In the name of Allah, the most loving, the most kind, the most compassionate, the most divine ~ we begin this Love-note with Kahlil Gibran’s poem On Joy and Sorrow, which inspired this writing on the relationship between Jupiter and Saturn ~ almost perfectly. “Almost” because I do not think Jupiter - Saturn necessarily demand or supply us with being “perfect.” There is no perfection because we are always in a state of expansion (Jupiterian Joy) and contraction (Saturnian Sorrow): (1) expansion requires us to make mistakes, and Jupiter promises us that mistakes provide meaning to our growth; (2) contraction requires us to slow down and make space for time, and time is always something people with perfectionist tendencies grapple with (me, included!) - although the irony is that Saturn force strives for flawlessness, probably due to internal or external judgment, *ouch* yet both are needed in the equation!
Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.~ Kahlil Gibran ~
As we thread through Sagittarius → Capricorn → Aquarius → Pisces solar seasons, we are being reminded of the planetary powers of Jupiter and Saturn. Recently, I bought and watched Diana Rose Harper’s teachings on these two planets: The Great Bridge: Connecting Jupiter & Saturn (purchase *nudge* here). Diana’s workshop brought up a lot of reflections for me, especially on the quadrant where these signs are, the natal phase of my Jupiter - Saturn, and the recent conjunction in Aquarius. These sharings below are somewhat a weaving of these questions…
As a Sagittarius Rising, these signs easily occupy the 1st and 2nd (one-third slice) quadrants of my astrological chart: the apparent Helming 1st House of Self & Body through the deep Subterranean 4th House of Home & Privacy.
Natally, I have a rejoicing Libra Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius + Pisces) in the Good Spirit 11th House of Alliances & Hopes, and I have a dearly domiciled Aquarius Saturn in the Goddess 3rd House of Locality & Communication. Aspect-wise, Jupiter is in a sign-based closing trine with Saturn for me. Although by degrees - Jupiter is not applying to Saturn (due to Jup’s retrograde motion) and has a huge orb of more than 15 degrees, I feel the aliveness of the trine in my life. And if part of my astrological embodiment work is to “bridge” (as Diana proposed in her title) Jupiter and Saturn, I have to activate and honour the blessed trine between them. Jupiter is also my chart ruler. Thus, it felt natural to share how I’ve processed this in my life recently this holiday szn + Jovian and Saturnine moons transit ~ especially because Capricorn Szn began with a Sagittarius Moon.
On Jupiter day (Thursday) with Sagittarius Moon ~ I travelled to Brooklyn from Harlem to have an early dinner with Kath (another Sagittarius Rising). I went to the neighbourhood early at noon and found a cafe, I sat at a dark corner of the cafe with my iced mocha and started reading Erin Sullivan’s Saturn in Transit: Boundaries of Mind, Body, and Soul book. Unsurprisingly, I realized I chose a cafe named after a tree: Cypress ~ which Cornelius Aggripa associated with Saturn. If you *know* me, you know I love cafe time (alone, most of the time) and being productive there ~ very on-brand Saturn in the 3rd House of Local Environment. Later that evening, I ate Thai food with Kath, and we had jovial exchanges about our love & romance lives as transit Aries Jupiter just re-ingressed into our 5th House of Play *wink*.
On Venus Day (Friday), I held space for two client sessions, both of them booked the Combo Tarot & Astrology session, which I would *highly* recommend yall to book here! Both clients really affirmed my capacity and power as a diviner ~ love them!
I spent my evening watching my favourite movies: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & slept halfway through The Return of the King. There is something deeply Jupiterian with Gandalf’s promise + hope: “Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn, look to the east.” Jupiter is the planet governing oaths!
Before Gandalf’s arrival, Rohan barely held their defences - hanging by a thread from Saruman’s invasion in the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Endurance and defences are deeply Saturnian ~ to hold and fortify a boundary, to withstand the test of time + attack!
On Christmas Eve (Saturn Day), I pulled tarot cards to honour my ancestors, and The Star shows up together with Five of Pentacles. The message felt crystal clear to me, the Five of Pentacles is me navigating career search and job stability right now since I freshly graduated from my Master of Public Administration (MPA) program last week. There is a part of me navigating the sorrow of not having something secured (yet!) ~ it’s kinda bizarre/privileged for me to say this, but I have *never* not known “what’s next?” for my career. Our societal conditioning puts so much emphasis on KNOWING and HAVING something figured out and ready, especially after one completes an educational milestone (Sagittarius - Capricorn dynamic). Personally, when I was in my undergraduate degree in economics - I always HAD something ready for me for internships and after college: a central banker job I learnt a lot from, including learning that I did not love THAT career trajectory at all. That job, that job experience made me brave enough to apply for graduate school to change my focus towards something I care more about in this world, something I wish to change, something I feel personally called to and responsible for… a Jupiter - Saturn societal pursuit. For me and my chart, the personal is inherently universal.
