The Cycle of Saturn

The First Saturn Cycle

This article explains the seven year cycles of the Saturn Return. The astrologer uses these cycles to predict the times that we feel pressured to perform, and become self-reliant. It is essentially a growing-up cycle and is all about learning to be self-sufficient in preparation for adult life. The necessary steps involved for a child to develop, grow, learn about society and enter the adult world.

The First Saturn Square to Natal Saturn (Aged 7)

The first Saturn square occurs at about 7 years old and represents a time of separation and awareness of the independent self. Around this time a child may be filled with anxiety, fear and longing for a sense of security. The build up to this period is usually between 5 and 7 years. At aged 5 the child enters fulltime education and is separated from their parents for a much longer period.

The child must now interact more with his teachers, classmates, wear a uniform (Saturn) and abide by school rules and expectations. Children who are not coping well with this phase will show high anxiety levels and cling heavily to a sense security and familiarity. This is natural and the child may be finding it extremely difficult to let go of the baby-stages of childhood and protection of the parents. With existing structures of family life re-defined at this time, stable guidance is often needed to help he child feel secure at school.

The First Saturn opposition to Natal Saturn (Aged 14)

The first Saturn opposition to natal Saturn at birth occurs at around 14 years old. It represents a time of physical changes. The physical body began its maturation with the onset of puberty, aged 11-12 years. This is the time that teens feel very awkward in their skin. Saturn rules our bones in the body and skin, so these both structure the body and add a protective layer. Our biological bodies develop and we can physically make babies ourselves.

Saturn rules boundaries and these are tested at this stage, we know about the rebellious stage that some teens go through. And the “oppositional” stance towards authority and feeling that they can now meet their parents on the same adult level. We often learn hard lessons about limitations and accepting rules, curfews, restrictions and boundaries. We also look more adult and so try to act like a grown-up. Emotionally we still have more time to develop and this coincides with the return of the progressed Moon at age 28. With the first Saturn opposition to natal Saturn we are stuck in the “middle” of the opposition. You are not a child anymore, but you are not an adult either.

So this period can be testing for the teenager and his parents. We are told one minute to act as an adult and then we are treated as child. It can be difficult getting the balance just right at this juncture. Both teacher and parents can be hard on us. The final exams are coming up and we are constantly tested and re-tested, taken through career options. We are expected to reach the right grade. Parental lectures, assessments and work experience all feature at this time.

The Second Saturn Square to Natal Saturn (Aged 21)

The second Saturn square to natal Saturn, asks you to define a career and work towards a goal and maybe even leave the family home. We explore our role in society. The pull between safety, security and what is known, is challenged by the need to learn self-reliance. Leave childhood behind and find a job, attend a college course, or even form a permanent relationship. The Fear that sets in can be great. The parental expectation falls hard on our shoulders. The transits of Saturn often coincide with material hardships and difficulties. We are asked to move into the world and define our career and life path.

The internal conflict at this stage is taking a job or training course that confers with parental expectations, rather than define what we really want in life. Squaring up to authority often involves conflict, fear of rejection and separation if we will not abide by our parents values. If we have chosen a career that we dislike and have been scared to confront our parents, we could find that at the first Saturn Return we regret that we have wasted our time following a career that makes us unhappy, depressed and lifeless.

Equally, we may not want to disappoint our parents and let them down, but this is what growing up involves. However, we can be too hard on ourselves at this juncture. Those that avoid responsibility at all costs will find this time particularly challenging. Perhaps our parents limit financial support and now expect us to pay towards rent, and food, they won‘t allow us to be dependent on them. In America, 21, is this legal age to drink and we could call this juncture the “young adult” stage. You make mistakes, fall down, and feel all that pressure and expectation. However, there is still time to forge a career out and set up house. This is also an important social development point.

Saturn Return (Aged 28)

Saturn has a rotational cycle of 29.458 years; it spends about two and a half years in each sign of the zodiac. The late 20’s is when it returns to its own position at birth. Saturn is connected with the structure of life, worldly success and the crystallisation of the individual. The Saturn return coincides with the return of the progressed Moon and often marks the individual’s transition into maturity, and we have experienced and integrated all of the signs emotionally. The Saturn return marks a time when we face painful feelings of inadequacy, expectations, and blind conformity.

The new cycle of Saturn has begun and it frees us from the past and we can now develop alone without the burden of our family background. This is the time that astrologers regard as the true transition into adulthood. It reminds of us of our goals in life and how far we are along to achieving them. We also recognise where we over-compensate for our weaknesses, failures, and where we feel restricted. We may bitterly blame others for our lack of success and so it can mark a time of separation, when relationships break up. The Saturn Return year can be a time of painful self-reflection and deep feelings of inadequacy and that gnawing fear of failure. We also look at what is limiting our success. Depression and doubt about the future keep us from feeling secure.

Most of us have experienced depression. If we examine the nature of depression, what is it? Is it not reflection? And what are we reflecting upon when we are depressed? Some crystallised structure of our reality that is preventing further growth. And therefore depression/reflection promotes the awareness, at some point, of what we need to structurally change in order to grow. So we should not judge (Saturn) depression as something negative, an s something intrinsically wrong. The only time we have to become concerned is when it becomes manic or extreme to the point of preventing action, movement or growth. By Jeff Green

The focus is now on accomplishment and material success. However, as a form of over-compensation and even “lack of success” we feel insecure and look for that security in marriage, a new baby, buying a home. Saturn can signify a compulsive anxiety within and we need concrete definitions that maturity, accomplishment, and entry into adulthood have all been achieved. However, playing it too safe, prevents us from developing further. Society has its own definitions for success and if we try to define ourselves based on societal expectations we will be dissapointed. For example “one must be married with a baby before turning 30. Career objectives should be achieved and the individual should have a responsible job and pay off his mortgage. We need a kind of permanence in the eyes of the world. Saturn rules individual social conscious which determines values, norms and beliefs.

There could be dissatisfaction with what one has achieved, even when they have achieved great things, it may not be not what they expected. Reality often hits us like a ton of bricks. We start off in life with our career goals, dreams of a rich husband and 2.4 children. When we hit the Saturn Return we leave behind the youth of our 20’s and begin a whole new cycle, which can be scary. Saturn makes us aware of time and the “limitation” of time. Saturn brings us our most important lessons in life and usually what occurs under this transition leads us into the next cycle. The experience of the Saturn return is related to the house, sign and aspects of the planet in the birth chart. The defences that we have built over time to cope and protect ourselves from rejection, denial, separation and loneliness.

The Saturn cycle involves building, consolidating, forming a separate identity. Re-evaluating and structuring our lives. Saturn challenges self-reliance, when we feel that there is something that we “lack” don’t blame others. We all need to take responsibility for our own lives. These four Saturn cycles also signify at time that we may feel powerfully sensitive to criticism and rejection. It is all part of the growth cycle and it is teaching us valuable lessons of reliability and working hard to make it in the world.