention and emotional fidelity. There is usually great emotional needfulness present with a Moon-Saturn contact, and this in itself is not negative as it can provide the opportunity for a deep and meaningful relationship as well as a means for the development of inner strength and self-understanding. The difficulty usually lies in Saturn's reluctance to demonstrate his needfulness and to face his own sense of inadequacy. He may express a cool, critical exterior instead, and this can be painful to the sensitive Moon.
Moon-Saturn contacts occur frequently in enduring relationships which points strongly to the more positive potential they hold. It is possible to explain their frequency by the more cynical or pessimistic view that many people are conditioned by emotional rejection in childhood to identify love with pain, and they cannot function with a love which is accompanied by acceptance and happiness. The nuances of relationships when viewed from the perspective of Freud and Adler are certainly depressing; however, although much of this is undoubtedly applicable and although contacts like Moon-Saturn aspects between charts suggest a less than healthy reason from an attraction initially, it is possible that a deeper meaning to the relationship exists between the less attractive convolutions of the personal unconscious and that with patience and effort this deeper meaning may be perceived by two people who are willing to seek it. It is only when this area has been glimpsed that a reasonably accurate evaluation of the potential of the relationship in the long term is possible. Although there is much self-consciousness, inhibition, and hurt that often accompanies Moon-Saturn contacts, these reactions may be worked through and understood so that an enduring bond can be found to be existent underneath.
The Moon must often bear the brunt of Saturn's gloom and moodiness. Moon-Saturn connexions are common where the complaint is voiced that one is "picked at" mercilessly by another person, especially in the area of trivial habits and mannerisms. This may be particularly uncomfortable in a parent's Saturn affects a child's Moon for nothing the child does will be right in the eyes of his parent, and the child is not usually in a position to understand that this criticism is only the darker face of need. This is also a touchy contact in business relationships, especially is Saturn holds the authority, for he will make life generally uncomfortable for the Moon in the line of "duty" when purely personal antagonism is the real motivation. Unleashed in the domestic life without mutual understanding, it is a contact which breeds nagging and discontent, generally over personal habits. Behind all this lies the Moon's essential irrationality; she behaves as she does because that is simply how she is, and she is this way because it is the way she has always been. This makes no sense to Saturn who has spent much time constructing carefully designed defenses. A man will express his Sun sign largely because he consciously chooses to act in this way, and he will express his ascending sign largely because his experiences have taught him to develop these qualities as a necessary tool for the effective functioning in his environment. But he will express his Moon because he cannot help it; this is his past and his heritage and his line of least resistance. It is the lack of structure and control which is so infuriating to Saturn who desperately wishes that he could, just once, forget to reason or forget that is he separate.
Moon-Saturn contacts require the conplete cooperation of both people. Both planets are connected with the unconscious and both tend to react rather than act; but because of their depth, both the Moon and Saturn if studied as components of the psyche can yield a great deal of understanding. Two people with these contacts tend to possess a clear and uncomplicated channel into each other's most private inner life in terms of the personality, and if this channel is not muddied with hostility and fear, it can help to create a powerful and meaningful bond.
Lindaland
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted November 29, 2007 12:23 PM
