This week’s question comes from Bree in Denver:

I’m confused about my Saturn aspects. According to my natal chart, I have Saturn in Sag in the 6th house, trine my Sun and Mercury. All the cookie cutter descriptions of this say that I’m a hard worker and disciplined (especially with Moon and Mars in Cap). But I’m super lazy most of the time! Where would I see “laziness” in my birth chart, and why do these positive Saturn aspects seem so elusive?

Neith’s response:

Bree, many of those cookie cutter descriptions fail to take into account the flowing nature of the trine. A trine (a 120° aspect between planets) means the planets are in the same element and are extremely comfortable with one another. By and large, we humans are motivated by discomfort and without the irritation factor to keep us awake, we stay put.

Your Moon in Capricorn is traditionally considered an indicator of an ambitious person and indeed, I’ve known many people with Capricorn Moon who are very driven to succeed. But they often do so out of a need to prove something to themselves or others. In your case, a sextile from Jupiter in Pisces mellows out your Moon considerably. You didn’t say anything about your lifestyle and general living conditions but I’m guessing those, too, are pleasant and accommodating.

Perhaps you just need to find the right motivation to inspire you. Saturn will enter Libra at the end of this October and will square your planets in Cancer and Capricorn during 2010-2012. There is nothing like an irritating square aspect to get us to move! And don’t forget that Pluto in Capricorn will be slowly conjoining all your planets in Capricorn over the course of the next 15 years.

Most of the time the cookie-cutter approach to astrology gives us just enough information to tantalize and confuse us, without providing the threads that pull it all together. My suggestion would be to find an astrologer you resonate with and work with them.

Pat’s response:

I had to laugh at your question, Bree. Most people would complain that the books said they were lazy when they weren’t (or didn’t think they were). That’s a tipoff right there that you’re probably not as lazy as you think.

But let’s assume for a moment that you are the laziest person on the planet, a veritable sloth. Where might we find that in your chart? My first stop would be the sixth house. This is where we look for clues about how you approach your day-to-day chores. As you note, you have hardworking Saturn in this area of your chart. You also have Pluto in the sixth house, which is definitely not a signature for laziness, and I’ll bet you delegate tasks very well!

The sign on the cusp of the sixth house can tell us something, along with the placement of the sixth-house ruler. You have Libra on the cusp of the sixth house, and Libra is ruled by Venus. I might be tempted to chalk it up to this, as Libra’s job is primarily to look beautiful and make sure everyone feels good. But Libra’s ruler, Venus, is in Virgo, a service-oriented, down-to-earth sign that doesn’t shy away from hard work.

Your Cancer Sun could perhaps be the culprit, as Cancer does love creature comforts. Still, this wouldn’t make you lazy. Mars, the planet that rules physical energy, is very well-placed in your chart, so we can count that out, too.

Since nothing jumps out at me, I’m going to go with my instinct and say you’re setting the bar too high for yourself, possibly as a result of that sixth-house Saturn. This could be a case of being your own worst critic. I also wonder whether you are challenged enough in your work and daily life. Could it be that your problem is not laziness but boredom?

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