In Medical Astrology, the Sun represents the life force.

It is fortifying, vitalising and radiant.

The Sun has these effects as it moves through your chart.

When it moves through your second house, it vitalises all things around money, possessions and values.

When it moves through your fourth house, it brings your home and history to life.

When the Sun joins hands with Venus, it brings radiance to your relationships…and generally, a good hair day.

As the Sun moves relatively quickly, however, the effects of its transit are fleeting.

In Medical Astrology, Saturn represents the process of aging.

It is restrictive, binding, contracting and chronic in nature.

Saturn has these effects as it moves through your chart.

It crystallises efforts, it causes under functioning, it slows, it inhibits, it devitalises and it lingers.

Small issues can become chronic, chaos can be slowed and controlled, boundaries can be erected where none previously existed.

When the Sun transits Saturn, there may be a day or so when you feel off your game, over burdened. You may have a couple of days where you feel older, with the responsibility of the world on your shoulders. And then, you wake up and it’s all over. That wrinkle you thought you saw isn’t quite as deep as it appeared yesterday when you felt extra tired and put upon.

Saturn transits of the Sun last much longer. Its effects last much longer.

The other thing Saturn does is teach. But he doesn’t teach in the way that Jupiter does. Jupiter educates and expands your knowledge of the world, of life. Jupiter is the stuff you learn because you want to.

Saturn teaches lessons- the stuff you learn because you have to.

As I’ve mentioned before, the better integrated Saturn is in your chart, the less likely you are to fight the message he brings. The less you resist, the easier the transit will be. Relatively speaking.

Saturn is now in Scorpio.

This means that if you have your Sun in the sign of Scorpio, sometime in the next 2 ½ years Saturn will be conjunct your Sun.

This doesn’t mean that everyone else can breathe a sigh of relief.

Fixed signs will by nature have problems with Saturn transits- Saturn brings lessons and Fixed Suns are rather attached to things just the way they are, thank you very much.

Scorpio holds onto emotions that would be far better eliminated. Taurus accumulates far too much of everything- both physical and metaphorical. Aquarius holds on stubbornly to ideas and as for Leo, well Leo is very attached to his ego. After all, the Sun rules Leo.

All of you will feel the impact of Saturn on your Sun:

Scorpio Sun- Saturn will conjunct your Sun

Taurus Sun- Saturn will oppose your Sun

Leo or Aquarius Sun- Saturn will square your Sun

Water and Earth signs? Some of you guys don’t miss out either, but the aspects are “easier”:

Pisces or Cancer Sun? Saturn will trine your Sun

Virgo or Capricorn Sun? Saturn will sextile your Sun

What will happen?

The impact will be individual.

If your Sun is on an angle, ie in the 1^st, 4^th, 7^th or 10^th house the impact will probably be greater than if it is in the 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th or 12^th- relatively speaking.

So, again referring to Bernadette Bradys The Eagle and the Lark:

1. What house does Saturn and the Sun fall in? These areas will be the cause of any action.
2. What house is Saturn transiting? This is where the major action will be taking place.
3. What houses are ruled by both Saturn and the Sun? This is where you will feel the consequences of the transit.
4. What is the nature of the transit?

Looking at my upcoming Saturn/Sun transit:

1. Both Saturn and the Sun are in the 1^st house. Saturn transits always hit me right in the face, and generally have something to do with my health or confidence… and often both.
2. Saturn will be transiting the 9^th house. I’m hoping this can be literally translated into something to do with publishing contracts, but who knows.
3. Saturn rules my 11^th house and the Sun rules my 5^th. This will impact my hopes and dreams, the people I associate with, the rewards I gather from my efforts and my creative projects and self-expression.
4. This is a trine. Essentially this means that it will happen more easily- which makes a nice change…although this may also mean a quick increase in responsibilities!

Get the idea?

As for timing?

Don’t start the panic just yet.

Saturn will only travel 9 degrees into Scorpio this year- that covers birthdays through to the end of October (depending on the year you were born).

Depending on the degree, some of you will get 3 chances at the transit- when Saturn first goes across your Sun, when it retrogrades back across the Sun and when it turns direct.

Here’s the details:

2012

Libra 22- Scorpio 9

2013

Scorpio 4 – 20 Scorpio

2014

Scorpio 16- 0 Sagittarius

Pay special attention to the stationing degrees:

Feb 18, 2013 Saturn stations retrograde at 11 Scorpio

July 7, 2013 Saturn stations direct at 4 Scorpio

March 2, 2014 Saturn stations retrograde at 23 Scorpio

July 19, 2014 Saturn stations direct at 16 July

Next time: Saturn transits of the Sun- what can you expect? 

a very bad phone “selfie”…but, that’s me- in all my no make-up and bad beanie’d glory.

