It’s time to take Saturn by his goat horns and look him straight in the eye, his third eye as represented in the Crowley Tarot deck by card XV, The Devil. Saturn rules the sign Capricorn. The essence of both planet and sign are represented as a goat atop a mountain, staring at us from a third eye in the center of its forehead. So much symbolism here to unravel!
Saturn has been associated with the devil, with misfortune, blockages, struggle – the “trials and tribulations” of human life. We perceive the effects of Saturn as obstacles to our will. Sometimes the obstacles look like figures of authority: a boss, or teacher, or parent. Sometimes they come as personal affliction – health crisis, handicap, limited resources, oppression. Or inadequacy – lack of talent, knowledge, skill. Saturn delivers these obstacles to serve as points of focus in our schooling.
There are lessons to be learned in this life and we learn them by facing challenge and adversity. We put our minds to work searching for a solution. We develop skills. We learn and grow. This is the function of Saturn in our lives. He is here to grow us up.
In our culture, we are considered mature at 21, but Saturn says “No. We’ll see how mature you are when I return.” Somewhere between the ages of 28 and 30 lies the dreaded Saturn return. Remember back when you thought you knew it all? When you were a hotshot of knowledge, setting out to tackle the world with a pack of dreams and ideals? Then something happened. In the heavens, Saturn returned to his position in your birth chart. He made one full circle of the zodiac, spending 2-1/2 years in each sign, exposing you to the full spectrum of experience. Upon completion, he showed you the consequences of your choices on the first go-around.
The majority of us have a come-uppance – a divorce, serious injury, professional failure. Saturn says, “Here is another dose of adversity. Let’s see how you handle it.”
Some people negotiate their Saturn return with grace. I think of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. On top of the tennis-world, they began to lose matches. They slipped in the rankings. They dealt with serious injury. They never made excuses and they never gave up. They kept on practicing, conditioning, playing tournaments, looking for ways to improve. After 2-1/2 years or so they re-emerged as champions.
That tells us a lot about how to negotiate a Saturn return. Saturn is about self-discipline. In its highest expression Saturn teaches us patience, perseverance, responsibility and we achieve integrity, maturity, mastery, fulfillment, self-possession, inner strength and faith. That’s one heck of a reward for self-discipline!
Not all of us are sufficiently graceful at 28 and we suffer. We struggle. We try to control. We try to make our lives work. We make excuses, blame others, usually our parents. We get angry, hostile, exercise our self-pity. We can be defeated at this juncture. Our self-confidence can take a serious blow. We can get depressed and develop habits of resistance, self-doubt, procrastination, self-sabotage, cynicism and apathy. We can stifle ourselves into mediocrity.
A few of us will go to war with Saturn and life in general. The lucky ones inherit a fortune and buy their way to the top. The less endowed become society’s aberrant – criminals, outsiders, malcontents. If they can’t control the world, they can sabotage it.
How we handle our first Saturn return will determine the degree of difficulty or ease in the next thirty years of life. If we go for maturity, take responsibility, surrender our stubborn will and open to Saturn’s direction, we will be rewarded with happiness and fulfillment.
Saturn is most comfortable in Capricorn because they are so compatible. They share the same qualities and values. How they manifest in our lives depends on us. I came up with the following table suggesting a spectrum of possible expressions from highest or most effective to lowest, which can be the most damaging. In the middle lies cognitive dissonance, lacking the will to master life, but free of the drive to dominate it. This list is by no means complete, but it’s a good place to start.
| Highest Expression | Dysfunctional | Destructive |
| Self-aware | Conditioned | Delusional |
| Self-discipline | Procrastination | Control |
| Solitude | Alienation | Loneliness |
| Patience/Perseverance | Impatient | Driven |
| Maturity | Adolescence | Immaturity |
| Integrity | Inner dissonance | Arrogance |
| Mastery | Resistance | Authoritarian |
| Fulfillment | Depression | Dissatisfaction |
| Right use of will | Weak willed | Domination |
| Healthy ambition | Self-sabotage | Power hungry |
| Responsibility | Irresponsible | Ruthless |
| Self-possession | Projected authority | Egotism |
| Inner strength | Self-doubt | Fear/anxiety |
| Faith | Cynicism | Entitlement |
| Effective | Ineffective | Dangerous |
| Democracy | Apathy | Fascism |
There are of course many degrees between fulfillment and depression, between faith and cynicism. I’ve just suggested three points on a continuum.
Successful Saturn growth begins with intimate self-awareness. “Know thyself.” This is where the third eye comes in – it’s the eye that looks within. Saturnian strength comes from self-knowledge – awareness of who you are in your essence, not your conditioned self, not your self-image concocted out of the stories generated by the ego, but the essential self, the core self that is one with Soul and Spirit.
This is where Capricorn lends a hand, drawing us into solitude, meditation, self-reflection, walks in nature, periods of silence, retreat. In our culture we focus on the material world. We are conditioned to believe that success means getting to the top, being the best, beating out the competition. This upward/outward focus throws us out of balance. We ignore our inner world, live in our minds, identify with our egos, will ourselves into achievement. And this is where we get into trouble. This is where Saturn steps in, throws up obstacles to make us stop and reflect. What is this obstacle trying to tell me? Am I climbing the wrong mountain? Am I making the wrong choices? What part of my character needs maturing?
Saturnian strength is derived from self-knowledge. It results in self-confidence based on a solid connection to core values and a patient application of self-disciplined effort. A mature individual is self-validated, needs no outer authority, lives in accord with their deepest inner guidance. Ambition without inner strength, however, results in the continual need for outside validation – the raise, the promotion, compliments from your boss, admiration of your peers, envy of your neighbors. We become slaves to appearance, we must constantly perform. We live in fear and anxiety that we won’t measure up. And Saturn keeps sending us signals, trying to correct our disastrous course.
If we choose to listen, to seek solitude and silence, we can hear that “still small voice” guiding us to the truth of who we are and what we came to do here. We will be guided on the right path and like the goat, we will stand on the mountain top and admire the journey.
Saturn is headed for a rendezvous with Pluto in Saturn’s sign Capricorn. We can already feel the pressure building and we are witnessing the results of our choices. The exact conjunction happens on January 12, 2020, less than 8 months from now. We will examine the possibilities of this event in depth, but we still need to meet all the players.
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