It’s true to say that Saturn and I are not friends. He’s always the reminder that I’ve been slack with my health and my habits and haven’t thought through and committed to my goals. As tough as the transits are though, they’re the transits that I absolutely have to have; if it wasn’t for Saturn, I’d accomplish very little indeed. That, however, doesn’t make them easier.

Saturn transits are about getting real. That’s pretty much the whole deal. Oh, and mountain climbing – Saturn transits are also about climbing mountains – slowly, and the long, hard way. With Saturn, there’s no sprint to the top. And, as the most Piscean person you’re ever likely to meet, I have problems with reality…and, for that matter, mountains.

Where Saturn is travelling in your chart will tell you where you need to get real. The sign through which he is travelling will give you a flavour of that transit, and the planets and chart points he touches will be key pressure points.  The more planets being aspected, the more important the lesson you need to learn.

On top of all of that, the nature of your natal Saturn will determine how easily (or otherwise) you deal with Saturn transits. (I use the word easily as a relative term.) If you have a strong or prominent Saturn, commitment, responsibility and boundaries will not be unfamiliar concepts to you, but if like me, your Saturn is weak, you may struggle with the message – especially since the message often involves asking you to limit something, build something, put structure around something, accept the consequences of something, commit to something or get rid of something. Ouch.

So what do I mean by a strong Saturn?

If you have Saturn natally in Capricorn, Aquarius or Libra he is what astrologers call “dignified”. In these signs, he feels at home. If you have Saturn in the 1^st, 7^th, 4^th or 10^th house he will also have the ability to act in your chart.

If you really want to know how strong (or otherwise) your Saturn is, check out this article by Donna Cunningham. Essentially, if:

• Saturn aspects the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven (conjunction, square, trine or opposition)
• Saturn forms tight aspects to other planets
• Sun, Moon or Ascendant is in Capricorn
• If Saturn is in Capricorn or in the 10^thhouse
• If you have other planets in the 10^thhouse

…you will score highly. There are other criteria, so for a full score sheet check out the article.

If it was a test (and anything associated with Saturn is a test), it’s one I failed dismally.

Saturn is in the first degree of Aries in my chart – and Aries is a sign Saturn absolutely isn’t at home in. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Saturn is about building sound structures, erecting boundaries, developing your craft or trade, and taking a long-term view. Commitment, consistency, discipline, maturity and consequence are all words associated with Saturn. Aries, however, is about forward action, the impetus of a strong beginning. Where Saturn is conservative and will plan each step, Aries may impulsively (and impatiently) take a leap into an unknown adventure. Aries is, therefore, not an environment Saturn is comfortable in.

That on its own wouldn’t be a problem if I had other influences in my chart of a Capricornian nature, but I don’t. I have no planets in Capricorn and no planets in the tenth house, the house associated with Capricorn. Further, while most of the other planets in my chart talk to each other and get along, on the whole, quite well, the only aspect Saturn makes to anything else is an inconjunct to Mars – and that contact isn’t an amicable one. Other than that he’s pretty much left to his own devices in a place he doesn’t really want to be, with everyone else, for the most part, ignoring what he has to say.

While most of the other planets in my chart talk to each other, Saturn stands alone in the first degree of Aries just waiting for another planet to come along and activate his energy by transit.

According to Donnas’ article, a really high score could mean that you are: “rigid, stodgy, perfectionistic, conservative, hypercritical, authoritarian, fearful, depressed and probably workaholic”. You will also stoically accept what Saturn has to tell you.

On the other hand, with a low score: “you’d lack discipline, structure and planning; you might be irresponsible, immature and give up easily and have no solid long-term goals.” You will also, like me, be hit for six when Saturn aspects a sensitive part of your chart. Because Saturn’s energy is quite unfamiliar to me, every transit is a shock to my system and one that I block my ears from – at least to begin with.

No matter how strong (or otherwise) Saturn is in your chart, transits by the Time Lord will put a mountain there for you to climb. Whether you choose to go the long way around, blast through, take the scenic route or just trudge resignedly one foot in front of the other, rest assured, there will be a mountain…and then another. Generally speaking, you get a few attempts – first when Saturn aspects a planet whilst direct, a chance to review it when retrograde, and an opportunity to solidify the change when he is direct again.

Along the way, you will be asked to check what is in the backpack that you’re carrying and get rid of the crap you no longer need. If Saturn is in the 10th^th, you may need to get rid of a job to start a new career…or even get rid of your status as a single woman to greet the world with a new surname – or the opposite. If he is transiting the 11^th, expect to change friends, and groups and even rationalise or put structure around your dreams. Naturally, none of this will be easy – if it was you wouldn’t learn anything or grow through the process… and Saturn demands that you grow and mature.

Structures that you thought were secure will need to be rebuilt if they don’t stand the concrete test. Happily married? When Saturn travels through your 7^th you will question that commitment and your relationship with others. You may test the relationship and find it is solid and strong and well worth recommitting to. You may, however, test it and find stress cracks in the building. Is it still structurally sound or is your relationship ready for a knockdown/rebuild? Or, perhaps, a complete demolition?

A couple of years ago I read a book by Adam Smith titled “Saturn- Fatal Attraction”. In that, he suggested listening to what your friends are complaining about, or where their attention is focused – this is where Saturn is transiting in their charts. Listen to your own conversations and complaints… and be honest.

