THE SATURN RETURN

Growing Up and Getting Real (Age 29)

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The lesson of Saturn is that life is a lesson.

Saturn is one of those planets with a terrible reputation and even worse PR. No wonder: It's associated with reality, responsibility, seriousness, setbacks, caution, fear, limitations, and obstacles. Oh, and let's not leave out old age! Ancient astrologers referred to Saturn as the Great Malefic; it's also known as the Lord of Winter, the Taskmaster of the Universe, and the Great Teacher.

I call Saturn the "Dr. Phil" of planets; it's about getting real. Saturn is a no frills kind of guy, but it isn't bad; no planet is. Let's compare Saturn to Jupiter — a planet with great PR and terrific buzz. Jupiter has a reputation for bestowing luck, prosperity, and abundance, yet this planet isn't all it's cracked up to be. Bigger-is-better Jupiter, like certain politicians and rock stars, also rules excess and exaggeration — it's where we can't say "no."

Bottom line: Jupiter isn't all good luck and Lotto, and Saturn isn't all struggle and sacrifice. It's said that Jupiter gives us crutches, while Saturn takes them away. At some point, we need to remove the training wheels or, like Forrest Gump, throw off the braces. The gift of Saturn is that it teaches us self-discipline, self-control, good boundaries, and, above all, maturity. Not exciting or sexy qualities but absolutely necessary if we want to create anything of lasting value.

Saturn's Backstory

Saturn comes by its reputation legitimately. The planet was named after the mythic Titan, known to the Greeks as Cronus and to the Romans as Saturn, who fathered gods but also devoured his children, just like his father before him. In fact, Saturn castrated his father (Uranus, also spelled Ouranus) with his sickle, which is how he became ruler of the Universe. Saturn married his sister Rhea; together they reigned for countless ages.

It had been prophesied that one of Saturn's children would depose him. To prevent this from happening he swallowed each of his progeny immediately after Rhea gave birth. Finally, after the birth of their sixth child (Zeus/Jupiter), Rhea had had enough. Rhea had baby Zeus secretly taken away to the island of Crete to be raised by nursemaids. Rhea then wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to Saturn; he swallowed it, believing it was the infant.

When Zeus was grown, he returned, and, with the help of his grandmother (Gaia), he poisoned his father, causing Saturn to vomit up the other five children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. A devastating war between these new gods (the Olympians) and the older gods (the Titans) followed, almost destroying the entire universe. Ultimately, Zeus and the Olympians won, and Saturn and his brothers (the other Titans) were imprisoned in Tartarus, a dark, forbidding region far below the earth.

Law and Order

In astrology, the planet Jupiter is associated with justice and the legal system. Saturn, on the other hand, represents those figures who enforce the law: the policeman, the drill sergeant, the principal, the mother superior, the CIA. Saturn is related to authority and our earliest encounters with it. Ultimately, Saturn teaches us to become the author of our own lives. Saturn rules structures, the external structures of society that keeps us safe (but can also confine us) as well as our skeletal system, spine, and the skin that contain us. Saturn also governs the knees, and encounters with this Great Teacher often "bring us to our knees."

He has none of the glamour associated with the outer planets and none of the humanness of the personal planets.

— Liz Greene (Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil)

We all have the planet Saturn somewhere in our chart. We can't have it surgically removed (though some celebrities have tried — you know who I mean), and we can't hold back Father Time, another name for Saturn. The sign and house where we have Saturn is where we are cautious, slow, and often stuck; it's an area that doesn't come naturally or easily. As a result, we have to work on it, which is why we often become proficient in that area. It's the little girl who takes ice skating lessons to strengthen her weak ankles and becomes an Olympic champion or the kid who stutters and ends up being a famous actor or public speaker.

The good news is that Saturn gets better with age. More good news: unlike Jupiter, Saturn doesn't shower us with gifts, but it is fair and does reward us at the end of the transit. If we work with Saturn, we will be paid accordingly — but not a penny more! Another name for Saturn is the Lord of Karma; we reap what we sow.

The Saturn Return

Everything changes at our Saturn Return; I mean everything. This is the big Kahuna, the doorway to adulthood, and to the first major adult life cycle. Once a year, the Sun comes back, or returns, to the exact position it was in when we were born; that is our Solar Return — or what is commonly called our birthday. Saturn takes approximately twenty-nine and a half years to return to its birth position. Voilà, it is our Saturn birthday, or Saturn Return. People talk about the big 3-0; it's really the big 2-9.

Something happens in our mid- to late twenties: we begin to feel the clock ticking; there is a sneaking sensation that we're running out of time, and we need to make some important decisions — like where we're going and what we plan to do with our life. It doesn't matter how important your job is (running a major corporation, bestselling author, raising a family), how much money you're making, or how many Twitter followers and Facebook friends you have. There is a part of us that remains connected to our parents and their standards — or perhaps is still rebelling against them. That doesn't negate what we've accomplished during our twenties, but on some level we are operating within the context of the family we grew up in. At our Saturn Return, it's time to discover who we are, what we believe in, and make some decisions based on our values and interests.

Saturn doesn't ask us to give up our dreams, only to make them real.

— Steven Forrest

Maybe you dream of being a rock star. You're passionate about music; you've got some serious guitar skills and a decent voice; and the band you formed in high school was a local legend. You and your buddies move to New York City, and the band gets some gigs; just enough to keep your hopes up but not enough to really take...