Power Mapping with Isha Lerner (10/25/2011)

My Power MappingSession with Isha Lerner

By Tara McKinney

This is the sixth in a series of Notes from the Editor in which I share personal reflections on astrological readings I have been very fortunate to receive from each of the gifted consultants on Soul Talk Now’s Astrology page. For a more detailed version of these reflections, please see my blog “The Power of Saturn:Composting My Way to 2012 and Beyond.”

Ideally, Isha Lerner’s Power Mapping process involves one session per week for three weeks, focusing primarily on the meaning of Saturn in one’s chart, past, present and future, based on its location by sign and house, as well as relevant aspects and transits to Saturn.Secondarily, Isha also likes to look at Progressed Moon cycles. As she explained,this is because she has come to feel that there is a mysteriously powerful catalytic and revelatory relationship between Saturn and Progressed Moon cycles, given that Saturn takes approximately 28 ˝ years to orbit the 360degrees of the astrological wheel, while the Moon takes approximately 28 ˝ days to accomplish the same thing.

Being the avid gardener she is, Isha understands each of the twelve houses of the astrological wheel as a fertile patch of earth, rich with opportunities for growth. To her way of thinking, Saturn works as an organic bulldozer of sorts, tilling and composting the topsoil of each house as it transits through it. She describes the eight cycles of the Moon using the language and imagery of gardening, as well.

Power Mapping Saturn in my chart

With all of the above in mind, Isha began digging into the soil of my 1^sthouse Saturn. First for the good news: It’s a very strong Saturn, applying the brakes to the rest of my chart, which would be like a runaway train without it.At 3 degrees Scorpio, my natal Saturn is sextiling my Mars, which happens to be exalted at 7 degrees Capricorn. Mars is conjunct my North Node in the third house of mass communication. This indicates I have the discipline and capacity to work hard in order to cultivate a successful career in writing or some other form of mass communication.

Next,Saturn is trining my Jupiter and Mercury at approximately 3 and 8 degrees Cancer, respectively, at the top of the chart in the 9^th house in a stellium with the South Node, Venus and Uranus. This underscores the writing theme, but gives the added flavor of expansive, revolutionary insights related to the Great Mother Goddess and the Feminine, in general; all of this most likely inspired by several past-life experiences in Goddess-oriented, pre-patriarchal cultures.  

Now for the challenging news: Saturn is in my 1^st house, as previous mentioned. Furthermore, it’s conjunct Neptune, which is just 3 degrees off my Ascendant. Apparently, there is an “ouch” factor involved with this configuration, suggesting I would likely create a difficult birth for myself,and would be predisposed to a pervasive sense that life is too serious, burden some and hard, coupled with an understandable tendency to escape into romantic fantasies and/or spiritual bypassing strategies of various sorts. “Ouch,” is right, as these insights hit very close to home.

Ina nutshell, according to Isha, my Saturn/Neptune/Ascendant conjunction in the first house is about profound disillusionment and disappointment, first in “God,the Father,” on a soul level, then in my birth Father, next in male authority figures and, finally, in men, in general. In her opinion, in order to achieve the kind of personal fulfillment that is my birthright and destiny in this life, I must first: a) accept that I am an idealistic, artistic dreamer: and b)see through and beyond the heartbreaking disillusionment I tend to create for myself where men are concerned, through the process of reclaiming both positive and negative projections.

Power Mapping My Progressed Moon

The Moon symbolizes watery energy, the energy that refreshes and renews the plant.Isha explained that my Progressed Moon has been keeping me afloat and relatively buoyant while Saturn does its intense composting work on my 1^sthouse sense of self. This is because my Progressed Moon is currently at the top of my chart moving through the 11^th house, so while Saturn is currently pushing me to go inward, the Moon is helping me locate my point of belonging in the world. It’s good energy for finding my place in society and in the human community. Furthermore, my Progressed Moon is in Virgo, indicating that this time in my life is about creating a system of service that works within groups. It’s also about finding that place deep within that has never been violated, that remains virgin territory.

I was born in a Crescent Moon cycle underscoring the significance of my birth experience in the overall scheme of my life. I am now in another Crescent Moon phase, so this is familiar territory for me. This may explain why I relate so strongly to the notion that my life is nothing but a series of birth and death moments, arranged one after another like an unending string of pearls. In Isha’s words, this is a time of intense maturation for me, a time of “pushing, pushing, pushing, to get to the light come hell or high water.” Amen.