Saturn in Libra: Balance for a New Year

Every year in Denmark on New Year’s Eve, the monarch, Queen Margrethe, gives a message to the people. This year was no exception. While the royal family does not take political positions or interfere in the country’s governing body, the Danish Parliament, the Queen is known for some wise words in her annual message.

The planet Saturn has been transiting Libra, the sign of, among other things, relationships, commitment, balance, justice and doing the right thing. Saturn has reached its mid point, and has clearly shown the world the areas in which it needs to get itself back on tracks.

Denmark, is a country which historically built itself up from a poor agrarian country with a few very wealthy and many, many poor people who starved, were homeless or lived in squalid conditions and who had no job or education. Since the 1940’s or so, it created an economic and social model called “flexicurity” which brought a very Libran balance to society – through taxes, everyone is able to have: a place to live; a free education at whatever level they choose and receive both free tuition and additional financial support while doing so; financial assistance (welfare) if they need it; there are private unemployment insurance agencies; unions; pension and support in other ways. An early retirement system originally designed for manual laborers who needed to stop working at 60 and have some years of decent health in retirement, was extended to white-collar (office) workers when they claimed it was too stressful on them to work in an office past the age of 60 a and that they, too, deserved early retirement. The safety net in Denmark is thick and strong. A person does not need to live in a cardboard box under a bridge and eat dog food because he/she does not have money. Children and elderly are cared for – the sign of a civilized, humane and thriving society.

But something has taken a turn for the worst and the scales have become imbalanced. Globalization, which is an inevitable fact even in small countries like Denmark, and the global financial crisis, have hit at the same time that Denmark now has adult citizens who have never experienced anything but prosperity. The divorce rate is 50% and the birth rate has dropped in the last three decades as Danes are increasingly focused on making their homes and themselves look beautiful (Libra!) and that often does not include forming committed marriages (note: people do also live together commonly in Denmark) and working through the problems nor spending money and time on raising a child. As a Danish friend of mine said to me recently, there is an entire generation, born from 1980-1990,who have known such wealth, personally and through their parents, that they think (money grows on trees) and they feel entitled to have anything they want, and lots of it, without having to contribute through working, paying taxes or giving back. They feel a sense of entitlement and a sense of resentment, he explained to me. Egos have gotten out of control.

These two elements have come together in the perfect storm, creating an atmosphere where wealthy politicians (earning approximately $15-18K/month, tax free) with angry, inhumane, arrogant, extremist and discriminatory viewpoints are blaming the poorest in Danish society (welfare recipients, the unemployed, university students, 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, families with children, and the poor who are infertile) for any deficit in Denmark’s finances. Wealthy political conservatives in Denmark have gone to the extreme, making nationalistic cultural demands and calling for more and more financial benefits to be taken away from the poor in the above listed groups because they think it will prevent any higher taxes on those with high incomes. In their actions and veiled words, they accuse the unemployed of being lazy bums who refuse to work and are living an easy life, the infertile poor of wasting money (over 6,000 Danish children were born each year through free fertility services, which ended December 31, 2010) and immigrants from certain countries of tainting Danish society with crime and totalitarianism. At the same time a generation of inward-looking, overly individualistic men and women are reaching the age of 30 and many of them are prolonging their time in university, taking their free university education fleeing to other countries (brain drain and tax drain), not having children, not getting married nor committing to an adult relationship, and do not feel the same sense of obligation to contribute financially to the system that gave them a comfortable life for the first third of their life, assuming they will live to be approximately 90. The scales of Denmark are imbalanced and the war is on!

Against the background of these events, Queen Margrethe gave her annual new years speech on December 31, 2010. Some of the highlights:

We need each other

”Fællesskabet er en stærk kvalitet, som vi skal skønne på, og som vi har brug for, når tiderne er mindre gunstige. Vi skal sammen bruge vores idérigdom, vores flid og skaberkraft. Det er egenskaber vi kan trække på, når vi nu søger at vriste os helt ud af krisens greb. ”(Community is a strong quality that we must appreciate and which we need when times are less favorable. Together we must use our ingenuity, our hard work and creative power. These are characteristics we can draw on when we seek to pry ourselves out of the grips of crisis.)

”Når vi ser, hvordan andre bliver stadig dygtigere, skal vi ikke lade os skræmme af det, men lade det være en spore for os. Vi må ikke stille os tilfreds med det, vi engang var dygtige til, men fortsat bruge den blanding af individualisme og sammenhold, som har bragt os langt.” (When we see how others are improving, we must not let ourselves be intimidated by it, but let it be a spur for us. We must not content ourselves with what we once were proficient in, but still use the mix of individualism and unity that has brought us this far.)

”Kriser og vanskelige tider har Danmark kendt mange af i tidens løb, men vi er sammen kommet igennem dem, og alle har været med. ” (Crises and difficult times, Denmark has known many of over the years, but we got through them together, and all have been involved.)

We have become too egoistic

"Men er der i disse år tegn på, at vi er blevet mere egoistiske, at vi er blevet tilbøjelige til først og fremmest at kræve ind og sikre os, at vi hver især får det vi selv mener at have krav på? Er vi ved at blive mistroiske overfor hinanden og tillægge hinanden mindre pæne motiver? (But is there in these years indication that we have become more selfish, that we have been prone to first and foremost to withdraw and make sure that we each get what we ourselves believe we are entitled to? Are we becoming distrustful towards each other and ascribing to each other less pure motives?)

