Hello, friend. Welcome to GlobalWoman where we talk about creative entrepreneurship, living simply, beautifully, and creatively, circling the calendar wheel, the lunar cycles, and the GlobalWoman Entrepreneur.

In my corner of the world, Sydney Australia, Spring is springing which I am loving. Everywhere I look, new life is bursting forth in the shape of lush green growth which is so life-affirming.

Life goes on. 

But not without its lessons. Such as when, only a few weekends ago, tennis champion Serena Williams and talented newcomer Naomi Osaka met in the women’s finals of the American Open. You may have heard about what transpired during the match.

Essentially Serena believed she was already unfairly penalised when the chair referee Ramos gave her a third penalty, game penalty, resulting in a game taken off her. There was much more to it, and you can read more below or watch what unfolded in the match here.

The match dissolved into a hot mess. 

Japanese/Haitian Naomi Osaka went onto win the final and deservedly so. She was exemplary, majestic yet vulnerable in maintaining her composure and focusing on each point she needed to win to take the title of US Open Champion.

You can read different takes on the incident across the web, offering opinions and judgements on Serena and her behaviour. Instead, my curiosity was in investigating Serena’s astrology chart to see what was playing out for her astrologically.

When most of us experience a challenging astrology transit, we’re not playing on centre court nor have the gaze of the world upon us. We’re able to navigate transits and their lessons with a degree of privacy.

Not so Serena. 

When Serena stepped onto Centre Court for the final of the US Open the two big guns of Astrology, Transiting Pluto and Saturn, were right there with her.

Astro Speak Alert: Transiting Saturn in Capricorn was activating Serena’s Natal Sun in Libra (her birthday is September 26th) and Transiting Pluto, also in Capricorn, was activating her Capricorn Mid-Heaven, the highest point in a natal chart. 

Side-note: Before I go on, you need to know that how a transit plays is different for each of us, given our charts and lived experiences are unique. The way transiting Saturn square Sun played out for Serena is not going to be the way the transit plays out for you or me. 

Once I saw Serena’s chart, my heart went out to her. One of those transits on its own would be challenging enough; both of them karmically lining up at the same time would trigger a sane person into un-ravelling.

Saturn’s qualities have much to do with work, career, obstacles, lessons, restrictions, authority, rules and structure.

Our natal Sun, determined by our date of birth, represents will and essence, and squares are tensions. Not only was Serena playing Naomi, but she also had to internalise the tension between authority/structures and her will on the court.

Before we embody wisdom, we learn the lessons.

From a young age, Serena has worked hard to breakthrough structures of oppression such as racism, sexism and classism to find a life that is hers. She started playing tennis and training at a young age, a girl from Compton, in a sport that had been the epitome of privilege, class and for the most part, white people.

As a woman of colour, imagine the obstacles Serena had to break down. Imagine the biases she had to face. No wonder she was enraged at Ramos when he suggested she was cheating.

Still, Serena persisted, developing resilience and tenacity at a championship level to find a life that is hers.

On that day in early September, all the structures of oppression and unconscious biases that Serena has had to face were also playing out on Centre Court. I felt her rage and her frustration, but I also witnessed Serena’s grace.

During the trophy ceremony, as the crowd were booing, Serena spoke to them and asked them to stop:

“I just want to tell you guys she played well and this is her first Grand Slam. Let’s not boo anymore. We will get through this. No more booing. Congratulations, Naomi.”

Make Saturn an Ally

For all women, our lived experiences are vastly different, yet we’ve all encountered biases, authorities and obstacles on our journeys as we do the work to find a life that is ours. 

Transiting Saturn asks these questions of you:

1. What am I being asked to learn here?
2. Which structures in my life are out-dated?
3. What in my life do I need to restructure?
4. How can I work with current restrictions?

We’d love to hear your feedback, so please leave a comment below. 

Kathryn x GlobalWoman

What to Read

• Serena Williams and the Game That Can’t Be Won (Yet) – What rage costs a woman
• At U.S. Open, power of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka is overshadowed by an umpire’s power play
• Serena’s Not Alone. Women Are Penalized for Anger at Work, Especially Black Women

“I ugly cried during Serena & Naomi’s match and took a day to process. Serena was every woman I know standing up for themselves, having to point out misogyny, having to get the job done, and then making sure the woman coming behind you is supported despite the discrimination faced.”

Yamiche Alcindor

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