What Saturn Really Brings

Our fear of what Saturn’s transit may bring is only natural–we’ve been told it represents boundaries, deadlines, oppression and suppression, aging, and it’s nicknamed ‘the Taskmaster’–no wonder we shudder at the thought of its passage through a natal house or in hard aspect to a natal energy. What we need to understand, though, is that Saturn doesn’t actually bring any of these effects with it, that in fact it has only one effect, which can be interpreted a variety of ways: a transit of Saturn brings results. In essence, the only thing Saturn delivers by contact is the accumulated endgame of whatever way we’ve been dealing with the subjects of a particular house, or interacting with and utilizing the energies of the transited point or planet. It makes us face exactly what we have been trying to contain, demand results of, and oppress or suppress, either within ourselves or in our relationships or environment. When we begin to see that Saturn only delivers the results of our own efforts, we begin to fathom the extent to which the consequences of a transit are under our control.

This isn’t to say that Saturn isn’t sometimes the bearer of bad news; it is to say that the way in which we muster ourselves in response to what Saturn brings is not only important in the moment, in dealing with Saturnian crisis, but that it’s also vital in terms of what Saturn may bring us later–we are in our response literally laying the groundwork for the nature of further Saturn contact. If we bring to the table Saturn’s positive manifestations, Self-discipline, effort, perseverance, studiousness, respect, serious attention to the matter at hand, we are establishing our willingness to deal with the issues presented–and when met with respect and a willingness to meet challenges, Saturn rewards.

These possible rewards have roots in Saturn’s power to manifest into material form, and we find the source of what Saturn brings in the meaning of the planet in the natal chart. Where we find Saturn in the horoscope, by sign, house, and aspects, are the subjects and areas of life wherein we discover our worldly fears (though not our primal fear, which is the province of Chiron) and our greatest ambitions. These two go hand in hand: what we most fervently desire, what we most deeply wish to attain, these are the things we fear we may never have, or once gained, fear we may lose. As well, what we truly fear we carry a burning ambition to avoid; a 2nd house Saturn, for instance, can fear poverty, of either the pocketbook or the Self-worth, desperately. Because of this, we may find a person with this placement working tirelessly in an attempt to gain security, either financial or in Self-value assessment–examples include Richard Branson, billionaire founder of all things Virgin, and the late Princess Diana, who is certainly someone who wore her personal vulnerabilities on her sleeve.

We might look to the ‘anti-Saturns,’ Jupiter and Uranus, for ideas as to how a positive Saturn manifestation may feel when it arrives. If you see Saturn as more representative of restriction and repression that is aimed personally, you may experience postive Saturn times as feeling Jupiterian, as having no boundaries, as allowing full-blown license for personal excess; if your Saturnian take is more oppressive (as in authority or societally-oriented) you may experience positive Saturn as a lack of rules and order. In either case, these perceptions will only ‘flavor’ the postive Saturn experience with your own personal take on the concept of ‘freedom.’

So, if we have met our responsibilities and disciplines willingly, what can we expect with Saturn’s transit? Results, results, and more results, the kind to be determined by the aspected point or planet, with possible secondary manifestations related to the house Saturn’s transiting and the natal character of Saturn, with a good chance that the house Saturn rules (Capricorn cusp) will be involved; many of these will have physical manifestations, and may be quite startling in their literalness. When Saturn hits a planet or point, the results can actually be examined in the form of a question: “What have I literally been ‘x’ing?” For example, Saturn contacting Mercury might require you to examine what you have been communicating, while Saturn touching Neptune might ask you to face what you’ve really been dreaming about, fantasizing over, wishing for, delusional about, misguided about, or hiding from yourself or others. Saturn hitting the MC might require you to face your true reputation (and give you a chance to improve on it), and Saturn to the Sun or itself always allows a period of ‘life check-up’ that shows you precisely where improvement is needed; as well, this transit can bring the kind of rewards and manifestations for which we work and about which we dream.

To fear Saturn is to fear knowing who we are, and what we are capable of accomplishing; to learn to work with its energies is to master the physical and material worlds, and ready ourselves for the challenges of the spiritual and the unseen.