by Robert Wilkinson
Because this seems to be a running question in FB astrological forums, I figured we could take a new look at 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 take a new look at 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 your Saturn is 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.
When transiting Saturn is in the sign preceding the natal Saturn, it is in the “12th zone” relative to its previous conjunction. That is a harvest sector, where the “Whole Cycle” can be summed up at the close of the old cycle which is the threshold of a new cycle. So even when Saturn’s approach is still in the previous sign as our Saturn, we’re still preparing in that sector for the Saturn return yet to come. Life and experience are a continuum. Each sign has its specific qualities within the Whole Cycle, and each sign is the motivator for the next, as well as how its previous sign confirms experience.
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. We know something’s done, and there are other things we need to do. Then when Saturn is in the same sign, we know we cannot postpone the lessons we’re learning, even if 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 but hasn’t exactly conjuncted our 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 the period of the approach, then the first experience of the return before the exact conjunction. Then we get the exact conjunction, usually followed by a retrograde for several months where the second experience of the Saturn lessons give us alternate views. Each retrograde by transiting Saturn in the sign of our natal Saturn serves to connect a lot of inner and outer dots through the review process.
After each retrograde, Saturn goes direct, and we 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 wakeup 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. Oppositions bring realizations and polarizations, and they came by the truckload!
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. 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 respond to anything life throws at you!
It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and shows why some things happened when they did. Even those with little or no understanding of astrology will benefit from understanding why they had to make certain choices at crucial times that shaped their lives in profound ways.
Each time you read any section of this book you will find new insights about your power to steer your personal evolution. You will understand how to throw off all the attitudes and memories which have held you back from finding and living the life and purpose. Through your journey of self-discovery, you can find ways to live your life on your own terms, and fulfill your purpose 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 on Amazon and this should be all you need to order your copy. The ebook is available through Kindle. Also, I’ve been told people who live overseas 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 2019 Robert Wilkinson
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