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Maintaining Planetary Balance

I'm always amazed to hear about planetary magicians who work with all the planets except for Mars or Saturn ("no way will I go near Saturn", "I don't touch Mars but I work with the rest", etc.). I know they exist, and that they've existed for some time, but it still always catches me off-guard hearing someone say that that's their MO, because to me, ignoring a planet like that is a surefire way to screw yourself over badly. When working with the planets as spiritual forces or deities (as with all other things in esoteric or occult practice), balance is key. We're already born from the natures of the seven planets, so to expand on all but one or two can cause some pretty nasty imbalances, leading to any number of problems for health, personality, work, and the like both physically and spiritually.

"Oh, but Mars and Saturn are the malefic planets, therefore they're Bad!" So what? The world isn't fully good, and neither are you. In order to understand the world, you have to understand and work with the actors and actions within in, and Mars and Saturn are every bit as present as the benefics Venus and Jupiter. Sure, nobody likes engaging with rough lessons, and boy howdy do Mars and Saturn give it to you—but do you like being lied to constantly? Do you like being stuck weak and helpless? Do you like not having any impulse or direction or safety or security? That's on you, then, my friend. Mars and Saturn are every bit as essential to your well-being as the other planets. To ignore them is to disrespect them, and to disrespect them is folly. To admit them, welcome them, work with them, come to terms with them? That's where growth, progress, and peace lie.

Besides, let's not forget that, even if you put aside the bit about "too much of a good thing", even the benefics Jupiter and Venus can be outright harmful and toxic, too! And different people have different reactions to different planets; general trends are one thing, but specific instances matter, too! Venus is the fertility of a well-tended garden that produces wonderful flowers, sure, but it's also the untamed fertility of a weed-ridden mess; it is just Growth, both for weal (gardens) and for woe (cancer). How you use it and how much of it you use makes all the difference.

Planetary balance is key to all our well-being. We all have to find what that proper balance is (some might need more of a planet or less of another), but we have to work with all the planets to get there—and each and every one of us has something to learn from all of them. A good example of this is something my mentor taught me: when I engage in heavy Saturn work, I should always follow it up the next day with a good amount of Sun work, as well. This goes well beyond simply "cleaning off", but is a way to balance out what I did, however necessary. This isn't just because Sunday as the day of the Sun follows Saturday as the day of Saturn, but because the oppressive heaviness of the darkest planet is balanced out by the centeredness and self-presence-ness of the lightest planet. To linger too long in Saturn causes depression and lethargy, and honestly I just don't have time for that. But, by that same token, too much Sun causes overweening pride, cockiness, hubris, and blindness; while the Sun is more aligned with holiness, if we want to live in the world we factually live in, too much solar influence makes us insufferable and causes problems of its own, too!