As one begins to dip their toe into Astrology, perhaps starting with a daily horoscope or accessing their chart (which you can do here on this site for free), we become somewhat aware of the validity of astrology as we reflect on our Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs understanding on some intuitive level and often marveling at the veracity of how descriptive they are.
Deepening Your Astrological Understanding
As our interest in Astrology becomes more serious and deepens, a conversation ensues when discussing Astrology with peers, friends or googling terms to understand the intricacies of one’s own individual chart, a YouTube video, or any introductory Astrological column or tome early on the planet Saturn is introduced. Saturn is the great reckoner, the architect of our life lessons. Some will have more difficult lessons to learn than others from Saturn.
Saturn: The Great Chronometer
Saturn in astrology has been called the “Great Chronometer,” as this giant planet, 890 million miles away, takes 29 years to complete one cycle in the zodiac or return to where it was at one’s birth. As this gas giant, with at least 146 moons, moves in its elliptical orbit around our Sun every 29 years or so, it squares or opposes, or again squares, the position it occupies in your birth chart. These squares and oppositions of Saturn act like little internal clocks and mark phases of maturation in our lives.
The Challenges and Lessons of Saturn
However, they can also be periods of extreme frustration, trials in our lives, times when we deal with control issues, and times when our careers are interrupted. Hence, in one person’s normal lifespan, they might have 3 transits of Saturn to the place it occupied in our natal charts. These transits mark a cyclic maturing factor in everyone’s lives. Saturn transits, whether to the Sun, Moon, or other sensitive points in our chart, and the different aspects that Saturn makes by transit can be times in our lives to slow down and put on the brakes. Saturn transiting the Sun and the Moon can limit our vitality. This is a time to take extra special good care of oneself.
The First Saturn Return: A Call to Maturity
The wise Astrologer has often, with a twinkle in their eye, deemed anyone under the age of 29 to be still immature, as it is the advent of the first transit of Saturn back to where it was in the native’s birth Saturn that truly heralds a resounding “wake up” call to maturity. This call or transit of Saturn at age 29ish is called the First Saturn Return, and it indeed does mark a maturation cycle in one’s life. Usually, you have your stuff together at this time, and you may experience recognition or rewards. If you are floundering, Saturn will make you look hard at yourself.
Making the Most of Your Saturn Return
If the person has already developed hard work and discipline patterns, this is often a time of promotions, recognition, and great rewards. If the native has been unable to mature from the age of 21, the return of Saturn should be a “reckoning.” In that case, this return may destroy whatever weak foundation the person has constructed or is imagining to have permanence in his life, and the person may hopefully realize that it is time for self-discipline, time to create boundaries, and restructuring of his/her life. Very often, from years 14 to 28, we are running from rules, and at age 28 to 29, there is often the awareness of how constructing rules and boundaries in life going forward may be the way to go.
Understanding Saturn’s Role and Characteristics
Examining the words associated with Saturn may help shape our understanding of Saturn’s role in our individual lives. Saturn is considered to be a Malefic planet along with Mars. Saturn constricts, contracts, delays, restricts, holds responsible, sets boundaries, holds responsible, and slows down.
Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius
Saturn is more constructive in the signs it rules Capricorn and Aquarius. In Capricorn, we experience the qualities of goal setting, grounded long-term planning, and career achievements. Capricorn is a rigid Cardinal Earth sign. Think of the image of Father Time with his Scythe, and you are tuning into a primordial archetype of Saturn in Capricorn. In Aquarius, Saturn sees the fruition of concrete planning, and now Saturn is the ruler of an air sign. Saturn in Aquarius wants to be involved with the rules of organizations and strategic policy. At its best, Saturn in Aquarius takes on humanitarian goals.
How Saturn Affects Your Personal Astrology Chart
So Saturn exemplifies the qualities in its planetary soul of these two signs. How it reacts in your sign will be determined by several factors: Where is the planet Saturn located by sign and house in your chart? Were you born during the day or during the night? Saturn may be more restrictive in charts of people born at night. Is Saturn in a strong house (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th)? There are many factors to determine how Saturn, the great chronometer, is affecting your chart.
Experiencing a Saturn Transit
In general, if it is transiting the angles of your chart, one of the luminaries, or another planet, you may feel the Saturnian message in your life. If you have a planetary ephemeris or look at your chart and see that Saturn is transiting a planet, the Sun, or the Moon, you are experiencing a Saturn transit. As I have already pointed out here, the qualities of Saturn are to delay, to restrict, and to hold accountable. However, on the more positive side, Saturn can represent hard work and recognition, deep thought, and profound understanding.
Interpreting Saturn in Your Life
Where Saturn is in a chart by the house will give you a partial glimpse of areas in your life that may involve responsibility. However, it is the houses that Saturn rules and how those interplay that will clarify the view of the areas of our life where we must be more responsible or seriously embrace new ideas.
Seeking Further Guidance
If you are experiencing a Saturn Transit, you may want to read up on it or get a personal chart. You can get a free chart in the chart section of the website. If you take it further, you can purchase a very detailed computer chart interpretation (Click here to generate your birth chart or buy your report). Or you can take it one step further and book a private consultation with me.
Upcoming Articles and Engagement
I will write more about Saturn in Pisces in the coming weeks. If you want to stay on top of my articles, then sign up here to receive the newsletter:
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