Ha - I bet you thought I had forgotten, but we are now in full retrograde season, so I am ready to pick up this Saturn Return series where I left off.
(Mercury, Mars and Saturn are all doing the backwards shuffle.)
In previous posts I gave an overview of Saturn Returns in general (Part One) and specifically of Saturn in Libra (Part Two) for those people who are experiencing it now – and the lessons and ideas we can all learn from taking a closer look at what's happening to this cohort.
There are two major astrological factors to a Saturn Return. Obviously, there is the condition of Saturn in the natal chart. As I discussed in the previous piece, for Saturn in Libra people of the last two generations this is complicated by some interesting outer planet aspects.
The other factor is the configuration of the planets as the Return happens – and this one has been a humdinger.
As you know, the heavy planets – Pluto, Uranus, Saturn (and for a time Jupiter) have been facing off across the Zodiac in a hostile T-square (and for a time Grand Cross) formation for the past year or so – and will continue to do so for some time to come. This has all taken place in the Cardinal signs – Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Aries, Pluto in Capricorn. Last summer, this reached a peak in the so-called Cardinal Climax when the aspects were close, but it has coloured this whole Saturn in Libra transit.
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| Jupiter and Saturn duked it out. |
The most direct pressure was applied while Jupiter, expansion and largeness was opposing Saturn from Aries – most of last year. Saturn vs Jupiter across Libra/Aries was like two people standing up and yelling at each other. This would have been especially felt by those Librans born in 1981 with a Saturn-Jupiter conjunction natally, or 1951/52 with the natal opposition.
Jupiter's move into Taurus has changed that dynamic very much for the better. It's as if a horribly tense stalemate has been sidestepped. New solutions to old problems should now be possible if you can look at things from a different angle.
For Returners born in the 1980s, the tension has been further exacerbated by the fact that they were born with Pluto in Libra anyway. So not only have they had a Saturn Return, they have had Saturn transiting Pluto. Very heavy weather indeed. For those born in the 1950s, Saturn has conjuncted the natal Neptune in Libra: reality check.
Because Libra is the sign that rules complementarity and partnership. On a personal level, this would likely have been felt in the arena of one-to-one relationships. You may have made a positive commitment – or gotten out altogether. For many people with Saturn in Libra, loneliness is a recurring issue. You feel isolated, alone in the world. This feeling may well have been expanded during this return and you may have been forced to explore it. Being alone is often the last option you are willing to take. Saturn can show us what we fear most. Saturn Return is when it's time to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Is your partner a ball and chain? Or is it you?
The spirit of this Return has been pretty ruthless. You have to let go of some important part of your life now, Returners. While Saturn makes it's final journey backwards through the last decanate of Libra, you have a good opportunity to review and revise your Return. How has it gone? What have you learned? And where are you going now?
Saturn usually leaves a gift on his departure from a sign, especially if you have taken responsibility for yourself and made grown up decisions. The Return is all about making the foundations of your life stronger. Your life is like a tree. If you cut out the dead and weak branches, the rest will grow stronger and more fruitful.
This has been a tough few years, but you're into the home stretch now, and some kind of prize awaits you. Take a good look at this painting by Gustave Klimt. On the left, the lone woman represents Expectation and on the right the couple are Fulfilment. I think, probably despite himself, Klimt is representing something essential.
