A persons first Saturn Return occurs when they are approximately 28-30 years of age. I like to think of the Saturn Return period as the astrological entry into adulthood. A Saturn Return is when Saturn Returns to the same degree and signs it is in; in your birth chart- Similar to the Solar Return that occurs when the Sun returns to the place it was at the time of your birth every year on your birthday or the Mars Return which occurs about every 2 years or your Jupiter Return which occurs once every 12 years – for some reason the Saturn Return gets the most hype and a lot of that hype is fear driven.
At its core the Saturn Return is a time to make some adult decisions and for everyone those decisions will vary.
Some common Saturn Return themes
- Relationships
A lot of people get married or break up during a Saturn Return period. This is when they are asking themselves the heavy questions about who they do or don’t want to spend the rest of their lives with
- Career issues – choosing a career or up leveling in your career
- Moving into your own place
- Having a baby
It is a time of
- Growth
- Maturity
- Lessons
- Adulting
Maneuvering the Saturn Return will be different for everyone. But one common major theme is: taking responsibility. This is Saturn after all also known as Father Time he reminds us we are getting older and makes us hyper aware of the time we have spent and the time we have left. All Saturn transits no matter the aspect crystallize the importance of time. Saturn is also known as The Taskmaster he is asking you to add structure to your life, to get to work and to own your shit. Saturn transits challenge us and sometimes bring us to our knees but the gift he leaves behind is wisdom, maturity and self-reliance. Be willing to step up to the challenges of the Saturn Return go for the job, make the commitment or not – face your challenges head on- Saturn is sobering and will not allow you to bury your head in the sand.
The degree of difficulty varies on your own personal natal chart – I do not do Saturn well –but I do not have a heavy Saturn in my natal chart. During my Saturn Return after having 30+ jobs I finally settled on my first adult job with the most money I ever made.
For others you have to look at Saturn in context to your entire chart; does Saturn in the natal chart make hard aspects to your Sun, Moon, Venus etc if so the Saturn Return is going to trigger these aspects and force you to confront whatever limitation, false belief or wound is present. I see it go either way for people and it is hard to predict which way it will go; some people do Saturn well if they have a heavy Saturn in the Natal Chart they have learned to work with the energy or they have accepted life is challenging so they just roll with it. Then you have others where the Saturn Return is painful perhaps they haven’t fully learned to work with Saturn or maybe they were in denial about the wounds or challenges in the natal chart and the Saturn Return forces them to confront it.
Some misconceptions about the Saturn Return
- The Saturn Return lasts the entire time it is the same sign as the sign in your birth chart. It does not – it depends on the degree. Some people experience a very short Saturn Return Period where others may have it for about a year.
- Good things do not come to us during a Saturn Return – this is preposterous I just mentioned above my personal job experience and I also know many people that were married during the Saturn Return. Remember Saturn asks you to adult, to commit and take responsibility if you are willing to do that you may experience amazing things though they may at first be challenging or scary
Tips on how to work best with Saturn in general
- Do the work
- Rest when you can
- Release the need to control things
- Celebrate your personal wins
- Set boundaries and say no to things you really do not want to do
- Surrender the need to have things happen on your time- surrender to divine time
- Do not compare your journey to that of others
- Face reality and take responsibility
- Treat yourself kindly, you may feel like you are in survival mode, it is ok to take it one moment or one day at a time
Saturn Return Timing
If you Saturn is in Aries sometime between 2025-2028
If you Saturn is in Taurus sometime between 2028-2030
If you Saturn is in Gemini sometime between 2030-2032
If you Saturn is in Cancer sometime between 2032-2035
If you Saturn is in Leo sometime between 2035-2037
If you Saturn is in Virgo sometime between 2036-2039
If you Saturn is in Libra sometime between 2039-2042
If you Saturn is in Scorpio sometime between 2041-2044
If you Saturn is in Sagittarius sometime between 2044-2047
If you Saturn is in Capricorn sometime between 2047-2050
If you Saturn is in Aquarius sometime between 2050-2053
If you Saturn is in Pisces sometime between now and 2026