An in depth look at Saturn in the charts of three monarchs, over three generations, to determine whether or not the malefic 'god of doors' has any bearing on 'the sins of the father are vested in the son......'

“Genetics is about how information is stored and transmitted between generations.”  John M. Smith

Of the 7 traditional planets Saturn holds the most allure. This is not only due to his label of the great malefic, but because of how we learn and grow through his areas of rulership and the lessons he represents. In the Tradition of astrology the planet closest to God is Saturn and he rules the right ear of man; in the Jewish faith a shofar, the horn that is sounded during certain times of the year, that bends to the right is superior to one that bends to the left; the right is closer to God's ear. So we speak to the right ear of God and he in turn speaks to us via Saturn. Saturn is the planet that will aid us in our return to God as he will ensure that we experience all of the trials and tribulations needed in the human life which force us to reach out and call for God. We are separated from God through Saturn as he rules the 1st house of the physical body and we return to Him via the 8th house of death, which is also ruled by Saturn.

Saturn's Essence

Saturn rules death, restriction, boundaries, discipline and hard work and he is the author of grave mischief. He denotes the life-lessons that bring us to our knees when we realise that we are unable to traverse along our path without assistance; he humbles us and makes us aware of our mortality and frailty. He denotes a rite of passage into adulthood as the consequences of his lessons highlight the maturity and sense of responsibility of the person. Saturn rules old age, wisdom, prudence, caution and temperance – all qualities of the mature individual – and it is these very things that the events triggered by Saturn should teach us.

Saturn is the planet that forces us to grow up, to leave behind the parts of ourselves that are no longer desirable and to face the reality of our individual potential in all its magnitude, but also to acknowledge our limitations. Lessons presented to us which result in pain, suffering and hardship, are to be embraced and should be viewed as an opportunity to progress spiritually. It is not the event in question that causes the problem, it is our response and attitude to it. If we cannot see Saturn for what he is – the great teacher – then the lessons he presents are wasted at that time; we will not be let off the hook however and these lessons will not disappear into the ether, they will be presented until we do acknowledge that part of ourselves that requires humility.

Some of Saturn's Indications

The Motive behind this Investigation

Saturn not only displays our ability to set boundaries and to manifest his other properties, but also our ability to suffer. The placement of Saturn in the nativity should depict what the nature of the (bulk of the) pain and suffering will be - that which we will need to endure, as well as the areas of life from which this will arise. If this is assessed together with Fortuna (as the Part of Hunger), a clear path should emerge as to how the native is required to return to the Divine. Saturn as the god of doors, our entry into and exit from the world, should also display any form of heredity or genealogy that is carried forward into the next generation; this, combined with the entire fabric of the chart (one aspect can never be delineated independently of the entire nativity), should lead us towards certain astrological propensities. Here we assess the charts of three monarchs from the same family, over three generations, to establish whether or not there is a congruency in light of this investigation.

King James I of England

The son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, James Stuart was born 29 June 1566 and died 6 April 1625 (both NS); was King of Scots (as James VI) from 1567 to 1625 and King of England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625. He was the father of King Charles I and the grandfather of King Charles II.

He has a choleric temperament; a sanguine Moon manifesting through fixed fire in the 11th; his LoG is Venus and his LoM is Jupiter; Saturn, Lord 5 and 6, is posited at 27 Leo 20 in the 12th; Fortuna is at 2 Libra in the 2nd. Lord 1 is Mercury combust in the 11th, retrograde. Asc is posited on Zosma; Mars on Regulus and the Moon on the South Asellus.

King Charles I of England

Son of King James I and Anne of Denmark, was born 29 November 1600 and died 9 February 1649 (both NS); became heir apparent in 1612 when his older brother Henry died of typhoid, and succeeded to the throne on the death of James I.

