Fixed star Nashira - the Strawberry

Saturn retrograding in Aquarius is currently aligned with fixed Star Nashira, at roughly 21 degrees. Nashira, officially gamma Capricorni, belongs to the tail of the sea (or water, as I prefer to call it) goat constellation, as we have seen previously with Algenib. This positioning of Saturn is rather relevant, as it is opposing the Sun in Leo, thus being a protagonist in the activation of the fixed cross. It also holds a prominent significance in my personal transits, squaring again my Sun in the retrograde motion. Despite all the hard lessons which Saturn distributes to its children, I feel blessed with such a difficult transit and have produced little works of art to celebrate the blackness needed to discern the light and work at the Stone. Nashira was already important in the last potent and potentially life-changing full moon in Aquarius, and I believe there are a few things to be said about it which could be useful to be shared at a wider level. First of all is that according to Ptolemy, this star is of the nature of Saturn AND Jupiter. This combination was felt as particularly favourable, alchemizing the rather opposite qualities of these two planetary archetypes. Truly, Jupiter and Saturn make a wonderful interaction and are capable of inserting in the soul a tremendously fertile, structured and versatile "mechanism" which can set in motion the most rewarding, loving and long lasting process of growth and healing. Nashira was known as "the lucky one", which is quite strange to find associated with Saturnian energies. And yet, its Saturn-Jupiter integrated vibes, speak about "integrity and justice", distilling the higher (and feminine) aspects of the two. No matter what triggers are presented to us through the Saturnian energies in the form of delays, rejections, top-down blind adherence to stale structures, persistent abuse, stubborn ignorance of the heart, our soul's light solar ray will respond with dignity, self-consciousness, self-love, respect and integrity. It is a wonderful time to assert our boundaries, to state clearly in a firm but generous way where our free will ends and where another's starts, which is the key for Freedom and equanimity (Aquarius), a much needed medicine for the human collective. If we have reached the state of self-conscious healing, we might be able to "measure" how far we have come towards our soul integration, even amongst the most frustrating hardships of our life. And that tiny strawberry in the midst of the steep climbing path up the mountain will entirely fulfill our Soul.

Image: the tale of Barlaam and Josafat in one of the most amazing baptistery of medieval Italy. It was completed in 1220 AD. Here it is not a strawberry, but honey, while the chariot of the Moon and the Chariot of the Sun are depicted on the sides.