Mighty Myalgic Malefics

Pain. There’s nothing so sobering, so powerfully wrenching, that can get us to focus on what’s truly important and what really matters. There’s nothing we hate more and try to avoid. And yet, there’s also nothing else that can keep us quite so safe.  Pain is a powerful enemy, but also our most loyal friend. 

Saturn and Mars are the malefics of astrology, and together they rule pain. Saturn rules cold pain, and Mars rules hot pain.  We can curse them, hate them, rue them all we want, but a proper understanding of their roles can help us learn to appreciate their protective roles in our lives. This is true not just emotionally, but also physically. To explore how this works, let’s look at one source of pain common this time of year: pain from infectious illnesses.

Pain and immunity

Saturn and Mars rule our immune system—the body’s method of protecting us from deadly invaders.  Saturn is the chief ruler of this system, with Mars as the trusted sargeant.  Mars rules the inflammatory process of immunity: the T-cells, histamines, and other hot-headed cells that  go on the attack and passionately wage war on invaders. Saturn, as the greater malefic, rules the immune system overall, including the following functions:

• the barrier function (e.g. the skin) — the immune system first tries to block invaders mechanically, to prevent them from entering the organism.
• the regulatory function — the cells that mark out what counts as “self” versus “not-self.” There are also cells to retain the memory of past infections.
• the structure function (e.g. the bones) — the immune system has a structured method of creating the requisite cells, training them in what to do, and moving them to the appropriate places in the body.
• the purgation function (e.g. the lymph)*.  — these cells flush out the toxins and invaders from the organism.

As part of all these functions, the immune system can cause pain in the organism, but pain has an important purpose: protection.

As mentioned in a previous post, Saturn is crossing my natal moon, and I am going to be writing a lot about Saturn. Saturn is fearsome and terrifying, and its transits are nothing to sneeze at. But Saturn also deserves a lot of respect, as its effects are never in vain and serve important purposes.

The Mighty Macrophage

To demonstrate this concept, in this article I want to introduce you to one of the body’s most fearsome defenders, the macrophage:

A type of “white blood cell,” the macrophage is one of the top generals of the immune system, and it represents Saturn perfectly. (Traditionally, Saturn rules the color white.) Saturn’s energies are displayed in the functions of the macrophage.

Imagine a chaotic, bloody battle, with screams and clashes and violence everywhere. Suddenly a chill sweeps over the battlefield. The troops part. Everyone turns their heads.  Entering dramatically, determinedly, with grave grimness, comes THE GENERAL. His presence is enormous, intimidating.  He sweeps his piercing eyes to survey the state of his troops, assess the damage on both sides, and formulate his strategy. Fear pierces the hearts of his enemies. His allies rejoice, knowing the tide has turned and victory is near.

This is the macrophage. 

He is 100 times larger than his enemies.

And he is deadly determined to win.

I imagine the macrophage like the giant rolling boulder in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, that crushes everything in its path. Except this stone can also send messages, secrete important substances, intelligently change direction, and grow long arms to grab its victims.

Viruses, harmful bacteria, fungal toxins, and parasites stand no chance.  Whereas Mars is a sharp sword that stabs and shreds its enemies, Saturn coolly and calmly encloses and crushes them.

When an infection invades the body, macrophages are released. One of the first things a macrophage does is communicate with the nervous system—specifically the nerves that control pain (called “nociceptors.”) The macrophage releases chemical messengers that tell the nervous system “we are in pain now.” The point of this message is to persuade the body to STOP what it’s doing so it can focus all its energy on fighting the invader.  

Unfortunately, nothing else but pain will do the trick. Generally the body likes wasting its energy doing stupid stuff like smelling flowers, playing games, and flirting with that cutie over there.  But none of that frivolity will save us when invaders are attacking. All joy must be sacrificed for the survival of the organism. This is why, when we get sick, we feel achy and tired, and we just want to lie down. Our instinct is also to separate ourselves from other people, to avoid infecting them as well.

Unfortunately, nothing else but pain will do the trick.

Some of Saturn’s key words can be seen here: Slowness. Reduction of activity. Suffering. Sorrow. Isolation. Heaviness. But these energies play important roles. The point is not to destroy us; on the contrary, the point is to protect us.

In addition to turning on the pain pump, the macrophage also communicates with the other elements of the immune system, such as T-cells and other attack cells. It mobilizes them to assist in the destruction of the invader.

And then it performs one of the most impressive, intimidating feats of nature: it slurps up the bad guys into itself and crushes them into oblivion. Check out the video below... The large black-and-white dots are macrophages. The small red dots are pathogenic fungal cells.

Impressive, right?!

Macrophages can also send out long, arm-like tendrils to grab hold of its victims, and suck them into its destructive center.

Mindful Malefics Mop Up Their Mess

The battle is over. The Enemies have been neutralized. The immune system has created antibodies—memory cells that will retain the knowledge of how to destroy this invader, should it ever attack again.  Saturn and Mars have triumphed again.  

But their job doesn’t stop here.  Much destruction has occurred, and they will not abandon us now. They will also help clean up the damage and assist in the repairs.

The macrophage, for example, releases several chemicals once the battle is over.  One set of chemicals are anti-inflammatory interleukins; their job is to turn off all the inflammatory cells that are causing pain in the body, and cool things back down to normal levels.  Another set of chemicals are Neuron Growth Factors, which help repair and regrow any nerves that were harmed along the way.  The macrophage also sends chemical messengers to the pain receptors in the body, telling them, “No need for pain anymore. You can go back to your business. Be happy again.”

This elegant process serves us well and keeps us safe. The malefics harm us, but they also help. 

Pain is Helpful, but not Good

This article is not meant to glorify pain, nor to dismiss how awful it can be. The goal of pain is to get the cause of the pain to stop... meaning, we have to figure out what is causing it, and take action to solve the problem. In the case of a broken bone or torn muscle, the pain is meant to reduce our activity so we "pamper" the damaged area and don't cause more damage by moving too much. In the case of infectious illness, the pain is meant to prevent us from exerting energy on anything that isn't about fighting off the invader.

The goal of pain is to get the cause of the pain to stop.

Of course, battles don’t always go to plan. 

• Our environment is full of artificial pollutants and endocrine disruptors that are wreaking havoc on how our messaging systems are supposed to function. These can keep our immune systems turned on constantly, instead of fading to the background as they are meant to do.
• New immune challengers (new strains of viruses, bacteria, and other toxins) face us daily. 
• Societal pressures don’t always allow us to rest as we should. 
• And let’s face it, our food isn’t always as nutritious as it should be.  

All these factors and more can draw out our immune struggles for months or years– making the immune response much longer and more painful than it should be.  

And in any case, even during a “normal” short infection, sometimes the pain prevents us from sleeping, which we desperately need!  It is flu season, and many people are down for the count, and urgently seeking relief.

This is where herbal friends can help.  In the next article I will give you a few herbal recommendations that can support the immune system, reduce pain, and help you rest. Stay tuned!

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References

​​Chen O, Donnelly CR, Ji RR. Regulation of pain by neuro-immune interactions between macrophages and nociceptor sensory neurons. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2020 Jun;62:17-25. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.006. Epub 2019 Dec 3. PMID: 31809997; PMCID: PMC7266706.

Nguyen AV, Soulika AM. The Dynamics of the Skin's Immune System. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr 12;20(8):1811. doi: 10.3390/ijms20081811. PMID: 31013709; PMCID: PMC6515324.