Retrograde! But, Make It Fashion: Saturn
Welcome back, friends, and welcome to the fashion show... sort of.
SIDE NOTE HERE: Most of what you are about to read, below, will be repeated in each of the mini blogs about this series. I chose to do this because not everyone reads each individual blog and it is important to discuss some of the general information in each post. This way, if someone only reads one post, they still gain the benefit of the knowledge below. So, if you plan to read all the posts about this series, please forgive the repetition in some of them.
I call this mini illustration series: Retrograde, but Make it Fashion. It's a strange title for a strange idea. However, the origins of my idea for this series' concept does have a grounding in the logical world. I'm not completely in the clouds with this one... well, not entirely. lol
Last December, Venus was stationed retrograde and I had the idea for an illustration. Venus is the planet that governs pleasure, beauty, and attraction (among other things) in astrology. I was thinking a fun way to personify Venus was to transform her into a kind of Supermodel walking down the runway, or posing at the end of it, or just about to turn... I hadn't planned out all the details, because I ended up not working on it within the time frame of when Venus was in retrograde. So, I shelved the idea, until now. With so many planets currently in retrograde right now, I thought, "why don't I pull that Venus retrograde illustration idea out of the morgue and modify it to these other planets?" Thus the pursuit of making a little illustration series on the subject ensued.
I remember making a note on the Venus Illustration entry in my Idea Journal. The title was originally Venus, Sashay Away. It is a reference to the very popular drag competition show Ru Paul's Drag Race. Ru Paul, when she is eliminating a contestant, uses the signature phrase (modified/based on her hit song Supermodel) "Sashay, Away!" There's an animated GIF of it that I like to use sometimes and it ALWAYS gives me a private chuckle. I thought it an appropriate way to conceptualize a planet's astrological retrograde period.
I'm sure you have been asking this question to yourself (and to me) since you started reading this post. Probably you were wondering, in your mind, "What on earth is he even talking about?" Well, funny you should think that. Our position and view here on earth have EVERYTHING to do with explaining what a retrograde is. A retrograde (or planetary retrograde) is when a planet seems to be moving backward in the sky from our perspective here on Earth. In reality: No, planets don’t actually move backward. It’s an optical illusion due to the speed of the Earth’s rotation. But what ancient people realized is that when a planet changes direction or shifts in speed, what it rules will see challenges or confusion in our lives during that specific time.
Let's get back to talking about the retrograde.
A planetary retrograde is broken down into 3 phases: Pre-Shadow, Retrograde, and Post-Shadow.
In the pre-shadow phase, when the planet starts to slow down from our viewpoint on Earth, we start to see problems crop up and realize some current situations might be on rocky ground. This can last for weeks or months prior, depending on which planet it is.
The actual retrograde phase is when you see the problems that started to announce themselves in the pre-shadow blow-up in front of you. This is when the planet is taking control and moving backward in the sky. In reality, new information regarding what the planet rules are emerging in our lives — something we probably had overlooked originally. The universe is bringing it out dramatically in your face now to show you that you must pay attention to this before you proceed.
The post-shadow phase is when the planet is finally moving forward in the sky again but is still gaining speed to catch up with where it originally fell behind. Once a planet moves past this point in the sky, life should move along much more easily. The post-shadow phase is especially important because it helps us to resolve whatever popped up during the previous two periods so that we are on a better track moving forward.
The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth (because we are standing on it) don't retrograde. Sun and Moon are referred to as "The Luminaries." All planets retrograde at different times depending on their distance from us in the Solar System. A simple rule of thumb that you can follow is: the closer the planet is to us, the shorter the retrograde. The further away it is from us, the longer the retrograde is. How this affects us depends on the planet, what phase of the retrograde it is in, and the zodiacal sign that it is transiting (retrograding/traveling) through. Not to get too specific, depending on what house the zodiac sign is placed in your chart can also determine how a particular plant's retrograde affects you personally.
Most of the time a planet transits through retrograde alone or with one or two other planets at a time. However, there are sometimes years when we get large clusters of planet retrogrades. 2022 is one of them. We have 8 of the 9 planets in retrograde this year. 6 are clustered together right now.
So, Let's talk about them, shall we. This illustration is devoted to Saturn.
