The Saturn Return - Time to Get Real

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I am excited to announce the launch of our new Guest Writer series - featuring articles on the Saturn Return by professional astrologers. Thank you for enriching our community - Sunrise

by Anne Whitaker

Using cycles, the planets symbolically weave the story of our collective and personal lives through space and time. These cycles vary enormously: from the tiny 29.5 day dance of the Sun and Moon, to the vast epoch-defining cycle of Neptune and Pluto - meeting only once every five hundred years. The planetary cycle which has most penetrated the popular imagination, however, is the 29-30 year cycle of Saturn, commonly known as the Saturn Return.

How many Returns?

In a long lifetime, you may have three Saturn Returns: one at 29/30, another at 59/60 and a third at 89/90. The first one, however, is arguably the most crucial and the one which most concerns us for now. But any Saturn Returners going through their Second and Third Returns are most welcome to read this article – and send us their feedback!

Saturn the Cosmic Tester

The Saturn Return is very much about defining yourself: separating out from what you are not, in order to get closer to the grain of who you are meant to be. We all go through it with varying degrees of success and failure in being able to clarify who we are – none of us is capable of sorting everything out, even in a whole lifetime, never mind the first 29/30 years!

Saturn Returns vary in degrees of challenge, levels of difficulty and levels of achievement - as a result of honestly taking stock of what needs to change and making that change happen. This is not a time to stick your head in the sand to avoid facing painful truths about circumstances, people, or your own attitudes and beliefs which are holding back your progress as a developing and growing person.

Locating Saturn – Currently in Libra

Moving on from general principles to specifics, we can observe Saturn's current position in the 30 degree Libra section of the zodiac.

In its 29/30 year cycle, Saturn moves through all twelve zodiac signs, spending 2-3 years in each. A Saturn Return in Aries, for example, is very different in flavour from a Saturn Return in Pisces. Thus Saturn's underlying principles can be seen through the filter of the particular 2-3 year period in which you were born.

Saturn entered the sign of Libra on 30 October 2009, and is currently travelling through the last few degrees of Libra in preparation for entry into Scorpio on 6 October 2012.

Those of you born with Saturn in the sign of Libra, roughly between 1980 and 1983, will then emerge blinking into the light – hopefully having made some of the changes necessary for old baggage to be shed, and with new challenges to take on, as you move into the second thirty-year cycle of Saturn.

The Saturn Return in Libra

In astrological terms, Saturn is traditionally 'exalted' – i.e. in its most favourable placing – in the airy, rational sign of Libra. So those with this placement are by nature more inclined towards the well-known Libran virtues: detached reasonableness, a strong sense of fairness and justice, striving to achieve balance and harmony in all spheres of life, but especially in relationships with others.

So, your Saturn Return was in essence about finding balance in all areas of life and sorting out what you want from what you don't want in relationships. Saturn really turns up the heat and piles on the pressure where we are most dysfunctional and, in Libra’s case, indecisive.

Real Life Saturn Returns

I was really pleased to come across a group of four individuals, living at very different locations in the UK and USA, none of whom have studied astrology but all of whom were willing to participate in a mini research study. They were all born between 1980 and 1983 when Saturn was going through Libra.

I researched whether one could detect the challenges and disruptions characteristic of astrology’s description of the Saturn Return in general, and their Libran one in particular, at work as common factors in their lives – and was not disappointed!

This only touches on the depth of information I discovered from the interesting feedback I received:

A. Anna’s boyfriend died in an accident, she got a new job, and emigrated to the USA.

B. Barbara obtained a new job in a new company in a different part of the country much nearer to her partner, and bought a new house.

C. Caroline split up with her partner of seven years, but they recently got back together to try again.

D. Diana faced many career challenges and disruptions, and the end of a three year relationship.

In conclusion

These stories allow the vividness and relevance of astrological symbolism to manifest. All four have taken on life-changing challenges, experienced significant losses as well as gains – but feel overall that they have a clearer sense both of who they are, and who they are not.

Saturn has done his work.


© Anne Whitaker 2012

Anne Whitaker lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. She has a long background in adult education, generic and psychiatric social work, and private practice as a counsellor, counselling supervisor and mentor. She has been a practising astrologer, teacher and writer since 1983. Her published books are "Jupiter Meets Uranus" (AFA, USA 2009) and "Wisps from the Dazzling Darkness" (2010) serialised on www.anne-whitaker.com.

Read more articles from Anne Whitaker on the Saturn Return.