Some thoughts about Saturn returns (including a basic explanation)
Photo from Hubblesite
Yesterday’s post on Saturn in Capricorn brought up a lot of comments on Facebook from a few readers who are worried about their upcoming second Saturn return, so I thought this might be a good time to explore and demystify that cycle.
Basic explanation
As the planets orbit the Sun, we observe their apparent motion from Earth – astrology is not astronomically correct. Constellations don’t line up in neat 30 degree segments in the sky, and the Sun doesn’t orbit the Earth as Galileo discovered which ended him up in some big trouble.
When the planets in the sky reach the same astrological degree as they are placed in our own natal (birth) chart, we call that a planetary return. There are lunar returns, Mars returns (also known as the “terrible twos”), etc. Because Saturn can be a difficult influence, and because the Saturn return comes only every 28-30 years and is therefore a pretty significant event (unlike the lunar return which occurs every 29 days or so), it tends to be an important cycle in a person’s life.
As reported in yesterday’s post, Saturn’s role is to encourage, or sometimes force, us into situations where we will work hard and apply a disciplined approach in order to achieve material success. Saturn’s motivation is often through feelings of unworthiness. When Saturn is strongly aspected in our individual chart, those feelings can become crippling to the point where we are afraid to do anything because we might fail. What Saturn wants, of course, is for us to do the work anyway and eventually overcome the feelings of failure and find that sense of achievement.
The Saturn returns are like an exam to see how we are doing […]
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