Saturn is widely regarded as the planet of lessons, discipline, and karma in astrology. But in Greco-Roman mythology, he is associated with the harvest, liberation, and time. That's one thing the mythos and astrology have in common: each form of Saturn represents time. We've got a lot of stories and phrases about time. From time healing all wounds to dragging by, it's very nature seems to really allude us mortals.

Saturn (or Cronus, in Greek mythology), is also well associated with the harvest. Periodic time seems to be his speciality. And while we see certain gods over the seasons (such as the Horae), Saturn appears to be identified more with the harvest. One of his holidays, Saturnalia (speaking of which, it's almost time for! It's typically celebrated December 17th - 23rd) is a time of merry-making and pleasure.

The god of time, in this way, can be seen as having many faces. From the murder of his father, Uranus, to eating his children, to having a week long holiday of active enjoyment. There are a lot of (murderous) levels to this. Some say that him eating his children represents how generations come and go through the passage of time. But as he became more associated with time, we see more of this in the death and birth of the new year (Father Time, Baby New Year).

All of this is to say, Saturn is a bit frightening. In both mythology and astrology, Saturn is revered and not to be messed with. There is a lot of scary aspects of Saturn, especially in astrology, but also a few comforting ones as well. Yes, Saturn is a planet of lessons, discipline, and karma. Yes, we are given time to learn these lessons, absorb them, and be free.

Time involves massive amounts of discipline, procrastionation and worrying are distractions of such. Time shows us lessons in different ways, the western version of karma comes at it's own time. Time also teaches us patience, the importance of letting go, grief, and when to keep moving. Time is valuable and ungraspable. Perhaps it is the very ephemeral nature of time that lends to it's importance. We can't control it, only cherish it.

Time is a harsh and forgiving teacher. The good news is we have lots of time to learn. Sometimes we see a lesson crop up, time and time again, and we are given new opportunities on how to react and take in the lesson. Time is meant to be looked back and reminisced on, but the past is not meant to be lived in. The future can be planned and plotted, but that takes away from the joy of living and all the surprises life can bring us. Time alludes us but never stops, working tirelessly and endlessly. The best we can do is keep up with it by living in the present.

That's the thing about Saturn. With the abundance of time leading up to and during the Saturn return, we are given space to reflect, build habits, and most importantly, change. But I think that in itself is a little scary. What will I do with all this time? Ahhhh!! How can I figure out the fig tree analogy? What will I do with my one wild and precious life? To which I think there's a song that can answer that.

I'm dead serious I think this song can help you out, or at the very least, change your perspective on things.

There's too little time. There's too much of it. There's so pressure to know what to do with our time. Fortunately, the song above has really helped me reframe time and how I use it. What about you? What's your take on time? How do you use it, and how can you use it more wisely?

Abby