Saturn Retrograde

Saturn stations retrograde in 20 degrees Capricorn on Monday April 29th, 2019 at 5:54 PM (Pacific). What this means is that, from our perspective on Earth, Saturn will appear to slow down, stop, and move backward across the sky. This will continue until such time that it slows down again, stops, and then slowly moves forward again.  

So named after Saturn in Roman Mythology (and Cronus in Greek Mythology), Saturn is the father of Zeus and husband of Rhea.  He was a god of agriculture, plenty, and renewal.  He has become associated with time, and the passage of time, and can be seen in the figure of Father Time, with Mother Earth (his wife). 

Perhaps the most famous mythological story associated with Saturn concerns him eating his children at birth whom he feared would overthrow him and seize power for themselves. In effort to save her latest child, Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus and cleverly gave Saturn a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in his place. Saturn ate the stone thinking it was his son. Later, Zeus would trick Saturn into ingesting an emetic forcing him to vomit out Zeus' brothers and sisters who were apparently unharmed. Zeus then overthrew his father, Saturn, and became the King of the Gods. 

In the Tarot, Saturn can be seen in the Temperance card, which is acard of balance and harmony.  This is often a balance born out of struggle. It is about learning and growing from our mistakes, finding the good in the bad, and the blessing in the bane. This is often a matter of experimentation and experience. In the Temperance card we can see an angel (Saturn) mixing two cups between which flows the water. In some respects this looks similar to an hourglass with the sands of time flowing through it. Within the flow of time we grow, change, and experience the ups and down of life through which we (hopefully) grow and mature. The only way out, is through.... 

In modern astrology, Saturn is a planet associated with discipline and responsibility. Transits of Saturn can feel like we have been chewed up and spit out but it is often for our own good.  In this respect I see Saturn as a teacher very much like the character of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter books. Severus is a gruff, rude, rigid, and unyielding disciplinarian. He is countered by Albus Dumbledore (a kind of Jupiter figure) who is open-minded, benevolent, permissive, and generous.  However, the thing that they both have in common is that they both care about Harry Potter, in their own way and for their own reasons, and they both want to protect him and see him succeed.   

When Saturn stations retrograde, we begin to (re)think about our responsibilities,  (re)assess our limitations and (re)evaluate our goals.  Saturn retrograde calls on you to take a look at where there is imbalance in your life and how to bring back that balance.  Is your love life suffering because you devote so much time to work? Is your work unsatisfying because you play too much? To create and maintain harmony will take some give and take or practice and experimentation to figure out what works best for you. The area of life that Capricorn falls in your Natal chart is the area of life where the most action will take place. 

For example, Capricorn is in the third house in my natal chart. Saturn is transiting the house which deals with how I think and process information as well as how I connect with others. For me, Saturn Retrograde brings the opportunity to re-assess how I process and exchange information with others. This can be in terms of conversations with others as well as through electronics means such as emails, and posting information to social media.  The catalyst for change can be difficult or strained communications with others. If I learn my lessons well, I will be able to put to good use what I have learned -- through practice and experimentation. 

The Big Picture 

It is interesting to note that Saturn Retrograde makes a conjunction to the South Node, an Opposition to the North Node and applies a conjunction to Retrograde Pluto.  I see this playing out as people being called to be held accountable for their past thoughts, words, and deeds. They will be transformed - for better or worse by their response and reaction.  This will play out in our individual lives (look to the houses they occupy) and in the world at large. 

With many candidates making their bid for the American presidency, I see this playing out with Joe Biden and his past involvement with the Anita Hill Trial as well as accusation of improper touching / sexual harassment of several women; with Pete Buttigieg's  police racism scandal and his stance on voting rights for felons, etc... We will see this pattern play out with many famous and political figures over the summer and into the fall.  

Saturn will station direct on September 18th, 2019. 

Carolina Dean