posted July 13, 2006 05:35 AM            

http://www.cafeastrology.com/saturntransits.html

Saturn Transits

Saturn takes about 28-29 years to come full circle. Therefore, every 7 years or so, Saturn will transit conjunct, square, or opposite a natal point. When that natal point is an intensely personal planet or point (such as the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, Mercury, Venus, or Mars), we feel its effects in an intensely personal way.

Saturn transits and cycles can be considered cycles of achievement and maturity. These periods in our lives can truly feel like lessons. Everything is slowed down--we encounter delays, frustrations, and pressures. But these times also challenge us to face reality, thereby offering us much wisdom and even freedom. Significant decisions are often made during Saturn's hard transits to our personal planets. These transits slow life down (or at least, that is how we perceive it) and make us live our lives in the present. Although Saturn transits can make life feel like a drudgery (these are often times when our lives seem to move at a snail's pace and advancements are hard to see), they also give us the opportunity to gain inner strength, to become more responsible for what we do and say, and to cut out waste.

Saturn transits can also be considered times of conservation in whatever area of life that Saturn is affecting. We generally build up our reserves and conserve our energy during these periods.

Some common real-life events that Saturn transits to personal points are associated with include delays and little but irksome problems. Things break down, our needs often go unmet by others, we often feel misunderstood and even left out, we tend to find others harsh and unsympathetic (although this is often a perception thing - we, in fact, may be lacking a sense of humor), and we often feel burdened or put upon.

Saturn transits teach us to take responsibility for ourselves. At the outset of a Saturn transit, we might feel like the world is a cold place. If we are mature, we will at some point come to the realization that we cannot always pass blame for our lives. We need to reach within and pull out our own inner strength -- to rely on ourselves.

Depression, therefore, can be a byproduct of heavy Saturn transits. However, if we focus our energies into meaningful endeavors without pushing too hard for recognition or support from others, we can fight the inclination towards gloom and doom. When we find ourselves facing great odds or loss during Saturn transits, we must remember that these things are happening because we did not plan or prepare properly. Saturn reminds us of reality and the need for greater self-discipline. Re-organizing the area of life represented by the house or personal point that Saturn is "hitting" can lead to great rewards. Remember that Saturn transits do not flatten us by all means. Instead, they slow us down, make us live in the here and now, keep us from taking unnecessary risks, and help us to build and structure our lives in ways that will reap rewards down the road.

It is interesting to consider the transits and themes that ran through our lives before our Saturn transits. If we were riding high during a high-speed Uranus transit just before Saturn "hit", this period can mark a significant time in our lives when we "pay" for the risks we may have taken during that Uranus phase. If Saturn transits come shortly after a Jupiter-themed period in our lives, we may feel particularly hard hit as well. Perhaps the Jupiter period has lead us to overspend or ignore our basics; and then Saturn moves in to "correct" that situation and to force us to face our personal realities. Life is not, in fact, all fun and games. We have to work and save--and that is what Saturn teaches us. Thus, it is helpful to consider the context of the individual's recent and past experiences when considering how Saturn transits might affect him/her.

Besides considering the nature of the personal planet or point that Saturn is transiting, we should also look to the position of transiting Saturn by house, the zodiac signs involved, and the condition of the personal planet/point itself. If the personal planet/point happens to be our chart ruler (that is, it rules our Ascendant), we may experience particularly powerful events and circumstances, for example. If our natal Sun and Moon are in hard aspect to each other, then Saturn transits will be impacting both personal points at the same time. If transiting Saturn is making a hard aspect with a stellium of planets (for example, if it is squaring your natal Sun conjunct Uranus and Pluto), then we will be experiencing a more complex set of circumstances and attitudes that might have a greater impact than if the personal point alone was affected.

Keys to Handling Saturn Transits:

Saturn teaches us about the value of moderation and caution. Perhaps the best way to "handle" hard Saturn transits to personal planets and points is to avoid fighting these lessons. Accept that, at this time in your life, things may move at a slower speed (even a snail's pace). Saturn wants us to work hard, put our energies into practical, useful, and meaningful projects, and to live in the here and now. This period in your life is a time for building a solid foundation. Understand that moderation at this point in your life is necessary for your spiritual growth and your physical body as well. Avoid blaming others for where you are at now--doing this will only lead to feelings of melancholy and anger. Know that this period in your life, while temporary, is a time for learning about your personal limits as well as your inner strength. Carry these lessons as you move beyond this phase, because how you handle your life now will make all the difference the next time (7 years later) Saturn makes a hard aspect to the same planet or point in your chart.

