The Cycle of Saturn and the Energetic Influence of its Transits to a Birth Chart
Because the planets stand for psychological functions applicable to everyone, they represent a universal road map to processes that occur in the human mind. As written many times before, Saturn acts as our human reality check and is a maturing influence. He is the ‘Headmaster” archetype and has our best interests at heart. We may not think so! We all need to befriend Saturn – the earlier in our lives the better.
We may think we’ve advanced to higher vibratory levels in our consciousness and, when Saturn makes an aspect to our birth chart (our soul’s blueprint for our current spiritual evolution), we learn that we still have ingrained psychological density to identify and clear before we can move forward. This challenging and self-confronting process may not be pleasant emotionally, mentally or physically. It is made much easier when we understand the process.
We can learn this process through the study and application to our lives of astrology. Our birth chart never lies. When we know and understand the specific psychological traits we need to develop when undergoing a specific Saturn transit, such as self-responsibility and self-discipline and right use of our spiritual Will, and action them, the life challenges cease. It is that simple. Our ignorance creates our life problems.
Saturn’s cycle around the Sun (and symbolically around our birth charts) is 28.5 years. It can be divided into approximately four x seven year cycles. You may wish to reflect on the maturing influence that happened to you around the age of seven, fourteen, twenty-one and twenty-nine years of age. It is likely that some authority figure in a governmental system or at home, publicly punished or threatened you. You felt little, squashed, or harmed. Whatever first comes into your mind is the issue. When the second Saturn return occurs for everyone, around age 58, hopefully you will have matured enough to manage it far better than previously. A Saturn transit to a birth chart placement can be activated for up to 12 months – from beginning to end.
At age seven, we are deemed to have embodied the psychological traits naturally shared by osmosis from society and our parents. Our natural psychic connections to the higher realms we had at birth have usually been discarded because of lack of understanding by parents and society. It is as it is. This situation is slowly changing as self-aware parents carefully listen and record their children’s wisdom and refuse to send them to schools and religious structures where control and power over human minds is the major agenda.
I love Saturn. Without his energy, I would not be the person I am today. I have learned the value of Saturn’s teaching of self-discipline and self-responsibility because it leads to psychological freedom. As the Lord of Karma, he does his best, through transits to our birth charts, to bring us to the point of self-realisation and finally to self-acceptance and self-love. However long is this inner journey, and for the majority of humans it can take many lifetimes, eventually we learn to let go of pessimism, fear, limitations and negative thoughts (Saturn) and focus our attention on being and doing what we came here to be and do – to love, honour, respect and love our natural gifts and talents, improve them and use them in service to others. We will become more relaxed and happier during the process and so will be the recipients of our loving service.
In my astrology classes, I often demonstrated Saturn as the stern authoritarian figure with a stick. No one can bypass Saturn, no matter how clever they think they are. I liken him to the biblical figure of St. Peter at the pearly gates. No one can get through the pearly gates to ‘heaven’ unless they do the inner work associated with Saturn. He can be a stern taskmaster but an exceedingly wise one.
Saturn is the planetary archetype ruling the sign of Capricorn. We all carry Capricorn and Saturn energy. It may be weak or strong depending upon the unique configuration of your birth chart. Wherever Saturn is positioned in your birth charts can be in any one of the signs of the zodiac. e.g. In my birth chart, clearly shown in my astrology books so that all students can learn and understand, I have Saturn in Aries. I needed to learn the positive characteristics of Aries and demonstrate them as: self-assertion; self-confidence, self-knowledge, self- initiate; develop a pioneering and fearless approach to life, etc. It wasn’t easy. Past patterns of playing Libra negative (pleasing others ahead of myself) were so ingrained. I knew that if I continued to play Libra negative, I would develop cancer and die early. (I had read of a study done by a group of astrologers at a USA hospital in California whereby a group of terminally ill cancer patients had been given six months to live. The astrologers asked if this group were willing to trial an experiment. They agreed. All they had to do was to immediately quit pleasing others and speak up for themselves as to what they really wanted, and to consistently do so. 90% of the group did so, and survived). I also watched two of me dear female friends die from cancer, both aged 49, because they couldn’t bring themselves to speak up and say “NO” to close authoritative and dominating family members. Another close friend has been diagnosed with cancer and a hysterectomy operation was planned for three weeks time. Each day, during this time she chose to heal herself by determinedly releasing all the suppressed anger and resentment she had stored in her life up to that point in time. She knew when the cancer growth was no more and her doctor confirmed it. There was no need for an operation. These survivors believed they could heal themselves and each one took personal responsibility for so doing. They needed to apply self-determination, self- discipline, patience and constructive use of their energies and spiritual will – all positive traits of Saturn/Capricorn.
Wherever Saturn is placed in your birth chart is where you will be continually challenged to develop greater self-discipline, organisational abilities, personal responsibility for all you have created in your lives, patience, and a positive and life-enhancing attitude.
Currently, transiting Saturn is in the sign of Pisces. Pisces is a water sign. Water = emotions. As the last sign in the zodiac, Pisces signifies the completion and fulfilment of all of life’s emotional strivings and the soul’s need to develop union with life itself. Under this transit, unless we choose to dedicate our lives to the act of service, or to the development of spirituality or mysticism, our brains can feel as if they are drugged, or filled with cotton wool balls. We can feel ‘wafty’, ungrounded and disconnected from 3D reality. We can easily play the role of victim, and/or believe that life is not worth living. We can self-sabotage through self-harm or other ’escape’ patterns such as suicide. We do not want to take responsibility for creating the reality we experience. Saturn is unhappy with this perspective! Where is maturity? Where is self-responsibility?
Saturn and Capricorn rule our bone structure and teeth. When transiting Saturn energises/activates a position in our birth chart is when we can have teeth or bone problems. I’ve found it also influences our skin, which is the protective defence mechanism around our bodies that blocks access to germs and bacteria.
Look to your birth charts to find where you have planets or points around 0 to 7 degrees in Pisces and the other mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo and Sagittarius. If you have any planets or points around these degrees in a mutable sign you will be experiencing this current Saturn transit.
On 17th June, Saturn will turn retrograde and continue in this seemingly backward motion until 5th November, when it returns to 0 degrees Pisces. From this date it will begin accelerating forward, returning to the 6 – 7 degrees at the end of March 2024. During the intervening months, you will have the opportunity to develop greater self-responsibility through self-discipline, self-management and correct use of your spiritual will. When you let go of fear, you have the opportunity to become an authority in your chosen field of endeavour.
May you open your minds and hearts to receive and integrate these messages, and allow the love guiding them to fuel your daily life,
Blessings and Love,
Ashtara