True Mastery of Self: Challenges of Saturn in Aries & Key Lessons from Wing Chun

May 30, 2025

Over the past few days, I’ve been seeing people erupt all over the place. A lot is being revealed. I had this article prepped yesterday morning, but Spirit stayed my hand to show even more phenomena.

There are those who feel their sense of self and mental stability a little more crushed, or perhaps just being more sensitive to triggers.

There are those who appear hollow as if they have completely forgotten themselves in the span of a few days.

There are whose repressed sadness, rage, insecurities, and child-wounds are taking the fore.

There are those who speak from Ego, and no longer Heart as they seek power in the name of service.

And then there are those who maintain themselves, who manage to persist. They show up, even when things are tough. And they keep at it.

All of this is par the course for Saturn in Aries. Which leads to the question of:

What is the lesson we are being asked to learn here?

How do we master these lessons as best we can in the moment?

Note: Master here is used to indicate mastery of a a skill. It is not ‘ power over’ but ‘ advanced knowledge of’ . Those who do not see the difference may want to stop reading now.

WHAT ARE WE BEING FORCED TO ACKNOWLEDGE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER?

My brother Mahawin and I were discussing this. And he has a very good turn of phrase.

He said that it sounded like unaddressed, early (childhood) issues that got papered over by society are coming out.

And that is precisely what is happening.

People respond to that revelation of truth about themselves in very different ways.

Some have the courage to face it.

Others will disassociate or deflect. Or become the rescuer whilst neglecting themselves.

And so on.

You have to look at the truth of yourself and how who you see yourself as being has been shaped by those early familial dynamics, sometimes including clashes with authority, experiences of abuse and neglect, etc.

This is part and parcel of what Saturn in Aries is bringing up.

Your psychological, mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical foundation of Being.

The energy of Aries - in excess - can be absolutely headstrong, my-way-or-the-highway, in-your-face, and generally inconsiderate of boundaries. In balance, it can truly pave a new way despite opposition.

But it’s honestly hard for someone running off the fumes without proper grounding to tell the two apart.

Another way you can tell if something is off is in the way you treat people.

Remember that Saturn’s lessons are also about boundaries. I’ve seen a lot of disrespect running about recently.

In the rush to ‘ be whatever’, the Ego forgets that other people are people.

It assumes that someone must be receptive to what you want because you want it.

If you are surprised by people having to draw boundaries with you, reflect on what you have done to require that response.

Now telling someone in the Aries-buzz that they’re talking out of their butt and not their heart is ultimately counter-productive. So I had to find an analogy and one popped up yesterday.

LESSONS FROM WING CHUN: WHAT TRUE MASTERY LOOKS LIKE

As I was thinking about what would be the most useful thing to share right now, I came across a video of a Wing Chun Grandmaster.

Grandmaster Ip Chun is over a hundred years old (and a descendant of one of its most famous teachers, Ip Man), and in the video, he was practicing ‘chi sao’ or ‘ sticking hands’ with a much younger opponent. This is a very dynamic and engaged exercise which - despite its soft appearance - is a remarkable demonstration of force, counter-force, redirection, and so on.

For one who knows the art, it’s quite clear that the younger opponent tried his hardest to get past the grandmaster’s defenses. He couldn’t. The old hands shook, but gently and firmly held their ground, till he was ready to hit back.

Here’s a snippet of him on Youtube but I recommend watching the one linked above as well as it has more context.

For reference, the cover photo of this article is a young Bruce Lee doing chi sao with his teacher Ip Man. Wing Chun is what he learnt - which is probably where he got the philosophy of ‘ be like water ’ (with a brief video on that below) .

This martial art is distinctive for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was said to have been founded by a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui 伍枚, known as one of the legendary Five Elders who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple.

She developed the form so that it would work against a much larger opponent without requiring the same kind of force.

This is key to why Wing Chun is so unique. Strength is not pitted against strength like two rams butting their heads

It is all about flow and having a strong core and foundation.

Knowing how to direct and redirect movement.

The flow is is your life-force, your essence, your choice of embodied movement and action.

With Grandmaster Ip Chun in particular, we also see what truly grounded presence and elderhood can be.

True Mastery doesn’t need to announce itself.

It is there, and utterly undeniable. And what strength you see, when justly exercised, comes from the core.

It is just so easy to confuse that drive to get out there, to be seen, do something, be something, and your feelings about it versus the actual presence that comes from experience, humility, learning, and rigorous discipline of a lifetime.

When you have the latter, you don’t need to seek something.

You have nothing to prove.

But you will stand your ground where needed and tolerate no disrespect.

Mastery comes from having a strong foundation. And willingness to commit to the work and show up each and every single day.

If you are running around to try and prove something without the right foundation of self - you’re eventually going to topple.

You’ll probably fix it and right yourself over time, but why not save yourself the additional effort and the drama?

Sort the foundation first. Find strength in your core.

SO HOW DOES IT RELATE TO YOU?

Whilst doing Wing Chun alone is not likely to sort your foundational childhood traumas, it gives you a good example of how that strength can be held and applied without the ‘ my-way-or-the-highway approach’.

There’s plenty of approaches, resources, and materials you can look up online to get started. Remember that core strength is not just about your abs … It’s your emotional, spiritual, psychological, physical self, and all other layers of consciousness.

I have already explained why you need to be in a relatively solid or integrated place so you can get out there and effectively do good in the world and end cycles of depletion sustainably.

And I did write a much longer article with a list of recommendations and a much more Heart-centered Focus, but decided to keep it short.

If you haven’t listened then, you’re not going to listen now.

You know where to find me if you need personalized guidance.

Come only if you are prepared to do the real work.

Dr. Bairavee, The Sky Priestess

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Dr Bairavee The Sky Priestess

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