To continue our little series on Saturn, here are a few more questions that come through the search engine on Saturn and transits of the Ascendant.

Saturn is conjunct my ascendant and making me ugly

Is it true that Saturn transits are skinny transits?

Does Saturn on my Ascendant mean I will get sick?

OK, Saturn can’t make anyone ugly…but it can & often does make us feel ugly! During a recent Saturn/Ascendant opposition I invested very heavily in anti-wrinkle creams for all the extra lines that just turned up in my mirror overnight.

Saturn/ Ascendant contacts are hard- they are all designed to “encourage” us to grow up or take responsibility for ourselves. The 1^st house is all about body and appearance, so you will quite literally start to feel your age.

As with all Saturn transits, the first thing you will notice is fear or a feeling that you are being confronted with something that you just don’t want to acknowledge or get real about. In this case, it may be what you are seeing in the mirror. You haven’t changed, but this transit will, at least temporarily, be one where your self -confidence is lacking somewhat.

When Saturn is aspecting the ascendant you may find your first wrinkle, may notice the grey more in your hair, or the way you can no longer wear a colour you previously liked successfully. You may finally decide that silver shimmery eye shadow now rests in that little wrinkle in your eyelid…and decide to wear it anyway!

The whole idea of the lesson is for you to see yourself clearly as you are- all steps in the grand scheme to develop inner strength and an identity based on reality and not external validation. Having said that, many astrologers see Saturn 1^st house transits as “skinny” ones as you may start diets or health kicks- but this may depend on the position and strength of your natal Saturn.

Saturn constricts your boundaries, so quite literally your physical boundary ie your body, may shrink. Just make sure that you look at the world with maturity- continuing to behave otherwise can narrow your viewpoint. As with all things Saturn, any weight loss attempts under a Saturn transit will be successful only if you approach it sensibly.

On the other hand, Saturn 1^st house transits may make you feel as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, with tiredness and exhaustion to match…neither of which will assist in making you feel better about yourself. The Saturn lesson is always to focus the effort where it is needed- to waste energy elsewhere can lead to health issues.

Which brings me neatly to the real purpose of 1^st house Saturn transits- that of restructuring yourself. When Saturn crosses the ascendant it signals a time where you start to turn your attentions inwards after 14 years of concentrating on your relationships with others.

As with all Saturn transits, you are asked to get rid of something that you no longer need (again, this could be weight, or whatever attachments you have that may be causing you to maintain your weight) but of course you must first become aware that there is something in your life that can be got rid of. So, gaze in the mirror if you will, but also take the time to really get to know yourself, you might be surprised how different you are from what others think you are.

If your Ascendant or Sun is in Libra, this is for you…

I’m Starting With The Man In
The Mirror


I’m Asking Him To Change
His Ways


And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer


If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself,

And
Then Make A Change

Lyrics from “Man in the Mirror”, by Michael Jackson

Remember, whatever affects the 1^st house, also has impacts on the 7^th, the 10^th and the 4^th. 

Warning: This post is pure Astro, a bit technical…& loooooooong.

Last week we looked at how to find out where Saturn is transiting your chart. But what does that mean?

To illustrate, here’s another chart- Marion (not her real name, and birth details are blocked out by that lovely arrow, but she has given me permission to use her chart).

Saturn is currently transiting her 7^th house and will continue to do so for much of the time he is in Scorpio.

Does this mean that I won’t have a relationship during this time?

Absabloodylutely not!

So what does it mean?

Saturn in the 7^th is all about getting real about relationship and relationships- both personal and professional. Saturn in the 7^th is about you confronting who you really are through your relationships with others. And this can be hard. Any disappointments of the heart received over this time should (between the tears and alcohol…is that just me?…be taken as a reinforcement of the Saturn lesson).

Even committed relationships will face tests during a Saturn 7^th house transit. They will make it only through confronting reality. And that means that the partner receiving the Saturn transit needs to know who he or she really is in order to properly relate to a current or future partner. It also means looking at expectations with a mature eye.

New relationships might get serious- it isn’t unusual to see relationships go to the next step when one party is having a Saturn 7^th house transit.

