What is the Saturn Return?
What is the Saturn Return? I must admit that my interest in the subject has been highly piqued, being that my 27th birthday is in just over a week; over the past few months I’ve noticed changes in my life, in my emotions, and in my thinking patterns. I’ve heard many people discuss a “quarter-life crisis,” occurring roughly at age 25 as an individual leaves the ideals of youth and struggles with ideas of marriage, children, and careers. I never put much stock into the idea, but the more I learn about the Saturn return, the more I wonder if the “quarter-life crisis” isn’t merely another term for a person’s first Saturn return. In 2000, rock band No Doubt released an album titled “The Return of Saturn;” I can only imagine that the album’s title was meant to coincide with first Saturn return of the band’s lead singer, Gwen Stefani. So, what was the meaning behind this? What is the mysterious Saturn return, and what does it mean?
Saturn returns occur every 27-30 years (coinciding with the amount of time it takes Saturn to orbit the Sun once; thus, at that point in time, Saturn “returns” to the point it was at at the time of your birth). Each Saturn return marks the end of one stage of life and an entrance to another life stage; most people have three Saturn returns during their lives:
- Age 27-30 (entering adulthood and domesticity, leaving youth behind)
- Age 56-60 (entering maturity, from adulthood)
- Age 84-90 (entering wise old age, from maturity)
So, what can we expect with each Saturn return? In his book Saturn Cycles, Wendell C. Perry has this to say:
We forget that the real significance of Saturn transits lies in what they bring us on an internal, spiritual level. Saturn transits provide the rhythm and the structure of our lives. They ask the questions and bring forth from us the answers that are crucial to building character and virtue. If we choose to evade these questions or if we fail to come up with the right answers, then Saturn transits can be every bit as hard and unhappy as they are often reputed to be. If we embrace this process, if we face squarely the questions asked of us and learn from the answers, then we can make something positive, edifying, and even triumphant of even the most dire of circumstance.
Saturn returns are a time of change, but as long as we are tuned in to what we are learning, the changes can be positive.
How about you? What have your Saturn returns (first, second, or third) been like? Any advice as I near my first?
If I learned anything, it was that Saturn’s Return will definitely show you what you have to fix in your life. My first one was a really rough passage, hearlding the entry into an extended period of impoverishment and depression. Fortunately, I managed to find my way out of it, and am facing my second one (still several years away) from a much wiser and calmer perspective. I learned to listen to my inner promptings instead of stubbornly persisting in doing things ‘my’ way. It was a harsh lesson, which gave me lasting scars, but it also was necessary.
Saturn Return: My first was so bad for me that I’m only going to summarize: loss of job, death of best friend, loss of identity and belongings…yeah that’s about as far as I’ll go. It doesn’t help that I am a Capricorn and it is my ruling planet so I got a double wammy. Anyways, what I realized in hindsight is that everything that I believed in was challenged, who I thought I was was challenged. You have to be willing to shed what is no longer you. The more stubborn you are about it, the more it hurts. The more willing you are to be open to evolving as a person and doing the deep soul searching needed, the less difficult it is. You will be challenged by negative people and negative events because unfortunately, we tend to learn better from negativity and overlook positive nudges. If you overcome that, it might not be so bad. Either way you’ll live through it and come out the other end more yourself, which is a good thing. Saturn is the work horse – Saturn Return – you have work to do.
I’m sorry, I didn’t consider the fact that you are on your way to your first. You can be okay, just be aware of it happening, don’t forget and keep aware of yourself and the people surrounding you. Remove yourself from negative situations before they get out of hand. Write in a journal, use positive affirmations for change, take good care of yourself health wise, eat well, wear stones that are “Saturn friendly”, focus on loving yourself and the person you are above all else…it will make it easier for the inauthentic parts to fall away. These are the things I would do if I had it to do over again. Sorry for the dark cloud in my first message. *hugs*
When does Saturn return?
Here’s my advice: pick up an astronomy book.
Saturn’s orbital period is approximately 29.5 years (almost 11 thousand Earth days). It doesn’t vary noticeably, just as ours doesn’t vary by more than hairs of seconds.
Any effect of the stars and planets on your personality or your life experiences is imaginary or tangential at best. They affect who you are no more than you affect them.
I look back and do see changes in everything I had thought I am and was. I am currently in the process of a divorce from my third husband and have recently found the true love of my life, someone that has been apart of me for 35 years. I am a completely different person than I was in my first Saturn Returns. In my maturity I have learned to look in myself and love what I find. As long as you can be honest with that you will do fine. I wish you the best, and many blessings in your first.
I’m really happy to say that your article has been very helpful to me. I am studying astrology and it is indeed a very Saturn time now, and yet I feel that we all need a reboot … due to the fact that we are forced to go inward … to really think about a lot. Having reached the understanding of many of the many, one can hope for what really matters NOW.