The Saturn Return, Explained

The Saturn Return is probably the second best known transit in astrology. (The first is birthdays, but “Happy Solar Return” wasn’t as catchy.) Between the ages of 27-30, Saturn tends to get credit for every good thing and blamed for every bad thing that happens. It’s mythologized in our culture as something to dread. It is an important moment in life, but it’s far from the hardest or biggest transit out there. I’d prefer a Saturn transit over a Neptune transit any day.

Why Saturn?

Saturn rules the things in our lives that offer structure — it’s our strictest parent, our spines, our boundaries and our responsibilities. It’s the way we learn to parent ourselves, and the people, animals, plants and things in our life that are dependent on our care and guidance. It’s a common misconception that Saturn is cold and heartless, but Saturn cares deeply. It simply expresses that care by allowing us to fail and to learn, which not-so-gently teaches us to care for ourselves.

What’s a “Return”?

A “return” is when a planet moves 360º degrees around the birth chart (and therefor around the earth) to the exact place it was when you were born. Your birth chart is a circular map of all the planets’ positions relative to the exact place and time you were born. The sections of space around the earth that the planets can be in are the signs (Aries, Taurus, etc.) Your “rising sign” is the section of space that was on the horizon when you were born. Cool, right?

As planets move around the earth, they form certain angles to each other — these are called transits. “Natal” transits are when the planets today, moving around in the sky, form 60º, 90º, 120º, 180º, or 0º angles to a planet’s positions when you were born. These mark personal periods of intense energy, that may feel “easy” or “hard” depending on the transit, your nature, and the way you choose to engage.

What’s going to happen during my Saturn Return?

To understand what will happen in the future, astrology looks to the past. The Saturn Return happens after Saturn has formed every other angle to its position when you were born. Every one of these angles represent a phase of the Saturn cycle, when the Saturnian things in your life are working with more or less friction. Keep in mind less friction does not mean good or easy, it just means without friction. If you parked your car on a hill and forgot to put it in park, for example, working without friction makes for a pretty bad day.

The angles with the most friction, or dynamic energy (meaning you’ll consciously feel it more) are the square (90º), the opposition (180º), and the conjunction (0º). These happen in your first Saturn cycle at ages 7-8 (square), 14-15 (opposition), 21-22 (square again) and 28-29 (conjunction). By looking at what was happening in your life around those ages, you can identify the themes that are likely to come up again during your Saturn Return.

Saturn Returns at age 28-29 often coincide with big life events, internally or externally. It can be getting engaged, getting married, getting divorced, finding a partner, breaking up, having a child, losing a job, moving across the country. Really anything that adds both constraint and meaning to our lives is up for grabs, all the way down to our thought patterns and our boundaries within ourselves.

Should I worry about my Saturn Return?

People fear this transit because the idea of “consequences” (often used synonymously with Saturn) has a negative connotation. More neutrally, consequences are simply the events precipitated by your choices. The advantage to Saturn transits is that we can see how it wants us to make decisions, and it’s always the hard-but-right choice. Saturn is a hard teacher, but it gives you a crystal clear syllabus.

When does the Saturn Return end?

The real test of how you navigated your Saturn Return comes at 33, when Saturn transits past its natal point again and forms the first 60º angle (a “sextile”) to itself in your birth chart. This is the “without friction” moment mentioned above — if you did not take accountability and conscious action at 29, you may find yourself hitting a familiar wall at 33, made of your own worst impulses and destructive behaviors (whatever those are for you personally). The right time to learn Saturn’s lessons is right now, before you hit that familiar wall again.

Saturn Return coaching uses your birth chart to examine where Saturn sits and what other planets or points it is in relationship to. That knowledge combined with a conversation about the themes in your life around ages 7, 14 and 21 will help us examine and navigate your current Saturn Return. Leveraging the rest of your unique birth chart’s strengths and challenges can help you find the structure and reliability you (and Saturn) want and need in your life.

There are many excellent astrologers that provide Saturn Return coaching. If you’re interested in working with me, you can reach out here for custom Saturn Return coaching to fit your needs and budget.