The nature of Saturn is to constrict, to bind, to restrict and to contract. He represents the process of ageing and, when it comes to medical astrology, is associated with chronic conditions and disease. Saturn rules everything that provides a structure or a boundary in the body – skin, hair, fingernails, teeth, skeleton, ligaments. When Saturn comes to call, things can either start to wear out and age or underperform…some sort of restriction usually results. This may be a restrictive diet, restriction of movement, restriction of freedom.

I’ve had some serious stinky stuff go down under Saturn transits, I’ve also had some seriously good stuff happen under Saturn conjunctions:

• When Saturn was conjunct Mercury I was standing in church saying wedding vows.
• When Saturn was conjunct my Ascendant/Sun (and square my Midheaven) I was promoted to a senior and very responsible position – one normally given to men much older than me. It was a role that tested me and a role that nearly broke me. It was a role that I had to grow up in order to do.
• When Saturn was conjunct my Venus, there was a reason for me to take relationships very seriously – I gave birth to my daughter. Her natal Mercury and Saturn are conjunct my Venus. And yes, we have a lot of laughs together – she has the quick, dry sense of humour that Saturn is known for.

When Saturn was conjunct my Moon though, the situation was very different.

I was going through one of the most emotionally isolating experiences of my life – dealing with infertility and what happens when babies don’t come to order (and yes, I’ve been told that with Jupiter in the 5^th house in Cancer and trine my Moon I should have had a houseful of kids…go figure).  Sure hubby and I were dealing with it together, but as anyone who has gone through this knows, you feel as if you are in it alone. That’s a very Saturn way of feeling.

The point is, Saturn transits can be shit, but they can also be rewarding…from a distance and with a lot of hindsight. The thing is, you can’t see the light until you’ve seen the dark. Yes, that is profound, but you get through it. We got through it.

At the time I wasn’t sure there would ever be any light. I wasn’t sure I would get through it. I couldn’t understand why something so simple had to be so hard and hurt so much. But there was a light – and she’s now nearly 25. With her Sun at 2 Aries, just 1-degree past mine, she is my Saturn Return.

In 2016, Saturn was conjunct with my Midheaven, and square my Ascendant and my Sun. Because my chart is so interconnected, it was like he was a pinball ricocheting off one point in my chart to another and back again. It was a year I’d prefer not to repeat. Every single structure in my life collapsed – my job, my husband’s job, our financial security, friendships, our house, our way of life, and our relationships. Every. Single. Thing.

When Saturn was conjunct my Midheaven and square my Ascendant in November of that year I literally was climbing a mountain – and not very successfully. I’d signed up to hike the Milford Track and was woefully underprepared and unprepared for the conditions and the climb. Largely as a result of everything else that had been happening, my training had been inconsistent and lacking in discipline and as a result what should have been a very doable walk became an ordeal – well, at least for the day we tackled Mackinnon Pass in the driving rain. I came out of that walk feeling physically, mentally and emotionally broken – yet understanding that the consequences were a function of choices and decisions I’d made not regarding the preparation for the walk.

The following year Saturn stationed square my Moon – right at the time that I was packing up our house of 18 years and leaving friends, family, and structures behind. Emotionally it was a wrench and it drained me completely. While it seemed like madness at the time, I was glad that I’d read the intent of the transit and booked a holiday to coincide with the easing off of the Saturn/Moon square. I needed it…bringing me to another thing I know about Saturn transits – even if every Saturn transit you’ve ever had has been, to put it mildly, uncomfortable, it’s still best to treat them with intention.

Saturn transits often bring with them hard stuff, tough stuff. It bears down on you, pushing you lower, making you feel as though you’ve got the entire world and their families plus luggage on your shoulders. Whatever it is that is happening is happening to you. It seems this way because often we’re looking to blame someone or something for doing whatever it is to us. That’s one perspective. The other is that whatever it is that is going on is an outcome or a consequence of another action or inaction on our own behalf. We’re being taught a lesson of some type – and we’re being taught it because we need to learn it.

Saturn doesn’t teach in the way that Jupiter does. Jupiter educates and expands your knowledge of the world, of life. Jupiter is what you learn through experience. Saturn lessons are what you learn because you have to. Saturn teaches that every action brings with it consequences – some good, some bad, but consequences nevertheless.

Where Jupiter doesn’t particularly care what you do with the opportunities he presents to you – if you miss out on them, that’s your loss; failure to learn Saturn’s lesson is an entirely different matter.

The thing is, the events of 2016 proved to us that things needed to change, that the structures we’d built and relied upon were no longer fit for purpose. Everything that happened that year was a repeat of that message. We could have chosen to bury our heads in the sand and blame those who were instigating the events and causing the pain – or we could have made the decision we did which was to sell up in Sydney and move north and start again. In hindsight it was the best move we could have made. Sink or swim.

Another thing – each of us will have a different perspective on a Saturn transit. Some of these experiences will be ultimately positive, some will be difficult, but all will be designed to make us better, or more adult, or…you get the idea. This leads me to the most important thing I know about Saturn transits: that my experiences of them will most likely be very different from yours.

So yes, Saturn transits can be tough, but we’ve all been through numerous ones in our lifetime and although we might have scars, we’re still here to tell the tale.