When Saturn Returns
One of the first concepts that the astrologically-curious often learn about is the ‘Saturn Return’. It’s a planetary life cycle that we all experience at some stage between ages 28-30. And it gets a bad wrap. Google it and you’ll find, “Surviving Saturn’s Return”, “27 things I learned from Surviving my Saturn Return” and “How to Survive your Saturn Return”. Get the picture? ‘Endurance’ and ‘survival’ are common themes.
It looms during your late 20s and can be the ultimate killjoy – a tedious time, testing our choices and maturity. It can be the time when you shake off your irresponsible youth and decide to step up in life. Often it’s when we get married, have kids or commit to our careers.
Saturn Returns ARE a bit of a test. They’re a reckoning point, where the structures you’ve built get a little shaken. Is this pot-smoking dude the love of your life? Is this career in fast food working out well? Should you have gone to university? The universe DOES seem to judge you a bit. You can be punished and you can be rewarded. Either way, you come out of it facing the prime of life, hopefully re-inspired with a strong sense of what you want to achieve in the years ahead.
In a delightful second coming, we all receive a second Saturn Return in our late 50s. It’s a delightfully mischievous year or two that provides a pause at the end of your midlife and again, can be a bit of a test. Have you spent your years wisely? Are you ready to pass through into the next stage of being an elder? Are you wise and able to pass on your learning to the next generation? Yes Barrack Obama, I’m looking at you. Good job. Well done. Enjoy this stage of benevolence and relaxation. You’ve earned it.
Two folks who probably haven’t enjoyed their second Saturn Returns so much are Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew. Theirs are tales of being tested, judged and punished for the choices and actions of previous years.
Andrew experienced his throughout 2019. He was accused of raping a 17-year old girl. He avoided, the denied, then tried to clear his name in the most excruciating TV interview of all time.
Ghislaine experienced hers throughout 2020. Saturn Returns usually have three exact ‘hit’ points where the ongoing themes culminate in some way. Her first hit coincided with her suing the Epstein estate, seeking for them to pay her legal fees as she defended herself against accusations of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Her second hit was within days of her arrest for sex trafficking. The third hit saw her bail request denied. Saturn really was calling her to account.
Both these figures have other chart factors intensifying life for them right now (namely Pluto, hitting planets in late Capricorn). But both their biographies beautifully illustrate the concepts and consequences of the Saturn Return ‘test’.
Do we feel sorry for Andrew and Ghislaine? Not really, they’re being made to pay for past decisions where they took the easy way out – were lured by cash, sex and pleasure. They opted out of their responsibilities and duties, and this is really the crux of Saturn. It WANTS you to step up, work hard and try to build something of substance. It wants you to go to the gym, take that night course and put your hand up for the promotion. It wants the buck to stop with you. How you fare during your Saturn Return really depends on how you’ve managed Saturn throughout your lifetime.
Think about THAT next time you’re tempted to hit the snooze button, order a pizza or enjoy parties with a convicted sex-offender. Saturn is watching.