What else? Saturn transits through the 7^th might mean that you commence a relationship with an older person, or someone with Capricornian tendencies such as maturity, responsibility and ambition, but it can also mean something as simple as you confronting your attitudes to what relationship is and making sure that they are real. Whatever new relationship comes into reality at this point will be important.

To do this you need to understand both the role of Saturn in your life and what your relationship needs are. Continue to look at relationships and what you think you need with anything less than eyes wide open and something great could pass you by.

I knew someone who prior to Saturn transiting the 7^th was always (and I mean always) finding herself attracted to men that sub consciously she knew she couldn’t have or that she knew were wrong- married men, attached men, much younger men, much older men. Each time she would suffer the pain of unrequited love- and that is something that never stops hurting.

When Saturn came through her 7^th something happened which made her realise that she was doing this deliberately- falling for men she knew she couldn’t have. Even though she wanted so much to be loved, she was even more scared of being left, or rejected, or being alone forever. At 43, she was hanging onto ideals she held in her early 20s.

The man she is now in a committed relationship has none of the characteristics of the men she previously fell for. And he was there all the time. She found him when she stopped waiting for someone to live with and started living with herself. She got real.

Relationships are definitely a concern to Marion- with her Moon and Venus in partnership loving Libra, she feels emotionally secure when in partnership.

While Saturn has been in Libra, the lesson for Marion has been to look at her patterns of relating from a Libra viewpoint. Once Saturn moves into Scorpio, this will, for Marion, become more serious. She is being asked to lift the curtains and look deeply into her own motivations, patterns, modus operandi around relationship. Truthfully, honestly and intensely.

Does this mean that love will pass her by for the next couple of years? Not necessarily. What it does mean is that she will treat any relationship seriously, and she will demand absolute integrity from partners- both personally and professionally. Issues of trust, power and control will be important. Events may occur and people may come into her life where she has to admit things to herself about the partners that she chooses and the motivations around those choices. Saturn lessons are difficult. They can also bring great reward.

Before looking at Marion’s transits, we should also look at her natal Saturn.

In Marion’s case, Saturn is in the 12^th house. Behind the scenes she probably struggles with fears, guilt, loneliness and general insecurities. One of her biggest fears is being alone- and when she is alone her fears become more real.

Whilst her Libra Moon and 7^th house Sun are looking for partnership, Saturns’ life lesson is to learn how to achieve things in solitude. This does not mean that her destiny is to be alone (seriously, if this were the case everyone with Saturn in the 12^th would be alone), but to balance her need for partnership and still be comfortable within her own space. Every Saturn transit she experiences will have an element of this lesson.

Saturn rules the 10^th and 11^th houses (and the 12^th as traditional ruler of Aquarius), so all Saturn transits to Marion’s chart will impact these areas of life.

Check out the Astro Basics tab at the top of the page for what each house represents.

But what does it mean?

I always use Bernadette Brady’s grid system to look at the impact of transits (check out her wonderful The Eagle and the Lark for more information on this).

The cause of whatever may happen is in the 1^st row of the table- the location of both planets in the natal chart.

Where this action is occurring can be found in the house being transited.

The consequences or outcomes can be found in the bottom row of the grid- the areas of life ruled by these planets.

To illustrate this, let’s look at Marions’ chart. Saturn will conjunct her Scorpio Sun from Mid December. I checked with an ephemeris (a freebie is available on Astro.com- I use orbs of just 1 degree either side) and the timing for this will be around the following dates:

• Mid December 2012- end January 2013 (exact 26/12/12- 9/1/13
• mid March- mid May 2013 (exactish 18/4/13- 1/5/13) Rx
• Mid September- early October 2013 (Exact 11/9/13-21/9/13):

Because Saturn is in the 12^th house, whatever happens this transit will have its causes in 12^th and 7^th house issues. In fact all transits made by Saturn to planets in Marions’ chart will have their origins in the 12^th house and how she handles the issues of this house. Check out this post for more hints on the 12^th house.

As Saturn is transiting the 7^th house, the events of this transit will occur in the area of Marions’ relationships- business and personal.

Saturn rules the 10^th and 11^th houses, so all transits made by Saturn to planets in Marions’ chart will result in changes in Marions’ work, her public standing, her hopes and dreams, her friendships. In this case, the Sun (the planet receiving the transit) rules Marion’s 6^th house (Leo is on the cusp of the 6^th), so this Saturn/Sun conjunction will also have an impact on 6^th house issues- her normal work routines, her health habits.

Because the nature of this transit is a conjunction, the energy of Saturn will fuse with that of the Sun (see last weeks post).

