I just got back from the dentist. Thank goodness that’s over with. Like a lot of people, I get very nervous when people poke sharp instruments into my mouth. In the last six weeks, this is the third time I’ve had this particular crown put back on, and the third country in which I’ve had it done. The first time was in Venezuela, the second time in the US, and today I had it done again in Germany.

What is the universe trying to teach me with this tooth thing? Okay, teeth are ruled by Saturn. All hard things are ruled by Saturn. Rocks, walls, structures, barriers, speed bumps, unvarnished truths, unfinished business from the past, all the things that aren’t budging – these are ruled by Saturn, the Crone planet. All that reality! Jane Wagner once said that reality is a primitive method of crowd control that got out of hand. Did I hear Saturn laughing? That planet takes itself so seriously!

So why is Saturn messing with me? It’s probably because this is the year of my second Saturn return, which will occur just before my 59th birthday in the fall.

The first Saturn return happens when you’re about 28, and it reminds you that you have incarnated on this planet, and you’d better get used to it, and decide what you’re going to do with this life. The second Saturn return, which occurs between 56 and 60 for everyone, points to all the unnecessary garbage you’re carrying around with you. The message is that you can’t take it with you, so you might as well get rid of it now and focus on what you’re really supposed to be doing. (What was that again?)

So what is it that I’m supposed to let go of? Not my teeth, I hope. I can manage without the originals, but I do need viable substitutes.

But look at that typo I made back in the first paragraph. Okay, you can’t see it, because I corrected it. But instead of “crown”, I wrote “crone”. Is it my crone self that has fallen out three times? Am I supposed to be wiser now that I’m on the verge of my second Saturn return? How exactly do I manage that? Is it a good sign that I remembered to take my umbrella when I walked to the dentist’s office? Or is it more basic than that? Am I getting a constantly-repeated message that maintaining one’s health is essential to a well-lived life? What a truism! But then, truisms are very Saturnine.

We all have to become wiser, since we are currently living in a Saturnine era. Eras are signaled by the long, slow movements of Pluto, and until 2023, Pluto is in Saturn’s sign, Capricorn. This is a traditional, conservative, pragmatic era, and the narrowing economic trends are one sign of that. But a more positive manifestation of Saturn is the health care legislation passed last month by Pelosi and the Democrats, and championed by President Obama.

Although this legislation is entirely in keeping with the conservative mood of the times, there was also some revolutionary energy attached to it. This came from the March new moon, with the rebel planet Uranus conjunct the sun and moon. The April new moon also has a radical tinge, with Saturn and Uranus opposing each other.

Even Uranus’ push for change wasn’t enough to stave off the corporate influences, and the health care reform bill ended up as a stilted version of what it could have been. That, too, is Saturnine, especially with Saturn currently in Libra, the sign of cooperative ventures. At least it passed. At least it’s been affirmed that government funds can be used to try and save lives, not just to throw them away in foreign wars.

Right-wing elements in the US represent another side of this Saturnine era. Saturn deals with long-established traditions, and the Tea Party swathes itself in a two-hundred-year-old fervor. At the same time, there’s a strong Martian element in the right wing, especially lately. We read about that Michigan militia, which claims that “Jesus wants us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword”, and wonder which Jesus was that? But if Jesus wants to make it with these guys, he has to get a bit more pumped up.

Mars is the planet of action, aggression, anger and war. While Saturn defends the status quo, Mars pushes for resolution through conflict. Mars is also the “bad boy”, and with the Democrats in power, the Republicans are free to be the young disaffected punks who howl against Daddy Government.

The changes of 2012 to 2015 will be all about the conflict between Saturn and Mars, between the old way and the new way. As we see, the right wing has managed to simultaneously adopt both these energies, holding old ground with new roles and new weapons. The left has to do the same. It isn’t enough to imitate them by making up the Coffee Party. The Coffee Party doesn’t have the same undercurrent of historically respectable violence. We need heroes and heroines, courage, justified anger, spontaneous action, independent values, and fearless initiatives – all the positive attributes of Mars.

In March, the Mars element is strong, since the sign Aries (ruled by Mars) is the harbinger of spring. Winter is ruled by hard, frozen Saturn, and spring is ruled by eager, volatile Mars. Mars pushes through the reserves of winter, and wins new ground. Each sprout is a victory.

As I approach my second Saturn return, I’m feeling much more connected to the energy of Saturn. I’m dealing with my dental problems, rather than ignoring them as I did when I was younger. When it looks like rain, I take my umbrella. I’m letting go of some of my old habits, the ones that were never all that satisfying, the ones that wasted my time. I’m accepting this mantle of cronehood.

But with spring breaking through all around me, I’m also looking around for Mars energy I can use. And as a movement, this is what we need.

I find myself looking at young people with a lot more interest lately, wondering if they will take it on. What stance will they adopt, as these conflicts stiffen during the next two to five years? They seem strong, independent, individualistic - and in a word, Martian. I can be the wise woman, the Crone, if they will be righteous and strong. I can be the bones, if they will be the blood.

Index of Jenny Yates' Writings on Lesbian.com