Madam Lichtenstein's Cosmic World

Birchat HaChammah - The Jewish Saturn Return?

For those of us familiar with the Saturn Return, we know that every 28 years or so we go through a period of tumult, frustration and "growth". This period, known as the Saturn Return, is a time when we feel stuck and need change. But any change that occurs may not be what we expect. So we slog though it, learning our lessons and hoping for the best outcome. Read more about the Saturn Return phase of your life here. It is the mystery of the 28 year cycle that I find repeats itself in various forms of life pursuits and beliefs. Twenty-eight is an unusual number and yet we find it used in a variety of life events.

So along the lines of the 28 year cycle of the Saturn Return, I noticed that religious Jews have a 28 year Solar Return cycle which just occurred on Wednesday morning April 8, 2009. Once every 28 years, the Sun returns to the same position that it was in during the time of the Creation. This year in the Hebrew calendar it is the 14th day of Nisan in the year 5769. In the Common Era calendar it is April 8, 2009. It is called The Blessing of the Sun or the Birchat HaChammah. (Or Birkat Hachama) Participants in the prayer look at the Sun only once and only briefly as they recite the service. There are many great books on Birkat Hachamah that give you much more detail of the ritual and source.

The careful calculation for this 28 year cycle is that G-d created the sun, moon and the stars on Wednesday, the fourth day. A solar year is about 365 1/2 days long, or 52 weeks and 1 1/4 days. Each year since Creation, the sun rises 1 1/4 days or 30 hours later. It takes 28 years for the sun to reach the exact position in the firmament as the exact moment on the exact same day of the week. Some say that this calculation is slightly off because the earth has slightly changed its orbit and the calendars to calculate this are not matchng. Maybe that is why my blog post here is a few days off. I guess I can say I used a slightly different calculation? Ahem.

But no matter when, where, why or how we celebrate the sun, it is all in the spirituality and the celebration of the solar force and strength of the sun. At least I think so.

Saturn Return - The Play

There is a new play opening in New York called "Saturn Returns" which, aside from its compelling name, appears to address The Saturn Return periods (ages 27-30, 56-59 and, if we are lucky, 84-87) in a literary (if not literal...) way. Here is a short desciption of the play:

SATURN RETURNS: The planet Saturn's orbital return to its position at the moment of a person's birth happens every thirty years. In Saturn Returns, playwright Noah Haidle uses this phenomenon to take a look at one man - Gustin (to be played at the three different stages of his life by Robert Eli, John McMartin and James Rebhorn) - during these pivotal moments as he confronts the three women in his life (all to be played by Rosie Benton).

Here is my post on the astrological significance of the Saturn Return. Maybe it will clue us in to what the character Gustin can expect in the play....?

The play opens Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at the Lincoln Center Theater at the Newhouse.

September 11, 2001 Remembrance

Just wanted to take some time to reflect on the events of 9-11-01 and remember, reflect and pray.  

The photo below was taken in 2006. As you can see there is still a large hole in the ground: "Ground Zero " is still a construction zone. Two years later, in 2008, there is still not observable building construction on the site although the infrastructure, I'm sure, is in progress and WTC7 has been built north of the site.  

A prior post on the day from an astrological perspective is here. It discusses it from the perspective of The Saturn Return (the WTC buildings were 28 years old at the time). Here is another Saturn Return examination for not only September 11, 2001 but also for the Berlin Wall.

Poetry on Saturn Return

Correction to original post - apparantly this is a song by Tool . Sorry for the incorrect attribution and rock on!

Just found this great poem that was sent to me a while ago from Ronnie C. back in 2002. Resonates for anyone going through a Saturn Return. Thanks Ronnie!

The Grudge

Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity.
Calculate what we will or will not tolerate.
Desperate to control all and everything.
Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Justify denials and grip 'em to the lonesome end.
Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Terrified of being wrong. Ultimatum prison cell.

Saturn ascends, choose one or ten. Hang on or be humbled again.

Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Justify denials and grip 'em to the lonesome end.
Saturn ascends, comes round again.
Saturn ascends, the one, the ten. Ignorant to the damage done.

Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity.
Calculate what we will or will not tolerate.
Desperate to control all and everything.
Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control.
Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper.

Defining, confining, controlling, and we're sinking deeper.

Saturn comes back around to show you everything
Let's you choose what you will not see and then
Drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again
Spits you out like a child, light and innocent.

Saturn comes back around. Lifts you up like a child or
Drags you down like a stone
To consume you till you choose to let this go.

Give away the stone.
Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.
Give away the stone.
Let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges into gold.
Let go.

Second Saturn Return

The Saturn Return occurs every 27-29 years when the planet Saturn orbiting the sky meets the same degree and sign as our birth placement of Saturn in our personal horoscope birth charts. The Saturn Return is a three year period of intense frustration, conflict and yearning. We want change but it either doesn't happen or happens in unexpected possibly undesirable ways. But it is Saturn's way of teaching us a life lesson that we need to know in order to grow and become better.

The first return at age 27-29 is the first return. But lucky folks sometimes get the opportunity to experience three returns in their lifetime: 27-29, 56-59 and 84-87.

I am often asked about the impact of the Second Saturn Return (bless those baby boomers!) and here is what I say: The second return is a repeat of the first. If you have learned your Saturn lesson then this is a time of great reward. If you still have a few things to work on, this is the time to tackle them. Think of what you struggled with at ages 28-30. That will give you a clue as to what to expect.

Please contact me by commenting here for more information on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Saturn Returns.