http://www.cafeastrology.com/saturntransitinghouses.html

Saturn Transiting the First House

Saturn transiting the first house begins with a Saturn conjunction to the Ascendant, a transit of personal significance. The first house is a fire house, a house that rules our personal identity. We concern ourselves with how we come across to others on a personal level with Saturn here. Our physical body becomes a focus as well. Depending on the age of the native, it may be a time when we feel our age, or it is a time when we see our bodies quite clearly. This is an excellent time for beginning health regimens, diets, and the like, simply because it is a time when we look in the mirror and see ourselves clearly—not what we want to see. Our outlook on life changes to a more serious, responsible tone. In the beginning stages of the transit, you may feel frustrated with yourself, let down, and lacking in self-confidence. You might reach out to others in an attempt to validate yourself, looking for ways to boost your confidence. When these attempts fail, you may feel temporarily let down and discouraged. Rest assured that Saturn will re-work these feelings, with your help of course, until you reach a point (as Saturn moves through the house) where you have a stronger sense of self. This transit acts to transform your self-confidence in such a way that you question the source of your confidence to date, and discover a more solid base for pulling up inner strength. Saturn here acts to rip away the superficial. Illusions about the self, the body, and personal abilities will no longer be tolerated. The end result is a newfound identity and a realistic understanding of the self. In terms of career and projects, outward signs of progress may not be as forthcoming, yet the work that you do during this transit will lay a foundation for future success and progress! For example, some years ago, a client began a hobby/project during a Saturn transit to her first house, something that took up a lot of her time and energy and that yielded nothing in terms of immediate financial gain—until later! In fact, this "hobby" turned into her career in the years to follow.

http://www.bobmarksastrologer.com/transitsSaturn18.4.htm

Saturn Transits Through Your First House:

This transit starts with Saturn passing over your Ascendant, and it marks the start of a new cycle in your life. During the next 14 years, or so, you have to concentrate more on taking care of internal matters rather than focusing on what’s going on out there with everyone else. The 1st House is You, your personality and how you approach things. When Saturn moves here, you have a chance to figure out not just who you are, but who you want to be. If you get depressed during this transit, it is most likely an indication that some of the basic routines of your life are faulty and need to be changed.

Saturn Transits in Aspect to Natal Saturn:

These happen to everyone at about the same time in life. When we are about seven years old, Saturn makes a square aspect to the place where it was when we were born. That is when we start to put things together and make sense of the world. It is also a great time to develop a first neurosis. At around age fourteen, Saturn makes an opposition to its place in our birth chart. That is the time of “adolescent rebellion”, our efforts to break away and be independent. Approximately 29 years later, Saturn makes its second opposition to our birth Saturn. That is the famous “mid-life crisis” when people change jobs and marriages. But if you look at the astrological factor, transiting Saturn opposing natal Saturn, this is only another outbreak of teenage rebellion. The underlying cause is the same: a desire to break away from restrictions. The harmonious aspects (the trine and sextile) are just good times to get extra work done. Unless another major transit is hitting you at this time (like a square from transiting Uranus) this should be a relatively calm and productive period with nothing extraordinary happening.

http://horoscope.diy.myrice.com/english/tsas.html#1

Saturn Conjunct Ascendant

The next few weeks are likely to bring mixed blessings. Although
the going may be tough...this is the time when the tough will get
going.
Additional responsibilities are likely to be piled upon you and
may weigh you down considerably. You can try to lighten these
pressures and responsibilities by disposing of the deadwood in
your life...but be careful not to throw out precious budding new
saplings with the weeds. At times it can be difficult to
differentiate between what’s good for you...and what you really
want.
You are now entering a new astrological cycle which will affect
you for the next 8 years, so there’s no need to rush decisions.
Strong foundations need to be built with patience, care and
precision. You may have to learn new skills, or even retrain for
a completely new career. You could almost consider the
experience that you’ve accumulated to date as a training period
which has been preparing you for the next 8 years ahead.
In business, it’s time to wind up projects and deals which have
just been staggering along. It’s time to cut your losses and
concentrate on new contracts and propositions. The same goes for
love affairs and personal relationships. Stable, happy and
secure relationships won’t be affected by these particular
planetary transits, but outworn negative relationships will more
than likely disintegrate.

