Sugar Pairings: Moon and Saturn
What is Sugaring?
In my client work I often judge horaries for sugar babies. This type of sex work is an interesting combination of fantasy and contractural obligations. Both parties often engage in relationship-type dynamics such as going on dates, spending nights together, going to events, etc. But the understanding underneath these activities is either implicitly or explicitly understood by both parties to be contingent on the sugar baby being taken care of in some way. This could mean an agreed upon allowance, a certain level of gifts, or paying per time they meet.
Casting horaries for the sugaring relationship then is a first house/seventh house question. Most questions I receive are about the sugar relationship and this relationship is based on a contract either implied or explicit. So I don’t put the sugar daddy in the seventh house because of the longevity or seriousness of the relationship but because it is a client-provider relationship and thus properly belongs there. It also makes sense when we consider derived houses, since the eighth house would be the sugar baby’s money received from others and this is the derived second house of the sugar daddy representing his assets.
There are a limited number of ways a first house/seventh house question assigns significators. These are: Mars/Venus, Mercury/Jupiter, Moon/Saturn, or Sun/Saturn as the pairings.
If a sugar baby approaches me about their love life, that would be an entirely different setup. But since I am mostly consulted when sugar babies are asking about work, most of the time I am looking at first house/seventh house dynamics. I will cover all of these pairings in future blog posts, but today I want to consider the Moon/Saturn dynamic as it is the most common pairing I see in horary currently. The sugar baby represented by Cancer rising/Moon and the sugar daddy being represented by Capricorn descending/Saturn.
I have seen people comment that a Saturnian sugar daddy would not be generous and bad for sugar babies. Since Saturn is a planet that can present itself fairly readily in first house/seventh house pairings, I had to start really digging into Saturn in the sugar bowl.
What is a Moon-Saturn Sugar Relationship Like?
What am I thinking when I see a Moon sugar baby and a Saturn sugar daddy? I am thinking of the gravitas of Saturn attracted to the mutability of the Moon. All of these pairings are planets in relationship with their opposites. So what is the Cancer-Capricorn dynamic? The stability of Saturn looks at the ever changing Moon and while shaking his head, still is intrigued and fascinated by her. The Moon for her part is attracted to what Saturn has built over time and the boundaries he enforces. Part of the fantasy of a sugar relationship is the daddy changing the baby’s lifestyle, upgrading her experiences. I think Saturn captures a lot of that dynamic. Saturn gets a charge by imposing his will and putting boundaries around what he claims as his own. Deprivation shall not touch her because he wills it so. And the Moon, luminary that she is, lights up the loneliness and exile of Saturn.
I started doing sugaring client work while Saturn was in Capricorn and then subsequently, Aquarius, so I have only ever seen Saturn as sugar daddy while Saturn was in one of his domiciles. It has well described many sugaring relationships especially when the sugar daddy has the upper hand. The sugar daddy has often been the one calling the shots in these relationships and had a bit too much privilege in my opinion. He has been high handed and demanding with sugar babies and able to get his way. The exception of course being when the sugar baby is represented by a Cancer or Taurus Moon and well placed in the chart, since then she enjoys dignity. But if the sugar baby is a detriment or fallen Moon up against a Saturn in Capricorn or Aquarius? That is an over-strong sugar daddy.
When Saturn moves in Pisces in 2023, I will be taking note! Perhaps this will see fewer Moon/Saturn pairings. Or it is possible the dynamics of sugaring will change. My hope is that the sugar babies will be able to exercise more autonomy and demand more in exchange for their work when they aren’t consistently being pitted against such a strong Saturn.
So What is a Saturnian Sugar Daddy Like?
Since the 8th house will always be Aquarius in this chart setup and thus also ruled by Saturn—these charts have consistently shown a sugar daddy with strong pockets. If he is inclined to give it to the sugar baby is a different matter and usually depends on placement and aspects. But a Saturnian sugar daddy is not necessarily stingy. They may however hold you to the letter of your agreements and have exacting standards.
And the Moon is always changing, switching up the dynamics and giving us a rounder picture in each horary. The flavor of the Moon and its relationship to Saturn has been the more defining aspect of the chart these past years while Saturn traversed its own domiciles.
Let’s take a look at a horary so we can illustrate this point.
In this horary the client asked if a relationship with a potential sugar daddy would be harmonious and lucrative. So, here you can see what happens when a Moon in detriment meets Saturn in domicile. First we always take note that it is the day of Venus, hour of the Moon with Cancer rising. All good indicators for a radical chart as Venus naturally rules over sex work and the planetary hour and ascendant sign match. The ascendant is neither too early nor too late. Saturn isn’t warning us of obvious danger. So we proceed.
The Querent is the Moon in Capricorn in the seventh house. Right away, before I even look at anything else, I can see that the sugar baby wants this more than the sugar daddy. The Moon is in detriment in his house! I also take note of Mars conjunct the ascendant in the Querent’s first. Mars is in fall, which makes for a passive aggressive approach. So already, I am seeing red flags. But we press on to get the full picture.
The potential sugar daddy is Saturn in Aquarius in the eighth house. Saturn is the strongest planet in this chart even as he is retrograde. I wondered if this was a second attempt perhaps of this relationship. I was able to confirm with the client that they had in the past thought about establishing a relationship but he had pursued someone else. She had seen him as the ‘one that got away’ and had pursued him when that other relationship had ended. So already we can see the story unfolding here.
I am still doing my best to give good news to my client, so I am looking for something between the Moon and Saturn to get things going, but there is nothing. They cannot behold each other. The only other aspect Saturn makes to the traditional seven planets is to the Sun, an applying trine. But the Sun is not a main significator here. The Sun does rule the Querent’s second house, but is lost in the twelfth. Not a good position for the Sun to do much of anything for the Querent. Much more likely to assist the potential sugar daddy, especially when we consider derived houses. The Sun is in his house of work, so more likely that the potential sugar daddy is working hard and focused on his wallet and his job. He doesn’t seem to regard the potential sugar baby at all.
I told the client this would not be a harmonious or lucrative arrangement and that the potential sugar daddy had no intention of engaging her or taking care of her at all. He was probably way more focused on work. I told her that perhaps she was putting more effort in this possibility than she would reap and it was likely she was feeling less visible in her work and this could explain her drive to try and lock him down. I also told her these eclipses were probably hitting her a bit hard, as you can see in the chart the eclipse had been two days before and spanned the sixth and twelfth houses. I advised her that after these eclipses cleared a bit she would most likely be more visible and less stressed about her situation. She was disappointed but told me I was right. The potential sugar daddy never really showed much interest. She moved on about a month later with a new daddy.
I hope this delineation shows my thoughts in regards to the astrology weather that has been governing first and seventh house matters, especially as it relates to sex work. I imagine lately the power in first and seventh house horaries has been skewed when Saturn rules the seventh. I am thinking of home buying or client work of any kind in particular. These may change too once Saturn enters Pisces.
Sources:
The Houses: Temples of the Sky by Deborah Houlding
Christian Astrology by William Lilly
The Martial Art of Horary Astrology by Dr. Lee Lehman
My notes from the classes I took from my teacher, Samuel F. Reynolds