The Burdens of Saturn

Saturn continues his backwards motion in Aquarius this month.

The retrograde lasts until the end of November, giving us plenty of time to contemplate the influence of a heavyweight planet such as Saturn—deliverer of grief, limitation, and separation—moving backwards.

A retrograde planet tends to dig its heels in and force us to refine our relationship with the parts of life it rules. As I’ve said, Saturn is a limiting, separative planet which involves us with some of the most undesirable aspects of life such as depression, loss, grueling labor and pain. In addition, whatever areas of your personal chart Saturn is influencing may also experience apparent backward motion, which can look like going back to fix a problem which wasn’t properly seen or addressed in an area which is under Saturn’s domain.

If you are ruled by Saturn (Capricorn and Aquarius ascendants) or if Saturn is otherwise a key player in your chart you may feel this more acutely. But for everyone, Saturn in Aquarius is heavily influencing the areas of groups and gains and community/society. This has been the case since early this year when Saturn moved from Aquarius to Capricorn. But now there is an exacting seriousness to this transit, as Saturn’s already frightening gaze becomes more focused. Just as with the Venus retrograde, this is actually a refinement of the planet’s natural character, but that does not mean it’s not painful, or depressing, or tiring.

Next month I will get into Saturn’s nakshatra position, which will give us more details about the focus and impact of this long retrograde. For now, the recommendation is to—as much as possible—not resist the demands that Saturn may be making in your life. This means to get on the side of discipline, restraint, self-imposed limitation and contact with whatever pain might be present as much as possible. Resisting Saturn’s requirements generally creates depression and limitation in the most undesirable of ways. Saturn’s concern is largely with how you carry your burdens.

It is also noteworthy that retrograde Saturn is one of the planets casting aspect on Venus, creating the curse. This means that whatever effect Saturn is creating in Aquarius is part of the reason why Venus is suffering in Leo. Saturn is essentially bringing suffering to Venus from Aquarius. If there are depressive incidents related to Venus during this time, they will be rooted (in part) in the area of life Aquarius governs in your chart.