by Robert Wilkinson
A friend asked the question, “In a Transiting Saturn Return, when it goes retrograde, which one is the Saturn Return, the first conjunction or all of them?” I’ve also been asked to comment when it actually begins, and when it actually ends. Today we’ll revisit the subject.
I covered this to some degree in Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend, where I offered that in my experience, the Saturn return begins the moment Saturn enters the sign of your natal Saturn. Or if it's at the beginning of a sign, then within 10 degrees of the preceding sign. That begins "the approach," which when exact may or may not show as something dramatic.
As Saturn approaches Saturn, even in the preceding sign, there’s an increasing sense of seriousness in the air every day, as well as a sense that something's slipping away and it's time to take command of the ship's wheel. Then when Saturn is in the same sign, we cannot postpone the lessons we’re learning, even though Saturn has not yet exactly conjuncted our Saturn.
The reason the initial approach is part of the Saturn return is that when Saturn is in the sign of our natal Saturn, we are immersed in the same Saturnian transit “field” as our natal Saturn “field.” We’re learning those fundamental lessons across the 12 frequency zones of human experience whether we want to or not, whether we like it or not, whether we do it will skill or lack thereof, and whether we come out of it with power or a sense of defeat.
So there's the period of the approach, then the first experience of the conjunction, then an alternative view via the retrograde for several months where the second conjunction serves to connect a lot of inner and outer dots through the review process. Then Saturn goes direct, and you should already know what's in motion and what's slipping away. The third conjunction completes the heart of the process, but obviously we’re transformed forever by the experiences of that 2 to 3 year period.
For example, I have Saturn at 29 Virgo. Most recently, Saturn entered Virgo in Sept 2007. While I had made the commitment to move to a different state in the months before then, Sept 2007 began a lot of work to make the transition work in reality. The move almost got my wife killed (literally) in November. That’s certainly a sobering wake up call! “They” say that Saturn brings hard reality into focus, and the Autumn of 2007 began one of the hardest realities I could never have imagined.
Saturn didn't actually conjunct my Saturn until October 2009, and then it retrograded back over my Saturn in April and May 2010. It then went direct very close to my Saturn, and made its last forward pass in June and July 2010. As you can see, I had a three year Saturn return that lasted from late Summer 2007 through late Summer 2010.
During that second Saturn return, I came to understand some hard realities through losing a lot of dreams, friends, and family, much more than I could have imagined before the Return. I got clear about never wanting to deal with mean people again, chose a life closer to loved ones, and that period set the stage for my publishing life and the renewal of my Educational Foundation.
Also remember the Saturn Return doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and no doubt there are other important transits happening which also play their part in the lessons learned at the Saturn Returns. In my case, by October-November 2010 Saturn opposed my Sun for the first time, retrograded back and made a second opposition in April-May 2011, and went direct by July-August opposed my Sun for the third time.
In late 2010 at the first opposition we had begun to question if we had any future in the place we moved to in 2007, and in April-May 2011 got an unmistakable message from Spirit that it was time to go. So by Summer we were locked in, had begun to pack up and do the final painting of the interior, and were happily looking forward to moving to be closer to loved ones in an environment we knew would be friendlier than the one we were leaving.
So the major move and initial time after the first move was more directly related to the Saturn Return, but because of what we learned and experienced from Saturn during its return directly led to the awareness and polarization during Saturn’s opposition to my Sun. This is why the period of the approach is as important as the actual Return, and the period after the Return often yields results directly related to the Return.
You can explore this topic in greater depth in Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. With an entire chapter devoted to the Saturn Return, and other chapters covering Saturn’s conjunctions with our planets as it moves through the sectors of our charts, the book makes it easy to track important points in our life where our choices determined our future destiny. This is a work you can consult over and over to become clear about your power to choose how and when you want to respond to life’s challenges in a conscious and mature way that increases your ability to master anything life throws at you!
It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and gives the reader the power to understand why some things happened when they did. Throughout the book, it offers ways for us to “make friends” with this part of our existence and take command of our destiny. As you read each chapter, you’ll become more aware of all the factors assisting Soul growth through understanding how our Saturn lessons relate to Dharma (our Highest Spiritual Function) and various types of karma, both those we cause and those which are "Sacred Wounds" leading us to a greater compassion and understanding.
This is a book you will reference many times for many reasons, and each time you pick it up you’re sure to find undiscovered gems of insight on each page. This book can help you throw off all the attitudes and memories which have held you back from finding and living the life and purpose you’ve been searching for since you were young. Welcome to the journey of self-discovery, and finding your power to live your life on your own terms, fulfilling your reason for being alive as an Eternal having human experiences!
Please order your copy today! You can go to the Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend page and order your copy of either the paperback or the ebook. It's also available as an ebook on B&N's Nook. I’ve been told that people who live overseas can get their copy much faster by going through Amazon. And if you would, please write a review on the Amazon site, since the more reviews, the bigger the boost on their site.
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Hi Robert,
Many thanks for the above article which answers a few questions I had about my current Saturn return. I was born with Saturn 1R Capricorn (4th House), and have indeed been feeling the generally heavier feeling of Saturn as it began its approach when it was still in Sagittarius. That was when my formerly cosy home began to feel almost unbearably claustrophobic. Currently, in addition to the restrictive space, nothing will grow in my garden, and it seems like all the transport options I had available to me in the past have evaporated (train, road) for the foreseeable future. Employment/money lessons in sacrifice and humility have also arisen. From your article, I gather you're saying that this will continue until Saturn leaves Capricorn for good? Or, using Placidus, will this influence begin to wane when Saturn leaves my 4th House at 22 Capricorn (right at the time of the Saturn-Pluto super conjunction)?
Posted by: Zephyr | August 22, 2018 at 09:13 AM