Saturn Conjunct Saturn

posted July 13, 2006 12:29 PM            

Saturn Return, first house.

posted July 13, 2006 12:45 PM              

Saturn Returning is Graduation Time
Saturn is sometimes pictured as Father Time or linked to the god Chronos. This points out a
primary function of the Saturn principle as a timing device. Saturn symbolizes the limiting factors
on a cycle or definition. His natal sign describes what we perceive as limits on our ability to make
progress. (EXAMPLE: Taurus-money or Sagittarius-beliefs). Saturn more accurately symbolizes
internal rules and the obligations we accept as personal boundaries of behavior. Moving toward
the end of an age, it becomes increasingly obvious that rules and boundaries are meant to protect
us, rather than limit us. Always they must relate to our development. Some things and places are
not safe for children, but upon reaching maturity they may become necessities of life.
Several years ago, as the 1980’s became the 1990’s, Saturn crossed Capricorn and humanity
experienced a general Saturn Return. Crossing Capricorn, Saturn revised our definition of
humankind. The essential meaning of Capricorn is, “the accepted limits of humanity, at any given
time.” That is why natives with prominent Capricorn placements so often experience depression.
Until the next transit of Saturn across Capricorn, they are heavily restricted by their learned
definition of the human species. These definitions are revised about every thirty years as Saturn
recrosses its own sign, offering opportunities to Capricorn natives.
Within the general cycle, each of us experiences a personal Saturn cycle, with the planet returning
to its original place at intervals of a little less than thirty years. These are often marked by some
change in responsibility. But responsibilities and rights are directly linked to our maturity level.
Perhaps we could all benefit from going through an initiation ritual or graduation celebration as
we move from one level to the next. This could alleviate the soul searching and confusion which
generally accompany Saturn Returns.
Natal Saturn initially describes the authority figures in our childhood. Many of these get
internalized as moral or social rules. The maturation process is largely about taking increasing
levels of responsibility for our own choices. The often unrealized gift of this is that with each
change in responsibility come certain rights. Saturn Returns mark changes in status–first
internally, then externally. We graduate from the past and graduation’s gift is the future.
Most of us expect to experience two or three Saturn Returns. Each time we confront a set of
rules about how we should be, what we should do, etc. As we mature, real maturation requires us
to make our own choices. With the average life expectancy rising rapidly, it seems appropriate to
look at the probability of a fourth return as a norm within the next century.
The First Saturn Return
Most of us experience the crossing between our first and second maturation cycles during the year
before our thirtieth birthday. Common events of this period are marriage, divorce, or the birth of a
child. These clearly and obviously show a change of responsibility, but their meaning is symbolic.
During the first thirty years of our lives, our parents’ responsibility for our lives gradually
decreases. Around age twenty-one, we may be officially emancipated, but as we move into our
own careers and establish our own families, we are usually still following our parents’ rules, living
within their definitions of what or how we should be. Some marry or have children from the
subconscious intention to confine themselves to the duties assigned to them by their families,
religion, and/or culture.This transition is often painful because we are in a major internal, and
sometimes external, power struggle with the authorities of our childhood. Early marriages may
fall apart at this time, because we married for reasons not our own. Doing so, we may feel
restricted by our mate or our marriage.
Entering the new cycle, we usually exchange our family rules for society’s rules. During this
period we struggle to fulfill society’s expectations. We try to do what everyone else is doing. All
too often this phase becomes an endurance contest. We endure in an inappropriate relationship
and/or hang onto a job that is difficult because the society we live in expects it. Saturn’s greatest
hazard is inertia. We resist change, afraid to break the rules, or become our own authority.
Spiritually, the first Saturn return grants us the right to set our own rules, within the context of
society. Our only real limits are the contracts that we make. The only non-revocable contract we
can make is with our children. When we choose to have children–whether consciously or
unconsciously–we are assuming a spiritual obligation to them. Like any contract, this one has an
end. Our financial obligation, and our right to set limits for them, ends with the emancipation of
our children. Our obligation or right to advise them ends as they approach age thirty. Then, we
must grant them equality in rank, accepting their right to define the parameters of their lives for
themselves.
The Second Saturn Return
The second Saturn return usually occurs near the fifty-ninth birthday. Its significance is graduation
from social demands. By this time most of us have completed responsibilities to our children and
we have reached the pinnacle of our career. Whether or not we have met our own criterion for
success, at this time we stop struggling to climb its ladder. This is the astrological retirement age,
and some do manage to retire at that age. Those, who do not actually do so, cease the struggle
