Stairway to Heaven

Capricorn to Aquarius via Saturn

Now that we have passed beyond the Winter Solstice and with light slowly returning, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the Saturn ruled signs (Capricorn and Aquarius) through their associated Tarot cards. There is a fascinating congruity and contradiction between Capricorn and Aquarius that is both instigated and reconciled through Saturn’s rulership. At least it seems this way to me. I will try to share what the wandering stars have shared with me. Perhaps it will resonate with you.

The first thing to notice is that Saturn does not, strictly speaking, rule the darkest season.[i] Although darkness and cold are major signatures of Saturn, the signs that this planet rules are a time of increasing light.[ii] I believe that the “story” behind these two signs has less to do with darkness per se, and more to do with the gradient between low and high, darkness and light, the carnal and the spiritual. Saturn creates the “distance” of attainment. Saturn rules enclosure. The movement from Capricorn to Aquarius is a story of “hatching”, of reaching from the carnal world of Capricorn to the spiritual realm of Aquarius.

In Tarot, Saturn is represented by the World Card. The wreath separates the carnal world (the figure who dances within the wreath) from the archetypal world (the four creatures outside the wreath who represent the fixed constellations of the zodiac).[iii] The cards that represent Capricorn (The Devil) and Aquarius (The Star), show how the soul, the portion of spirit which dwells in and animates the material world, reaches out (or does not) toward the world of the Gods. By ruling both signs, Saturn makes this spiritual ascent possible by making the difference between the two realms.

Mesopotamian and later, Greek astrologers knew Capricorn as “The Gate of Man”. Through this “gate” the soul was thought to ascend toward the realm of the Gods.[iv] The architype associated with Capricorn, a mythic half goat half fish creature representing both the ascent from the depths and the tenacity required in climbing to the heights. Capricorn is often thought of in terms of a determination bordering on hardheadedness. But what people often forget is that the determination of Capricorn, at its best, is directed toward building something both tangible and of great spiritual potential – a stairway to heaven. Nevertheless, there is a shadow side to this work that we see in the Tarot card associated with Capricorn.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn gave The Devil Card (the card of Capricorn) the name “Lord of the Gates of Matter”. If we combine this idea with the idea of Capricorn as the “Gate of Man” we see that The Devil guards this gate not to keep the spirit world out, but rather, to keep incarnate souls IN.[v] The Devil is often thought of as a card of self-limitation associated with addiction, obsession and, in general, the ways our own fears and desires hold us back. While this is certainly legitimate, this card also discloses something about incarnation AS SUCH.

We need to eat, sleep, keep warm and dry and meet “psychological” needs that arise from our awareness of these mortal limits. The fears and insecurities that might drive us to “low” aspirations are rooted in the awareness of our own mortality. Our “higher” aspirations arise from the recognition of goods BEYOND our own good.[vi] The vision of a good beyond, or even contrary to the needs of ourselves, or any Individual is what Aquarius is all about. But, as we shall see, these mystic crystal revelations have their shadow side as well.

Aquarius is represented by The Star Card. This card has a range of meanings from “guidance” to “hope”. It is a card of divination and navigation. By the light of the stars we can plot our course, across the seas and deserts but also through the paths of karma. She represents the BIG PICTURE. Thus her association with Aquarius.

Aquarius is the sign of humanity and humanitarianism.[vii] Associated with all forms of progress, and therefore with the future, Aquarius is the sign that promises the “Great Society” and a “New Age”. It is a philosopher’s dream in which the height of reason meets the depths of spiritual awareness. If all of this seems a bit vague, you have perceived yet another aspect, AND LIMITATION of the Aquarian archetype.

An important thing we learn from the study of archetypes is the difference between say, AN idea of the best possible world and THE idea of the best possible world. History has no shortage of ideas about how to make conditions on Earth as they are in Heaven. But the SPECIFICS of these visions have varied widely. Perhaps you have your vision of the ideal world. This vision might be political, religious, technological or some combination of these. In may be traditional or revolutionary. It might proscribe strict limitations of individual behavior (or even thought) in the interest of the collective or a maximum of individual autonomy. But whatever the ideal world looks like, there is something that it definitely DOES NOT. Furthermore, the thing that it does not look like TO YOU might be someone else’s ideal. This wouldn’t be a problem except for one thing – we live on a limited globe with limited space and resources. We share this globe and, like it or not, our actions influence everyone and everything else whether we, or they, like it or not.[viii] The limitation of the Aquarian vision, what ever form this may take, is the very limitation we thought we left behind in Capricorn – the limitation of mortality and of matter itself.

To make matters worse, this situation is unavoidable - a feature rather than a bug both in material reality and in its relationship with the spirit world. How much harm has been done in the name of making the world a “better place”. How much has been justified in this name. I know I have my own ideas of what should and should not be. I suspect that many people would hate to live in MY ideal world. I bet it is the same for you. How much should I care whether “those people” like living in my perfect world? How much of my own idea of perfection am I willing to forgo in the name of allowing others to pursue their own perfection – even when it comes at my expense? These are, to my mind, truly “humanitarian” questions because they acknowledge a limitation that might seem anathema to the Aquarian ideal - every idea about how to “improve” the world has emerged from within the mind of HUMAN BEINGS. This means that every idea about how to “improve” the world has been the product of the “unimproved world”.[ix] To believe otherwise is to believe that some privileged individuals have attained the God’s Eye View that one would need to know what should be improved and how. Some may believe that someone HAS attained this view but all I must do is disagree and we have an argument and possibly a war. Such has been the way of things for a long time.