Marion, if she wants to look at all of her Saturn transits, should do a similar grid for each of the planets Saturn is contacting over the next couple of years. I’ve jotted a couple of what I know is coming up for her:

Final Points:

1. Saturn transits (indeed all transits) should never be looked at in isolation. Don’t just look at what the textbook says about Saturn transiting, say, Venus. Look at what that means to you. What houses will be impacted? What does each of the planets (both the transiting planet and the planet being transited) mean in the context of your chart? What relationship do you have with Saturn? Do Saturn concepts come easily to you or are you more challenged by these lessons? What does Saturn mean in your chart?
2. Don’t just look at the bad stuff- in my humble opinion dire predictions tend to be self-fulfilling. Look also at the positive sides to any transit. Yes, good things can happen- even under a Saturn transit.
3. Look at the nature of the aspect being made.
4. Consider also what transits are being made to your chart by the other big hitters ie Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Don’t ignore the house that Jupiter is activating. Often a message or theme is being repeated.
5. Try very hard not to see or hear or read what you want to see, hear or read- a limited or tunnel view is never helpful

this one was taken on Queenstown Hill. Saturn is the dark cloud descending…hey, I’m on my Friday night vino!

As I said earlier, I have been getting a lot of enquiries lately about Saturn in Scorpio. It’s great people are interested, but it doesn’t happen until October. We’re not even out of the shadow of the last retrograde and have another 7 or so degrees of Libra to cover. But, given that I have a store of photos of plains, mountains and cold, dry, snowy stuff that I like to use in Saturn posts and to temper the excitement a tad (Saturn is, after all, about delayed gratification), here is the technical guff.

• Saturn moves into Scorpio on 6 October, 2012
• Saturn stations retrograde on 18 February, 2012 at 11 Scorpio 31’
• Saturn stations direct on 7 July, 2013 at 4 Scorpio 49’
• Saturn stations retrograde on 2 March, 2014 at 23 Scorpio 19’
• Saturn stations direct on 19 July, 2014 at 16 Scorpio 39’
• Saturn moves into Sagittarius on 24 December, 2014

Check out the Saturn tab at the top of this page for ideas as to where this might impact you.

Laurence Hillman in his book Planets in Play has this to say about Saturn in Scorpio:

“This old man wears a dark grey cardigan with black leather patches on the elbows and well worn pants. He is holding a pipe and stares at you with ice blue eyes. In fact, it feels as though he can see right into, or even through, you. He won’t smile, but if you ask for advice, he will give you more than you bargained for.”

What did he say about Saturn in Libra?

“This old man wears an impeccable suit. His silver hair is slicked back, not a strand out of place. His tie is perfectly matched to the suit, shirt and socks, but mostly it is exquisitely beautiful. He is so friendly it almost seems saccharine. Once you start talking with him, you will have a hard time getting away.”

I think that says it all.

Normally in these posts I choose my words carefully. I don’t like to upset people, I don’t like to cause conflict and I don’t like to take the emotional garbage on board when well meaning non advice turns into a game of “but, what if?”

When it comes to Saturn, there is no pussy-footing around. So, I’m venting- for the next 1000 or so words. You have the right to turn off and stop reading if you like.

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a lot of emails from people who are scared of Saturn moving into Scorpio. Does this mean that I’ll be sick for 2 ½ years? Does this mean that my job will be crappy for 2 ½ years? Does this mean that I’ll get divorced? Does this mean I’ll lose my house? Saturn is going into Scorpio, does that mean I’ll die?

Seriously? Maybe that’s why the Mayans ended their calendar in 2012- not because they ran out of room or got bored with the calculations, but because Saturn was moving into Scorpio? Don’t write to me, I’m being cynical.

I’m not saying that none of this stuff can happen- I hope it won’t. What I’m saying is that Saturn is always transiting some part of our life all the time. He doesn’t just go away during the good times and re-surface for the bad shit. Saturn is always there and we can’t live in fear every single day. Sure you can if you want to, but that’s your choice and I don’t need to take it on board.

Jupiter’s always there too, and we aren’t scared of that. We look at Jupiter as the great jolly giant bringing only hope and opportunity and great big stuff. And he does. Jupiter makes everything he touches bigger. Great if it’s a good opportunity, not so good if it’s your body that’s getting bigger and definitely not so good if it’s a bad situation that’s getting worse very quickly.

