Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Religion

Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Religion

By: June Rose Trimbach

This article is about the relationship between Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Religion. Meaning can be derived from studying the symbolism of the planets. The planetary symbols are all created from the interplay of 3 base symbols:

1. the Spirit: symbolized by a circle; the Sun is pure spirit

2. the Soul: symbolized by a crescent; the Moon is pure soul.

3. the Cross of Matter: symbolized by a cross; the Elements, i.e. the building blocks of the manifest world are material.

These three planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, hold the same two symbolic components: the Cross of Matter and the Soul as represented by the Moon. They are the only planets that hold exclusively these two components, which link their meanings together. We will explore the inherent difference in Spirit and Soul in order to gain insight into why these planets are composed of Soul and not Spirit. These three planets show the relationship of the soul to the material world: the longing for meaning on planet Earth; through this symbolism we can see the connected meaning in the concept of Religion.

I find myself, as I study astrology, getting deeper and deeper into Christianity. I was raised atheist, so this discovery of religion is both puzzling and deeply exciting. As I contemplated certain planetary energies in my chart, I started to find myself crossing my heart naturally without conscious intent: a reaction, and a clue to myself that this study of Christianity had begun to sink in. So what is the act of crossing yourself anyway? It’s a reminder to be aligned with the Christ principles: forgiving love and service. The experience of crossing planetary energy that exists within the body is aligning oneself with Christian ideals, and that comes with its own set of things to ponder.

The Cross in Christianity is definitely related to the Cross of Matter as seen in the idiom “we all have our own cross to bare.” The phrase inspires a bit of a fatalistic feeling mixed with honor in dealing with your own problems. This is very Saturnine, and it is not surprising that Saturn is the first planet to arise when contemplating a religion. Saturn’s relationship to religion is in its authority and its requirement of upholding tradition. His symbol is the Cross of Matter put above the Crescent of the Soul. Tradition and authority either dominate Soul through the Greater Malefic Saturn, or the Soul bows down and holds up the tradition. The adherence to a higher principle is the duty bestowed on oneself with the gesture of a cross; the adherence to compassion, temperance, etc. This adherence is upheld through ritual and routine: going to church every Sunday, meditating every day, prayer. There is also often a boundary put up through these rituals that separates you from that which you do not wish to be; an example would be crossing yourself whenever you see a sinner. Through the adherence to higher principles, Saturn puts a boundary up that confines one within the beliefs of a certain religion through any ritual or holy gesture. And you can feel the weight of a religious tradition when you immerse yourself in it; that weight is also Saturn. It is Saturn who bears the full weight of the cross. He is the one who asks your devotion to him and not your own spiritual freedom.

Jupiter is your own spiritual freedom, and the underlying principle that Saturn enforces. Jupiter is the one who discovers the moral principle. He is the aspiring principle, the one who seeks God. In Jupiter the Soul is held up by the Cross of Matter, or the Soul is reaching beyond it; above, into new heights of enlightenment. When the Soul triumphs over the material in Jupiter, the Greater Benefic is born and with him hope. Jupiter finds meaning; finds the principle that will spawn a religion. He is really about emotional faith and the restorative moments in life; Jupiter has a strong relationship to water in his traditional rulership of Pisces and exaltation in Cancer. He can be zealous, but Jupiter would continue searching for meaning endlessly without Saturn; there is not tradition here. Both Jupiter and Saturn speak of God as something outside of yourself: as something you seek, and as something to which you adhere, respectively.

The symbol for Neptune shows the Soul impaled on the Cross of Matter. What does it mean for the Soul to be impaled on the Cross of Matter? It means that the Soul is in utter devotion and service to the manifest universe. However, Neptune speaks to our illusions, and this can be explained by the Eastern idea that the manifest universe is illusion. If illusion is the material world, and our souls are impaled by the material world, we have been permeated by matter; thus, our soul is permeated by illusion. In Neptune, we are completely susceptible to our material situation, and this is the Ultimate Illusion. Because many believe the manifest universe to be a representation of spiritual energy, there is a highly spiritual component to Neptune: sometimes the Soul gives in completely to Illusion and experiences its own karmic lessons fully; others times the Soul seeks liberation from the Cross of Matter and seeks Cosmic experience through ego-death. The connection to religion is in the idea of unyielding devotion to the illusion/manifestation of a religious ideal, along with the ecstasy of that immersion. Neptune is the image of Christ himself; his soul impaled on the Cross of Matter. Christ was physically impaled on a material cross, but the real idea is that he was in utter devotion to a religious ideal. He was actually able to alter the manifest universe in establishing a religious faction and healing people because of his devotion: the Soul’s integration into the illusion of religion enables the manifest world to match that illusion. We can manifest our own morality through Neptune. However, because we believe our situation to be right, Neptune is fanaticism and devotion; dying for the sake of a cause, self-sacrifice. Again, the connection to Pisces in the modern view is here.