The Great Conjunction (Jupiter-Saturn) in Aquarius in my 3rd House of Education brought me back to graduate school to complete my two-year program, astrologically, it aligns with my Aquarius Saturn Return phase. On December 31st 2020, I physically moved from Malaysia to the broken-dreamland of America to pursue my MPA focusing on Human Rights & Humanitarian Policy (Hello ~ Aquarius Saturn - Libra Jupiter?). Concurrently, “Suprasensory Shahir” started offering and developing my skills as a diviner via tarot, astrology, and spirit guides connection - partly to support my living expenses in New York City. Only Allah knows how constricted I felt financially at times, though someway somehow - domiciled Saturn (ruler of my Capricorn 2nd House) always provided me with *just* enough to survive, while Jupiter (the fairy godmother) and Venus would sprinkle abundance and love. One of my greatest blessings and gratitude in life is friendships + community ~ something I appreciate and love showing up to… while navigating the Libra reciprocity of it all. In my final semester recently, as a grad student, I was also working as an Econometrics teaching assistant team, performing a lovely stipend-based internship with Outright International (a global LGBTIQ organization), and continuing my spiritual services. Wow, what a relief to feel a sense of completion of my Saturn return transit soon enough… The Star card reminded me of a cosmic reset… a new hope and beginning… a fresh(er) air to breathe with less anxiety and worry… a re-configuration of my future. In the Rosebud Tarot guidebook on The Star card, Diana Rose Harper wrote:
Sparks of divinity scattered
like tears, like smiles, like
the fallen petals of a tree in spring,
every single one
a gleaming diamond singing
you forward,
a chorus of life.
The grief of being away from home and somewhat isolated from motherland friends and family is palpable throughout this Aquarius Saturn phase, I am planning to write an exclusive post for Saturn once they are in Pisces to cleanse and heal better! The grief was felt more so since I completed my degree, especially since I lost my beloved grandmother, Che, in October 2019 - the period when I told her I was applying for grad school and as always, she supported + prayed for me then, and I am sure she is continuing to support + pray for me on the other side too. I have always believed the 4th House of Home is also the place of direct and perhaps forgotten ancestors - especially with having it in Pisces (mystical ancestors) with my fallen Mercury there!
I chose Saturn day to perform ancestral work since 2020 because Saturn is the planet that has touched / conjunct my IC point - 20 minutes before my exact birth!
On Saturday, I was invited to a Christmas Eve dinner by Andreina, a dear Pisces Sun friend, because she did not want me to feel lonely this holiday season, and she owes me homemade mac and cheese hahaha. I’m glad I showed up for love that night! On Christmas Sunday, I watched The Star of Bethlehem for the first time ever ~ the documentary was mindblowing for me, and I love being a mystic astrologer even more! Yall should check it out ~
Luna is in Aquarius (3rd House of Goddess) on Sunday. The day felt somewhat magical for me because I always knew astrologically the Moon rejoices in the 3rd House of Divine Intimacy - and based on my personal experience… although I might not have it natally, I always tap into the transit Moon in the 3rd House magick to feel her rejoicing power! Daisy, a dear Sagittarius Sun friend, invited me for a Christmas takeout dinner + movie session at her place with her other friends: Tanvi, Julie and Jess. We ordered dim sum takeout from a few doors down the street, and instead of a movie… we had a vulnerable + spiritual + healing + liberating conversation about our lives! It felt like we were in a temple of goddex, I gave some of them a light astrology reading - because it seemed like most of us were going through somewhat of a life change and transformation. That night, I revealed to them that I have psychometric abilities (psychic touch), and I haven’t been training the power with human beings in a while now. I feel like this “gift” comes from my Gemini Moon + Ketu magick in the 7th House, completing a grand air trine for my Jupiter - Saturn. I held their hands + wrists and helped explain to Julie and Tanvi the things I felt were energetically important for them to know, acknowledge, affirm and heal for their current paths. I went home with my soul high and nourished from the experience of training and sharing my gifts with others. As much as I use astrology + spirituality as a resource-money-generating calling, the main reason I stepped into my spiritual craft was that I really wanted to help others on their journey, since I have found something I could also help myself with. THAT Christmas night reminded me of the giving gifts of my Jupiter in my 11th and Saturn in the 3rd philosophy… it might be different from yours, and that’s part of the magick!
On Aquarius Moon Day, I exchanged voice notes with my dear elder sister as she’s going through an uncertain and spiralling time currently. The 3rd House of Siblings is always literal for me because growing up, I do witness a lot of hardships some of my siblings went through. I pulled cards for her and felt like dedicating a song message for her current situation, as parts of her struggle relate to my own struggle as well. Insyaallah ~ this too shall pass for all of us!
Today, today is Pisces Moon transit on Mars day, and it made me remember some of the core purposes of my life. I woke up today from a sweet dream of some besties, applied my Venus-Fomalhaut oil and had a magical day. I can’t wait to open my Christmas gifts from Kat + Cas tomorrow!
love you, all of you,
shahir
~ artwork on the other side of the postcard ~
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