The moral crisis is more serious than the economic crisis

”Så er det ikke alene en økonomisk krise vi befinder os i, så er det vore holdninger, der er ved at komme i skred. Det er en krise, der kommer snigende og som kan forgifte vort forhold til hinanden. Så er vi ved at sætte noget over styr, som kan være uopretteligt.” (So it is not only an economic crisis we find ourselves, then it is our attitudes that is slipping. It is a crisis that is insidious and can poison our relationships with each other. In this way, we are putting something at risk, which may be irreparable.)

”Den krise, der så at sige kan måles og vejes, som man kan sætte tal på og tegne kurver over, er ikke nær så alvorlig, som hvis det er vore værdier og holdninger, der vakler. Den økonomiske krise vi nu står i, skal vi nok finde vej ud af på kortere eller længere sigt; men vi skal ud af den med anstændigheden i behold og uden at sætte fællesskabet over styr.” (The [economic] crisis, which, so to speak, can be measured and weighed, as one can quantify and graph curves, is not nearly as serious as if it is our values and attitudes that falters. The economic crisis we now face, we will find our way out of in the short or longer term, but we must find our way out of it with our decency intact and without putting the community at risk.)

We have forgotten the basics

”I løbet af det seneste par generationer har samfundet udviklet sig sådan, at vi kan leve mere og mere trygt, både økonomisk og socialt. Vi har vænnet os til frit at kunne vælge og vrage i stort som i småt. Vi har fået det så godt, at vi næsten har glemt, at vore valg også har konsekvenser, og at ikke alle livets vilkår kan vælges til eller fra." (Over the past few generations, [Danish] society has evolved such that we can live more safely, economically and socially. We have become accustomed to freely picking and choosing the size of the fine print. We have had it so well that we almost have forgotten that our choices also have consequences and that not all of life's conditions can be turned on or off).

Committed interdependence is necessary

”Vi mennesker lever i gensidige afhængighedsforhold. Det gælder i dag, som i går og til alle tider. Tidligere stod det måske mere klart, dengang man levede i de små landsbysamfund, hvor mange opgaver måtte løses i fællesskab, og da flere generationer ofte levede under samme tag, og enhver havde sine opgaver at varetage over for hinanden. Det var et afhængighedsforhold, der var tydeligt for enhver. I dag har vi overladt til samfundet at klare mange af de forpligtelser, som engang var hver enkeltes opgave. Ofte går det så vidt, at vi helt glemmer eller overser, at samfundet jo egentlig er os selv, og at det slet ikke kan fungere, hvis vi ikke hver især gør en indsats og føler en forpligtelse over for såvel vore nærmeste, som for dem vi ikke lige løber på i det daglige.” (We human beings live in mutual dependence. It is true today, as yesterday, and at all times. Earlier, it was perhaps more evident when people lived in small villages, where many tasks had to be solved jointly, and when several generations often lived under the same roof, and all had their tasks to perform for each other. It was a relationship that was obvious to everyone. Today we entrust it to society to handle many of the obligations that were once each individual’s task. Often it goes so far that we completely forget or overlook the fact that the society is really ourselves, and that it does not work if we do not each make an effort and feel a commitment to both our loved ones, as well as those we do not have contact with on a daily basis.)

Freedom and prosperity = compassion

“Vi har opnået en frihed til at forme vort eget liv, som tidligere generationer aldrig har kendt magen til, og det skal vi skønne på. Men vi bør også huske, at ingen kan klare sig selv helt alene. Derfor skal vi også passe på det samfund, som vi kender som en tryg ramme om den enkeltes udfoldelse, og have øjne og ører og hjerte åbne for vore medmennesker.” (We have achieved a freedom to shape our own life that previous generations have never known the likes of, and we appreciate. But we should also remember that no one can fend for themselves alone. Therefore, we must also take good care of the society which we know as a safe setting for personal development, and have eyes and ears and hearts open to our fellow man.)

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This message reflects the meaning of Saturn in Libra. Denmark is not the only country facing the same issues. Other European countries, the USA etc are dealing with economic and moral (attitude) crisis. The theology of scarcity is running rampant and the haves are blatantly and rapaciously taking from the poor, the unemployed, children, elderly, the uneducated, and the sick. However, the fight is a hard one because the universe is determined to break down and break what does not work and restructure society (Saturn) to bring balanced relationships.

As more people seek to take from those who should not be taken from, more imbalances and shortages will come and society will not function well. It is an absurd pipe-dream to think that you can achieve financial balance and prosperity in any society by depriving some people of educations, healthcare, housing, and quite simply, the same human dignity you desire for yourself. It is only in restructuring societies in a balanced manner that there will be peace and prosperity.

The scales must be balanced.

In the USA, in every state, there is a department responsible for weights and measures. It ensures that scales are telling their true weights and containers are holding the volumes they say claim. Sometimes some people cheat and things are not fairly measured, weighed or distributed. That means sometimes adjustments must be made, and those who are stacking things in favour of themselves must be corrected. Saturn has that responsibility, showing us where we must bring balance to relationships on a large-scale (country, community etc) and small scale (marriage, neighbors etc).

How long will it before certain people in our world admit that our global economic crisis is only worsened by an attitude crisis or what some would call our collective moral bankruptcy?