Regular readers know that I don’t have a good relationship with Saturn and am about as Jupiterian as they come. I dread Saturn transits and look forward to Jupiter transits with unbridled excitement. Yet, the year Jupiter went through my 6^th house, a health problem got substantially worse, very quickly, and had me in hospital for major surgery. Saturn was in my 4^th house providing the structures that would help me rest and recover.

Likewise, the year Jupiter went through my 10^th house, so many work related opportunities (amongst other stuff) presented themselves that I was an absolute mess. I couldn’t cope. Saturn was in the 6^th asking me to take it a little slower- look after my health, my routines and go through the paces. I didn’t listen, and heeded instead the siren call of Jupiter…and all hell broke loose. Would I do it all again the same way? Hell yeah! I’m a slow learner.

I know people who committed (or re-committed) when Saturn transited their 7^th only to divorce when Jupiter rocked on through there. A friend lost his house (to his ex wife) when Jupiter transited his 4^th, and another had so much fun and took so much risk that when Jupiter transited his 5^th his gambling problem got worse.

Don’t get me wrong, great stuff happens when Jupiter transits come along. You say yes more often, you dare to dream and hope springs eternal. Even after the shittiest Jupiter transit you can (usually) look back with the benefit of hindsight and say that losing (x, y or z) was the best thing that happened to me because it allowed (insert great opportunity) to happen. That surgery I had 8 years ago freed me, the stuff that went down in the workplace 5 years ago opened up opportunities I am jumping on today.

Saturn lessons are different. There is no denying they are hard, and rarely do we stand back later and publicise the hindsight stuff from the rafters. Saturn teaches, Jupiter broadcasts and publicises. But the lessons Saturn teaches and the structures he builds are invaluable.

All Saturn asks is that you get real. That’s it. Whatever part of the chart he is transiting is the area of life where you need to grow up and accept some responsibility. That’s it. It’s time to look realistically at that part of life. That’s it.

Over-spending and taking on extra debt? Saturn in the 2^nd or the 8^th will make sure that you get your taxes up to date, a budget written and committed to, wills and estates put in order, and a good, hard look at what is really important to you. Money may be tight…because it has to be. Do the right thing, the mature thing and you’ll come out of it OK. Continue with your current habits and you’ll be in trouble. This is where Saturn is in my chart right now and boy is this true!

Been alone for too long? Saturn in the 7^th will ask you to look realistically at your patterns of relating. Maybe you find yourself attracted to partners that even you know (if you’re honest- and Saturn needs you to be honest) are unattainable- too young, too old, too married or too not what you need. Maybe this is why your love is unrequited? Maybe you need to throw away the checklist and give others a chance? Or, maybe you need a checklist…or maybe the work that needs to be done is on loving you? Maybe you just need to get on with living, maybe being alone is the right place for you to be now? Maybe you need to look very closely at your modus operandi? I don’t know the answer, but if Saturn is transiting your 7th house and you aren’t happy with your relationship status, you do (know the answer, that is) if you examine it in the way Saturn asks you to examine it.

Oh, Saturn won’t give you the answers either- that’s too easy. He will help you do the work and set up the structures so that when Jupiter opportunities come around you can jump on them and have overnight, out of the blue success.

If Saturn is transiting your 7^th when he moves into Scorpio, congratulations, you have a head start. Why? Because all of us in some way have been looking at patterns of relating the whole time that Saturn has been in Libra.

I’ve seen Saturn transits in the 10^th bring amazing career highs as all the hard work comes home to roost. I’ve also seen Saturn transits in the 10^th bring divorce and separation as issues that weren’t dealt with during 7^th house transits raise their ugly heads again. I got married when Saturn crossed my Ascendant and gave birth to my daughter when Saturn was conjunct my 2^nd house Venus.

Get the idea?

I’m not saying that you need to swallow your fears and forge blindly ahead- that would be irresponsible. That would be something that someone who doesn’t have a good sense of Saturn boundaries would do. That’s what someone like me would do. What I’m saying is don’t let yourself be ruled by the fear of things that simply may not come to pass. These things tend to have a habit of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

What I am suggesting is that you open yourself to the possibility that under a Saturn transit good things can happen. And, given that Saturn is all about longevity, when good things happen under a Saturn transit, they tend to last.

That’s all.

Over the next while I’ll do one Saturn post a week- looking at transits through each of the houses. In the meantime, share with me:

Has any good stuff happened to you under a Saturn transit? Or, anything bad that turned out to be good?

Want more Saturn posts?

The Climb- Saturn Transits

Saturn in Scorpio (A taster)

The Real Thing- Saturn in Libra

Band of Gold- Saturn in Libra