Astrological Repair Manual

gains its meaning from its cycle as it relates to other cycles. How could structure even be
defined if there weren’t things that needed to be structured?
One of the backbone sources for the meaning of any function in astrology is the
length of its trip around the Sun. For Saturn, it turns out to be real close to 30 years with
the half-cycle at 15 and quarter cycles around 7-something. When I was young it was
common to hear: “Ya can’t trust anybody over 30.” Oh, my! I wonder if those saying it
were under thirty and probably not averse to a rather disorganized and freewheeling lifestyle?
Right around thirty is when most of us have finally “found ourselves”. We usually
find it necessary to stake a claim for the pattern of self we’ve decided to be—lay out the
pattern for others, organize our time in society to accommodate the clarity of self we now
feel.
And now I hear some people saying, “Oh yeah? Thirty was hell!” But do they
realize that whatever difficult or negative period they were experiencing might have been
there to clear the decks so they could claim a stronger place for themselves—make a
clearer pattern of living?
The half-cycle of Saturn is just as important for Identity Formation (key Saturn
phrase there). But, at fifteen, we’re putting out (for all to see) what we were born and
raised with. We’re also finding out what others think about that identity pattern and,
possibly, trying to either hide it or flaunt it even more. The transition at thirty is
qualitatively different. We’ve been through one whole cycle of identity formation and
we’re trying to squeeze out whatever doesn’t really belong to the real self—condensing,
confirming, clarifying, defining.
Now, while we're circling this symbol of patterns and organization, would be a
good time to lay out one of the most important structural concepts in astrology: the
Squaring of the Circle.
Every cycle, whether with one planet or two, has a beginning. It has a middle and
an ending, too. Simple, eh? Yet many astrologers forget this view of life. They look at the
position of a planet in a birth chart and freeze it there, trying to milk it for more meaning
than it can give. We’re born with the planets at certain positions determined by our time
and place of birth. The important thing to remember though is that the planets keep
moving and so do we. Life and people evolve. These motions in astrology are called
Transits and Progressions and are two topics that must be left for you to discover in the
references recommended at the end of this book (and, for discussion in Books Two and
Three).
Way before you attempt learning about all the meaning possible with moving
planets, you need a firm grounding in the field they move within—the circle or cycle.
Each one has its moment of beginning when things are new and fresh—either exciting or
scary. Each cycle also has its ending, which is the same moment as the beginning of a
new cycle. But rather than thinking of this evolution of meaning as an old phonograph
record, spinning endlessly, we should concentrate our positive minds and see each ending
and rebirth happening on a new and higher level—a spiral of ever-ascending and
fulfilling meanings.
The first half of any cycle is all about taking the new materials we have to deal
with and shaping them according to the vision we (hopefully) had at that magic moment
of rebirth. If we aren’t facing our astrological cycles and our very lives in this way, we’re
shortchanging ourselves!
The exact middle of any cycle is the time when the vision of the beginning can flower and