for the top, realizing that it is time to turn down the hill, and let the next generation pass by. Some
experience relief and feel free to go play or begin a second career, doing something that they have
long wished to do. Others experience profound disappointment or depression at the thought of
losing their conditioned role in society. Many of these resign from earth within a few years.
Metaphysically, the second Saturn Return grants us the right to set our own rules within the
context of humanity. At this point, we step beyond the boundaries of society, and are generally
free of our contractual obligations. Even if some of our contracts are not entirely fulfilled, we are
free to make no new contracts. No longer are we required to think about the physical survival of
humanity. Instead we turn our faces to issues of spirit and/or individuality. We assume the right
and the responsibility to make our own moral and ethical choices. Here we truly experience our
own authority, deferring to no other human. At this time the status of Wise One, Crone, Honored
Grandparent, is granted. In modern terms, we become a consultant.
The Third Saturn Return
The third Saturn return usually occurs during the year before age 89. At this time we graduate
from a world view to a galactic or evolutionary view. We resign our position as consultant and
are free to allow our consciousness to roam across the boundary between this world and the next.
It is common for elderly people to begin napping frequently at this time, but many are simply
slipping out of body to explore what lies beyond this world of experience. Some, who are unable
to endure the strangeness of this, remain present, but slip into a second childhood. Both are ways
of deferring the choice to leave earth. While the astral traveler is looking forward to a higher
realm, the senile dementia victim is regressing to an earlier state. Those in the latter group lack the
courage, or are unaware of their ability, to rise.
Meanwhile, the mentally flexible, allow their vision to expand to even greater awareness. While
physical senses often deteriorate, the interior senses continue to expand. Losing sight, hearing, or
mobility is simply a method of turning these functions inward. At such times, clairaudience,
clairvoyance, and/or clairsentience develops or increases in power. More evolved and aware
natives direct these abilities into high-quality writing or art, becoming channels of inspiration to
the world.
Metaphysically, the third Saturn Return is a graduation from a world view to a galactic view.
Their focus-point moves off-world to a place where they can mediate between the divine state and
the human state. These are the real prophets of this world and role models for earlier Saturn
generations. They are pushing the limits of usefulness as set by the general consciousness.
The Fourth Saturn Return
While this writer knows of no one who has achieved this graduation, she has several clients who
are working toward it. Life expectancy is rising rapidly, so someone we know is certain to pioneer
this level of achievement soon.
The fourth Saturn Return is predicted for the year before age 118. At this time, consciousness
expands again and we will graduate to a cosmic view. One reason the achievement of this age has
been delayed is that our belief systems have not included the possibility of achieving such a state
while in a physical body. Only recently have those people leading the advance into the Aquarian
Age become accustomed to the idea of channeling information from one time/space to another.
The idea of living from a viewpoint beyond time and space is almost impossible to grasp. It is
probably not going to happen with any frequency until we move entirely into the next age,
because it is a prophecy of the state to be achieved in the age beyond that. While from our point
of view it is a Neptunian State, the age we will next be looking toward is Capricorn. Combining
those, we see that the role will be that of a Master Being and its function will be managership of
the human course of destiny. Most of us are not ready for that yet.
Still, we who are presently crossing the end of the second Saturn cycle into the third, have made
such a major transformation in our notions of human limits that we can sense possibilities that
extend far into the future. Given the opportunity to talk with a few people who are crossing into
the fourth cycle, we can push our thinking out to fuzzy horizons of future possibilities where fifth
and sixth Saturn Returns may be experienced.

posted July 13, 2006 04:51 PM              

Ive just gone through Saturn making aspects to four of my planet at once (three of them oppositions to sun,mars,merc and one a conj to jupiter)

posted July 15, 2006 09:59 AM              

Given the aspects, this may be triggering some opposition (guilt-tripping?) from women and/or from your own "female consditioning." Hang in there and stay true to yourself--the inner one, not the conditioned one. Trust your inner guidance. It knows where you are going and why.

Given the aspects described, I wonder whether you have been devoting your life to the care of your mother and/or an adult child. It is time to stop taking care of everyone else and take care of you--especially your creative inner child.

Of course if this is describing a real infant or child, who needs your care, you must not abandon that child. You can, however, begin to develop some artistry now--even if you can only find minutes per week.

posted July 17, 2006 11:46 PM            

Here's more on Saturn Transits by aspects to planets, and some other stuff at this thread:
http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/009759.html

I liked your article, Rev. Alice!! I'd love your comments too!