He has a choleric temperament; his Moon is phlegmatic manifesting through cardinal air and posited in the 3rd on Vindemiatrix; his LoG is Mars and his LoM is the Sun; Saturn, Lord 6 and 7, is posited in the 4th at 5 Scorpio 32; Fortuna is in the 11th at 21 Gemini. Asc is posited on Regulus; Jupiter on Copula; Mars on Spiculum; MC on Almach and Menkar and Venus on Acumen.

King Charles II of England

Son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, born 8 June 1630 and died 16 February 1685 (both NS); was restored to the throne during the Restoration in 1660, on his 30th birthday. He left no official heirs to the throne.

He has a sanguine temperament; his Moon is phlegmatic manifesting through fixed earth in the 9th; his LoG is Jupiter and his LoM is Venus; Saturn is posited at 29 Libra 15, retrograde in the 2nd; Saturn is Lord 5 and 6; Fortuna is at 16 Leo in the 11th. Lord 1 is Mercury combust (but ruler of the Sun) in the 10th; Asc is posited on Denebola; Sun is posited on Phact, Mintaka, El Nath and Ensis; Jupiter on Achernar; Moon on Capulus; Mercury on Menkalinan; Fortuna on Algenubi and Venus on Alpheratz; the 2nd cusp is close enough to Vindemiatrix to mention.

Saturn: King James I

Saturn, Lord 5 and 6, posited in the 12th alludes to the area of life where James would either suffer the most or the means through which this suffering would be initiated; the area of life where (or through which) Saturnine hardships would be encountered. The debilitated ruler of his house of pleasure (5th) in his house of self undoing certainly describes this well. James created many a scandal as a result of his ferocious appetite for pageboys; the ruler of the 6th of servants in his 12th places them at the mercy of his decadent nature. This did not endear him to his subjects and towards the end of his rule, although he was a shrewd and discerning ruler, they were impatient to see the back of him.

His suffering also occurred through his creative pursuits (L5) such as the treatise he wrote on witches, Daemonoligie 1597, as well as his long-winded theological speeches - although it must be noted that he had an astute mind and did, on many occasions, produce material which was respectable. He was also the author of various impositions such as the Oath of Allegiance (November 1605), which further estranged him from his people.

The close aspect between Mars (L4 and L9) and Saturn also denotes his religious inclinations and the significant influence he had on religion at the time – he was the first monarch to allow the Geneva Bible to be translated into English and to be made available to the common people – the King James Version is his namesake. This vested interest in religion, which in those times was closely aligned with politics, most certainly caused him strife; much of what ensued as a result of his need to flatter his vanity and fuel his desires, with regards to the Catholics and the Puritans, added to the Saturnian principle in his 12th house.

Mars is also his father, Lord Darnley; his mother, Mary Stuart is Venus: both these planets are in close aspect to Saturn. The familial fiasco incorporating murder, treason, imprisonment and execution certainly colours the mode of suffering and hardship as well as the manifestation through his folly, underlined by his obstinacy and tenuous grip on control. He also had a neurotic terror of naked weapons and this could possibly stem from the conjunction of Saturn with Mars; this Mars/Saturn conjunction is further highlighted as being of importance in the nativity as it is square the Nodal axis.

Saturn: King Charles I

Saturn, Lord 6 and 7 is posited on the 4th – at the root or base of the chart, underpinning the very core of King Charles. Paternal and familial issues as well as issues with his homeland most certainly fuelled the suffering and hardship provided by Saturn: the inheritance of a bankrupt kingdom, a situation exacerbated by the inherited political policies, and decapitation by those whom you rule, your fellow countrymen, are possibly some of the most severe hardships one can experience. All of these matters pertaining to hardship and suffering are well documented.

Charles also suffered with physical Saturnine issues, unable to walk for the first years of his life due to his 'weakness in the joints'; Saturn again manifesting in his grit and determination in a fixed sign, assisting him to not only endure this physical hardship but also to overcome it. His Saturn also provided the propensity for his rigidity, being at the base of the chart, this inflexibility adding to the pain and suffering he endured as the monarch at the time.

