Saturn transits are about getting real. That’s all.

Where he is travelling in your chart will tell you where you need to get real. The sign through which he is travelling will give you a flavour of that transit, and the planets and chart points he touches will be key pressure points.  The more planets being aspected, the more important the lesson you need to learn. As an example, with Saturn currently in Libra, wherever he transits in your chart will currently raise issues about trust and relating- whether that is in relation to primary relationships, family, home, children or possessions. Get the idea?

On top of all of that, the nature of your natal Saturn will determine how easily (or otherwise) you deal with Saturn transits. If you have a strong or prominent Saturn, commitment, responsibility and boundaries will not be unfamiliar concepts to you, but if, like me, your Saturn is weak, you will struggle with the message- especially since the message often involves asking you to limit something, build something, put structure around something, commit to something or get rid of something. Ouch.

So what do I mean by a strong Saturn?

If you have Saturn natally in Capricorn, Aquarius or Libra he is what astrologers call “dignified”. In these signs he feels at home. If you have Saturn in the 1^st, 7^th, 4^th or 10^th house he will also have the ability to act in your chart.

If you really want to know how strong (or otherwise) your Saturn is, check out this article by Donna Cunningham. Essentially, if:

• Saturn aspects the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven (conjunction, square, trine or opposition)
• Saturn forms tight aspects to other planets
• Sun, Moon or Ascendant is in Capricorn
• If Saturn is in Capricorn or in the 10^th house
• If you have other planets in the 10^th house

…you will score highly. There are other criteria, so for a full score-sheet check out the article. Given that my Saturn is in the first degree of Aries (where he is in the sign of his fall) and doesn’t aspect any other planet (I am of the traditional bent and don’t count out of sign conjunctions), I scored a big fat zero.

According to Donnas’ article, a really high score could mean that you are “rigid, stodgy, perfectionistic, conservative, hypercritical, authoritarian, fearful, depressed and probably workaholic”. You will also stoically accept what Saturn has to tell you.

On the other hand, with a low score “you’d lack discipline, structure and planning; you might be irresponsible, immature and give up easily and have no solid long term goals.” You will also, like me, be hit for six when Saturn aspects a sensitive part of your chart.

No matter how strong (or otherwise) Saturn is in your chart, transits by the Time Lord (personally, I am picturing more a Jon Pertwee than a Tom Baker with really cool striped scarf) will put a mountain there for you to climb. Whether you choose to go the long way around, blast through, take the scenic route or just trudge resignedly one foot in front of the other, rest assured, there will be a mountain…and then another. Generally speaking you get a few attempts- first when Saturn aspects a planet whilst direct, a chance to review it when retrograde, and an opportunity to solidify the change when he is direct again.

Along the way you will be asked to check what is in your backpack and get rid of the crap you no longer need- much like on the Biggest Loser where they do it in reverse. If Saturn is in the 10^th, you may need to get rid of a job to start a new career…or even get rid of your status as a single woman to greet the world with a new surname- or the opposite. If he is transiting the 11^th, expect to change friends, groups and even rationalise or put structure around your dreams. Naturally none of this will be easy- if it was you wouldn’t learn anything or grow through the process… and Saturn demands that you grow and mature. 

Structures that you thought were secure will need to be rebuilt if they don’t stand the concrete test. Happily married? When Saturn travels through your 7^th you will question that commitment and your relationship with others. You may test the relationship and find it is solid. Once re-committed, it can only grow stronger. You may, however, test it and find stress cracks in the building. Is it still structurally sound or is your relationship ready for a knock down/rebuild? Or, perhaps, a complete demolition?

A couple of years ago I read a book by Adam Smith titled “Saturn- Fatal Attraction”. In that, he suggests listening to what your friends are complaining about, or where their attention is focused- this is where Saturn is transiting in their charts. Listen to your own conversations and complaints… and be honest.

The nature of Saturn is to constrict, to bind, to restrict and to contract. He represents the process of aging and, when it comes to medical astrology, is associated with chronic conditions and disease. Saturn rules everything which provides a structure or a boundary in the body- skin, hair, fingernails, teeth, skeleton, ligaments. When Saturn comes to call, things can either start to wear out and age or under perform…some sort of restriction usually results. This may be a restrictive diet, restriction of movement, restriction of freedom.

Saturn is in the 1^st house in my chart, so transits generally speaking will impact my health and physical body. Saturn is in my 7^th house and at the end of a set of pretty nasty oppositions to all my 1^st house planets- and all of the above has occurred. The very 1^st part of this series of transits left a finger jammed in a fire door in a hotel in Hong Kong. Three painful years on I am on a restricted diet, and, thanks to a crappy neck and ankle ligaments which barely attach my feet to the bottom of my legs, I am on restricted movement. I can’t wear the heels I love and, thanks to a super sexy (not) ankle brace and all of the above am feeling old and fat & frumpy, dried out and worn out. I will not be sorry to see him move on.

Have I learned anything? I have no flipping idea. Have I done the 7^th house thing and reviewed my pattern of relating? Not consciously. I still trust the wrong people and attach too easily. Have cracks been found in my own relationship? Absolutely… and an awful lot of new wrinkles and injuries as well.

I have tried blasting through the mountain to no avail. I have attempted to find a flatter more comfortable way around. No luck there either. I have even tried to hide the summit and all the boundaries I am supposed to have behind some wine cartons. That bloody mountain is still there…and another behind it. Somehow I have to make it move- that is the lesson of a Saturn transit.

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there’s a voice inside my head saying
“You’ll never reach it”

Every step I’m taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I’m not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

‘Cause there’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody’s gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It’s all about, it’s all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Lyrics from “The Climb”, by Miley Cyrus

To find out where Saturn is transiting your chart, check out the notes in the Saturn tab at the top of the blog.