Saturn Return Important lessons you will not escape. This is linked to things like your fears and the obstacles you will face in your life as you get older. Welcome to adulthood! Get ready, set, GO! Not so fast….

 

 

 

ask anyone about astrology they will probably be able to tell you something. Most people know their Sun sign and something they have heard about it. They know for example that the majority of people born under the sign of Aries are ambitious. They might know that people who are Scorpio are known for being very sexy. They may also tell you that Geminis are known for talking all the time. And they are not wrong in what they say, as a person’s Sun sign is a very important part of who they are.

            Our Sun sign is the zodiac sign that the Sun was in at the time of our birth. But this is only part of the story. There are a huge number of other planets in our natal chart and these also tell us more about our personality and our life path. Our natal chart is a snapshot of the heavens at the time when we were born and it is unique to everyone, just like a thumbprint. Even twins have a slightly different birth chart! Only by looking at this chart (Natal) can we find out the full story about our whole life.

             

 

You may also enjoy: Natal Promise 

            When you look at your own natal chart you will see that each planet is located in a house, or you may have several planets in the same house. This forms a geometric web which stretches out across the heavens. This is like a map of your life that tells you about both your inner and outer world. Another way to look at your natal chart is to view it as an instruction book. They say we don’t come with instructions, but we do in the form of our birth chart!

Why is Saturn important?

            But…why is Saturn so important? Well, the placement of this planet at the time of your birth can be used to get more information about many of the issues that you will face. This is linked to things like your fears and the obstacles you will face in your life as you get older. Saturn is known to be the Taskmaster of the Skies and the placement of Saturn in your chart will show you where you need to work hard in life and some of the life lessons you need to learn – and you had better make sure that you learn them!

Saturn and the Seasons of Life:

            Saturn is one of the slowest moving planets in the skies and it takes 29 years for it to orbit once around the Sun. The reason for this slow dance is that this planet is also one of the furthest away from our solar system. It was also one of the least well-known planets, at least until the new discovery of Uranus in the 18th century. In the days of old when Saturn was discovered, this planet was always associated with Old Father Time and with endings. Remember…at that time people did not live as long as they do now so it was normal for Saturn to be associated with endings and also with death. Nowadays this has changed somewhat, but when Saturn returns back to the place that it was when you were born (your Saturn Return) then you will be very conscious of your own mortality and what it means to be an adult, with all its stresses and anxiety. Saturn is often symbolized with a watch or an hourglass to remind us that time is always running out!

            But it is not all doom and gloom. Actually, Saturn is there to teach us about maturity and about how our life is structured. Saturn rules things like our teeth, bones and hair loss and is also associated with authority figures and getting old in general. If we go back to the Greek story of Saturn, who was known as Kronos, we can see in the original Greek myth that he ate his children so that Zeus wouldn’t steal his power. It’s quite a grim story but it is meant to remind us that we need to be humble even when we are faced with success in our lives, as well as adversity. We need to get it together when we reach the end of Saturn’s Return and, if we don’t, we can expect some challenges – to say the least! So when we hit thirty, (Can start at age 29) we are thrown into chaos, but this is so that we can figure out both the inner and outer parts of our nature.

The First Saturn Return:

            If you are anywhere from your mid-twenties to your early thirties then you are at the time of your first Saturn Return and you will defiantly be feeling the effects of this. It could feel like everything around you is spinning out of all control. Relationships could be going haywire, or you may hit obstacles in your career. Your friendships may suffer and you may wonder what you are really doing with your life. This is, however, the series of waves that come at the time of your Saturn Return and the ripple effect lasts for some time. If you are a woman, then this can throw up issues with your father as Saturn is known to represent father figures. If we have issues with our fathers or father figures, then this may play out with the other men in our lives.

            When you have your first Saturn Return it is a very important moment in your life. You are leaving your childhood behind for good and becoming a ‘real’ adult and this can make you feel anxious and like you are on your own for the first time. When you have finished your Saturn Return however, you will find that you have learned so much from this and you will see what all the lessons that came your way at this time were meant to teach you. In short, you will be a much more mature person and you will have grown up so much and in so many ways.

            At the time of your first Saturn Return, you may find that many things change for you. It could be that you change your job or you may get divorced if you got married early and didn’t think it through properly. You may try to get out of a bad situation even if you are not married and don’t have children yet. We often try to follow traditional paths in life such as going to school, then college and then get married and have children. You think we are meant to stay like this and do other ‘normal’ things like buy a house and keep working in a job you don’t like because it pays your bills and you can’t put food on the table by following your dreams. This is a particular problem in Western culture, especially in places like the United States, where people are taught to follow these values from a young age.

            To add to the problem, we are also given a free pass in our early twenties. At that time we are taught that we are allowed to go out and party, but then when we hit thirty we are told that we are supposed to get married overnight, put a down payment on a house and have a steady job – all as if by magic. There are some people who do already have it figured out when they are young, such as child actors who have huge success when they are still teenagers or athletes who know what they want to do from a young age. But you need to remember that these people are extraordinary and they only account for about 1% of people on the planet! 

            When we reach our late twenties and early thirties, it teaches us that we need to be patient. At the point of your first Saturn Return, you are about halfway through your life already. It may be hard to hear – but the reality is that you are getting older! This is not meant to be upsetting, but we need to face the reality of our situation here on earth. This is why we sometimes turn to things like drugs and alcohol to deal with this, or our relationships fail at this time – as we are trying to deal with something that we do not understand consciously.

            When we approach our thirties, we know deep down that we are getting older. Think of some of the milestones you experienced as a child, such as your first relative dying. At this time, you learned the meaning of endings. When you have your first Saturn Return, it is the same thing, and you realize that you need to take your life more seriously than you have probably done before. This is the real world and it is time to face the fact that you live in it too!

You may also be interested in reading: “Saturn thru the Houses”

Warm wishes, Bree 

To email Bree:bree@spiritualdesignastrology.com