Monday, July 30, 2018

Saturn and the Nature of Authority, Part 1

Hello everyone! With Saturn away on one of his retrograde business trips, I figured I'd take a moment to talk about one of the most interesting parts of his personality. 

One of my mentees, Bonnie Jean, asked me about Saturn and the idea of "authority" and it's a great question.

So we know that Saturn's job is to provide boundaries, restrictions, and structure to our lives. He also rules managers as a whole at all levels, and the idea of "authority" in many ways. Saturn represents our relationship with our parents, who are our first "authority" figures.

As we grow up, we all have our struggles with authority, and as transiting Saturn makes hard aspects to our natal Saturn position, we can see that play out in our lives. Approximately every seven years, there's a period of struggle. 


At 7-8 years old, we're pushing back against our parents and their authority. At 15 or so we're doing that again, but the battle is even more intense as Saturn opposes our natal Saturn position. At 21-22, we're breaking away from the authority of our parents as this is the traditional age that many of us finish our undergraduate degrees, wanting total autonomy over our own lives. We don't get it right away necessarily, either. 

By the time we hit 28-29, we have our first Saturn return--a conjunction between our natal Saturn position and transiting Saturn--and that's when many of us decide to "grow up", be more responsible, or "settle down", whatever that form takes for you.

What I find interesting is that many of my clients are between 26 and 32 years old, right around the time of that Saturn return. No surprise to me at all...this can be a challenging time.

Each Saturn return is like an exam. How well have you been following Saturn's lessons? For me, by the time you hit your first Saturn return, you need to take steps to make your life solid and stable with some boundaries and a general plan. 

You don't have to be a complete success, and you don't have to be financially well-off, either. But if you've paid attention to old man Saturn's many "lessons", you'll be in a decent position. If you haven't...well, you might spend a good portion of the next 28-29 years trying to figure it out.

So the authority you get from Saturn at your first Saturn return gives you the ability to structure your own life as you see fit. At this point you have chosen the obligations--there's another Saturn word!--that define your world: Partner, partners or single; rent or own; and your career situation, to name just a few.


As an aside, Bonnie Jean mentioned that Saturn would likely have a thing or two to say when he returns, and I'm almost positive she's right on that score. Hopefully, he'll be whatever passes for "pleased" in his world. 

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