Much of the symbolism of these planets is dependent on the Moon as the representation of pure Soul, so we should evaluate her character. In Horary, the Moon can be seen as the common people: the Moon is the common emotions of everyday life, human drama, the mediocrity of the ups and downs in life. But when you combine the Moon with the Cross of Matter, you get the meaning ascribed to everyday life through spiritual and religious experience. So the Moon also has a meaning-making quality; assigning meaning to personal experience through the emotions. This “meaning in personal experience” is experienced by Jupiter, made concrete through Saturn and is all-consuming in Neptune. When the Moon or Soul interacts with the Cross of Matter, they create extremes: the Greater Benefic and Greater Malefic; the Soul is even impaled in Neptune. These religious planets are often related to outer experiences: spirituality that is brought on by some new experience like Saturn in his teaching through blockages or mentors. It seems the Soul, when co-existing with the Cross of Matter, creates a meaning that is often bigger than oneself, which is different from our modern understanding of the Moon or Soul. It appears when Soul is alone, as in the Moon, she creates much personal significance, but when interacting with the material world, applies meaning to that material world with more cosmic significance. We can also see that the Moon is highly receptive and sensitive, and is about reactions; so she reacts to the material world by prescribing meaning to it.

The question remains, why is it that the when the Soul (Crescent) interacts with the Cross of Matter, religion is born, and when the Spirit (Circle) interacts with the Cross of Matter, as with Mars and Venus, the result is much more personal? Well, this boils down to the difference between Soul and Spirit. The Sun or Spirit is about the individual. The Spirit, no doubt, has a natural meaning-making capability as well, but the meaning is much more personal. When it combines with the Cross of Matter, they create the Lesser Benefic Venus and Lesser Malefic Mars, which means the reaction is less extreme than it was with the Soul. We can see that the Sun seeks to alter matter through Mars, and benefit from it through Venus. The Sun is much about the meaning inherent in personal gratification and taking action to achieve personal gratification; while the Soul reacts to make meaning, and has a greater affinity with collective experience.

What does this say about religion? Religion is a lunar, meaning-making function based around your reactions to the material world. Jupiter is when we are having a spiritual reaction, something has happened to us, we are changed and have renewed hope; we react to the world no longer with fear, because our hearts are free to believe what they wish to believe. Our reaction to Matter must be vigilant with Saturn; he is used to solidify reactionary states through cultivating ritualistic lunar reactions. Neptune, of course, is the full investment of the Soul in matter: the reaction is no longer a reaction; you are united in purpose with reality/illusion, so there is no separating matter and reaction. Simply stated, these three planets describe our functions in Religion as seeking new reactionary states (Jupiter), upholding reactionary states through disciplined ritual (Saturn), and immersion in a reactionary state (Neptune). So we can all think about our own lunar states, how we react to the Cross of Matter, and how religion might effect this. The function of religion is to provide stability and comfort to the Soul while it is residing in the material world, but also allow her to grow into new reactionary states of awareness, which can also be called emotional awareness. When this emotional awareness is applied to the manifest world, you experience Wisdom, for better or for worse. Taken to its extreme, an applied emotional state alters the manifest universe. The ultimate function of religion is to allow the Soul to reach and maintain heightened states of emotional awareness through the functions described by Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.

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June Trimbach is an astrology student and musician. She gives in-person and long distance readings. She is especially interested in esoteric and magical astrology. June also has an astrological radio show on Hollow Earth Radio on Tuesdays at 9am PST. You can reach her by e-mail at Jrtrimbach@gmail.com.