The Good Emperor's Order
Why The Emperor card is the Planet Saturn
I learned I am in the peak of my sade sati period.
This once all sounded like alien gibberish to me. The only sati I knew used to be the sauce that we added to our family Mongolian barbecue recipe. Or the Zamboangan sauce that is a gravy for grilled chicken skewers and cubed rice. But now that I started in my Jyotish astrology journey, the ancient science of Indian astrology, also known as Sidereal astrology.
I am starting to understand.
Sade sati is when the planet Saturn moves into the same sign as one’s natal moon, the exact position of the moon when one is born. You could say it is the Moon and Saturn meet cute, where they come face to face in the same space and magic happens. It does not only cover the time when they kiss in the sky, but also the period before and after they meet. It is the lead up to the meet cute, the actual meet cute and the holding hands, walking out into the sunset, happily ever after. It is a total of 7.5 years, when Saturn spends 2.5 years each across three different houses and zodiac signs.
But who are our star crossed lovers?
Let’s meet Saturn. It gets a bad rap for being one of the baddies, a malefic. Saturn is the furthest visible to the naked eye planet from the Earth. It is big - 9x larger than our planet, not even counting the space occupied by its rings. Plus it is slow moving, taking around 30 years to complete a cycle through the entire 12-house and zodiac system. It symbolizes focus and restriction, delays, put your nose to the grind stone hard work, consistency and discipline, structure, maturity with age and wisdom.
How about the Moon? We all know our Mother Moon that shining light in the darkest of nights, the commander of tides and the very root of the word “lunacy”. Yes, it represents the mother, femininity and womanhood, yin energy, intuition, the ebb and flow and, especially for Vedic astrology, the inner workings of the mind.
If you put Saturn and the Moon together, they are a recipe for interesting times. If they are placed in a particular house or aspect in one’s life, they create impact and leave an imprint that will leave the person forever changed.
Last January 17, Saturn moved into the sign of Aquarius from Capricorn. It will be spending the next 2.5 years in the sign of the water bearer and server. Aquarius carries a water jar, pouring out its life giving contents into the ether, into the parched mouths of those who need it.
My natal moon happens to be in the sign of Aquarius and in the 11th house of wishes, desires and gains. So guys, I am officially in the thick of it. Saturn and my natal moon are currently in an impassioned dance for my personal wishes and desires, where material gains are to be made. Saturn overshadows, a leering presence and menace, to my moon. It is bullish, commanding me to “Get to work!” on my wishes and desires in order to benefit from them.
This made me think of The Emperor card, the 4th card of the tarot’s Major Arcana.
Traditionally, this particular card is associated with the zodiac sign of Aries, the sign of the ram, which one can actually see in the card itself. Four rams on each corner of the Emperor’s stone throne. This zodiac sign is ruled by Mars - action, domineering and aggressive, sometimes to a fault. After all, he is the god of war.
But to me, The Emperor is not ruled by Mars, but by Saturn.
An Emperor - his hair and beard snow white with age, stern in his expression, torso covered by a red robe, in one hand a scepter in one hand and golden globe in another, his knees covered in armor ever ready for battle, seated atop a stone throne. Behind him are jagged red cliffs jutting up into the equally blazing sky.
The Emperor is the ruler of an empire that was not built overnight. He led a populace to help create bring this vision of his into reality. He is the commander - sharing his blueprint of his plans that brought structure and order, sending out his foot soldiers to follow his bidding according to the greater plan. Every day, brick by brick, he oversaw the rise of his empire. On his head, he carries a heavy crown, his responsibility, almost feeling like a burden. But he carries on, reminded by the golden globe in his hand. His throne of stone is not plush nor ergonomic. It is solid, but uncomfortable, causing him to shift in his seating, learning to adjust to an optimum position to do his job - to rule his empire.
This is Saturn. When it crosses your natal moon, he commands you to put your nose onto the grind stone and work. Your work is not for nothing, not for the sake of imposing back breaking work, but for a benefit - for the glory of the empire. One that is all yours. He can be cruel, but not cruel for cruelty’s sake. If you go off tangent from his plans, he will pick you up and put you back in your place to learn what you’re supposed to learn. He is the Good Emperor, who wants everyone to grow with him. He is that boss, who challenges you to do better, to do things right. All because there is a reward, blessings that await at the end of the struggle. An ice cold drink at the end of a hot, sweaty and achy work day.
Besides, no empire comes without challenges, delays, even complications.
When The Emperor appears in a reading, it is telling you, no, again, mandating you to be disciplined, create structure, build a foundation for your future. It is no time to dilly dally, to laze out in the sun. It is a call to put in the work your supposed to do in order to reap the benefits from the empire you’ll be building.
In my case, as someone in the thick of her sade sati in the 11th house of gains, which also represent greater humanity, and in the sign of Aquarius, the sign of innovation, altruism and service, this is my Emperor card. This will be my mission in the next two years.
One day, I just started feeling how I now wake up with more purpose. Not simply because I have to get up to work and earn money, but a greater one, a fire in my belly and a clearer direction. The Emperor has given his vision and I am here to work towards that.
I find myself taking care of the details of building a writing, tarot card and Vedic astrology practice. I’ve taken what I’ve learned all these years in media planning - the pain staking details, the processes. Often I find myself overwhelmed, but I remind myself that I don’t have to do everything overnight. Saturn’s slowness gives me the time to go brick by brick.
Yesterday, I updated my Jyotish questionnaire. The other day, I revised a small bit on my website. And last week, I worked on my business card and updating all designs across this newsletter and forms. I signed up for a 6-month writing intensive with Esmé Wang - to learn more about how I can do better and how to navigate the also alien US publishing industry. I blocked off my Friday mornings for my Jyotish astrology mentorship with my Tito. I’m working on several stories and pitches.
Day by day, I put my nose to the grind stone and work towards this greater, grander vision of what’s ahead. If all this is true, then Saturn promises that I will end up just fine.
If you’d like a custom tarot reading from me, complete the form here and I should get back to you in 48 hours. If you’d like to be part of my Jyotish astrology study and get your birth chart plus insights for FREE, fill up the form here.
What I’m reading:
In one sitting, I finished the graphic novel “It Won’t Always Be Like This” by Malaka Gharib, a Egyptian Filipino American, who shares her stories growing up in the US and spending summers in Egypt with her father and new family. It talks a lot about the awkward spaces between cultures, childhood, puberty and adulthood. It tackles how time allows us to evolve and move forward and reveal wisdom we’ve never imagined.
I also am attempting to read an abridged version of the English translation of the Mahabharata. My head is spinning to say the least. The cast of characters here seem much more than that of the Lord of the Rings Universe. So help me gods.
If you’d like to read more about tarot cards and their meanings, head on over to what I’ve written below:
Major Arcana
Minor Arcana