Saturn is the planet that governs authority, structure, daily routines, discipline, maturity, boundaries, patience, matters of time, and stewardship. It's a very stern planet of authority. Saturn is at the center of our relationships with these areas in our lives. Saturn is retrograding through the signs of Aquarius and Capricorn from June 4th-October 23rd, 2022. Saturn goes retrograde annually for about four and a half months. Saturn retrograde not only is serving lewks this year but some real deal reality checks. Depending on its placement in your chart, there is definitely an area of areas in your life that are currently being torn down and restructured. The good news is that this is a longer-lasting transit, which gives us all time to align ourselves with this backward energy.
During this time, all zodiac signs review and take stock of the boundaries that may be causing resistance in their lives. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. Saturn holds all the cards and is in charge of all the rules and she wants us all to take things slowly during the retrograde. This retrograde marks the final leg of her tour through the sign of Aquarius (which began back in March of 2020.) Think about what you have been restructuring in your life. This will clue you in as to what area of your life this retrograde energy will be focusing on. This time next year, Saturn will be in Pisces and won't return to Aquarius until the year 2050. So this is our last opportunity to review these Aquarian themes that we've been dealing with for the past few years. Our last chance to let these lessons sink into a new foundation for long-term growth.
Before we go, let's talk a little bit about the art.
I explained the concept behind these odd but fun little illustrations. One of the things I wanted to pay homage to was the 1902 French film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon.) I have always been impressed and inspired by that iconic image of the moon with that face in it. I'm certain that this image has inspired so many other artists and each has paid tribute to this treasure of cinema history. In my case, conceptually, I wouldn't be able to center a face within my illustrated planets. They are in retrograde, and they are sashaying away from us. So we would only see their "dark sides of" or the back of their "heads" if you will. I still wanted to see a face on them in some way. I really wanted to superimpose the faces of real supermodels onto them. So, I came up with the idea of them looking back; serving us one last lewk before continuing on their retrograded ways.
I wanted to play with the proportions of head size because not all planets are equal (in size) and I wanted to convey that within this series. So some "heads" will appear large on their bodies. Some "heads" will appear small. These aesthetic choices are largely determined by the literal astronomical relation of planetary size to Earth and to each other. I should probably do a "police line-up" of them once they are all completed. lol.
The texture of Saturn's surface (from the photographs we have) appears VERY smooth and VERY colorful. It was really fun and challenging to try and recreate all the rings of blended colors. I also loved turning her orbiting rings into the brim of her very fashionable hat. Her outfit is inspired by Prada's Ready-To-Wear Fall 2022 Collection. I was looking for something that resonated with the stern structure that Saturn exemplifies. So it seemed quite obvious to select garments that are very structured in their design and make. I fell in love with this coat and knew right away that this was the outfit that Saturn should wear for her trip up and down the runway.
One of the unplanned details that conceptually worked out was the triangular detail on the back of the coat. An upward pointing triangle is one of the most traditional and ancient symbols of power. On the coat, it was already inverted. This was an unplanned symbol of power but in retrograde (which I just loved.) This further reinforced my choice of garment reference for her.
A downward-facing triangle is also one of the first symbols of a woman or female. Saturn is traditionally considered male in gender, but I wanted to turn gender roles on their heads a bit with this illustrated mini-series. So, in my astrological Solar System, Saturn is female and her coat reinforces that. I repeated the triangular shape in the form of her earrings. On each earring, she dons a different astrological symbol. The left is the symbol for Capricorn. The right is the symbol for Aquarius. This is to represent the two zodiac signs that Saturn will be transiting through during this retrograde.
That pretty much sums up this blog entry for Saturn and my little illustration of her. Stay tuned for the rest of this illustrated mini-series coming soon. Weather the Saturn retrograde as best as you can and look fabulous while doing it.
Until next time, friends...
Keep dreaming, keep sketching, keep thinking, keep laughing, and most important of all, keep making art.
*Some of the retrograde information cited from:
Here’s what a retrograde in astrology means and how it affects you by Kyle Thomas @ New York Post.
How Saturn Retrograde 2022 Will Affect Each Zodiac Sign by Nina Kahn @ Bustle.
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