Before doing an Intuitive Therapy session with anyone, I ask for their date of birth. I am not an Astrologer however, there is one planetary occurrence I have seen so much evidence for having a major impact on ones life that I always look for it: the Saturn Return.

When people wish you “Many Happy Returns” on your birthday, they are referring to the Sun. That is, the Sun returning to the place in the sky (AKA your astrological chart) it was in when you were born. As we know the Earth takes one year to move around the Sun to this place. Being an outer planet it takes Saturn considerably longer to return to the place in the sky it was in when you were born. It takes about 28 years & this is called your Saturn Return.

The hard taskmaster of Roman mythology, Saturn was the god of agriculture, social order and conformity. The fear the god Saturn instilled is where early Christians got the name satan from. Astrologically, Saturn is associated with boundaries and reality, while governing ambition, career and authority. Saturn is about laying the foundations for long-term achievements, which have integrity; there are no quick fixes with Saturn. The first Saturn Return (around the age of 28) is primarily about growing-up. In many indigenous cultures you are not considered an adult or allowed to vote in tribal council until you have had your first Saturn Return.  The second Saturn Return (about the age of 56) is about moving from ‘mother’ to ‘crone’. That is, becoming the ‘wise elder’ of your tribe.

In day-to-day life this means once your first Saturn Return begins (sometimes as early as 26), anywhere you are being immature or not taking responsibility for your actions, Saturn will come down hard on you. And by hard I mean seriously-life-impairingly-depressingly-hard. Some people feel like they have been cursed during their Saturn Returns, others feel like everything they have worked for is being taken away, and sadly more people are likely to suicide during a Saturn return than at any other time in their lives.

Not surprisingly I encourage all of my clients NOT to make major life decisions (such as getting married) until they have had their Saturn Returns.

Is there any good news? Since the first Saturn Return is about growing-up, you will learn to take full responsibility for all your actions. There is freedom in being completely responsible for yourself as you are no longer bound by parental, societal or cultural expectations. If you have acted with maturity and responsibility through your early 20′s, the Saturn Return can be a time of great breakthroughs and achievement, especially in your career. This is also an excellent time to return to study (I did my graduate degree when I was 29) or take that plunge into the career or profession you’ve always wanted to try but others expectations kept you away from. Keep in mind setting reality based goals & knowing your own limitations are also lessons from the Saturn Return. Another gift of Saturn is healthy boundaries. Any toxic or immature relationships will not survive through a Saturn Return. The gift of this is that it makes room for healthy, mature relationships. And finally Saturn will teach you one of the most important life lessons of all: SURRENDER!

For those of you experiencing your second Saturn Return (approaching 56 years of age) this will be a marked time when you slow down on ‘active’ family responsibilities. Your relationship with your children should now switch to adult/adult as apposed to adult/child. Looking after & paying attention to how you ‘mother’ grandchildren differently to how you ‘mothered’ your own children will give you a healthy aspect of ‘cronehood’.  Professionally you should take on a more ‘wise counsel’ position as apposed to being actively/physically engaged day-to-day.

While you’re going through it the Saturn Return can feel like your life has been turned upside-down and nothing no longer works. From an outside perspective it’s a great cleaning out of old patterns that no longer serve you and the perfect time to take responsibility for who you are and  the life you wish to live. If you resist the changes or feel like a victim Saturn will feel grueling and punishing. However, if you surrender and act with maturity, trusting that your higher good is being served, Saturn will deliver you gracefully into the next stage of your life.

Elouise Taylor

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