Saturn: King Charles II

Saturn Lord 5 and 6 is posited in the 2nd. Aside from his passion for clocks which resulted in a large collection which is clearly shown by this placement, King Charles II most certainly endured extreme hardship and suffering relating to 2nd house matters. Exiled from the age of 19 until 30 when the monarchy was restored to the throne, he lived off his mother who received a paltry amount from the French court and on whatever handouts he could get from those predisposed to assisting him.

Although Saturn is exalted, his presence in the 2nd alludes to problems relating to self esteem as well; one can only imagine the psychological damage done to the heir apparent whilst in exile, upon hearing the news of his father's execution and being unable to appropriately mourn the father he adored and in living in abject poverty, unable to claim his birthright.

The Saturnine Weave

Before dissecting the finer nuances of any chart, immaterial of the nature of the astrological assessment, it is advisable to sit quietly with the chart/s, simply looking at them to see what, if anything, catches the eye. At first glance, comparing the three charts against each other, it appears that Saturn conveys an astrological tale which is most plausible. In all three charts Saturn most certainly depicts the main areas in which hardship, the precursor to maturity and humility, would be experienced, and in all three charts he also depicts how the native fuelled this potential.

King James was destined to suffer through his own self undoing: lust and avarice; and through his belief in the Divine Right of Kings coupled with his disdain for protocol, decorum and boundaries, he added to Saturn's indications of hardship. King Charles I was born into a destiny where matters pertaining to his country and to his father would provide the necessary material for him to learn the harsh Saturnine lessons; sadly he learnt the harshest one of all through a premature and violent death. King Charles II would need to experience suffering through his 2nd house if he were to come of a Saturnian age.

What is most interesting with regards to Saturn in two of the charts, from a heredity or genealogy perspective, is the backlash depicted by Saturn in these nativities and derived from the father; I am unable to draw this conclusion from the chart of King James I as the birth data of Lord Darnley is not available; however we could surmise that the placement of Saturn in James' chart is a backlash to the behaviour of his father, if we look at how this manifests in the other two nativities.

The rigid and inflexible Saturn at the root of Charles I's chart is a direct response to the debilitated Saturn in the 12th in his father's nativity. The debauched, out-of-control behaviour of his father resulted in a man, his son, who is possibly the most moral monarch Britain has ever known. Charles I was not a spendthrift either and although he flushed copious amounts of money down the latrine to wage his futile wars, this was done for a noble purpose. His son however, with Saturn in the house of his moveable assets, not only suffered through the financial decisions made by King Charles I to wage those wars, thus further plunging the country into poverty, but his exile was a direct result of his father's behaviour and policies; in exile he literally lived like a beggar, accepting whatever scraps he could from the European monarchs' tables. Upon restoration to the throne at the age of 30, he spent money lavishly, not only on himself, his fleet of ships, mathematical and scientific pursuits, but also on his numerous mistresses and his brood of illegitimate children.

Conclusion

As with all matters astrological, there is no shortcut and no one-thing that can provide the answers; nothing in the chart is independent of anything else. However Saturn, the natural ruler of locks and doors, can most certainly provide entry into an assessment pertaining to the matters of pain, suffering and hardship and he does, I believe, allude to some of the “sins of the fathers” that are carried forward from generation to generation. This assessment can be elevated to the next level, incorporating Fortuna and various other Arabian Parts alluding to matters of the soul; we could assess the specific paths that lead to the Divine. However, to peer into another man's soul and to speculate on whether or not that path was in fact adhered to or whether or not it did lead back to the Divine, is a matter for discussion only between the native and his Creator. We can draw a linear conclusion though relating to Saturn as the generational god of doors: what came before will manifest now and (very possibly) this direct link from one generation to the next, relating to Saturn, is vested in the sons: literally what is sown by the father is reaped by the child, for better or for worse.

Bibliography:

• Christian Astrology Books 1, 2 and 3: William lily
• Tetrabiblos: Ptolemy
• Wide as the Waters: Benson Bobrick
• The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology: Al-Biruni and R. Ramsay Wright
• King Charles II: Antonia Fraser