The Five of Swords is the first of three decanic minor cards associated with the Sign of Aquarius.[x] This 10° section of the zodiac is Ruled by Venus. We see the Love of some ideal, a love strong enough that one is willing to make enemies. If we are passionate enough, we might be able to make the world conform to our particular vision – for a while. But there will always be dissenters unless we can eliminate them completely. But how “Aquarian” would that be?

Aquarius throws us back on ourselves. With a few notable exceptions, everyone who has ever tried to make things on Earth as they are in Heaven has turned out to be a tyrant. The exceptions have generally been those who have challenged us to look within and face our own spiritual weakness – to “remove the beam from our own eye before attempting to remove the mote from our brother’s”.[xi] The teachings of luminaries such as Jesus or Buddha always emphasize inner cultivation over reformation of the outside world.[xii] Such teachings are congruent with the idea of “The Great Work” of alchemy – that is, spiritual purification and the joining of opposites. Which brings us back finally to Saturn.

In Astrology, the “opposition” is of the nature of Saturn.[xiii] If we examine the distribution of signs, and even houses, we see that those which lay directly across from one another are both complimentary AND opposite. For example, Aquarius lay directly opposite Leo. Aquarius is concerned with the collective, Leo with the individual. Even more striking, the 1^st house represents the self while the 7^th, directly opposite, represents both the spouse AND the sworn enemy. In this Saturnian aspect we see that both the most intimate and the most acrimonious of relationships are sustained and organized by Saturn which both separates and unites. The ascent from the carnal state represented by Capricorn and The Devil and the elevated spiritual state represented by Aquarius and The Star is made possible by Saturn. We get outside of ourselves only to the extent that we recognize – and HONOR – the limitation that IS self. When we see ourselves clearly in this way, we may see others, as we do ourselves, struggling to purify and bring opposites together. We will almost always fall short in this practice. But let us continue the alchemical work – the magnum opus which, by purifying each of us may purify all.

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[i] The darkest part of the year, in the Northern Hemisphere, falls within Sagittarius and Capricorn, the two signs that flank the winter solstice.

[ii] The most technical reason for this seeming anomaly has to do with the order of zodiacal rulership set forth in the Thema Mundi, the mythical birth chart of the cosmos. In this chart, the signs ruled by the luminaries (Moon and Sun) are Cancer and Leo. The planets most associated with light rule the signs immediately following the Summer Solstice and, therefore, see only the slow fading of the light.

[iii] For most of the history of astrology, Saturn, being the farthest planet from Earth, was seen to guard the boundary between our limited world of change and the changeless abode of The Gods (the zodiac).

[iv] The association between Capricorn and the ascent of the soul is rooted in the increase of light from the point of maximal darkness. By a similar symbolic logic, the sign of Cancer was known as the “Gate of the Gods”. Cancer, being the place where light, after reaching its maximum at the Summer Solstice, begins to sink back into darkness leading to the notion of the light of spirit descending into the world of matter.

[v] The common view of the material world as a trap into which the spirit has “fallen” and some malevolent entity who delights in torturing the spirit in this world, easily attaches itself to The Devil. But another way of seeing our condition is one in which we must always strike the best bargain we can with limited resources. By this view, the incarnate, mortal state is one in which the limitations placed upon us by material existence help to develop the spirit. Because we cannot have everything all the time, we are forced to make choices. The consequences of these choices creates the matrix of karma through which the soul is refined. By this understanding, The Devil becomes “The Adversary” who, by constantly challenging our spiritual development, plays a role in strengthening us in this regard. This reading of the Devil’s role is similar to what we find in The Book of Job.

[vi] Whether it is motivated by the mandate of Gods and ancestors or “enlightened self-interest”, whenever we act in a manner that places our individual comfort and security behind some “higher good” we are acting in a manner that implies awareness of and adherence to a view of reality in which we are merely a “part” and not necessarily the most important one.

[vii] Looking at the creatures who dwell in the corners of The World Card, we see, in the upper left corner, the man/angel. This figure represents the Fixed Air Sign Aquarius. It means the enlightenment of humanity by contact with a higher, cosmic consciousness that permits us to see beyond the immediate, changeable material world to a glimpse of the “higher plan”.

[viii] Here is where we feel Saturn’s rulership over Aquarius most powerfully.

[ix] When Lao Tzu taught:

“Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

I believe he was making a similar point. You have to know what the PURPOSE of the world IS to judge whether it is fulfilling its purpose or not.

[x] Each 10° section of the zodiac or “decan” is ruled by one of the 7 visible planets.

[xi] This is from Matthew 7:5.

[xii] Needless to say, followers of such teachers often excel more in preaching than practice.

[xiii] There are 5 “aspects” recognized in ancient astrology: the sextile (60° apart), the square (90° apart), the trine (120° apart) and the opposition (180° apart). For reasons rooted in the structure of the Thema Mundi, each of these aspects is associated with a planet. Saturn is associated with the opposition in which two points on the zodiacal wheel are as far apart as it is possible to be.